the need for constitutional law. He also openly advocated the belief that ministers should be openly critical of their emperor; and that rulers held a responsibility to their country. Moreover, an emperor should respect the concerns of his prime minister and head of the Imperial College. In local areas, the local gentry, scholars, and students should gather and form an assembly to discuss issues openly with local magistrates and officials. Huang's first work was not completed until the age of 52, and the work's fuller influence was not felt until the declining years of the Qing dynasty. Major works Waiting for the Dawn Waiting for the Dawn () was a summary of ideas about political reform that had been advanced by various scholars since the reign of Wanli (1573–1619). The political tract begins with a condemnation of selfish autocratic rule, and declares that the world should belong to the people. The third and fifth section of the work, "On Laws" and "Schools", respectively, are particularly famous. In the former, Huang declares that all laws and regulatory bodies should be an outgrowth of local needs, not imposed by leaders with a political agenda. In the latter, he advocates using the education system as a semiofficial forum for educated opinion on public affairs. In the sixth and seventh sections of the work, entitled "Selecting Good Men", Huang also lays out his ideas for reform of the Imperial examination system. In later sections, he discusses equitable distribution of landholdings, the division between men of civil and military background, fiscal reform, and the problem of Eunuch power during the Ming dynasty. Record of the Ming Scholars The Record of the Ming Scholars () is a systematic survey of all of the important schools of thought that arose during the Ming Dynasty. It explored their interconnection and geographical distribution, and critically evaluated on the life and teachings of important men from each school. It is usually regarded as the first great history of Chinese philosophy. The work was later lauded by Liang Qichao as a new kind of historiography. At the time of his death, Huang Zongxi left behind an uncompleted survey of the Song and Yuan dynasties. Translations References External links 1610 births 1695 deaths Chinese Confucianists Neo-Confucian scholars Ming dynasty philosophers Ming dynasty historians Qing dynasty historians Writers from Ningbo Qing dynasty philosophers 17th-century Chinese philosophers Philosophers from Zhejiang People from Yuyao Historians