[1] Fang Guancheng was born in Tongcheng County, Anhui Province in the Qing Empire.
[citation needed] The Nanshan Case occurred in 1713, the fifth year of the Kangxi Emperor.
The incident marked a period of literary inquisition that targeted various scholars with real or perceived loyalties to competing claimants to the throne and to the previous dynasty.
Due to their young age, Fang and his brother were not subjected to the same exile and were instead sent to be raised by monks from the Qingliang Temple.
[4][5] In 1749, Fang Guancheng was made the Viceroy of Zhili, a position he would hold until his demise.