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Chen Meng-lei, courtesy name Zezhen, pseudonym Shengzhai, and later known as Songhe Laoren (Old Man of Pine and Crane). He was from Houguan, Fujian (now Fuzhou City). Born in the seventh year of the Shunzhi reign of the Qing dynasty (1650). Chen Meng-lei was intelligent and talented from a young age. He became a Xiucai (scholar) at the age of 12, a Juren (provincial graduate) at 19, and a Jinshi (metropolitan graduate) in the ninth year of the Kangxi reign (1670). He was selected as a Shujishi (Hanlin Academy probationer) and later appointed as a Compiler after completing his studies.

In the twelfth month of the twelfth year of the Kangxi reign (1673), Chen Meng-lei returned to his hometown to visit his family. In the third month of the following year, Jingnan Wang Geng Jingzhong raised troops in Fuzhou to rebel against the Qing. Geng sought out prominent scholars across Fujian, forcibly appointed them to official positions, and coerced them to join the rebellion. Chen Meng-lei fled to a Buddhist temple, but as his elderly father was detained, he had no choice but to join Geng's staff. However, he feigned illness and refused to accept any official seals or documents. At the time, Chen Meng-lei's fellow Jinshi and colleague, Li Guangdi from Anxi, was also forced to come to Fuzhou but quickly requested leave to return home on the pretext of his father's illness. According to Chen Meng-lei, the two had secretly agreed in Fuzhou: Chen Meng-lei would "disrupt the rebel faction and gather intelligence" from within, while Li Guangdi would "communicate with the Qing forces via mountain paths" from outside, jointly requesting Qing troops to suppress the rebellion. Chen Meng-lei was also responsible for drafting the petition for troops. Chen Meng-lei further claimed that Li Guangdi "delayed for half a year before finally sending someone, completely altering my draft and removing my name," submitting the petition to the court alone. Li Guangdi was thus highly praised and rose rapidly in the ranks, while Chen Meng-lei not only had his contributions buried but was also accused of "collaborating with the rebels" due to his role as Geng Jingzhong's "Academician" and the false accusations by Geng's associate Xu Hongbi. He was arrested and sentenced to death. Chen Meng-lei, before and after his imprisonment, repeatedly asked Li Guangdi to testify on his behalf and clear his name. Li Guangdi, after returning to the capital in the nineteenth year of the Kangxi reign (1680), did submit a petition on behalf of Chen Meng-lei, but regarding Chen Meng-lei's efforts in Fuzhou to "disrupt the rebel faction, secretly plan internal support, and jointly request troops," he remained silent. Chen Meng-lei thus harbored deep resentment toward Li Guangdi, accusing him of "deceiving the emperor and betraying a friend," and even wrote a "Letter of Severance." Li Guangdi firmly rejected Chen Meng-lei's accusations, reporting to Kangxi that Chen Meng-lei's claim that "the memorial I submitted was drafted by him is utterly false." He also pointed out that in the fifth month of the fourteenth year (1675), when he was about to submit a secret memorial, he had sent someone with a letter to Fuzhou to find Chen Meng-lei, but Chen Meng-lei "did not respond," forcing him to "consult with my uncle." Chen Meng-lei's attacks on him were instigated by ministers who envied him. The dispute between Chen and Li thus became a historical controversy.

In the twenty-first year of the Kangxi reign (1682), thanks to the intervention of the Minister of Justice Xu Qianxue, Chen Meng-lei was spared from execution and instead exiled to Shangyang Fort in Fengtian (now Liaoning Province). After arriving at the exile site, Chen fell ill; his parents passed away one after another, and his wife also died in exile. Chen Meng-lei was overwhelmed with grief but continued to study and write diligently. During his 17 years in Fengtian, he both taught and wrote, compiling works such as "Zhouyi Qianshu" (A Brief Explanation of the Zhouyi), "Shengjing Tongzhi" (General Gazetteer of Shengjing), "Chengde Xianzhi" (Gazetteer of Chengde County), "Haicheng Xianzhi" (Gazetteer of Haicheng County), and "Gaiping Xianzhi" (Gazetteer of Gaiping County).

In September of the 37th year of the Kangxi reign (1698), Kangxi inspected Shengjing (present-day Shenyang). Chen Meng-lei presented a poem that pleased the emperor and was recalled to the capital. The following year, he entered the imperial gardens to serve Prince Cheng, Yinzhi (the third son of Kangxi), in his studies. Due to his diligent performance of duties, he gained the favor of Yinzhi.

In his long teaching career, Chen Meng-lei observed that the existing encyclopedias, while detailed in political codes, were only useful for literary embellishments and had many shortcomings. Therefore, he resolved to compile a large-scale encyclopedia that was "consistent in size, comprehensive in scope, systematically categorized, and well-structured." This endeavor received the support of Yinzhi, who specifically allocated the "Xieyi Hall" collection and purchased a building in the northern part of the city, hiring people to assist in transcription. Starting from October of the 40th year of the Kangxi reign (1701), Chen Meng-lei began categorizing and compiling based on the "Xieyi Hall" collection and his family's library, totaling over 15,000 volumes. After tireless efforts of "planning with his eyes and searching with his hands, without rest from morning to night," by May of the 44th year of the Kangxi reign (1705), he finally completed the large-scale encyclopedia "Complete Collection of Ancient and Modern Books." The entire work consists of 10,000 volumes, with a 40-volume index, divided into six sections: history, geography, ethics, natural history, philosophy, and economics; each section is further divided into several categories, totaling 32 categories for the entire work; each category is then divided into several parts, with a total of 6,109 parts in the entire work. The book is rich in content and detailed in classification, and upon publication, it received widespread acclaim. The Qing scholar Zhang Tingyu praised it, saying, "Since the beginning of written records, there has never been a book that connects ancient and modern times and encompasses everything as comprehensively as our dynasty's 'Complete Collection of Ancient and Modern Books.'" Foreign scholars hailed the book as the "Kangxi Encyclopedia."

After returning to the capital, Chen Meng-lei was highly praised by Kangxi for his work. The emperor personally visited Chen Meng-lei's study and inscribed a couplet: "The tall pine's branches and leaves flourish, the old crane's feathers are renewed." From then on, Chen Meng-lei

named his study "Pine and Crane Mountain House" and referred to himself as the "Old Man of Pine and Crane." In the 61st year of the Kangxi reign (1722), Kangxi passed away, and his fourth son Yinzhen ascended the throne. After Yinzhen became emperor, he cruelly persecuted his brothers who had competed for the throne. Yinzhi was imprisoned, and Chen Meng-lei was implicated. In the first month of the first year of the Yongzheng reign (1723), he was exiled again to Heilongjiang. By this time, Chen Meng-lei was already 72 years old. Yongzheng ordered the court lecturer and Minister of Revenue Jiang Tingxi to re-edit and proofread the finalized "Complete Collection of Ancient and Modern Books," removing Chen Meng-lei's name and replacing it with Jiang Tingxi's

. In the sixth year of the Qianlong reign (1741), Chen Meng-lei

passed away in exile. Throughout his life, Chen Meng-lei produced a wealth of writings. In addition to the aforementioned works, he also authored the 16-volume "Collected Works of Pine and Crane Mountain House," the 100-volume "Collected Works of the Tianyi Daoist," and the early printed 2-volume "Collected Works of the Idle Stop Hall."