Life

Hong was born in Changzhou and was relatively slow in his accomplishment of the rank of jinshi, which he finally attained at the age of 44. He held minor government posts up until his criticism of the Jiaqing Emperor in the early nineteenth century which focused on the emperor's failure to weed out corrupt officials like Heshen or reform the bureaucracy that had allowed Heshen to secure power. Although well-intentioned and meant to serve as a call to action, the punishment for his transgression was originally decapitation, and subsequently lessened to banishment. Later, the emperor once more commuted Hong's sentence and pardoned him completely in hopes of ending a drought.

Philosophy

Hong was a proponent of the New Text scholarship, and felt that political remonstrance was part of his Confucian duty, as many other philosophers of his time did. He was concerned with such issues as population control, geography, the Chinese classics, and government corruption. He critically re-evaluated the common Chinese assumption that a growing population was the sign of a good government.

Zhi Ping Pian and theory on population growth

Hong's time experienced one of the fastest expansions of population in Chinese history. With the promotion of New World crops such as corn, Chinese population tripled from 100 million (1651–1661) to 300 million (1790). The population boom resulted in a series of socioeconomic problems, and caused concerns among the Mandarins. In 1791, Qianlong Emperor expressed his worry to the court officials that the resources might not be able to support the growing population. Two years later, Hong published Zhi Ping Pian, the 26th essay of his anthology Opinions (意言).

In Zhi Ping Pian, Hong points to the tension between the growth of the means of subsistence and the growing population. He writes that the tension would be relieved by disasters, famine, and plagues.

Hong points out that government can mediate the problem by policies like adjusting tax, encouraging colonization, and enhancing the social safety net. However, he expresses his concern about the limits of human policy in addressing such an inherent structural dilemma.

Works

Hong was a prolific writer, with more than 20 books published, including multiple volumes of essays, prose works and poems. In addition to his philosophical works, Hong was also a noted historian, known for his study of historical geography.

• Letter to Prince Cheng Earnestly Discussing the Political Affairs of the Time, 1799

• Opinions, 1793

家世

先世為安徽歙縣洪坑人。曾祖父洪璟曾任山西大同知府。其子洪公寀為洪亮吉的祖父，入贅于常州觀莊趙氏，娶康熙四十八年狀元趙熊詔之女為妻，從此定居常州。

父親洪翹，早亡。母親蔣氏。

有三個姐姐，二姐嫁汪氏；弟弟洪靄吉。

曾孫洪彥先在太平軍攻打常州府城時防守東門。巷戰而死。之前，其弟妻龔氏及弟承惠並妻等男女16人均跳水自殺。

玄孫洪述祖，曾擔任袁世凱政府內務部秘書及總統府顧問，是刺殺宋教仁的主謀之一。1919年成為中國第一個被執行絞刑者。

洪述祖之子洪深，中國電影先驅者，曾任中國戲劇家協會副主席、中國作家協會理事。

現代畫家劉海粟為其曾外孫。

洪金寶籍貫浙江寧波，洪亮吉八世孫，曾祖父洪述祖，祖父洪濟，叔祖洪深。

生平

自幼喪父，家貧，與寡母相依為命，刻苦讀書，身材高大，喜歡穿紅色衣服。以詞章考據聞名，尤其擅長輿地。與詩人黃景仁、學者孫星衍友善，並得袁枚、蔣士銓的賞識。工駢文，與汪中並稱。多年屢試不中，先後充安徽學政朱筠、陝西巡撫畢沅等幕府。

乾隆五十五年（1790年）四十四歲時終于以一甲第二名考中進士，授翰林院編修，充國史館編纂官。五十七年（1792年）擔任順天府鄉試同考官。

後督貴州學政。任內為貴州各府書院購置經、史、通典、《文選》等方面圖書，提高了貴州學術水平。

嘉慶元年（1795年）回京師供職，入直上書房，教授皇曾孫奕純讀書。嘉慶三年（1798年）以征邪教疏為題考試翰林和詹事，洪亮吉著文，力陳內外弊政數千言，為時所忌，以弟喪辭職回鄉。

嘉慶四年（1799年）為大學士朱珪起用，參與編修《高宗實錄》。同年，上書《乞假將歸留別成親王極言時政啟》：「人才至今日消磨殆盡矣。數十年來，以模稜為曉事，以軟弱為良，以鑽營為進取之階，以苟且為服官之計，由所遭者，無不各得其所欲而去，以定衣缽相承牢結而不可解……士大夫漸不顧廉恥……」，觸怒嘉慶帝，下獄論斬。翰林王引之、貴慶等冒險入獄看望洪亮吉。後改流放伊犁，途中至保定，始知有「不許作詩，不許飲酒」之諭，「交將軍保寧嚴加管束」。百日之後，以「罪亮吉後，言事者日少」，被釋放回籍。從此家居撰述以終。洪亮吉的伊犁百日行留下《天山客話》以及《伊犁日記》詳細記載了伊犁的山川、物產、風貌等，《新疆圖志》曾有大量引用。

軼事

上書得罪後，得知被判死刑，仍然談笑風生，改流放伊犁惠遠，所居之房是有名的鬼屋。流放後，北京地區大旱，禱雨不應，嘉慶下令釋放囚犯和時間較久的流放人員。並傳諭釋放洪亮吉，下詔後即降雨。皇帝忍不住驚呼：「天鑑中誠，捷於呼吸，可感益可畏也。」

觀點：人口論

洪亮吉著有《治平篇》一文，對中國人口的增長提出了革命性的見解。清朝的中國正經歷著人口增長最快的時代。據統計，在公元1651年—1661年即順治年間，中國人口不過僅一億。至乾隆末年，中國人口已達三億。而這段期間耕地面積卻沒有顯著增幅，遠低於人口的增長，平均每人佔有耕地從原來五畝之多，下降至兩畝。洪亮吉說：「則視三十年以前增五倍焉，視六十年以前增十倍焉，視百年、百數十年以前不啻增二十倍焉」：而田地、房屋「亦不過增一倍而止矣，或增三倍、五倍而止矣。」（《治平篇》）

洪亮吉認為，人口的增長既然遠遠超過了田地與房屋的增長，就使得「田與屋之數常處其不足，而戶與口之數常處其有餘」。在當時人們對中國的人口問題尚麻木的時代，他卻敏銳地洞見到了這一問題的嚴重性。

著作

• 《卷施閣詩文集》

• 《附鮚軒詩集》

• 《更生齋詩文集》

• 《北江詩話》

• 《春秋左傳詁》