Tang Shunzhi (唐順之; 1507–1560), the famous Ming mathematician and advocate of the ancient prose style, is considered the precursor of the school, since his work underlined the importance of calendaric studies and mathematics in the Han scholarship.
Tang's argument for the "concrete studies" (shixue), as well as concern about diluting the influence of the Buddhist and Daoist teachings on Confucianism of Wang Yangming became an important feature of the Changzhou intellectual framework.
His support for Yan Ruoqu-Hui Dong's refutation of the Old Text Shangshu chapters stood in opposition to Zhuang Cunyu's politics-bound view: Cunyu held that the renxin-Daoxin 人心 道心 notion of the "Councils of Yu the Great" chapter was crucially important for the imperial ethics, while the Han xue proponents, including Youke, interpreted it as a heterodox Buddhist influence on the Confucian doctrine.
Zhuang Cunyu (another prominent native of Changzhou), however, had an intellectual influence other than textological: he was an embodiment of the message that scholarly activity for a Confucian cannot be divorced from the political.
Zhuang Shoujia, developing the ideas of Shuzu, authored the Shi shuming (Explication of writing and names), providing a history of ancient calligraphy with etymological (xungu) and paleographic (wenzixue) insights.