Fa Zhen's ancestral home was in Mei County (郿縣), Fufeng Commandery (扶風郡), which is in present-day – Mei County, Baoji, Shaanxi. His ancestor was Tian Fazhang, who was formally known as King Xiang of the Qi state in the Warring States period. Tian Fazhang's descendants changed their family name from "Tian" to "Fa" after the fall of Qi in 221 BCE. During the reign of Emperor Xuan in the Western Han dynasty, Tian Fazhang's descendants were relocated to the capital province and granted a hereditary official position with an income of 2,000 dan (石) of grain.[1] Fa Zhen's father, Fa Xiong, served as the Administrator (太守) of Nan Commandery (南郡; around present-day Jingzhou, Hubei) during the reign of Emperor An in the Eastern Han dynasty.[2]
Fa Zhen was known for being studious and well versed in readings from different schools of thought. His fame as an erudite scholar spread throughout the Shaanxi and Gansu areas. He had hundreds of students who came from various locations to study under him. Among them was Fan Ran (范冉).[3] The Sanfu Jue Lu Zhu (三輔決錄注) recorded that when Fa Zhen was still a teenager, he once attended a meeting between his father and his father's subordinates. After the meeting, Fa Xiong asked his son, "(Among them,) Who do you think is a great talent?" To this, Fa Zhen replied, "Hu Guang (胡廣) possesses the calibre of a high minister." He was proven right because Hu Guang rose through the ranks later and held positions among the Nine Ministers and Three Ducal Ministers.[4]
Fa Zhen led an unassuming and modest, but reclusive life. The Administrator of Fufeng Commandery heard of him and invited him for a meeting. Fa Zhen wore a fujin (幅巾; a type of headgear similar to bokgeon) to the meeting. The Administrator attempted to use the example of Confucius serving as a politician in the Lu state to persuade Fa Zhen to serve in the Han government. Fa Zhen replied, "I dared to come here because I saw you treating your guests in a respectful manner. However, if you want me to join the civil service, I will travel farther north beyond the northern mountain and farther south beyond the southern mountain." The Administrator was taken aback by Fa Zhen's response and did not dare to speak again about recruiting Fa Zhen into the civil service.[5]
Fa Zhen continued receiving offers to serve in the Han government, but he declined all of them. Tian Ruo (田弱), who was also from Fufeng Commandery, once wrote a memorial recommending Fa Zhen to the imperial court, and recommended Fa again when Emperor Shun visited the Shaanxi region. The emperor consecutively sent out four offers to Fa Zhen to join the civil service, but Fa turned down all of them. Fa Zhen said, "If I can't conceal myself from the rest of the world, can I drink water that will make me deaf to the world?" He then retreated further into seclusion and maintained his refusal to become an official. Guo Zheng (郭正), a friend of Fa Zhen, once said, "You can easily hear news about Fa Zhen, but you can't see him in person easily. He tries to escape from fame but fame follows him; he tries to avoid fame but fame chases him. He is truly a master of hundreds of generations!" Fa Zhen died of natural causes in 188 during the reign of Emperor Ling at the age of 89 (by East Asian age reckoning).[6]
- ^ (法雄字文彊，扶風郿人也，齊襄王法章之後。秦滅齊，子孫不敢稱田姓，故以法為氏。宣帝時，徙三輔，世為二千石。) Houhanshu vol. 38.
- ^ (法真字高卿，扶風郿人，南郡太守雄之子也。) Houhanshu vol. 83.
- ^ (好學而無常家，博通內外圖典，為關西大儒。弟子自遠方至者，陳留范冉等數百人。) Houhanshu vol. 83.
- ^ (三輔決錄注曰： ... 初，真年未弱冠，父在南郡，步往候父，已欲去，父留之待正旦，使觀朝吏會。會者數百人，真於䆫中闚其與父語。畢，問真「孰賢」？真曰：「曹掾胡廣有公卿之量。」其後廣果歷九卿三公之位，世以服真之知人。 ...) Sanfu Jue Lu Zhu annotation in Sanguozhi vol. 37.
- ^ (性恬靜寡欲，不交人閒事。太守請見之，真乃幅巾詣謁。太守曰：「昔魯哀公雖為不肖，而仲尼稱臣。太守虛薄，欲以功曹相屈，光贊本朝，何如？」真曰：「以明府見待有禮，故敢自同賔末。若欲吏之，真將在北山之北，南山之南矣。」太守戄然，不敢復言。) Houhanshu vol. 83.
- ^ (辟公府，舉賢良，皆不就。同郡田弱薦真曰：「處士法真，體兼四業，學窮典奧，幽居恬泊，樂以忘憂，將蹈老氏之高蹤，不為玄纁屈也。臣願聖朝就加衮職，必能唱清廟之歌，致來儀之鳳矣。」會順帝西巡，弱又薦之。帝虛心欲致，前後四徵。真曰：「吾旣不能遯形遠世，豈飲洗耳之水哉？」遂深自隱絕，終不降屈。友人郭正稱之曰：「法真名可得聞，身難得而見，逃名而名我隨，避名而名我追，可謂百世之師者矣！」乃共刊石頌之，號曰玄德先生。年八十九，中平五年，以壽終。) Houhanshu vol. 83.
