Biography
Classical Mastery under Liu Xin
Zheng Xing was born around 20 BCE in Kaifeng, Henan Commandery (modern Kaifeng, Henan), into a family of literate gentry. During his youth, he journeyed to Changan to study the Zuo Tradition of Spring and Autumn Annals and the Mao Odes directly under the master Liu Xin. Unlike contemporary scholars who leaned heavily into mystical prognostications (chenwei), Zheng combined meticulous linguistic philology with mathematical calendar computation (Santong Li), earning renowned academic authority.
The Liangzhou Mission and Advisory Role
During the 23 CE Gengshi interregnum, Zheng was appointed Major to the Chancellor and dispatched to pacify Longxi and Liang Province in the northwest. Welcomed with immense reverence by regional strongman Wei Xiao, Zheng was detained in the western headquarters. Although Wei Xiao offered lucrative ministerial honors, Zheng steadfastly refused, urging Wei to abandon regional separatism and tender allegiance to Emperor Guangwu in Luoyang. When Wei Xiao allied with Gongsun Shu in Shu, Zheng managed to escape eastward with his household in 30 CE.
Imperial Court Service and Old Text Legacy
Upon reaching Luoyang, Zheng was championed by senior scholars Du Lin and General Ma Yuan, who jointly praised his unrivaled ritual learning. Emperor Guangwu appointed him Palace Grandee (Taizhong Dafu). When the newly restored Han dynasty debated ancestral temple protocol, suburbs sacrifice rites, and coronation calendars, Zheng drew exhaustively from ancient pre-Qin classics to defeat court traditionalists. However, because he openly condemned Emperor Guangwu's favorite apocryphal omen texts as uncanonical fabrications, he was blocked from reaching the Three Excellencies. He finished his official career as Magistrate of Lianshao, dying around 38 CE. His son Zheng Zhong inherited and expanded his school, ensuring that the "Elder and Younger Zheng" became the defining pillars of Old Text scholarship.