881-954

Chinese government minister generally credited with initiating the first printing of the Confucian Classics—equivalent to the first printing of the Bible in Europe—in 932. The result was that the foundational works of Confucius became relatively accessible, at least to the upper echelons of society, and that scholarship and knowledge spread throughout China. Feng's lasting reputation was hurt, however, by the fact that during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, which began with the fall of the T'ang Dynasty in 907, he served no fewer than five different imperial houses. Given the Confucian emphasis on loyalty, his opportunism made him something of a disgrace in the eyes of later scholars.