Xiong Cili

[1] However, the following year, Xiong attempted to shift blame onto a colleague for an error he committed whilst drafting an imperial rescript, resulting in his dismissal from office.

Starting in the 1680s, Xiong became involved in factional struggles in the court, allying himself with Xu Qianxue and Songgotu against Li Guangdi, whom he was jealous of.

He became a Grand Secretary once more in 1699 and was charged with supervising work on the History of Ming and the compilation of the Pingding shuomo fang lüe, an official account of the Qing campaigns against the Dzungars.

[1] Xiong was granted leave to retire in 1703 but remained in the capital to provide occasional advice.

He devoted much effort into proving the doctrines of Wang Yangming unorthodox and considered those philosophers to be 'promiscuous thinkers'.