thumb|200px|Hong Liangji
Hong Liangji (, 1746–1809), courtesy names Junzhi () and Zhicun (), was a Qing Chinese scholar, statesman, political theorist, and philosopher. He was most famous for his critical essay to the Qianlong Emperor, which resulted in his banishment to Yili in Xinjiang. In modern times, he is best remembered for his essay Zhi Ping Pian (, "On Governance and Well-being of the Empire") on population growth and its sociopolitical consequence, in which he raised many of the same issues that were raised by Malthus writing during the same period in England.
Life
right|thumb|200px|Former Residence of Hong Liangji in ChangzhouHong was born in Changzhou and accomplished of the rank of jinshi, which he at the age of 44. He held minor government posts up until his criticism of the Qianlong Emperor in the early nineteenth century which focused on the emperor's failure to weed out corrupt officials like Heshen or reform the bureaucracy that had allowed Heshen to secure power. Although well-intentioned and meant to serve as a call to action, the punishment for his transgression was originally decapitation, and subsequently lessened to banishment to Ili by the successive Jiaqing Emperor.