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卷二百十六 列傳第一百〇四 吳山 陸樹聲 瞿景淳 田一儁 黃鳳翔 余繼登 馮琦 王圖 翁正春 劉應秋 唐文獻 李騰芳 蔡毅中 公鼐 羅喻義 姚希孟 許士柔 顧錫疇

Volume 216 Biographies 104: Wu Shan, Lu Shusheng, Ju Jingchun, Tian Yijun, Huang Fengxiang, Yu Jideng, Feng Qi, Wang Tu, Weng Zhengchun, Liu Yingqiu, Tang Wenxian, Li Tengfang, Cai Yizhong, Gong Nai, Luo Yuyi, Yao Ximeng, Xu Shirou, Gu Xichou

Chapter 216 of 明史 · History of Ming
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1
Wu Shan and Lu Shusheng. (with son Yanzhang)〉 Qu Jingchun. (with sons Ruji and Ruoshuo)〉 Tian Yijun. (Shen Maoxue; Maoxue's grandnephew Shoumin)〉 Huang Fengxiang. (Han Shineng)〉 Yu Jideng and Feng Qi. (paternal uncles Wei Na; father's cousin Zixian)〉 Wang Tu. (Liu Yuening)〉 Weng Zhengchun and Liu Yingqiu. (with son Tongsheng)〉 Tang Wenxian. (Yang Daobin; Tao Wangling)〉 Li Shengfang, Cai Yizhong, Gong Nai, Luo Yuyi, Yao Ximeng, Xu Shirou, and Gu Xichou.
2
Wu Shan, courtesy name Yuejing, came from Gao'an. In 1535 he took first place among the jinshi graduates and was appointed a Hanlin Compiler. He rose through the ranks to become Left Vice Minister of Rites. In 1556 he was transferred to the Ministry of Personnel. Before long he succeeded Wang Yongbin as Minister of Rites. The following year he was made Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent. Shan was a fellow townsman of Yan Song. Song's son Shifan had Grand Secretary Li Ben host Shan at a banquet, hoping to arrange a marriage between their families. Shan refused, and Shifan, displeased, dropped the proposal. The emperor wanted to bring Shan into the Grand Secretariat, but Song secretly blocked the appointment. Assistant Prefect Zhu Longxi had been removed from office after an evaluation but won promotion to Vice Minister of Rites by presenting occult arts to the throne. When Zhu died and his family petitioned for posthumous honors, Shan steadfastly refused. With establishments for both the Prince of Yu and the Prince of Jing, the question of the imperial succession remained unresolved. In the winter of 1560 the emperor suddenly ordered the Ministry of Rites to draw up the ceremonies for sending the Prince of Jing to his princely domain. Song knew the emperor had been stirred by Guo Xiyan's memorial and wanted to test public opinion; he urged Shan to keep the prince at court. Shan replied, "Court and country have long awaited this," promptly drew up the ceremonies and memorialized the throne, and the prince was sent to his domain. Huang Jin of the Directorate of Ceremonial once confided to Shan, "Your Excellency will be fortunate if you one day become an ordinary subject again; sending the prince to his domain was not what the emperor wanted."
3
On the first day of the second month the following year an eclipse was expected, but the sky was only slightly overcast. The calendar officials reported, "If the solar eclipse cannot be seen, it counts as if there were no eclipse. Song took this as a sign of heaven's favor and pressed the ministry to submit congratulations at once; Vice Minister Yuan Wei agreed. Shan looked up and said, "The sun is still in eclipse—whom do you think you can deceive? He still ordered the usual protective rites observed. The emperor was furious, and Shan took the blame upon himself. The emperor said Shan had done no wrong in upholding ritual, but held the Rites Bureau staff accountable. Alarmed, Supervising Secretaries Li Donghua and others impeached Shan and asked to be punished along with him. The emperor then accused Shan of parading integrity for fame and suspended Donghua's salary. Song said the fault lay with the ministry staff. The emperor then pardoned Donghua and the others and ordered that Shan's offense be recorded but not yet punished. Seeing how angry the emperor was with Shan and resenting a memorial that singled Shan out, Liang Menglong and others of the Personnel Bureau also impeached Minister of Personnel Wu Peng. An edict ordered Peng to retire and allowed Shan to remain at home in official dress but without duties. At the time everyone regretted Shan's fall and was deeply glad to see Peng go. When the Longqing Emperor came to the throne, Shan was summoned as Minister of Rites at Nanjing, but he firmly declined. He died and was posthumously made Junior Guardian with the posthumous name Wenduan.
4
Lu Shusheng, courtesy name Yuji, was a native of Huating in Songjiang. He had originally taken the surname Lin and only restored his own when he rose to prominence. His family had farmed for generations. As a youth Shusheng worked the fields and read whenever he had spare time. In 1541 he placed first in the metropolitan examination. He was selected as a Hanlin bachelor and appointed Compiler. In 1552 he asked leave on urgent family grounds and returned home. After his father's death he remained in mourning for a long time, then was recalled as Vice Director of Studies at Nanjing. Before long he again asked leave and went home. He was appointed Left Tutor and put in charge of the Nanjing Hanlin Academy. He was soon summoned back to the Heir Apparent's staff but declined to go. After a long interval he was made Director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and Chancellor of the Nanjing National University. He strictly enforced academic regulations and wrote twelve articles of instruction to guide the students. He was summoned as Right Vice Minister of Personnel but pleaded illness and declined the appointment. During the Longqing reign he was offered his former post again but refused. When the Wanli Emperor succeeded, Shusheng was appointed Minister of Rites while still at home.
5
Because Shusheng had repeatedly declined court appointments, men inside and outside government admired his integrity. Whenever an important post opened, officials would recommend Shusheng first, fearing he might not accept. When Zhang Juzheng was chief minister he prized winning Shusheng's support and, though the junior in rank, paid him the first visit. Shusheng received him with grave reserve, as if unwilling to be drawn close, and Zhang left disappointed. One day he called at the chief minister's office on public business. Seeing the seat placed slightly off-center, he stared at it and refused to sit until Zhang hurried to set it properly. Such was his punctiliousness. When the northern frontier demanded higher annual payments and the Ministry of War was ready to agree, Shusheng argued forcefully against it. At year's end he memorialized on disasters and portents throughout the realm, urging the emperor to follow established precedent, reduce paperwork, be sparing with rewards, guard against blocked channels of information, heed candid counsel, practice frugality, hold the reins of power firmly, and distinguish loyal ministers from the treacherous. The emperor's reply praised and accepted every point.
6
At the beginning of the Wanli reign the eunuchs disliked Shusheng and repeatedly summoned him to the Gate of Gathering Excellence to receive instructions, pressing him again and again. When he hurried there, the matter proved to be nothing more than routine bureau business. Shusheng understood their intent and submitted repeated memorials asking to retire. Zhang told Shusheng's younger brother Shude, "The court is about to make Pingquan chief minister. Pingquan was Shusheng's sobriquet. When Shusheng heard this he said, "A mere historiographer who has been away from court for twenty years—would he still covet the chief minister's seat? Besides, what good does it do to detain me in name only? That winter his requests grew more insistent, and he was ordered home with relay horses. On leaving court he presented ten points on current policy, most of them telling; the reply was merely acknowledgment. Zhang called at his lodging to take leave and asked whom he would recommend as his successor. He named Wan Shihe and Lin Yan. As he left the capital, officials and gentry turned out in force to see him off, but he thanked them all and refused to receive them.
7
退
Shusheng was upright, reserved, and refined, aloof from worldly things, slow to enter office and quick to leave it. He had been on the rolls for more than sixty years but had actually held office for less than twelve. He was a fellow townsman of Xu Jie and a jinshi classmate of Gao Gong. Both men in turn dominated the government, yet Shusheng pleaded illness and would not serve under either. Zhang Juzheng recommended him too, yet in the end he never cast in his lot with him. Afterward the court granted him grain and attendants by regulation, promoted him to Junior Guardian of the Crown Prince, and again sent envoys to inquire after his health. His younger brother Shude has a separate biography. His son Yanzhang passed the jinshi examination in Wanli 17 (1589). Shusheng warned him not to accept a Hanlin appointment; he served instead as a courier official until he retired to complete filial mourning. The emperor ordered that he receive a monthly salary—an exceptional honor. Shusheng died at ninety-seven. He was posthumously honored as Grand Guardian of the Crown Prince. He was given the posthumous title Wending. Yanzhang was known for integrity and principled conduct; he rose to Vice Minister of Justice at Nanjing.
8
殿 使 使 滿
Qu Jingchun, whose courtesy name was Shidao, was a native of Changshu. At eight he could already write essays. Long stuck among licentiates, he supported himself teaching in his home district. In Jiajing 23 (1544) he ranked first in the metropolitan examination and second in the palace examination, and was appointed a Hanlin Compiler. Prince Houwan of Zheng was deposed for memorializing on state affairs and was relocated to Fengyang. Jingchun received orders to invest the prince's son Zaiyu as heir apparent and administer state affairs in his stead. The heir, inwardly afraid, sent him lavish gifts, but Jingchun refused them. The chief envoy, Marquis Wu Jijue of Gongshun, had already accepted gifts but, ashamed before Jingchun, likewise refused to keep them. Later he told Jingchun, "The emperor sent men to investigate in secret; but for you, I would nearly have run afoul of the law." After nine years he was promoted to Reader and urgently petitioned to return home. Jiangnan had long been ravaged by wokou pirates, and Grand Coordinator Hu Zongxian's troops had still not scored a victory. When Jingchun returned to the capital he called on Grand Secretary Yan Song. Song told him, "The pirates will be subdued before long. Governor-General Hu is fully capable of handling them—why do southerners speak ill of him?" Jingchun replied sternly, "Minister, you are pronouncing from a distance. Jingchun had just come from the south and had seen the pirate scourge firsthand. Lord Hu sits with a hundred thousand troops at his command, yet no one in the south can sleep through the night. If you will not listen, Minister, who is left to tell you the truth?" Song was taken aback and apologized to him. He rose to Reader and Academician and directed Hanlin Academy affairs. He was made Minister of Ceremonies and put in charge of the Nanjing Directorate of Education, then promoted to Vice Minister of Personnel. In Longqing 1 (1567) he was recalled as Vice Minister of Rites. Rewarded for supervising collation of the Yongle Encyclopedia, he was concurrently made a Hanlin Academician on second-rank pay, attended the classics lecture, and helped compile the Veritable Records of Jiajing. When he fell ill he memorialized repeatedly asking to retire. He died a little over a year later. He was posthumously honored as Minister of Rites and given the posthumous title Wenyi.
9
As a Compiler he was in charge of drafting imperial patents and edicts. Embroidered-Uniform Guard Lu Bing had taken four wives in succession and wanted to ennoble the last; he asked Jingchun to draft the patent, but Jingchun refused. Yan Song interceded for him, but Jingchun still would not comply. Lu sent him a bag of gold; Jingchun only smiled and courteously refused.
10
使
He had two sons, Ruji and Ruoshuo. Ruji, whose courtesy name was Yuanli. He loved learning and wrote well, and entered office through yin privilege. He was promoted three times to Principal Clerk in the Ministry of Justice. When the magistrate of Fugou beat a clansman, Shenzong ordered a heavier penalty. Ruji said, "The man went to the county court in plain clothes—the magistrate simply beat a commoner of Fugou." When the case report went up, the clansman was released after all. He served as prefect of Huangzhou, was transferred to Shaowu, and later governed Chenzhou again. Peng Yuanjin, chieftain of Yongshun, backed his younger brother Xiang Kun, chieftain of Baojing, in a feud and blood feud with Ran Yuelong of Youyang. Ruji sent an urgent dispatch ordering Yuanjin to stand down; all three chieftains were pacified. He was soon promoted to Salt Transport Commissioner of Changlu and later retired as Vice Minister of the Court of the Imperial Stud. He died not long after.
11
Ruoshuo, whose courtesy name was Xingqing. He lost his father at five. Whenever he finished a piece of writing, he knelt and presented it before his father's spirit tablet. In the Wanli era he passed the examinations and became a jinshi, eventually rising to Surveillance Commissioner for Education in Huguang. He too was known for uncompromising integrity. His son Shisi has a biography elsewhere.
12
歿
Tian Yijun, whose courtesy name was Dewan, was a native of Datian. In Longqing 2 (1568) he topped the metropolitan examination. He was selected as a Hanlin Bachelor, appointed Compiler, and promoted to Lecturer. In Wanli 5 (1577), Wu Zhonghang attacked Zhang Juzheng for holding office without observing mourning; Zhao Yongxian and others followed, and Juzheng's anger knew no bounds. Yijun joined Lecturer Zhao Zhigao, Compiler Shen Maoxue, and others in memorials on their behalf, but the petitions were blocked. They then went with Wang Xijue and others to see Juzheng and argue the larger principles at stake. Yijun's language was especially cutting, and Juzheng came to resent him. Before long Zhigao and the others were all driven out; Yijun had already asked to retire and so escaped. After Juzheng's death he was recalled to his former post. He rose to Vice Minister of Rites and directed the Hanlin Academy. He asked to retire on grounds of illness but died before he could leave. Yijun lived with stern austerity; his household had no spare funds. He was posthumously honored as Minister of Rites.
13
調鹿西
Shen Maoxue, whose courtesy name was Jundian, was a native of Xuancheng. His father Shen Chong, whose courtesy name was Weisi. In the Jiajing era he passed the provincial examination and was appointed magistrate of Xingtang. Finding the people unskilled at spinning and weaving, he installed looms and taught them. After transfer to Huolu he was summoned and made a censor, eventually rising to Assistant Administrator of Guangxi. He studied under Gong Anguo and Ouyang De and also traveled in the company of Wang Ji and Qian Dehong. When Prefect Luo Rufang founded a lecture society, Censor Geng Dingxiang invited Chong and Mei Shoude to chair it together. Maoxue was noted for talent from a young age. In Wanli 5 he came out first among the jinshi and was appointed Compiler. Juzheng's son Siziu was his examination cohort. When his memorial was blocked, he wrote Siziu three times urging him to remonstrate, but Siziu could not bring himself to do it. Since Minister of Works Li Youzi was close to Juzheng, he wrote him as well. Youzi answered, "That is Song-dynasty cant—the very reason the Zhao house could not compete. Master Zhang's refusal to leave office for mourning, like yielding by ritual and launching punitive campaigns, holds to the sages' middle way—what do narrow Confucians know of it?" Youzi had built a reputation lecturing on Neo-Confucian learning; after this the gentry would have nothing to do with him. Maoxue thereupon pleaded illness and went home. He died several years later. Under the Prince of Fu he was posthumously granted the title Wenjie.
14
使輿
Maoxue's grandnephew Shoumin, courtesy name Meisheng, was a licentiate of some renown. In Chongzhen 9 (1636), when the recommendation system was introduced, Grand Coordinator Zhang Guowei nominated Shoumin at the emperor's request. Hardly had he reached the capital when he memorialized to impeach Minister of War Yang Sichang for resuming office without observing mourning. He also assailed Grand Coordinator Xiong Wencan, writing, "Sichang has taken military authority upon himself and handed Wencan a hundred and twenty thousand men and more than 2.8 million taels in pay. Even if rebels came bound with coffins on their shoulders to surrender, the court should first proclaim imperial majesty and only then grant mercy; yet now pacts are being negotiated as though with a foreign power. Who in the realm ever handed leverage to bandits and still controlled them?" Transmission Commissioner Zhang Shaoxian shelved the memorial and never forwarded it. Shoumin rebuked him by letter; Shaoxian then sought the emperor's ruling, and Sichang was terrified and waited to be punished. The emperor ruled that the memorial violated protocol and ordered that Shoumin not be promoted. Shoumin then secretly condensed both memorials and submitted them; they were received but left undecided. Junior Guardian Huang Daozhou sighed and said, "What kind of affair is this—that court officials keep silent while common folk speak out? We ought to die of shame. Later Daozhou, He Kai, and others submitted remonstrances in succession—the movement owed its origin to Shoumin. Shoumin's fame shook the realm. Before long he cited illness and left office. He lectured at Mount Gu, and several hundred students followed him. During the reign of the Prince of Fu, Ruan Dacheng held power. He nursed a grudge because Shoumin's memorial impeaching Sichang contained the phrase "Dacheng recklessly put forward schemes, inciting the Feng-Qi faction," and was determined to kill him. Shoumin then changed his name and hid himself on Mount Jinhua. When the dynasty fell he returned home and never went out again.
15
Huang Fengxiang, courtesy name Mingzhou, was a native of Jinjiang. In the second year of Longqing he passed the jinshi examination with highest honors and was appointed Compiler. He taught at the Inner Calligraphy Hall, compiled from earlier histories episodes of eunuch conduct that could serve as warnings, and had them recited and studied. When the Veritable Records of Emperor Shizong were completed, he was promoted to Senior Compiler. In the fifth year of Wanli, Zhang Juzheng declined mourning leave, and those who remonstrated were beaten with the cane. Fengxiang took offense and spoke openly at court; when compiling memorials he included every remonstrance in full. When Juzheng's two sons took the provincial examination, he made his wishes known; Fengxiang sternly refused. When he was to preside over the southern capital region examination and Wang Zhuan wished to favor his own son, Fengxiang again declined and did not go. After several promotions he became Chancellor of the Nanjing Imperial Academy. He went home to visit his mother, then was recalled to fill a post at the northern academy. At that time they were proofreading and printing the Commentaries on the Thirteen Classics. Fengxiang said, "Your Majesty recently set aside the Essentials of Governance of the Zhenguan Era and took up lecturing on the Classic of Rites—this is very good. When Your Majesty reads Zengzi's discourse on filial piety—how one must honor the body one's parents bequeathed—You should consider cherishing and guarding Your sacred person. When You recite the Record of Learning, which says that only through study does one know one's insufficiencies, You should consider brightening and advancing Your sacred learning. When You examine the Monthly Ordinances, how the seasons distribute governance and imitate Heaven's vigorous course, You can see that sage governance demands diligent exertion. When You expound the chapter on the Heir Apparent, which sets forth the tutelage of guardians and tutors and the rites of learning by age, You can see that the imperial heir should early receive preparatory instruction. The memorial was submitted; acknowledgement was returned.
16
祿
Soon he was promoted to Vice Minister of Rites. Alarm came from the Tao and Yellow River regions. He submitted a remonstrance saying, "In this season of many troubles, Your Majesty should set aside pleasure and banquets, attend to affairs of state, and with real action seek to pacify the realm and repel the enemy. For the present grand strategy, only two things matter: employing men and managing finances. A Song minister once said, "In peaceful times, if there are no ministers who speak boldly and dare to remonstrate, then in crisis there will be no men who hate the enemy and give their lives." Zou Yuanbiao is known for upright reputation and firm integrity; the Board of Appointments specially proposed to summon and employ him. Others who had offered counsel and been transferred or demoted—such as Pan Shizao and Sun Rufa—were also proposed for gradual reassignment, yet every memorial was shelved midway. Official morale daily withers; the avenue of speech daily narrows. In peace they hold to salary and cultivate connections—when crisis comes, who will willingly sacrifice himself and strive for the state? Long ago, Emperor Taizu of Song wished to amass two million bolts of silk to buy the head of a Khitan; Emperor Taizong diverted tribute goods from the inner treasury to fund war and support troops. Today the Ministry of Revenue annually delivers two hundred thousand—originally no part of the old quota, yet it has hardened into regular tribute. Your Majesty possesses all beneath Heaven—why hoard a private fortune! I have seen the temples and monasteries of the capital, brilliant in cinnabar and azure—the offerings to Buddhist shrines, the fasting rites and prayers of supplication—none fail to drain the inner treasury. Rather than seeking blessings from ghosts in the dark void, would it not be better to bestow widely upon orphaned children left in the land? The emperor could not adopt his counsel. Court ministers struggled over establishing the heir; for long they received no decree. The emperor told the Grand Secretaries that it would be carried out the following spring. Grand Secretary Wang Jiaping spoke to the Ministry of Rites outside court; Fengxiang, together with Minister Yu Shenxing and Vice Minister Li Changchun, submitted the investiture rites for establishing the heir. The emperor grew angry; all had their salaries confiscated, and his intention shifted again. Fengxiang remonstrated again; there was no response, and he requested leave and departed. In the twentieth year, Vice Minister Han Shineng of Rites left office; Zhang Yigui died before assuming his post, and Fengxiang was recalled to replace him. Soon he was transferred to the Ministry of Personnel and appointed Minister of Rites at Nanjing. He returned home to care for his parents. When recalled to his former post, he firmly declined on grounds that his parents were aged. After a time his mother died; he never went out again and died at home. At the beginning of Tianqi he was given the posthumous title Wen Jian.
17
使
Shineng, courtesy name Cunliang, was a native of Changzhou. He passed the jinshi examination in the same year as Fengxiang. From Hanlin Bachelor he was appointed Compiler. He participated in compiling the Veritable Records of Emperors Shizong and Muzong and served as daily lecturer at the Classics Colloquium. He successively served as Reader, Chancellor, Vice Minister of Rites, and Instructor of Hanlin Bachelors. Among the literary men of the academies, his cohort was the most distinguished. Shineng once served as envoy to Korea and accepted none of the gifts offered him.
18
西西西 使
Yu Jideng, courtesy name Shiyong, was a native of Jiaohe. In the fifth year of Wanli he became a jinshi. He was transferred to Hanlin Bachelor and appointed Reviser. When work on the Collected Statutes was completed, he was promoted to Senior Compiler and served lecturing at the Classics Colloquium. Soon he was promoted to Right Vice Director and served as daily lecturer. At that time the lecture sessions had long been suspended; attendant ministers had no avenue to offer loyal counsel. Jideng and his colleague Feng Qi jointly submitted lectures on the Comprehensive Mirror, attaching commentary on lapses in current policy. He served successively as Junior Guardian and Concurrent Reader-in-waiting, and as Associate Chief Editor of the official history. Thereafter he was promoted to Grand Guardian and took charge of the Hanlin Academy. When fire struck both palaces, he joined the other lecturers in citing the treatise on the Five Processes from the Hong Fan to offer pointed remonstrance. No response was given. He was promoted to Vice Minister of Rites. In the twenty-sixth year he served as acting head of the ministry in his capacity as Left Vice Minister. Earthquakes struck Shaanxi and Shanxi; lightning fire in the southern capital; a bell in Xining rang of itself; blood welled from the ground in Shaoxing. In his year-end summary memorial Jideng asked that all levies and mining operations harmful to the people be abolished. At the time his counsel could not be adopted. Lightning struck a tree in the Imperial Ancestral Temple. He again asked the emperor to personally perform suburban sacrifice and temple rites, invest the eldest son, halt mining taxes, and withdraw the eunuch commissioners. The emperor issued a gracious edict acknowledging receipt—and nothing more.
19
使 滿
Soon he was promoted to Minister of his own ministry. At that time they were about to campaign against Yang Yinglong of Bozhou. Jideng asked that Sichuan mining taxes be abolished to help supply the army. He submitted again, "Recently the stars have strayed from their courses, flood and drought have brought calamity, and Venus has appeared by day—Heaven is out of harmony. Mountains are drilled and mines opened, the earth is torn to seek ore, causing landslides and earthquakes at Didao—the earth is out of harmony. Lane and ward are exhausted yet levies grow heavier; the treasury is empty yet pearls and gems are demanded; wicked men swarm like ants; eunuch commissioners rage like owls; court and country are blocked off; above and below do not connect—humanity is out of harmony. Malice congeals yet will not disperse; grievous poison knots and takes shape; hills and valleys shift; high and low exchange places—these are signs of yin overwhelming yang, wickedness obstructing the upright, and those below rebelling against those above. We subjects cannot move our ruler; the more we speak the more we are despised—so Heaven uses these extraordinary changes to awaken Your Majesty. Can You still remain untroubled and indifferent? The emperor took no heed. While signing documents for the ministry himself, Jideng petitioned for the eldest son's investiture, capping, and marriage. He submitted memorial after memorial; denied his request, he sank into illness from gloom. Whenever the matter arose he would weep and say, "If this great rite is not performed, I as Minister of Rites will not close my eyes in death! When his illness had lasted three months, he submitted repeated memorials requesting retirement; permission was denied. He asked to have his salary suspended; that too was denied. In the end he died in office. He was posthumously enfeoffed as Junior Mentor of the Heir Apparent and given the posthumous title Wen Ke.
20
滿
Jideng was plain, upright, cautious, and reserved, seldom given to speech or laughter. When great matters were at stake, his words flowed freely and confidently. At home he lived frugally. Academician Zeng Chaojie once visited his home; wild grass filled the path. When his illness became critical, one looked in on him: he lay under a coarse cloth quilt, with nothing but sheep's wool over his feet. When his youngest son was to take the licentiate examination, his wife asked him to put in a word; he would not.
21
Feng Qi, courtesy name Yongyun, was a native of Linqu. From childhood he was exceptionally quick and perceptive. At nineteen he passed the jinshi examination in the fifth year of Wanli, was transferred to Hanlin Bachelor, and was appointed Compiler. When participation in compiling the Collected Statutes was completed, he was promoted to Lecturer-in-waiting, served as daily lecturer, and served successively as Tutor. When debate arose over enfeoffing three princes simultaneously, he wrote to Wang Xizhi and argued against it with all his force. He was promoted to Junior Guardian and took charge of Hanlin Academy affairs. He was promoted to Right Vice Minister of Rites, then transferred to the Ministry of Personnel. He administered affairs with diligence and dispatch, forcefully curbing corrupt competition for office, and Minister Li Dai came to rely on him heavily.
22
In the ninth month of Wanli 27, Venus and the Moon both appeared together at the southern meridian; At Didao, mountains collapsed and five hills of various sizes rose from level ground. Feng Qi drafted a memorial and, together with Minister Li Dai, submitted it, saying:
23
西 使 使 調 使
Recently the Moon has crossed the heavens and Venus has appeared by day—already signs of the gravest anomaly. As for mountains sinking into valleys and the earth surging up into hills, such things have occurred only once since antiquity, during the Tang Chuigong reign—and now we see them again. I believe Heaven shows no partiality and heeds only the voice of the people. To answer Heaven's will, you must align with the people's hearts. In recent years the empire's tax quotas have risen forty percent over what they were twenty years ago. Meanwhile, prosperous households have dwindled by half. Campaigns east and west have left the realm desolate and the people worn down by war. Since mining-tax commissioners were dispatched, the common people's suffering has grown worse still. On top of this come flood, drought, and locust plagues; refugees choke the highways; even near the capital bandits operate openly—this is no small matter. Eunuch commissioners issued with imperial authority go forth accompanied by ruffians numbering in the hundreds and thousands. Your Majesty wishes to promote commerce, yet they devote themselves to harassing merchants; Your Majesty wishes to cherish the people, yet they devote themselves to harming them. There are two kinds of villainous schemers at work. One watches the throne's inclinations, drafts ready-made memorials, and submits them through military officers; The other sets out to plunder the common people, lays ready-made plots, and executes them through palace eunuchs. They scheme like demons in the dark and extract wealth down to the last penny. Near and far alike cry out in despair; rich and poor alike are mired in hardship. The poor keep no savings and depend entirely on their daily labor for survival. Strip them of a few coins' profit and you cut off their means to live for a day. The wealthy suffer even worse abuse. Some are framed for evading taxes or illicit mining; others are accused of illegal salt trade or timber theft. They lay their traps and thunder in with terrifying authority. Once they extract the money, everything falls silent as though nothing had happened. Common people tiptoe around in fear, with nowhere to turn. The profit falls to a pack of villains; resentment concentrates on the throne. People ground down to the bone and nursing deep grievance are easily roused by a single cry—and once roused, they are hard to pacify. Even now, in a time still called peaceful, the people are already restive; should war break out, who in the empire could be counted on to stay loyal? The defeats of Bo Bai and the Kampaku were won only by conscripting commoners as soldiers and spending the people's wealth on provisions. If the destitute in one corner rise in rebellion and the rest of the empire answers, where will you find soldiers, and where will you find provisions? Send loyal and trusted men to gather the street songs of the capital, inside and out, and have each report brought to you—the people's grievous suffering would then stand plain before your eyes. Heaven, in its benevolence, has shown clear signs of warning, wishing only that Your Majesty would turn about in sudden awakening and quell disaster without leaving the throne. Yet the Ministry of Rites' call for self-examination has gone unanswered, while memorials from scoundrels demanding exactions have again been approved. Na Qixian's reckless proposal, for example, orders the seizure throughout the empire of all surplus official silver. Revenues throughout the empire all have fixed quotas; "surplus" can only mean funds left over from budgeted expenditures. Requisitions have lately come one after another; even regular quotas remain unpaid—how can there be any surplus? Once this order goes out, enforcement will be pitiless; officials will inevitably strip public treasuries to meet the tribute demanded. When official funds run out, the burden will be shifted onto the people—this simply must not be allowed. Consider Qiu Shiheng's memorial accusing Xu Dai of tomb-robbing—by any reasonable standard, what tomb holds gold in the tens of thousands? Even if it were true, the provincial officials below should first investigate and verify. First establish the crime of tomb-robbing, then—and only then—confiscate the tomb's contents. Property has never been confiscated before guilt has been established. A slip of paper arrives in the morning; a harsh order goes out by evening—even the deeply wronged dare not plead their case. This will not only ruin these families but spread calamity to many others. Wherever guilt by association is invoked, ruin follows at once. Even at the emperor's doorstep, cases require triple review—yet ten thousand li away, a single accusation is enough to put the power of life and death in the hands of scheming thugs. Once this practice is set in motion, who will not follow suit? We already have something like Emperor Wu's denunciation edicts, and now the door to secret denunciation has been opened as well. We ministers were about to lodge our protests when another memorial from villains received imperial approval. Within five days, two million in public and private gold and silver had already been seized across the empire. One abuse breeds the next; each exception becomes a new precedent. We had hoped these abuses would dwindle; now we fear only that they will grow, until the people are ruined, the treasury empty, and a great rebellion is provoked that will not stop. We beg Your Majesty to step back and take the long view, urgently join with your ministers to plan remedy, and not allow the common people to turn against this glorious dynasty—or allow history to record a stain upon your sacred virtue.
24
No response was given.
25
He was soon made Left Vice Minister and appointed Minister of Rites. When the emperor was about to invest the heir apparent, the edict's deadline pressed near; eunuchs of the Directorate of Palace Accoutrements claimed they lacked funds for the ceremony. Feng Qi said, "Today ritual takes priority; we must not quarrel over this." His younger brother Yuan, a secretary in the Ministry of Revenue, happened to be escorting forty thousand taels of silver out of the capital; Feng Qi immediately had it recalled and supplied the funds, and the ceremony was successfully carried out.
26
殿 西西
In Wanli 30 the emperor fell ill and ordered mining taxes halted, but later changed his mind. Feng Qi and his colleagues submitted a joint memorial in protest, also asking the emperor to perform suburban and temple sacrifices in person and hold court audiences—these requests were rejected. When Hubei tax commissioner Chen Feng was recalled for abusing the people, the Yellow River in Shaanxi ran dry at the same time. Feng Qi argued that Gao Huai in Liaodong, Chen Zeng in Shandong, Li Feng in Guangdong, Liang Yong in Shaanxi, and Yang Rong in Yunnan were no less tyrannical than Chen Feng, and asked that they all be recalled—none of these requests received a response. Nanjing garrison eunuch Xing Long requested a separate official seal to levy taxes; Feng Qi objected, but an imperial seal was granted instead.
27
Scholar-officials at the time mostly venerated Buddhism; students composing essays pilfered Buddhist phrasing and scorned classical commentaries. Former Minister Yu Jideng had memorialized asking for restrictions, but the fashion persisted unchanged. Feng Qi again laid out the harm at length, and the emperor issued an edict of admonition in response.
28
Feng Qi was thoroughly versed in institutional precedent, and his learning ran deep. He repeatedly submitted forthright counsel; court and country alike looked up to him; the emperor deeply favored and relied on him. With vacancies in the Grand Secretariat, the emperor had already chosen Zhu Guozuo and Feng Qi. But Shen Yiguan submitted a secret memorial saying both men were still too young—better to wait and appoint more seasoned men first. The appointments went instead to Shen Li and Zhu Geng. Feng Qi had always been frail; by now his illness was grave. He memorialized sixteen times asking to retire; each request was denied. He died in office at the age of only forty-six. His final memorial asked the emperor to govern with clarity and vigor, respond to memorials, fill vacant posts, treat subordinates with sincerity, and win back the people's hearts. His words were deeply earnest. The emperor mourned him deeply. He was posthumously honored as Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent. At the start of the Tianqi reign he was given the posthumous name Wenmin, "Cultured and Quick."
29
使 西使祿
From Feng Qi's great-grandfather Yu onward, every generation of the family produced a jinshi. Yu, courtesy name Boshun, was born in Liaodong while his family served under garrison registration. He studied under He Qin and was known for both learning and integrity. He ended his career as Vice Commissioner of Yunnan. His grandfather Weizhong served as a palace messenger. His father Zilu served as Administration Vice Commissioner of Henan. His kinsman Weijian passed the provincial examination; Weine, courtesy name Ruyan, served as Left Provincial Administration Commissioner of Jiangxi; he received the additional title of Director of Ceremonial before retiring. Weizhong, Weijian, and Weine all had literary reputations; Weine was the most celebrated.
30
歿 退
Weijian's son Zixian, courtesy name Shoufu. Orphaned young, he devoted himself to his mother with exemplary filial piety. When his mother fell ill, he did not undress for more than a year. When his mother died, his grief reduced him to skin and bone. In the first year of Wanli he passed the provincial examination. He failed the metropolitan examination twice and never attempted it again. He pursued the Neo-Confucian learning of the Zhou and Cheng masters, and once said, "Study requires firmness and perseverance. Without firmness you collapse; without perseverance you fall back." In managing his household he took the Yan Family Instructions as his guide. Zhong Yuzheng praised him, saying, "In holding to the Way and forsaking official ambition he is like Qidiaozi; in following the classics and treading the path of antiquity he is like Gaozigao."
31
耀 西
Wang Tu, courtesy name Zezhi, was from Yaozhou. He became a jinshi in the eleventh year of the Wanli reign. He entered the Hanlin Academy as a bachelors, was appointed examining editor, and as Right Assistant Director took charge of the Nanjing Hanlin Academy. He was summoned to serve as lecturer to the crown prince. When the "sorcery pamphlet" scandal broke out, Shen Yiguan sought to entangle someone in it. Tu, who had been instructing his disciples, spoke out strongly to warn him. He rose through successive promotions to Grand Mentor, served as daily court lecturer, and supervised the Hanlin bachelors. He was promoted to Vice Minister of the Right in the Ministry of Personnel and put in charge of the Hanlin Academy. His elder brother Guo was serving as grand coordinator of Baoding, and ministers aligned with the Donglin faction and Li Sancai frequently promoted the Tu brothers. Around this time Sun Piyang was recalled to head the Ministry of Personnel, and Sun Wei, as minister, supervised the granaries. Both were Shaanxi natives, and those hostile to Tu denounced them as the Qin faction. At the time Guo Zhengyu, Liu Yuening, and Tu were all widely regarded as candidates for high office. After Zhengyu was driven from office and Yuening died, public sentiment increasingly rallied behind Tu. Ye Xianggao had served as sole chief grand secretary for a long time, and Tu seemed on the verge of joining the Grand Secretariat at any day — his enemies grew ever more numerous. Just before the capital officials' evaluation, enemies of the Donglin faction, Li Sancai, and Wang Yuanhan maneuvered to mislead Sun Piyang into issuing a circular soliciting moral judgments — a covert scheme to compile a blacklist of factional allies. Tu urgently pleaded with Sun Piyang to halt the plan, and the petty schemers deeply resented him for it. Earlier, Tu had served as chief examiner for the gengxu-year metropolitan examination. Sub-examiner Tang Binyin sought to favor Han Jing improperly and came to heated blows with examination supervisor Wu Daonan. After the examination gates closed, Daonan wanted to bring charges, but Tu dissuaded him and the matter stopped there. One Wang Shaohui, a fellow native of Tu's prefecture and a disciple of Tang Binyin, lavishly praised Binyin to Tu and warned that Wu Daonan's faction meant to bring down Binyin and ruin Tu along with him — Tu ought to take precautions. Tu rebuffed him with a stern face, and Shaohui left in a sulk. By then Tang Binyin had become chancellor of the Imperial University. An earlier round of Hanlin evaluations had put him under Tu's rating, and he resolved to strike first and bring Tu down. He then conspired with Shaohui. They had censor Jin Mingshi impeach Tu's son Shubian, magistrate of Baodi, for corruption involving vast sums. They further claimed that Guo had long despised Li Sancai, that Tu interceded on Li's behalf, that Guo furiously rebuked him, and that Tu then tried to have Guo removed through a memorial of remonstrance. The Guo brothers filed memorial after memorial in stout defense; their enemies then forged an impeachment memorial purportedly from Shubian against Guo and spread it through the court gazette. Tu memorialized the emperor with a full account of events; the emperor issued an edict offering a reward for the forgers' arrest, and the affair finally quieted. When the evaluation came, Tang Binyin was ultimately rated "negligent" and stripped of office, and Jin Mingshi was dismissed as well. His faction erupted in outrage. Qin Jukui, Zhu Yigui, Zheng Jifang, Xu Zhaokui, Gao Jie, Wang Wanzuo, Zeng Chenyi, and others filed memorial after memorial denouncing Tu. Tu too submitted repeated memorials asking to resign and withdrew to the countryside to await the emperor's decision. The emperor's kind edicts urged him repeatedly to stay, but he refused to rise from his bed; only after nine months was he granted leave to retire home. Guo likewise petitioned to retire and withdrew; he died not long after. At the forty-fifth year's capital evaluation, those in power were largely allies of Tang Binyin and Wang Shaohui, and Tu was downgraded to a remonstrance post. In the third year of the Tianqi reign he was recalled to his former post. He was promoted to Minister of Rites and appointed to assist in managing the Grand Mentor's office. The following year Liu Hongxian, an ally of Wei Zhongxian, impeached Tu, and he was stripped from the official register. He died soon after. At the start of the Chongzhen reign he was posthumously ennobled as Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent and given the posthumous name Wensu. Shubian eventually served out his career as a director in the Ministry of Revenue.
32
使
Liu Yuening, courtesy name You'an, was from Nanchang. He became a jinshi in the seventeenth year of the Wanli reign. He entered the Hanlin Academy as a bachelors and was appointed compiling editor. He was promoted to Right Assistant Director and served in the crown prince's lecture hall. The formal investiture of the heir apparent had not yet taken place, and public debate raged outside the palace. Yuening offered subtle comfort and gentle counsel, appealing to the virtues of benevolence and filial piety — the future Emperor Guangzong noted this and held him in regard. Mining commissioners were sent out in all directions; Yuening, in outrage, memorialized the throne with six doubts and four calamities, denouncing in detail the illegal conduct of tax supervisors Li Dao, Wang Chao, and others. His memorial was submitted but shelved by the emperor. He retired home when his mother fell ill. He was recalled as Right Preceptor, put in charge of the Nanjing Hanlin Academy, and soon promoted to chancellor of the Imperial University. While escorting his mother home, an official offered him several thousand taels in surplus funds, saying it was standard practice — Yuening flatly refused. He was soon recalled as Junior Grand Mentor but did not report for duty when his mother died. After the mourning period he was summoned as Vice Minister of the Right in the Ministry of Rites to assist in managing the Grand Mentor's office. He died en route. He was posthumously honored as Minister of Rites. At the start of the Tianqi reign he was granted the posthumous name Wenjian.
33
使使便
Weng Zhengchun, courtesy name Zhaozhen, was from Houguan. During the Wanli reign he served as county school instructor in Longxi. In the twentieth year he topped the jinshi examination, was appointed revising editor, and rose through successive promotions to Junior Grand Mentor. In the ninth month of the thirty-eighth year he was appointed Vice Minister of the Left in the Ministry of Rites, standing in for Wu Daonan as acting head of the ministry. In the eleventh month a solar eclipse occurred; Zhengchun memorialized at length about the court's failings, but the emperor gave no reply. The following autumn, on the emperor's birthday celebration, Zhengchun presented eight admonitions: purify the sovereign's heart, uphold ancestral institutions, restore national discipline, trust his ministers, cherish worthy talent, husband the treasury, show compassion for the people's lives, and strengthen frontier defense. The emperor paid no heed. Prince Ji Yiquan petitioned to have his younger son Changyuan enfeoffed as a commandery prince. Zhengchun argued that Yiquan's enfeoffment had come after the Regulations on Imperial Clansmen were established, and that collateral descendants should retain only their original titles. Changyuan was accordingly granted only the title of State-pacifying General. When Consort Wang died, no burial site was chosen for a long time; Zhengchun raised the matter. He was ordered to go with court eunuchs to select a site, and they found an auspicious location. The eunuchs balked at the cost and trouble, whereupon Zhengchun flushed with anger and said: "The consort gave birth to the heir apparent — one day she will be empress dowager. How can we stint on the empire's behalf? His memorial was submitted and approved. The Prince of Dai sought to disinherit his eldest son Dingwei and install his second son Dingsha instead — court debate dragged on for more than twenty years. Zhengchun collected consensus and memorialized the throne; Dingwei was ultimately confirmed as heir. The King of Chungshan in Ryukyu sent envoys to pay tribute; Zhengchun argued: "Chungshan has already fallen under Japan; most of the envoys are now Japanese and most of the tribute goods are Japanese wares — it would be best to cut off relations altogether; failing that, the Fujian governor should be ordered to retain only a measured portion of local tribute goods and bar the envoys from entering the capital. The emperor agreed.
34
In the fortieth year, jinshi Zou Zhilin served as sub-examiner for the provincial examinations and improperly favored candidate Tong Xuexian; censor Ma Mengzhen and others exposed the affair. Zhengchun ruled to disqualify Xuexian and demote Zhilin but did not punish the chief examiner. Supervising secretaries Zhao Xingbang and Qi Shijiao then impeached Zhengchun for showing favoritism. Zhengchun asked to resign, but the request was denied. Soon afterward, memorialists exposed the examination scandal involving Tang Binyin and Han Jing. Zhengchun was held accountable for rating Han Jing "negligent," and Han's faction deeply resented him. Qi Shijiao impeached Zhengchun again; Zhengchun memorialized in his own defense and pressed all the harder to resign. Though the emperor urged him to remain, from that point on he no longer felt secure in office. He was soon transferred to the Ministry of Personnel and put in charge of the Grand Mentor's office, then retired home to tend his parents. In the first year of the Tianqi reign he was recalled as Minister of Rites to assist in managing the Grand Mentor's office. His outspoken remonstrance offended Wei Zhongxian, and he received an imperial edict of rebuke. The following year censor Zhao Yinchang, reading the prevailing winds, impeached him, and Zhengchun memorialized once more begging leave to retire. Because Zhengchun had once served as lecturer to the emperor's grandfather, the throne specially added the title of Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent and granted him an imperial edict with post horses for the journey home — a rare distinction. By then Zhengchun was past seventy and his mother had reached one hundred; he led his sons and grandsons in raising cups to celebrate her birthday, to the admiration of the whole neighborhood. He died not long after. At the start of the Chongzhen reign he was granted the posthumous name Wenjian.
35
Zhengchun's bearing was austere and dignified; never a day passed with careless or familiar talk. When tired he would not slump or lean; in summer heat he would not strip bare; his gaze never wandered idly. All who saw him were moved to solemn respect. In the entire Ming dynasty, only two sitting officials who had risen through the examinations ranked first in the palace examination: Cao Tai, when a county recorder, and Zhengchun, when a county instructor.
36
Liu Yingqiu, courtesy name Shihe, was from Jishui. He passed the jinshi examination with highest honors in the eleventh year of the Wanli reign, was appointed compiling editor, and was transferred to Vice Director of Studies in Nanjing. In the winter of the eighteenth year he memorialized the throne regarding Chief Grand Secretary Shen Shixing, saying: "Your Majesty summoned the grand secretaries for audience and consulted them on border affairs, yet Shixing could not speak sincerely in the state's interest and devoted himself instead to concealment. The enemy launched a major invasion, plundering Tao and Min and pressing straight toward Lin and Gong; they wiped out armies and killed generals, bringing defeat after defeat — yet Shixing still called it "raiding the tribal frontier" and "merely threatening invasion." Are all lands within Tao and the Yellow River merely tribal territory? A chief grand secretary is one in whom the Son of Heaven entrusts his innermost thoughts. When the chief minister himself conceals the truth, how can lesser officials be blamed? Hence of late, when it comes to enemy intelligence, there are cases where investigating censors submit memorials yet governors and grand coordinators fail to report upward, and cases where governors and grand coordinators learn of matters yet central military ministers fail to memorialize the throne. They had long grown used to seeing those in power delight in news of victory and shrink from reporting defeat, so officials at every level deceived one another and thought nothing of it. The practice of deception and concealment begins with the chief minister himself. The moral character of the scholarly class rises and falls with the times; some say that from the Jiajing reign to the present it has shifted three times. The first shift came in the era of Yan Song's corrupt venality, when scholars turned grasping. The second came under Zhang Juzheng's autocratic rule, when scholars competed in ruthless scheming. As for the present day, they outwardly shun the label of greedy corruption, yet obstinate schemers and incompetent generals mostly come from their own followers; They openly avoid any appearance of tyrannical power, yet hold sharp blades and axes reversed in their hands — wielding deadly authority while pretending not to. The power to grant favor and inflict punishment quietly shifts course; Whom they favor and whom they hate is made plain, and all can see which way the wind blows. To expect the empire to free itself of sycophancy is impossible. The memorial also impugned Secondary Grand Secretary Wang Xijue. At the time Principal Secretary Cai Shiding and Nanjing Censor Zhang Shoucheng also submitted memorials criticizing Shixing. All were kept at court without action. Yingqiu was soon summoned as Middle Attendant and appointed Daily Lecture Official. He served as Right Vice Director of the Secretariat and Grand Master of the Imperial Academy.
37
調
In the twenty-sixth year, someone composed the Youwei Jidong Discussion; Censor Zhao Zihan held that it targeted Grand Secretary Zhang Wei and also implicated Yingqiu. The investigating office reported that Yingqiu was not a member of Wei's faction and should be retained. The Emperor ordered him transferred outside the capital; Yingqiu thereupon pleaded illness and returned home. Earlier, Censor Huang Juan had extorted bribes from the pearl merchant Xu Xingshan; when Xu did not fully comply, Huang submitted a memorial requesting that his property be confiscated. Yingqiu denounced Huang Juan for opening the door to imperial covetousness. A commoner named Zhu Longguang submitted an accusation against Li Rushi and was made to wear the cangue in the sweltering midsummer heat. Yingqiu said, "One madman submits a letter — why must he be driven to his death?" At the time literary officials generally cultivated their reputations in leisurely ease; Yingqiu alone loved to discuss and critique current affairs, and for this he incurred enmity and was ultimately dismissed. Several years after returning home, he died. During the Chongzhen reign he was posthumously made Vice Minister of Rites and given the posthumous name Wenjie.
38
殿 西
His son Tongsheng, courtesy name Jin Qing. He studied under Zou Yuanbiao of his home district. In the tenth year of the Chongzhen reign he ranked first in the palace examination. Emperor Zhuanglie asked how old he was, and he answered, "Fifty-one. The Emperor said, "You still look like a young man — apply yourself." He was appointed Hanlin Compiler. When Yang Sichang took leave from mourning to enter the Grand Secretariat, He Kai, Lin Lanyou, and Huang Daozhou spoke against it and all were punished. Tongsheng submitted a bold memorial saying, "Recently Your Majesty tested the officials by edict and selected Sichang for appointment, truly because affairs at home and abroad are in turmoil, hoping he might prove effective and deliver our people. Your sagely exertions have been arduous indeed. People throughout the capital murmured that Sichang still wore mourning garments upon his body, and that entering the Grand Secretariat is not comparable to the exigencies of war. Your subject expected that Sichang would surely grieve in anguish, appeal to his sovereign lord and father, and decline appointment to the Grand Secretariat; Yet he followed routine with a perfunctory second memorial and hastened to take up his duties. A man must have things he cannot bear before he can extend himself to what he can bear; he must have things he will not do before he can accomplish anything worth doing. Your subject observes what Sichang is willing to tolerate and watches what he does; I know his heart has lost its footing and his judgment is impaired — he surely cannot achieve merit for the state. Why? Accomplishing the affairs of the realm depends on resolve; bearing the empire's burden depends on spirit; With resolve broken and spirit exhausted, yet able to shoulder the empire's affairs? There is surely no such principle. His tricks are exhausted; he clings to rank and fortune. He combined the Military Board with the Grand Secretariat to augment his authority at court, and used the Secretariat as a gradual means to deflect blame from the military establishment. He monopolized peace negotiations and reserved draft memorials for imperial approval to himself alone. With Fang Yizao, Gao Qiqian, and their ilk he colluded to fake achievements and disguised defeat as victory. Year after year he squandered gold and silk, nurturing danger on the frontier. With a heart set like this, is he alone unafraid that Yao and Shun sit above? Formerly, when Your Majesty sternly rebuked the talk of peace, Sichang was already unfit to serve as minister. Now, suddenly casting off black mourning hemp, Sichang is unfit to serve as a son. If I joined factions and kept silent to preserve my own safety, Sichang would offend the moral teachings — and your subject would offend them as well. When the memorial arrived, the Emperor was greatly angered and demoted him to Administrative Vice Commissioner of the Fujian Surveillance Commission. He pleaded illness and returned home. Court officials repeatedly recommended him, and he was about to be recalled when the capital fell. When the Prince of Fu was enthroned, he was summoned to his former post but did not go. In the fifth month of the following year, the Southern Capital was lost and many counties and prefectures in Jiangxi fell. Tongsheng took his family intending to enter Fujian, stopped at Yudu, and plotted restoration with Yang Tinglin. The Tang Prince promoted Tongsheng to Grand Master of the Imperial Academy. Tongsheng then entered Ganzhou and together with Tinglin gathered troops and provisions. After recovering Ji'an and Linjiang, he was promoted to Junior Mentor concurrently serving as Vice Minister of the Left in the Ministry of War. Tongsheng was already frail and ill; daily he discussed with scholar-officials the great principles of loyalty and filial piety, and all who heard him were stirred. At Tinglin's request he was appointed Grand Coordinator of Southern Gan; in the twelfth month he died at Ganzhou.
39
Tang Wenxian, courtesy name Yuanzheng, was a native of Huating. In the fourteenth year of the Wanli reign he ranked first among jinshi. He was appointed Compiler and rose to Junior Mentor.
40
Shen Yiguan used the Demonic Book affair to bring down Minister Guo Zhengyu and pressed the case urgently. Wenxian together with his colleagues Yang Daobin, Zhou Rudi, and Tao Wangling went to see Yiguan and said, "Minister Guo will not escape harm; people say you truly intend to kill him. Yiguan fidgeted uneasily and poured a libation on the ground as if swearing an oath. Wenxian said, "We also know you have no intent to kill him, but the censorate and ministries follow the wind to cast stones, and if you do not conclude this case early, with what words will you answer the world? Yiguan composed his expression and apologized to them. Wangling saw Zhu Geng fail to rescue Guo and likewise sternly rebuked him on principle, declaring he would abandon office and die with Zhengyu. The case was somewhat eased. Yet Wenxian and the others lost favor with the government for this. After some time he was appointed Vice Minister of the Right in the Ministry of Rites and put in charge of Hanlin Academy affairs. Earlier, Wenxian had been a follower of Zhao Yongxian's school and prided himself on reputation and integrity among his peers. A fellow graduate, Supervising Secretary Li Yi, was beaten at court for impeaching Zhang Jing; Wenxian supported him out and supplied him with medicines. Hua Yu, magistrate's assistant at Jingzhou, offended a tax eunuch supervisor and was arrested into the imperial prison; Wenxian exerted himself to intercede, and Hua escaped death. While directing the Hanlin Academy, during the evaluation period the chief ministers wished to shield someone; he firmly refused. He died in office. He was posthumously made Minister of Rites and given the posthumous name Wenkè.
41
滿 便殿 使
Yang Daobin, courtesy name Weiyan, was a native of Jinjiang. In the fourteenth year of the Wanli reign he ranked second among jinshi and was appointed Compiler. He rose in succession to Grand Master of the Imperial Academy, Junior Mentor, and Vice Minister of the Right in the Ministry of Rites, directing Hanlin Academy affairs. He was transferred to the left vice ministership and put in charge of the ministry's affairs. Once, on account of a celestial anomaly, he requested the release of the detained county magistrate Man Chaojian and others, and also urgently requested restoration of the great ceremony of morning lectures — all went unanswered. When Nanjing suffered great flooding, he submitted a memorial on current affairs, stating in summary, "Within the palace Your Majesty sleeps only after midnight and does not rise until the sun is high, causing the myriad affairs of state to be neglected and delayed. I urge Your Majesty to rise early and retire late, to seek the achievements of good governance. Hold audience at times in the informal hall and decide great affairs face to face with your ministers. Memorials should be promptly answered with rescripts; do not casually keep them at court or issue decisions from within the palace. The Emperor responded with a gracious edict acknowledging receipt. The Crown Prince had ceased lectures for four years; Daobin remonstrated urgently, citing the words of the Tang eunuch Qiu Shiliang as a warning. That winter the sky drum sounded; Daobin said, "Heaven's eyes and ears are in the people. Now the people's livelihood is in turmoil and they have nowhere to appeal — heaven seems to sound on their behalf. Your Majesty should urgently abolish the mine tax eunuchs, reform deficient policies, and harmonize the people's hearts. The Emperor did not heed it. After more than a year he died in office. He was posthumously made Minister of Rites and given the posthumous name Wenkè.
42
殿
Tao Wangling, courtesy name Zhouwang, was a native of Kuaiji. His father Chengxue was Minister of Rites at Nanjing. Wangling had a literary reputation from youth. In the seventeenth year of the Wanli reign he ranked first in the metropolitan examination; in the palace examination he placed third in the first class and was appointed Compiler; he rose in succession to Grand Master of the Imperial Academy. He was deeply devoted to Wang Yangming's teachings and took Zhou Rudeng as his intellectual master. He and his younger brother Shiling were both celebrated as lecturers in the Neo-Confucian tradition. After his death he was posthumously honored with the title Wen Jian.
43
使
Li Tengfang, courtesy name Zishi, was from Xiangtan. He became a jinshi in the twentieth year of the Wanli reign. He entered the Hanlin Academy as a bachelor. A devoted scholar, he enjoyed a strong reputation for literary talent. When the edict arrived to enfeoff all three princes at once, Tengfang wrote a letter, went to the Hanlin office, and handed it to Grand Secretary Wang Xijue. He wrote in brief: "Your Excellency mean to defer to the emperor's wish for the moment, using the enfeoffment of princes as a clever means to turn the affair toward formal investiture of the heir. But I fear that once the princes have been enfeoffed, the great ceremony of investiture will only be pushed further off. If one day you leave office and the affair collapses, you will be blamed as the one who first devised it. What defense could you offer then? This threatens not only the altars of state, but also brings calamity upon your descendants." Xijue had not finished reading when he seized Tengfang's sleeve and bade him sit. "Everyone reviles me," he said. "How am I to clear myself? As you say — I accept your counsel. But my memorial must be written in my own hand. What do you mean by calamity for my descendants?" Tengfang replied: "The outer court knows only that your own hand wrote the secret memorial and has no way to learn the full story — yet you still mean to use that to exonerate yourself. Can you one day make the Son of Heaven produce your own handwriting and show it to the world?" Xijue sat stricken, tears streaming down his face. The next day he reversed the edict for joint enfeoffment.
44
西
He rose through successive promotions to Left Reader. Tengfang was on close terms with Kunshan Gu Tianyi. Tianyi was treacherous and unscrupulous, notorious throughout the realm. After he was impeached and dismissed, Tengfang too submitted his resignation and went home. At the time people began to speak of a Gu faction and a Li faction. An edict laid out penalties for court officials who left their posts without permission, and Tengfang was demoted to Doctor of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. At the capital evaluation in the thirty-ninth year, he was again found frivolous and impetuous and was demoted to Director of Administration in the Jiangxi military commission. He was soon promoted to Director of the Department of Envoys, then served as Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and took charge of the Supervisor of Instruction's duties. When Emperor Guangzong took the throne, Tengfang was promoted to Junior Guardian and placed in charge of the Nanjing Hanlin Academy. He was soon appointed Right Vice Minister of Rites and took charge of instructing the Hanlin bachelors. Censor Wang Anshun impeached Tengfang for his sudden rise in rank. Tengfang offered to resign, but the Xizong Emperor refused. In the end he went home to care for his mother. Early in the Tianqi reign he returned to his former rank to assist in the Grand Mentor's office, and was soon transferred to Left Vice Minister of Personnel. When his mother died he entered mourning and was granted the additional title of Minister of Rites on his return home. Wei Zhongxian hated Tengfang for being a fellow townsman of Yang Lian. Censor Wang Jikui then argued that Tengfang's sudden recall after a poor capital evaluation and his promotion while in mourning were both irregular. He was thereupon stripped of rank and honors. Early in the Chongzhen reign he was again appointed Minister and assigned to assist in the Grand Mentor's office. When the capital was placed under martial law, his plans for defense largely met with imperial approval, and he replaced He Ruchong in managing the ministry's affairs. He died in office. He was posthumously honored as Grand Mentor of the Heir Apparent. Cai Yizhong, courtesy name Hongfu, was from Guangshan. His grandfather Fengqiao served as sub-prefect of Pingyang. His father Guang served as sub-prefect of Lintao. At the age of five Yizhong had mastered the Classic of Filial Piety. His father asked, "Why do you read?" He answered, "To become a sage or worthy." In the twenty-ninth year of the Wanli reign he passed the jinshi examination with honors, entered the Hanlin Academy as a bachelor, and was appointed examining editor. At the time mine taxes were crushing the people. Yizhong gathered from the Ancestral Instructions, the Collected Statutes, and other works every passage forbidding mine taxes, compiled them into two annotated volumes, and submitted them to the throne. Grand Secretary Shen Li looked on Yizhong as a senior fellow townsman and was at odds with Chief Grand Secretary Shen Yiguan. Meanwhile Wen Chun, administering Henan, had recognized Yizhong's talent when he was still a student. By then Wen Chun had become Censor-in-Chief and submitted a memorial attacking Yiguan. Yiguan suspected the memorial had been written by Yizhong to give Shen Li an advantage. Nursing a grudge, he used the capital evaluation to strip Yizhong of rank and dismiss him. He was recalled as assistant magistrate of Macheng. He was soon summoned as Vice Director of the Department of Envoys and promoted to Assistant Director of the Court of the Imperial Stud. He pleaded illness and returned home. In the forty-fifth year he was again stripped of rank for frivolity and impetuosity. Early in the Tianqi reign, officials on the dismissal register were widely recalled, and he was appointed salt transport judge of Changlu. He rose through successive promotions to Chancellor of the National University, then to Right Vice Minister of Rites while continuing to oversee the university. When Yang Lian's impeachment of Wei Zhongxian drew a stern imperial response, Yizhong led his subordinates in a defiant memorial that read:
45
The schools are where the public opinion of the realm finds expression. I was just lecturing my students on The Difficulties of Being a Ruler when Yang Lian's memorial impeaching Zhongxian arrived. More than a thousand supervisors and students assembled — not one failed to applaud in celebration. Yet Your Majesty did not refer the memorial to the nine ministers for deliberation, but declared that all court affairs are personally decided — treating a treacherous eunuch as loyal and bearing blame on his behalf. Every supervisor and student present could only clasp his heart and sigh without end. After the Three Dynasties, how the emperors of Han, Sui, Tang, and Song suffered at the hands of powerful eunuchs and how they dealt with them — all this is recorded in the Comprehensive Mirror. How our own dynasty's successive sage emperors suffered from powerful eunuchs and how they handled them is recorded in the Veritable Records. On these matters I need say no more. But take only two recent and close examples — how Emperor Wuzong dealt with Liu Jin and how Emperor Shenzong dealt with Feng Bao — and I beg Your Majesty to follow them. Jin stood at Wuzong's side with his every word obeyed and every plan followed. Yet at the first report of officials' impeachments, the emperor rose at midnight, seized Jin, and had him executed. When Shenzong first took the throne he was only ten years old. Bao supported him at his side and served him with all his heart and strength. Later Bao began to wield authority for his own benefit, and the censorate impeached him. Though no memorial came from the entire court, the Divine Ancestor quietly, without a show of emotion, banished Bao to Nanjing. Today Zhongxian has none of Bao's merit, yet equals Jin in wickedness. Of the twenty-four crimes charged against him, not one should go uninvestigated. The officials of the entire court wished to kneel after court and await an edict, but Zhongxian forced the emperor to enter the palace and showed no courtesy to the assembled ministers. Now, on the day of the imperial visit to the academy, ministers and students of the Imperial University wished to face Your Majesty and petition directly — yet Your Majesty has treated the matter with complete indifference. In recent days, every memorial touching on Zhongxian has been held at court and never issued. Under such concealment, who can fathom what lies within! I beg that Yang Lian's memorial be referred to the nine ministers and the censorate for impartial investigation. Even if Your Majesty does not impose Liu Jin's punishment, apply the method used against Feng Bao — then grace and authority will both be displayed, and Your Majesty will stand beside the Divine Ancestor.
46
When the memorial arrived, Zhongxian shook his fist and cursed loudly. Yizhong then submitted another memorial begging to retire, but permission was refused. Before long he incited his faction to impeach Yizhong and have him dismissed.
47
Yizhong possessed a deeply filial nature. When he was four his father fell ill, and he cried to heaven, begging to take his father's place. While traveling to the capital for the examination, he learned of his mother's death. A single sob brought forth several pints of blood. Throughout the mourning period he abstained from wine and meat and would not enter the inner chamber. While his mother was ill, she craved ice in the height of summer — and a bowl of water in the room suddenly froze. While living in a mourning hut by the grave, there were wondrous signs — purple fungus, white birds, and a thousand crows gathering at the tomb. After his death he was posthumously honored as Minister of Rites.
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使
Gong Nai, courtesy name Xiaoyu, was from Mengyin. His great-grandfather Kuiji served as Vice Commissioner of Huguang. His father Jiache was a Hanlin compiler. Nai passed the jinshi examination in the twenty-ninth year of the Wanli reign, entered the Hanlin Academy as a bachelor, and was appointed compiler. He rose through successive promotions to Left Reader and served as lecturer to the crown prince. Promoted to Left Associate Crown Prince, he pleaded illness and returned home. When Emperor Guangzong took the throne, Nai was summoned and appointed Chancellor of the National University. The Xizong Emperor promoted Nai to Grand Mentor, whereupon he submitted a memorial: "Recently I have heard officials north and south discussing the Former Emperor's death — the accounts involve strange anomalies, and much is left unsaid. I fear that alleyway gossip will harden into the apocryphal legends of Mount Xiang — and this pains me deeply. Our imperial grandfather originally had no intention of favoring one son over another. Only because the great ceremony of investiture was long delayed — after the investiture edict was withdrawn came the affair of jointly enfeoffing three princes; after the Hidden Discussion of Anxiety and Danger came affairs that threatened the very foundation of the realm. Then came the wicked plots of Pang and Liu, Zhang Cha's club assault — and treason reached its height. I once served on the palace staff and saw the conspiracy rage unchecked. Those who sided with the Eastern Palace were called petty men; those who did not were called gentlemen. The clear-stream officials of the court were purged, the heir apparent's supporters were secretly cut down — roots torn up, tendrils spread — until discipline was broken and order overturned. To recall it even now still chills the heart. Ministers and subjects who love their ruler preserve what is true, not what is false. The compilation of the Veritable Records is now at hand. I ask that Emperor Guangzong's deeds be set apart in a separate volume. Every enlightened edict and worthy policy of that single month should be recorded prominently; and whatever variant accounts there may be, and whatever subtle measures taken within the palace walls, should likewise be set down frankly with the historian's straight brush and forged into trustworthy history. Unworthy though I am, I dare undertake this task. When the memorial was submitted, it was not approved. In 1621, with barely half a year elapsed in the new reign, more than ten censorial officials had already been punished; Nai submitted a sharp memorial of admonition and also remonstrated against the chief ministers. Defying the imperial will, he was publicly rebuked. He was soon transferred to Right Vice Minister of Rites, given concurrent charge of the Household of the Heir Apparent, and appointed deputy chief compiler of the Veritable Records. Nai was a devoted scholar of wide learning, upright in character and possessed of sound judgment. Seeing Wei Zhongxian's perversion of government, he pleaded illness and retired.
49
使
When the court debated recalling Li Sancai without reaching a decision, Nai spoke openly: "Those now relied upon for border defense are mostly still en route from distant posts. Li Sancai's strategy has always been excellent; he lives near the capital and could arrive within a day. Vice Minister Zou Yuanbiao urged him to say all he wished, but the deadlock among the remonstrance officials brought the matter to a halt. Later Censor Ye Yousheng charged that Nai and Li Sancai were related by marriage and that his recommendation had been a reckless act of favoritism; Nai was stripped of office and retired. He died soon after. At the start of the Chongzhen reign his office was restored, mourning grants were bestowed, and he was posthumously honored as Wenjie.
50
Luo Yuyi, courtesy name Xiangzhong, came from Yiyang. In 1613 he passed the jinshi examination. He was appointed a junior Hanlin scholar and then Reviser. He took leave and returned home. At the start of the Tianqi reign he returned to court, rose through posts as Preceptor, and attended the Classics Lectern. In 1626 he was promoted to Grand Master of the Nanjing Imperial Academy. When students proposed building a shrine to Wei Zhongxian, Yuyi punished the ringleaders, and the plan was abandoned. Zhongxian's faction compiled a roster of Donglin adherents by native place; Yuyi headed the list of twenty from Huguang. When Emperor Chongzhen succeeded to the throne, he was recalled and appointed Right Vice Minister of Rites with concurrent charge of the Household of the Heir Apparent. He was soon appointed Daily Lecturer and given charge of instructing junior Hanlin scholars.
51
Yuyi was stern and reserved by nature; he kept to his books behind closed doors and rarely received visitors. Later, seeing turmoil at home and abroad and that commanders had neglected military training, he devoted himself to military affairs, worked out battle formations, and submitted them to the throne. The emperor praised and accepted his proposals. As the empire was at war yet grand coordinators and governors had established no military treasuries and funds had no source, he argued: "War has seven virtues, and abundant resources is one of them. Beyond regular pay, a separate military treasury should be established, its operations kept from prior scrutiny by the court. Feasting soldiers, rewarding merit, and purchasing intelligence from the enemy—all should be drawn from this fund. He also expounded at length on the advantages of chariot warfare. The emperor referred the military treasury proposal to the relevant offices and ordered Yuyi to design the war chariots himself. Yuyi memorialized again on the harm of surcharges levied by the mu, and because constructing war chariots was the responsibility of the relevant offices, he declined to follow the edict. The emperor was displeased, and the proposal was never carried out.
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稿使 稿
In the ninth month of the following year he lectured on the Book of Documents and composed the Lecture Notes on Displaying Sacred Martial Prowess. In it he touched on current affairs, including the line "those at the emperor's side are not the right men"—a remark that stung those in power. At the end he set out the regulations for the ancestral grand inspections and the metropolitan garrison system, hoping reforms might follow. He submitted the draft to the Grand Secretariat; Wen Tizhong was displeased and sent a proofreader to instruct Yuyi to revise it. Yuyi went to the Grand Secretariat and, through the partition, rebuked Wen Tizhong. Wen Tizhong was angered and submitted a memorial: "By precedent, remonstrance at the Classics Lectern comes mostly in the main lecture, while in the Daily Lecture the main text is more and remonstrance less. Now Yuyi applies the Classics Lectern format to the Daily Lecture, and when told to revise his text he is insulted instead; I pray Your Majesty will judge. The case was referred to the Ministry of Personnel for deliberation. Yuyi submitted a defense: "For lecturers to touch on current affairs beyond the main text is also an established practice. Your servant elaborated at length, hoping to offer some small benefit. When Tizhong cut those passages, your servant feared that sincere but unpolished loyalty would never reach Your Majesty, and thus gave offense to the chief minister. The draft still survives; your servant prays Your Majesty will examine it. The Ministry of Personnel, following Tizhong's wishes, recommended that Yuyi be stripped of office and retired; the emperor approved. Yuyi had long enjoyed public esteem; when Tizhong brought him down, scholars everywhere lamented. Before departing he petitioned for the favor of post-horses for his journey; the emperor granted his request. He lived in retirement for ten years, then died.
53
使使
Yao Ximeng, courtesy name Mengchang, came from Wu County. He lost his father when ten months old; his mother, Lady Wen, steeled her resolve and raised him alone. As he grew, he studied alongside his maternal uncle Wen Zhenmeng; both enjoyed considerable renown. In 1619 he passed the jinshi examination and was appointed a junior Hanlin scholar. His chief examiner Han Kuang and tutor Liu Yijuan thought highly of him. Both later rose to power, and on major affairs they often consulted him. At the start of the Tianqi reign Zhenmeng also placed at the top of his cohort and entered the Hanlin; uncle and nephew alike upheld stern moral criticism, and their standing only grew. He soon took leave and returned home. He returned to court in the winter of the fourth year; Zhao Nanxing, Gao Panlong, and others had all been removed, the factional purge was at its height, and Ximeng was dejected and unable to make his mark. The following year he returned home upon his mother's death. Hardly had he left the capital when Supervising Secretary Yang Suoxiu impeached him as a sworn partisan of Miu Changqi; he was struck from the rolls. When Wei Zhongxian fell, his partisan Ni Wenhuan, fearing execution, sent an envoy bearing a heavy bribe to buy his way free; Ximeng seized the envoy and reported the matter to the authorities. In 1628 he was recalled as Left Tutor to the Heir Apparent. He rose to Right Sub-Expositor and served as Daily Lecturer. In the autumn of 1630 he presided over the Shuntian provincial examination together with Preceptor Yao Minggong. Two military students had passed the examination under false registration; Supervising Secretary Wang You raised the matter, and Ximeng was punished. Ximeng had long been championed by the Donglin faction. When Han Kuang and others settled the catalogue of rebels, he took part in their deliberations. The petty faction hated Ximeng and plotted to strike at him first. When Hua Yuncheng impeached Wen Tizhong and Min Hongxue, the two suspected the memorial had been drafted by Ximeng; Tizhong seized on the false-registration affair to settle a score, drafting a rescript for a retest, dismissing the two students to the relevant authorities, finding the examiners guilty, and proposing that their salaries be withheld for half a year. Tizhong was not satisfied and ordered a redraft. Ximeng had by then been promoted to Director of the Household of the Heir Apparent; he was now demoted two ranks to Junior Director and given charge of the Nanjing Hanlin Academy. He soon pleaded illness and retired; after two years at home he died.
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使 調
Xu Shirou, courtesy name Zhongjia, came from Changshu. In 1622 he passed the jinshi examination. He was appointed a junior Hanlin scholar and then Reviser. During the Chongzhen reign he rose to Left Sub-Expositor with charge of the Left Spring Office. Earlier, after Wei Zhongxian had compiled the Essential Canon of Three Reigns, finding that the Veritable Records of Emperor Guangzong contradicted the Essential Canon, he declared that the version compiled by Ye Xianggao and others was unreliable and ought to be rewritten; he then arbitrarily revised away whatever conflicted with the Essential Canon. When Chongzhen ascended and the reign era changed, the Essential Canon was destroyed—but the revised Veritable Records of Guangzong remained unchanged. In the sixth year Junior Director Wen Zhenmeng argued: "The Veritable Records of the late emperor were distorted by Wei faction pens and ought to be corrected to follow the original record. Wen Tizhong was then in power; with Wang Yingxiong and others he secretly blocked the proposal, and the matter was dropped. Shirou said indignantly: "If so, the Essential Canon might as well never have been burned. He then submitted a memorial: "In the general summary of the Veritable Records of the late emperor, the imperial lineage alone is scant. The year when Your Majesty received embryonic instruction and the day of Your Majesty's birth are not recorded. The naming ceremony and the style of the hidden residence are not recorded. From what clan the empress dowager came and what title she received are not recorded. All these were fully recorded in the original version, yet the revised record deliberately omitted them. The original record was compiled while Your Majesty was still in the hidden residence, yet it was thorough and cautious in just that way. The revised record was submitted at the very start of Your Majesty's reign—how could it be so cursory, leaving the great bonds of father and son, empress and mother, and brothers within the dynasty dim, obscure, and beyond recovery? What kind of trustworthy history is this? The memorial was submitted but drew no response from the throne. Wen Tizhong ordered a Secretariat officer to retrieve the general summary of Emperor Muzong and show it to Shirou; Shirou submitted a detailed rebuttal: "The Veritable Records of the late emperor differ from the precedents of the successive emperors. The successive emperors reigned long; after their ascension, events were arranged chronologically, so the general summary need not be written. The late emperor reigned only one month; the three empresses who bore and nurtured Your Majesty all did so before his ascension—if these are omitted from the general summary, where else can they be recorded? Emperor Muzong's grand wedding and the birth of the imperial son occurred during the Jiajing reign, so the general summary omits them—but the chronicle always records the investiture ceremony in full. The late emperor's reign lasted only one month—the investiture of Emperor Xizong ought to be recorded; should Your Majesty's own enfeoffment alone go unrecorded? Wen Tizhong was furious and was about to impeach him, but his colleagues dissuaded him. Shirou submitted another memorial: "In the Veritable Records of successive reigns, there has never been a precedent of failing to record the imperial lineage. Your servant has called out the revised record precisely because it departs from the established precedents of successive reigns. Empress Xiaoduan was the late emperor's legitimate mother; the original record fully records her devoted care, yet the revised record omits it—why? In those days the succession itself nearly foundered; the devoted care from the Kunning Palace embodied the highest filial and maternal virtue, a profound debt of nurture—yet the historiographer's slender brush could blot it out without difficulty. This is especially incomprehensible. The memorial was submitted; the court noted receipt and took no further action.
55
Wen Tizhong grew still more displeased. Wen Tizhong then incited Liu Kongzhao to impeach University Chancellor Ni Yuanlu, alleging that Shirou's clansman Chongxi had privately compiled Annotations on Five Reigns and intending to implicate Shirou as well. Shirou hurriedly presented the Annotations to the throne and was cleared of the charge. Before long he was posted as Chancellor of the Nanjing National University.
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調
After Wen Tizhong left office, Zhang Zhifa became chief minister and plotted all the more to drive Shirou from court. Earlier, when Gao Panlong was granted posthumous honors, Shirou drafted the edict text and sent it to the Grand Secretariat, but it was never delivered to Gao's family. By precedent, edicts conferring posthumous office were the responsibility of the Secretariat drafters of edicts and patents. Early in the Chongzhen reign, loyal ministers were honored and comforted; Hanlin scholars skilled in letters sometimes drafted the texts, but the Secretariat drafters regarded this as encroachment on their duties. In Chongzhen 3 the court forbade parallel prose in patent edicts. By then Gao's family requested delivery; several years had passed since Shirou drafted the text, yet the officials in charge still submitted his earlier composition. Secretariat drafter Huang Ying'en reported to Zhang Zhifa that the patent language violated the prohibition; delighted, Zhang impeached Shirou, who was demoted two ranks and transferred. Vice Director Zhou Fengxiang submitted a forceful memorial in defense: "By Hanlin precedent, Grand Secretaries assigned drafting duties; they might personally revise and approve or order alterations—never was a drafter impeached directly in this fashion. Patent edicts receive the imperial seal on fixed annual schedules; never has a text sealed and submitted ten years later been scrutinized against present regulations. Posthumous patents belong solely to the Secretariat drafters; the admonition issued in Chongzhen 3 did not authorize blaming the historiographer of the first year and denouncing him for overstepping his office. The throne gave no response. Shirou was soon restored as Vice Director of the Imperial Seals Office, promoted to Junior Director, and died in office. His son Qi went to court to clear the slander, and Shirou's former rank was restored posthumously. He was posthumously made Grand Tutor and Concurrent Hanlin Reader-in-Waiting.
57
調
Gu Xichou, courtesy name Jiuchou, came from Kunshan. At thirteen, while still a student, he took the examination at Nanjing; the Duke of Wei gave him his daughter in marriage. He passed the jinshi examination in 1619, was made a Hanlin bachelor, and was appointed Reviser. In 1624, as Wei Zhongxian's power reached its height, Xichou and Supervising Secretary Dong Chengye presided over the Fujian provincial examination, and the examination essays contained sharp satirical criticism. Wei's faction denounced them as Donglin partisans, and both men were demoted and transferred. Later their names were stricken from the rolls altogether.
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退 使
Early in the Chongzhen reign he was recalled to his former office. He rose through the ranks to become Chancellor of the National University. He memorialized to restore the cumulative-points system, but the Ministry of Rites blocked it and the proposal was not implemented. Xichou repeated the request and also asked that Imperial University students be selected to serve as prefectural and county magistrates. He later asked to rectify the order of collateral sacrifices and that jinshi serving as National University lecturers be allowed to take part in evaluation and selection. The emperor approved every proposal. Returning home to visit his parents, he asked to remain in his native place and complete his period of filial mourning. When mourning for his mother ended, he was made Junior Director of the Palace Library, promoted to Director, appointed Left Vice Minister of Rites, and put in charge of ministry affairs. The emperor once summoned him for a private audience and asked about managing finances and employing men. Xichou withdrew and set forth five failures in employment: no sound method of appointment, literary prohibitions too severe, discussion too abundant, qualifications too rigid, and encouragement not reaching men. He asked first to cleanse the source of official appointments. Careful discernment and assignment according to talent and capacity is the first remedy. Pardoning minor faults and not discarding men forever is the second. Reducing empty discussion and insisting on results is the third. Raising unusual talent without binding it to routine rules is the fourth. Swift reward and relaxed supervision and blame is the fifth. At the end he set forth at length the evils of waste in expenditure, still tracing the problem back to how men were employed. The emperor approved his memorial.
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Yang Sichang memorialized requesting pacification of the roving bandits, citing the phrases "he who delights in Heaven secures the realm" and "skilled in battle, he submits to the supreme punishment." Xichou protested forcefully that these were matters of feudal lords dealing with neighbors, that the citations were incongruous, and he clashed sharply with Yang Sichang. When Yang Sichang held power, many literary officials attacked Xichou, and Yang came to suspect him deeply. When Commandant-in-Chief of the Embroidered-Guard Horse Wang Bing committed an offense, Xichou drafted a light penalty; Yang Sichang framed him, and Xichou's name was stricken from the rolls. In the fifteenth year court officials jointly recommended him and he was recalled. Censor Cao Rong and Supervising Secretary Huang Yunshi again argued that he ought not be employed. The emperor would not listen and appointed him Left Vice Minister of Rites at Nanjing.
60
使
When the Prince of Fu was enthroned, he was promoted to Minister of Rites. At the time the Prince of Fu's father was honored as Emperor Gong; as court debated temple sacrifices, Xichou asked that a separate dedicated temple be established. Soon he asked to supply the temple posthumous title of the Jianwen Emperor, the temple name of the Jing Emperor, and posthumous honors for loyal ministers of the Jianwen reign; all were approved. Eastern Pacification Earl Liu Zeqing said: "When Song Gaozong took the throne at Nanjing, he made the fifth month of Jingkang 2 the first year of Jianyan, following the people's hopes. I beg that the fifth month of this year be made the first year of Hongguang. Xichou said the imperial edict had already been promulgated and could not be retroactively changed, and the matter was dropped. At the time the late emperor's temple name was fixed as Sizong; Xincheng Earl Zhao Zhilong argued that "Si" was not a fine designation and cited evidence in detail; Xichou agreed and memorialized requesting a change. Grand Secretary Gao Hongtu, because the earlier decision had been his own, held firmly to it, and the matter was dropped. When Wen Tizhong died he was specially given the posthumous name Wenzhong, while Wen Zhenmeng, Luo Yuyi, Yao Ximeng, and Lü Weiqi all failed to receive posthumous names. Xichou argued: "Wen Tizhong won the ruler's trust and governed with exclusive power for a long time; his betrayal of the late emperor was a grave offense. I beg that the posthumous name Wenzhong be either stripped or changed, and that Zhenmeng and the other ministers receive posthumous honors, so that the realm may have both encouragement and warning. The throne approved. Posthumous names were then granted to those men, and Wen Tizhong's posthumous name was stripped. Minister of Personnel Zhang Shenyan left office; his replacement Xu Shiqi had not yet arrived, and Xichou was ordered to act in his stead. Ma Shiying was then in power, and Xichou had never been on good terms with him. Supervising Secretaries Zhang Zhenchen and Xiong Rulin impeached him, and he asked leave to perform sacrifices at the Southern Sea and depart. The following spring, Censor Zhang Sunzhen forcefully praised Wen Tizhong's achievements and asked that his former posthumous name be restored. Xichou was then compelled to retire. When the Southern Capital fell, Xichou's home district was overrun as well. He was then in mourning for his father and made his way with difficulty to Fujian. The Prince of Tang offered him his former office; he firmly declined and lodged at Jiangxin Temple in Wenzhou. Regional Commander He Junyao flogged and humiliated students, and Xichou was about to memorialize in impeachment. He Junyao sent men by night to kill him and cast the body into the river. The people of Wenzhou searched for three days before the body could be recovered for burial.
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The appraiser says: Wu Shan and his fellows, composed and dignified in the academies and halls and rising through the censorial and secretarial offices, were indeed the great scholars of the literary garden and the steadfast pillars of the court. Above all, their upholding of rectitude, their refusal to be provocative or contentious, and their pure, tranquil refinement—the cultivated bearing of scholar-officials in an age of peace—can readily be imagined.
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