Volume 221 Biographies 109: Yuan Hongyu, Wang Tingzhan, Guo Yingpin, Geng Dingxiang, Wang Qiao, Wei Shiliang, Hao Jie, Zhao Canlu, Zhang Mengnan, Li Zhen, Ding Bin

袁洪愈〈（子一鶚譚希思）〉王廷瞻郭應聘〈（吳文華）〉耿定向〈（弟定理定力）〉王樵〈（子肯堂）〉魏時亮〈（陳瓚）〉郝傑〈（胡克儉）〉趙參魯張孟男〈（衛承芳）〉李禎丁賓

Yuan Hongyu (With sons Yi E and Tan Xisi)〉 Wang Tingzhan, Guo Yingpin (Wu Wenhua)〉 Geng Dingxiang (Younger brothers Dingli and Dingli)〉 Wang Qiao (With son Kentang)〉 Wei Shiliang (Chen Zan)〉 Hao Jie (Hu Kejian)〉 Zhao Canlu, Zhang Mengnan (Wei Chengfang)〉 Li Zhen, Ding Bin

袁洪愈

Yuan Hongyu

袁洪愈，字抑之，吳縣人。舉嘉靖二十五年鄉試第一。明年成進士，授中書舍人。擢禮科給事中。劾檢討梁紹儒阿附權要，文選郎中白璧招權鬻官，尚書萬鏜、侍郎葛守禮不檢下。詔切責鏜、守禮，下璧詔獄，斥紹儒於外。紹儒，大學士嚴嵩私人也。已，陳邊務數事，詔俱從之。嵩屬吏部尚書吳鵬，出為福建僉事。歷河南參議、山東提學副使、湖廣參政，所在以清節著。嵩敗，召為南京太仆少卿，就遷太常。隆慶五年，以疾歸。

Yuan Hongyu, styled Yizhi, came from Wu County. He took top honors in the provincial exams in Jiajing 25. The next year he became a jinshi and was made a Central Secretariat draftsman. He was raised to supervising secretary in the Rites section. He charged reviser Liang Shaoru with fawning on the mighty, Selection Bureau director Bai Bi with trading offices for power, and Ministers Wan Yong and Ge Shouli with lax oversight of their staffs. The throne sharply rebuked Wan and Ge, imprisoned Bai Bi by edict, and banished Liang Shaoru from court. Shaoru was a private client of Grand Secretary Yan Song. He then submitted several proposals on frontier affairs, and the court approved them all. Song had the Minister of Personnel Wu Peng post him out as Fujian Assistant Commissioner. He served as Henan Administrative Commissioner, Shandong Vice Commissioner for Education, and Huguang Administration Commissioner, winning renown everywhere for clean conduct. After Song's downfall he was recalled as Nanjing Vice Minister of the Imperial Stud and soon promoted to Minister of Imperial Sacrifices. In Longqing 5 he retired on grounds of illness.

萬曆中，起故官，遷南京工部右侍郎，進右都御史，掌南院事，就改禮部尚書。南京御史譚希思疏論中官、外戚，且請循舊制，內閣設絲綸簿，宮門置鐵牌。詔下南京都察院勘訊，將坐以誣罔。洪愈已改官，代者未至，乃具言希思所陳，載王可大《國憲家猷》、薛應旂《憲章錄》二書。帝以所據非頒行制書，謫希思雜職。洪愈尋上疏請禁幹謁，又極諫屯田廢壞之害，乞令商人中鹽，免內地飛挽。皆議行。

In the Wanli reign he was restored to office, made Nanjing Vice Minister of Works, then Right Censor-in-Chief in charge of the southern censorate, and transferred in place to Minister of Rites. Nanjing censor Tan Xisi memorialized against eunuchs and consort kin, and asked that old rules be restored: a silk-decree register in the Grand Secretariat and iron placards at the palace gates. An edict referred the matter to the Nanjing Censorate for inquiry, with intent to punish him for calumny. Hongyu had already moved to another post and his replacement had not arrived; he therefore laid out Xisi's points in full, citing Wang Keda's Guoxian Jiayou and Xue Yingqi's Xianzhang Lu. The emperor ruled that the authorities cited were not officially promulgated statutes and demoted Xisi to a minor post. Hongyu soon asked that private solicitations be banned and urgently warned of the ruin of garrison farms, proposing that merchants tender salt in exchange and that forced grain levies in the interior be lifted. All were debated and put into effect.

萬曆十五年，就改吏部。其冬引年乞休。帝重其清德，加太子少保致仕。洪愈通籍四十余年，所居不增一椽，出入徒步。卒，年七十四。巡撫周孔教捐金葬之。贈太子太保，謚安節。

In Wanli 15 he was transferred in place to the Ministry of Personnel. That winter he pleaded age and asked to retire. The emperor esteemed his integrity and granted him Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent on retirement. For more than forty years on the rolls his house never gained a single rafter, and he went everywhere on foot. He died at the age of seventy-four. Grand Coordinator Zhou Kongjiao donated money for his burial. He was posthumously made Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent with the posthumous name Anjie.

子一鶚，以蔭，官治中。饘粥不繼以死。希思，茶陵人。歷右副都御史，巡撫四川。

His son Yi E entered office by hereditary privilege as Court Director. He died when even thin gruel ran out. Xisi was from Chaling. He eventually became Right Vice Censor-in-Chief and Grand Coordinator of Sichuan.

王廷瞻

Wang Tingzhan

王廷瞻，字稚表，黃岡人。父濟，參政。廷瞻舉嘉靖三十八年進士，授淮安推官。入為御史，督畿輔屯政。穆宗在裕邸，欲易莊田，廷瞻不可。隆慶元年，所部久雨。請自三宮以下及裕府莊田改入乾清宮者，悉蠲其租。詔減十之五。已，言勛戚莊田太濫，請於初給時裁量田數，限其世次，爵絕歸官。制可。高拱再輔政，廷瞻常論拱，遂引疾歸。神宗立，起故官。歷太仆卿。萬曆五年，以右僉都御史巡撫四川。番屢犯松潘。廷瞻令副使楊一桂、總兵官劉顯剿之，殲其魁，群蠻納款。風村、白草諸番，久居二十八砦，率男婦八千余人來降。復命總兵顯討建昌、傀廈、洗馬、姑宰、鐵口諸叛番，皆獻首惡出降。增俸一級，進右副都御史，撫南、贛。

Wang Tingzhan, styled Zhibiao, was a native of Huanggang. His father Ji had been an administration commissioner. Tingzhan became a jinshi in Jiajing 38 and was appointed investigating magistrate of Huai'an. He entered the Censorate and oversaw garrison-farm administration in the metropolitan area. While the future Muzong was still at the Princely Establishment of Yu, he wanted to swap manor lands; Tingzhan would not allow it. In Longqing 1 his district suffered prolonged rain. He asked that rents be remitted on manor lands from the Three Palaces down and on those moved from the Princely Establishment of Yu into the Qianqing Palace. An edict cut the rents by half. He later argued that estates for meritorious kin and consort families were excessive, and proposed that at the first grant the fields be measured, succession limited by generation, and the land revert to the state when the title expired. The court approved. When Gao Gong returned as chief minister, Tingzhan repeatedly attacked him and finally retired on grounds of illness. When Shenzong ascended the throne, Tingzhan was recalled to his former office. He served as Minister of the Imperial Stud. In Wanli 5 he was appointed Right Vice Censor-in-Chief and Grand Coordinator of Sichuan. Barbarian bands repeatedly attacked Songpan. Tingzhan ordered Vice Commissioner Yang Yigui and Regional Commander Liu Xian to campaign against them, wiped out their chiefs, and the tribes surrendered. The Fengcun and Baicao tribes, long holding twenty-eight stockades, brought in more than eight thousand men, women, and children to submit. He again ordered Commander Xian to subdue the rebel tribes of Jianchang, Kuixia, Xima, Guzai, and Tiekou; each turned over its chief culprits and submitted. His salary grade rose one step; he was promoted to Right Vice Censor-in-Chief and made Grand Coordinator of Nan and Gan.

入為南京大理卿。歷兩京戶部左、右侍郎，以右都御史出督漕運兼巡撫鳳陽諸府。寶應氾光湖堤蓄水濟運，平江伯陳瑄所築也。下流無所泄，決為八淺，匯成巨潭，諸鹽場皆沒。淮流復奔入，勢益氵匈氵勇前巡撫李世達等議開越河避其險，廷瞻承之。鑿渠千七百七十六丈，為石閘三，減水閘二，石堤三千三十六丈，子堤五千三百九十丈，費公帑二十余萬，八月竣事。詔旨褒嘉，賜河名弘濟。進廷瞻戶部尚書，巡撫如故。尋改南京刑部尚書。未上，乞歸。久之卒。贈太子少保。兄廷陳，見《文苑傳》。

He entered service as Nanjing Minister of Punishments. He served as Left and Right Vice Minister of Revenue in both capitals, then went out as Right Censor-in-Chief to supervise the grain transport and grand coordinate Fengyang and neighboring prefectures. The Baoying embankment on Lake Fan impounded water for the transport canals; it had been built by the Marquis of Pingjiang, Chen Xuan. With no outlet downstream it broke into eight shallows and formed a great lagoon, drowning the salt works. The Huai again rushed in and the current grew fiercer still. Former Grand Coordinator Li Shidao and others had proposed cutting the Yue River to skirt the hazard; Tingzhan took up the project. They excavated a channel 1,776 zhang long, erected three stone sluices and two flood sluices, laid 3,036 zhang of stone dike and 5,390 zhang of subsidiary dike, at a cost of more than 200,000 taels of public money, and finished in eight months. An edict commended the work and named the canal Hongji. Tingzhan was promoted to Minister of Revenue while continuing as grand coordinator. He was soon made Nanjing Minister of Punishments. Before assuming the post he asked to go home. Long afterward he died. He was posthumously made Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent. His elder brother Tingchen is treated in the Writers biography.

郭應聘

Guo Yingpin

郭應聘，字君賓，莆田人。嘉靖二十九年進士。授戶部主事。歷郎中，出為南寧知府。遷威茂兵備副使，轉廣東參政。從提督吳桂芳平李亞元，別擊賊首張韶南、黃仕良等。遷廣西按察使，歷左、右布政使。隆慶四年大破古田賊，斬獲七千有奇。已，從巡撫殷正茂平古田，再進秩。

Guo Yingpin, styled Junbin, was from Putian. He became a jinshi in Jiajing 29. He was appointed principal clerk in the Ministry of Revenue. He rose to bureau director, then went out as prefect of Nanning. He was made Vice Commissioner for Weimao defense, then Guangdong Administration Commissioner. Following Grand Coordinator Wu Guifang he pacified Li Yayuan and separately struck the bandit chiefs Zhang Shaonan and Huang Shiliang. He was made Guangxi Surveillance Commissioner and later Left and Right Administration Commissioner. In Longqing 4 he routed the Gutian bandits, killing or capturing more than seven thousand. Later, with Grand Coordinator Yin Zhengmao, he pacified Gutian again and received another promotion.

正茂遷總督，遂擢應聘右副都御史代之。府江瑤反。府江上起陽朔，下達昭平，亙三百餘里。諸瑤夾江居，怙險剽劫。成化、正德間，都御史韓雍、陳金討平之，至是攻圍荔浦、永安，劫知州楊惟執、指揮胡翰。事聞，大學士張居正奏假便宜，寓書應聘曰：「炎荒瘴癘區，役數萬眾，不宜淹留，速破其巢，則余賊破膽。」應聘集土、漢兵六萬，令總兵官李錫進討。未行，而懷遠瑤亦殺知縣馬希武反。應聘與正茂議先征府江，三閱月悉定，乃檄錫討懷遠。天大雨雪，無功而還。懷遠，古牂牁，地界湖、貴靖、黎諸州，環郭皆瑤，編氓處其外。嘉靖中，征之不克，知縣寄居府城，遙示羈縻而已。古田既復，瑤懾兵威，願服屬，希武始入其地。議築城，董作過峻，瑤遂亂，希武見殺。及是，師出無功。應聘益調諸路兵，鎮撫白杲、黃土、大梅、青淇侗、僮，以孤賊勢，而錫與諸將連破賊，斬其魁，懷遠乃下。事皆具錫傳。初議行師，錫以陽朔金寶嶺賊近，欲先滅之。應聘曰：「君第往，吾自有處。」錫行數日，應聘與按察使吳一介出不意襲殺其魁。比懷遠克復，陽朔亦定，乃分遣諸將門崇文、楊照、亦孔昭等討洛容、上油、邊山。五叛瑤悉平。神宗大悅，進兵部右侍郎兼右副都御史，巡撫如故。

When Zhengmao became governor-general, Yingpin was raised to Right Vice Censor-in-Chief in his place. The Yao of Fujiang rose in revolt. Fujiang stretches from Yangshuo to Zhaoping, more than three hundred li. Yao communities lined both banks, trusting the narrows to raid and rob. In the Chenghua and Zhengde periods Han Yong and Chen Jin as censors-in-chief had suppressed them; now the Yao attacked Lipu and Yong'an and took Prefect Yang Weizhi and Commander Hu Han captive. On report, Grand Secretary Zhang Juzheng asked leave to act at discretion and wrote Yingpin: "In that feverish frontier you should not detain tens of thousands of men; smash their lairs at once and the rest will lose heart." Yingpin mustered sixty thousand native and Han soldiers and ordered Regional Commander Li Xi to campaign. Before the column moved, the Huaiyuan Yao killed Prefect Ma Xiwu and rose. Yingpin and Zhengmao decided to pacify Fujiang first; within three months it was quiet, and he then dispatched Xi against Huaiyuan. Great rains and snow came; the army accomplished nothing and withdrew. Huaiyuan, the old Zangge country, lay among Huguang, Guizhou, Jing, and Li; Yao ringed the seat while registered households lived beyond the walls. Jiajing campaigns had failed; the prefect lodged in the superior city and ruled only by loose rein. Once Gutian was retaken the Yao feared the troops and offered allegiance; Xiwu then entered the district. Plans for a walled city pressed labor too hard; the Yao revolted and Xiwu was slain. That campaign therefore ended without success. Yingpin called up forces from all routes, won over the Dong and Zhuang of Baiguo, Huangtu, Damei, and Qingqi to cut the rebels off, and Xi with the generals smashed them in turn, slew their leaders, and Huaiyuan fell. The full account is in Xi's biography. At the first planning, Xi wished to wipe out the Yangshuo Jinbaoling bandits first. Yingpin said: "March on; I have my own plan." A few days after Xi left, Yingpin with Surveillance Commissioner Wu Yijie surprised and slew the chief. After Huaiyuan and Yangshuo were settled he sent Generals Men Chongwen, Yang Zhao, and Yi Kongzhao against Luorong, Shangyou, and Bianshan. All five rebel Yao bands were pacified. The emperor was delighted and made him Vice Minister of War and Right Vice Censor-in-Chief while he remained grand coordinator.

萬曆二年，召為戶部右侍郎，尋以憂歸。八年起，改兵部，兼右僉都御史，仍撫廣西。時十寨初下，應聘與總督劉堯誨奏設三鎮，隸賓州，以土巡檢守之，而統於思恩參將，十寨遂安。進右都御史兼兵部右侍郎，總督兩廣軍務。前總督多受將吏金，應聘悉謝絕。逾年，召掌南京都察院，以吳文華代。頃之，就拜兵部尚書，參贊機務。久之，引疾歸。應聘在廣西，奏復陳獻章、王守仁祠。劉臺謫戍潯州，為僦居供廩，歿復賻斂歸其喪，像祀之。官南京，與海瑞敦儉素，士大夫不敢侈汰。歸七月卒。贈太子少保，謚襄靖。

In Wanli 2 he was called to be Vice Minister of Revenue, then soon left on mourning. Recalled in year 8, he was moved to War with concurrent Right Vice Censor-in-Chief and still governed Guangxi. With the Ten Stockades newly pacified, he and Governor-General Liu Yaohui asked three garrisons under Binzhou, native inspecting officers, and the Sinan regional commander; the stockades then stayed quiet. He rose to Right Censor-in-Chief and Vice Minister of War, governor-general of both Guang. Earlier governors-general had taken officers' gold; Yingpin refused every gift. A year later he was called to head the Nanjing Censorate; Wu Wenhua replaced him. He was soon made Minister of War with a seat in deliberations on state affairs. Long afterward he retired on grounds of illness. In Guangxi he asked to restore the shrines of Chen Xianzhang and Wang Shouren. For Liu Tai, exiled to Xunzhou, he rented quarters and supplied grain; when Liu died he paid the funeral costs, sent the body home, and set up his portrait for worship. In Nanjing he and Hai Rui lived plainly, and gentlemen dared not be extravagant. He died seven months after going home. He was posthumously made Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent with the name Xiangjing.

吳文華，字子彬，連江人。父世澤，府江兵備副使，有威名。文華舉嘉靖三十五年進士，授南京兵部主事。歷四川右參政，與平土官鳳繼祖。四遷河南左布政使。萬曆三年，以右副都御史巡撫廣西。討平南鄉、陸平、周塘、板寨瑤及昭平黎福莊父子。偕總督淩雲翼征河池、咘咳、北三瑤。三瑤未為逆，雲翼喜事，殺戮甚慘，得蔭襲，文華亦受賞。遷戶部右侍郎，請終養歸。起兵部右侍郎兼右僉都御史，仍撫廣西。遷總督兩廣軍務，巡撫廣東。進右都御史。會巡撫吳善、總兵呼良朋討平嚴秀珠。岑崗賊李珍、江月照拒命久，文華購擒月照，平珍。尋入為南京工部尚書，就改兵部。引疾去。仍起南京工部，力辭，虛位三年以待。卒，年七十八。贈太子少保，謚襄惠。

Wu Wenhua, styled Zibin, was from Lianjiang. His father Shize, Fujiang defense vice commissioner, had a stern name. Wenhua became a jinshi in Jiajing 35 and was made principal clerk in the Nanjing Ministry of War. He served as Sichuan Right Administration Commissioner and helped pacify the native official Feng Jizu. After four promotions he became Henan Left Administration Commissioner. In Wanli 3 he was made Right Vice Censor-in-Chief and Grand Coordinator of Guangxi. He pacified the Yao of Nanxiang, Luping, Zhoutang, and Banzhai and the Li Fuzhuang father and son of Zhaoping. With Governor-General Ling Yunyi he campaigned against the Hechi, Buqi, and Northern Three Yao. The Three Yao were not in revolt, yet Yunyi, eager for action, killed savagely; he won a hereditary privilege and Wenhua shared the reward. Made Vice Minister of Revenue, he asked leave to nurse his parents. He was raised to Vice Minister of War with concurrent Right Vice Censor-in-Chief and still governed Guangxi. He became governor-general of the two Guang and Grand Coordinator of Guangdong. He was promoted to Right Censor-in-Chief. Meanwhile Coordinators Wu Shan and Commander Hu Liangpeng had pacified Yan Xiuzhu. The Cengang rebels Li Zhen and Jiang Yuezhao had long resisted; Wenhua bought Yuezhao's capture and settled Zhen. He soon entered as Nanjing Minister of Works and was moved to War. He retired on grounds of illness. Nanjing Works was offered again; he firmly refused, and the seat stood empty three years awaiting him. He died at seventy-eight. He was posthumously made Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent with the name Xianghui.

耿定向

Geng Dingxiang

耿定向，字在倫，黃安人。嘉靖三十五年進士。除行人，擢御史。嚴嵩父子竊政，吏部尚書吳鵬附之。定向疏鵬六罪，因言鵬婿學士董份總裁會試，私鵬子紹，宜並斥。嵩為營護，事竟寢。出按甘肅，舉劾無所私。去任，行笥一肩。有以石經饋者，留境上而去。還督南京學政。隆慶初，擢大理右寺丞。高拱執政，定向嘗譏其褊淺無大臣度，拱嗛之。及拱掌吏部，以考察謫定向橫州判官。拱罷，量移衡州推官。萬曆中，累官右副都御史。吏部侍郎陸光祖為御史周之翰所劾，光祖已留，定向復頌光祖賢，詆之翰。給事中李以謙言定向擠言官，定向求去，帝不問。歷刑部左、右侍郎，擢南京右都御史。御史王藩臣劾應天巡撫周繼，疏發逾月不以白定向。定向怒，守故事力爭，自劾求罷，且詆藩臣論劾失當。因言故江西巡撫陳有年、四川巡撫徐元泰皆賢，為御史方萬山、王麟趾劾罷，今宜召用，而量罰藩臣。藩臣坐停俸二月。於是給事中許弘綱、觀政進士薛敷教、南京御史黃仁榮及麟趾連章劾定向。麟趾言：「南臺去京師遠，章疏先傳，人得為計。如御史孫鳴治論魏國公徐邦瑞，陳揚善論主事劉以煥，皆因奏辭豫聞，一則夤緣幸免，一則捃摭被誣。故邇來投揭有遲浹月者，事理宜然，非自藩臣始。」語並侵大學士許國、左都御史吳時來、副都御史詹仰庇。執政方惡言者，勒敷教還籍省過，麟趾、仁榮亦停俸。時已除定向戶部尚書督倉場，定向因力辭求退。章屢上，乃許。卒，年七十三。贈太子少保，謚恭簡。

Geng Dingxiang, styled Zailun, was from Huang'an. He became a jinshi in Jiajing 35. He was made a courier, then raised to censor. Yan Song father and son held power; Minister Wu Peng clung to them. Dingxiang listed six crimes of Peng and, since Academician Dong Fen ran the metropolitan exams and favored Peng's son Shao, asked that Fen be expelled too. Song shielded them and the case died. As touring censor in Gansu he promoted and punished without partiality. On leaving, his traveling chest was one shoulder pole. Someone offered a stone classic; he left it on the border and went on. Back at court he oversaw Nanjing education. Early in Longqing he was made Right Assistant in the Court of Judicial Review. Gao Gong in power had been mocked by Dingxiang for pettiness unworthy of a chief minister; Gong bore a grudge. When Gong ran Personnel he used the review to demote Dingxiang to magistrate of Hengzhou. After Gong fell he was moved in grade to investigating magistrate of Hengzhou. In Wanli he rose to Right Vice Censor-in-Chief. Vice Minister Lu Guangzu was impeached by Censor Zhou Zhihan; Lu was kept on, but Dingxiang praised Lu and attacked Zhou. Supervising Secretary Li Yiqian said Dingxiang was driving out critics; Dingxiang asked to quit and the emperor did not pursue it. He served as Left and Right Vice Minister of Punishments and was made Nanjing Right Censor-in-Chief. Censor Wang Fanchen impeached Yingtian Coordinator Zhou Ji, yet the memorial reached Dingxiang only after more than a month. Dingxiang was furious, clung to precedent, resigned in protest, and also denounced Fanchen's impeachment as improper. He said Coordinators Chen Younian of Jiangxi and Xu Yuantai of Sichuan were worthy men ousted by Fang Wanshan and Wang Linzhi, who should be recalled while Fanchen was punished proportionately. Fanchen was fined two months' salary. Then Supervising Secretary Xu Honggang, student Xue Fujiao, Nanjing Censor Huang Renrong, and Linzhi impeached Dingxiang in turn. Linzhi said: "The southern board is far from court; memorials travel ahead and men can plot. When Censor Sun Mingzhi attacked Wei Regional Commander Xu Bangrui and Chen Yangshan attacked Director Liu Yihuan, both learned early—one escaped by favor, the other was trapped by piled charges. Hence recent submissions sometimes lag a month; that is natural and did not start with Fanchen." He also struck at Grand Secretaries Xu Guo, Left Censor Wu Shilai, and Vice Censor Zhan Yangbi. The ministers hated outspoken men; Fujiao was sent home to repent, and Linzhi and Renrong lost salary. Dingxiang had been named Minister of Revenue over the granaries; he pressed hard to withdraw. After repeated memorials he was allowed to go. He died at seventy-three. He was posthumously made Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent with the name Gongjian.

定向初立朝有時望。後歷徐階、張居正、申時行、王錫爵四輔，皆能無齟齬。至居正奪情，寓書友人譽為伊尹而貶言者，時議訾之。其學本王守仁。嘗招晉江李贄於黃安，後漸惡之，贄亦屢短定向。士大夫好禪者往往從贄遊。贄小有才，機辨，定向不能勝也。贄為姚安知府，一旦自去其發，冠服坐堂皇，上官勒令解任。居黃安，日引士人講學，雜以婦女，專崇釋氏，卑侮孔、孟。後北遊通州，為給事中張問達所劾，逮死獄中。

Dingxiang at first had repute at court. Later he served four chief ministers—Xu Jie, Zhang Juzheng, Shen Shixing, and Wang Xijue—without friction. When Juzheng took mourning leave he wrote friends calling him an Yi Yin and mocking critics; opinion blamed him. His doctrine came from Wang Shouren. He once invited Li Zhi of Jinjiang to Huang'an; later they grew hostile and Zhi often slighted him. Gentlemen enamored of Chan often followed Zhi. Zhi had small talent and sharp tongue; Dingxiang could not overcome him. As Yao'an prefect Zhi one day shaved his head, put on monk's dress, and sat in the hall; superiors made him quit. At Huang'an he lectured daily, admitted women, exalted Buddhism, and scorned Confucius and Mencius. Later he went north to Tongzhou; Supervising Secretary Zhang Wenda impeached him and he died in jail.

定向弟定理、定力。定理終諸生。與定向俱講學，專主禪機。定力，隆慶中進士，除工部主事。萬曆中，累官右僉都御史，督操江，疏陳礦使之患。再遷南京兵部右侍郎。卒，贈尚書。

His younger brothers were Dingli and Dingli. Dingli remained a National University student. He lectured with Dingxiang, devoted to Chan mysteries. Dingli became a jinshi in Longqing and was made principal clerk in Works. In Wanli he rose to Right Vice Censor-in-Chief, commanded the Yangtze patrol, and warned of mining commissioners. He was later promoted to Right Vice Minister of War in Nanjing. Upon his death he was posthumously made a full minister.

王樵，字明遠，金壇人。父臬，兵部主事。諫武宗南巡，被杖。終山東副使。樵舉嘉靖二十六年進士，授行人。歷刑部員外郎。著《讀律私箋》，甚精核。胡宗憲計降汪直，欲赦直以示信。樵言此叛民與他納降異，直遂誅。遷山東僉事，移疾歸。萬曆初，張居正柄國，雅知樵，起補浙江僉事，擢尚寶卿。劉臺劾居正，居正乞歸。諸曹奏留之，樵獨請全諫臣以安大臣，略言：「自古明主欲開言路，言不當，猶優容之；大臣欲廣上德，人攻己，猶薦拔之。如宋文彥博於唐介是也。今居正留而臺得罪，無乃非仁宗待唐介意乎！」居正大恚，出為南京鴻臚卿。旋因星變自陳，罷之。家居十余年，起南京太仆少卿，時年七十余矣。歲中再遷大理卿，尋拜南京刑部右侍郎。誠意伯劉世延主使殺人，樵當世延革任。尋就擢右都御史。給事中盧大中劾其衰老，帝令致仕。

Wang Qiao, courtesy name Mingyuan, came from Jintan. His father Nie served as principal clerk in the Ministry of War. He spoke out against the Wuzong emperor's southern tour and was flogged at court. He ended his career as Shandong vice commissioner. Qiao became a jinshi in Jiajing 26 and was made an emissary in the Hanlin service. He rose through the ranks to assistant director in the Ministry of Justice. He wrote Du Lu Si Jian, a work noted for its precise and rigorous legal analysis. Hu Zongxian sought Wang Zhi's surrender and wanted to grant him amnesty as a sign of sincerity. Qiao argued that this rebel was unlike ordinary capitulators; Wang Zhi was executed as a result. Appointed Shandong assistant commissioner, he soon retired claiming illness. In the early Wanli reign Zhang Juzheng, who knew Qiao well, recalled him as Zhejiang assistant commissioner and then promoted him to Director of Ceremonies. Liu Tai impeached Zhang Juzheng, who then asked to leave office. Offices urged Zhang to stay; Qiao alone pleaded to shield critics and reassure the chief minister, writing in part: "Enlightened rulers have always kept counsel open—even mistaken speech they still tolerated; Great ministers who sought to magnify their lord's virtue would promote those who criticized them. This was like Wen Yanbo of Song toward Tang Jie. Now Juzheng remains while Liu Tai is punished—is this not far from how Emperor Renzong treated Tang Jie?" Zhang was furious and had him posted to Nanjing as Director of the Court of Imperial Entertainments. Shortly afterward he offered his resignation after a portent in the heavens and was removed from office. After more than a decade at home he was recalled as Nanjing vice director of the Imperial Stud, already in his seventies. That same year he rose again to chief of the Court of Judicial Review, then became Right Vice Minister of Justice in Nanjing. When Marquis of Chengyi Liu Shiyan was found to have ordered a killing, Qiao ruled to dismiss him. He was soon promoted to Right Censor-in-Chief. Supervising Secretary Lu Dazhong attacked him as too old; the emperor told him to retire.

樵恬淡誠愨，溫然長者。邃經學，《易》、《書》、《春秋》皆有纂述。卒，贈太子少保，謚恭簡。

Qiao was calm, honest, and unassuming—a gentle elder in bearing. Deeply learned in the classics, he produced writings on the Changes, Documents, and Spring and Autumn. At his death he was posthumously made Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent with the posthumous name Gongjian ("Respectful and Plain").

子肯堂，字宇泰。舉萬曆十七年進士，選庶吉士，授檢討。倭寇朝鮮，疏陳十議，願假御史銜練兵海上。疏留中，因引疾歸。京察，降調。家居久之，吏部侍郎楊時喬薦補南京行人司副。終福建參政。肯堂好讀書，尤精於醫，所著《證治準繩》該博精粹，世競傳之。

His son Kentang, courtesy name Yutai. He became a jinshi in Wanli 17, entered the Hanlin as bachelor, and was made reviser. When pirates struck Korea he laid out ten proposals and asked to drill troops at sea with censorial rank. The memorial was shelved; he retired citing illness. At the metropolitan review he was demoted and reassigned. After years at home Yang Shiqiao, vice minister of Personnel, recommended him as deputy director of Royal Carriages in Nanjing. He ended his career as Fujian administration commissioner. Kentang loved books and excelled in medicine; his Zheng Zhi Zhun Sheng was encyclopedic and precise, and widely copied.

魏時亮

The biographical subject is Wei Shiliang.

魏時亮，字工甫，南昌人。嘉靖三十八年進士。授中書舍人，擢兵科給事中。隆慶元年正月七日，有詔免朝，越三日，復傳免。時亮以新政不宜遽怠，上疏切諫。尋以左給事中副檢討許國使朝鮮。故事，王北面聽詔，使者西面。時亮爭之，乃南面宣詔。還，進戶科給事中，因列上遼東事宜。已，請慎起居，罷遊宴，日禦便殿省章奏，召大臣裁決。報聞。興都莊地八千三百頃，中官奪民田，復增八百頃，立三十六莊。帝從撫按奏，屬有司征租，還兼並者於民。中官張堯為請，又許之。時亮極諫，不納。

Wei Shiliang, courtesy name Gongfu, came from Nanchang. He became a jinshi in Jiajing 38. He was made a secretariat secretary and then promoted to supervising secretary in the Military Section. On Longqing 1/1/7 an edict canceled court; three days later another notice canceled it again. Shiliang argued the new government should not relax so quickly and submitted a forceful memorial. He was soon sent to Korea as Left Supervising Secretary assisting Reviser Xu Guo. Custom held that the king faced north to receive the edict while the envoy faced west. Shiliang objected, and the edict was read facing south instead. Returning, he rose to supervising secretary in the Revenue Section and laid out Liaodong policy in full. He then urged careful daily conduct, an end to pleasure outings, daily review of memorials in the side hall, and summoning ministers for decisions. The court acknowledged receipt. At Xingdu, on eight thousand three hundred qing of land, eunuchs seized peasant holdings, added eight hundred qing, and set up thirty-six estates. The emperor accepted the governor-censor report, had local officials collect rents, and restored annexed fields to their owners. Eunuch Zhang Yao interceded for them, and the emperor again consented. Shiliang protested vehemently, but the emperor would not listen.

帝臨朝，拱默未嘗發一言。及石州陷，有請帝詰問大臣者。越二日，講罷，帝果問石州破狀。中官王本輒從旁詬諸臣欺蔽。帝慍，目懾之，本猶刺刺語。帝不悅而罷。時亮劾本無人臣禮，大不敬，且數其不法數事。疏雖不行，士論壯之。十月初，詔停日講。時亮率同列言天未冱寒，不宜遽輟。俄請以薛瑄、陳獻章、王守仁從祀文廟，章下所司。又言方春東作，宜敕有司釋輕系，停訟獄，詔可。

At audience the emperor remained silent and never spoke. After Shizhou was lost, some urged the emperor to question his ministers. Two days later, after the lecture, the emperor did ask how Shizhou had fallen. Eunuch Wang Ben interrupted from the side, accusing the ministers of deception. The emperor flushed with anger and glared at him, yet Ben kept on talking. Displeased, the emperor ended the session. Shiliang charged Ben with breach of subject's decorum and lèse-majesté, citing several unlawful deeds. The memorial went nowhere, but scholars praised his courage. At the start of the tenth month the emperor halted daily lectures. Shiliang and his colleagues argued that winter had not yet set in and lectures should not cease so soon. He soon proposed enshrining Xue Xuan, Chen Xianzhang, and Wang Shouren in the Confucian temple; the memorial went to the ministries. He also urged, as spring planting began, releasing minor detainees and suspending litigation; the emperor agreed.

明年六月言：「今天下大患三：藩祿不給也，邊餉不支也，公私交困也。宗藩有一時之計，有百世之計。亟立宗學，教之禮讓，祿萬石者歲捐五之一，二千石者十之一，千石者二十之一，以贍貧宗，立為定制。此一時計也。各宗聚居一城，貧日益甚，宜令就近散處，給閑田使耕以代祿；奸生之孽，重行黜削。此百世計也。邊餉莫要於屯鹽，近遴大臣龐尚鵬、鄒應龍、淩儒經理，事權雖重，顧往河東者兼理四川，往江北者兼理山東、河南，往江南者兼理浙、湖、雲、貴，重內地而輕塞下，非初旨也。且一人領數道，曠遠難周。請在內地者專責巡撫，令尚鵬等三人分任塞下屯事，久任責成，有功待以不次，則利興而邊儲自裕。今天下府庫殫虛，百姓困瘁，而建議者欲罄天下庫藏輸內府，以濟旦夕之用。脫州郡有變，何以待之？夫守令以養民為職，要在勸農桑、清徭賦、重鄉約、嚴保甲，而簿書獄訟、催科巧拙不與焉。」疏上，多議行。其冬，復疏言：「天下可憂在民窮，能為民紓憂者，知府而已，宜慎重其選。治行卓越，即擢京卿若巡撫，則人自激勸。督學者，天下名教所系，當擇學行兼懋者，毋限以時。教行望峻，則召為祭酒或入翰林，以示風勵。」下部議，卒不行。

The next June he wrote: "The realm faces three grave ills: imperial clans cannot live on their stipends, frontier pay cannot be met, and state and people alike are exhausted. For the clans there are expedients for the present and reforms for the long term. Establish clan schools at once to teach ritual and humility; princes receiving ten thousand shi should give one-fifth yearly, two-thousand-shi houses one-tenth, one-thousand-shi houses one-twentieth, to aid poor kinsmen—then fix this as permanent law. That is the short-term remedy. When clans are packed into one city poverty only deepens; let them settle nearby and work idle fields in lieu of salary; Illegitimate offspring should be heavily demoted and cut off. That is the long-term reform. Border pay rests above all on garrison salt; Pang Shangpeng, Zou Yinglong, and Ling Ru were lately put in charge with broad powers, yet the man sent to Hedong also ran Sichuan, the Jiangbei officer also Shandong and Henan, the Jiangnan officer also Zhejiang, Hunan, Yunnan, and Guizhou—weighting the interior and neglecting the frontier, not what was first intended. And one man cannot oversee several distant circuits at once. He proposed leaving interior salt to the governors while Shangpeng and the others each took a frontier zone, with long terms, clear responsibility, and exceptional rewards for success—then revenue would grow and border granaries fill themselves. Provincial coffers are empty and the people are exhausted, yet some counsel emptying every treasury into the inner palace for day-to-day spending. If the regions revolt, what reserves will we have? Prefects and magistrates exist to sustain the people: promote farming, lighten levies, enforce village compacts, tighten baojia—paperwork, lawsuits, and tax tricks are not the measure." Much of the memorial was debated and largely adopted. That winter he wrote again: "The nation's worry is popular poverty, and only prefects can relieve it—choose them with utmost care. Promote outstanding prefects straight to capital office or a governorship, and others will strive on their own. Provincial education commissioners uphold the realm's culture—pick men of proven scholarship and character, not by rotation alone. When their teaching is eminent, call them to be Grand Master of the National University or into the Hanlin as a mark of honor." The ministries deliberated, but in the end nothing was done.

三年，擢太仆少卿。初，徐階、高拱相構，時亮與朝臣攻去拱。已而拱復入，考察言官，排異己者；時亮及陳瓚、張槚已擢京卿，皆被斥。時亮坐不謹，落職。萬曆十二年，用丘橓、余懋學等薦，起南京大理丞。累遷右副都御史，攝京營戎政，陳安攘要務十四事。尋請以水利、義倉、生養、賦役、清獄、弭盜、善俗七條課守令，歲終報部院及科，計吏時以修廢定殿最。又請皇長子出閣講學。歷刑部左、右侍郎，拜南京刑部尚書。逾年卒官。

In year three he was made vice director of the Imperial Stud. At first Xu Jie and Gao Gong were at odds; Shiliang and others in court helped force Gong out. When Gong came back he reviewed the censorate and purged dissenters; Shiliang, Chen Zan, and Zhang Hao, though already raised to capital posts, were all driven out. Shiliang was faulted for lack of discretion and dismissed. Wanli 12 brought his recall to Nanjing assistant director of Punishments, on the recommendation of Qiu Yin and Yu Maoxue. He advanced to Right Vice Censor-in-Chief, took charge of capital garrison affairs, and laid out fourteen essentials of defense and order. He next proposed grading prefects and magistrates on seven counts—waterworks, relief granaries, livelihood, taxation, clearing jails, suppressing bandits, and improving custom—with annual reports to ministries and censors to set their rankings. He also urged the crown prince to leave the palace for formal study. He passed through both vice ministries of Justice and became Nanjing minister of Justice. A year later he died in post.

時亮初好交遊，負意氣。嘗劾罷左都御史張永明，為時論所非。時亮亦悔之。中遭挫抑，潛心性理之學。天啟中，謚莊靖。

In his youth Shiliang was sociable and high-spirited. He once forced Left Censor-in-Chief Zhang Yongming from office, to the disapproval of his peers. Later he regretted that act. Setbacks in mid-career turned him inward to moral philosophy. Under Tianqi he received the posthumous name Zhuangjing ("Solemn and Tranquil").

陳瓚，字廷稞，常熟人。嘉靖三十五年進士。授江西永豐知縣。治最，擢刑科給事中。劾罷嚴嵩黨祭酒王才、諭德唐汝楫。遷左給事中。劾文選郎南軒，請錄建言廢斥者。帝震怒，杖六十除名。隆慶元年，起官吏科，請恤楊最、楊爵、羅洪先、楊繼盛，而誅奸黨之殺沈煉者。帝可之，楊順、路楷皆逮治。其冬，擢太常少卿。高拱惡瓚為徐階所引，瓚已移疾歸，竟坐浮躁謫洛川丞，不赴。萬曆中，累官刑部左侍郎。初，瓚為拱所惡，被斥，及張居正柄政，亦惡之，不召。居正死，始以薦起會稽縣丞。其後官侍郎。稽勛郎顧憲成疏論時弊謫官，瓚責大學士王錫爵曰：「憲成疏最公，何以得譴？」錫爵曰：「彼執書生之言，徇道旁之口，安知吾輩苦心。」瓚曰：「恐書生之言當信，道旁之口當察，憲成苦心亦不可不知也。」錫爵默然。瓚前後忤執政如此。卒官，贈右都御史，謚莊靖。槚見《鄒應龍傳》。

Chen Zan, courtesy name Tingke, came from Changshu. He became a jinshi in Jiajing 35. He was made magistrate of Yongfeng, Jiangxi. Rated top in administrative merit, he was raised to supervising secretary in the Justice section. He brought down Yan Song allies Grand Master of Sacrifices Wang Cai and Preceptor Tang Rujie through impeachment. He was moved up to Left Supervising Secretary. He charged Selection Bureau director Nan Xuan and asked that officials expelled for speaking out be reinstated. The emperor flew into a rage, had him thrashed sixty blows, and removed him from office. Recalled in Longqing 1 to the Personnel section, he sought honors for Yang Zui, Yang Jue, Luo Hongxian, and Yang Jisheng and punishment for the clique that murdered Shen Lian. The throne assented, and Yang Shun and Lu Kai were both seized for trial. That winter he was made Vice Minister of Imperial Sacrifices. Gao Gong resented Zan as Xu Jie's protégé; though Zan had already gone home on sick leave, he was finally banished to Luochuan assistant magistrate for rashness and never reported. In the Wanli era he eventually reached Left Vice Minister of Justice. Zan had first been driven out by Gao Gong; under Zhang Juzheng's dominance he was likewise disliked and left unreappointed. Only after Juzheng's death was he recommended back as Assistant Magistrate of Kuaiji. He later rose to vice minister. After Record Office director Gu Xiancheng was banished for criticizing abuses of the day, Zan confronted Grand Secretary Wang Xijue: "Xiancheng's memorial was entirely just—why was he punished?" Xijue replied, "He clings to pedantic talk and heeds street rumor—how could he grasp our difficulties." Zan answered, "Perhaps pedantic counsel deserves trust, street talk deserves scrutiny, and Xiancheng's concerns deserve heed as well." Xijue said nothing. In this way Zan repeatedly crossed the men at the helm. He died in office and was posthumously enfeoffed as Right Censor-in-Chief with the posthumous name Zhuangjing. Zhang is treated in the Zou Yinglong biography.

郝傑，字彥輔，蔚州人。父銘，御史。傑舉嘉靖三十五年進士，授行人，擢御史。隆慶元年，巡撫畿輔。冬，寇大入永平，疏請蠲被掠地徭賦，且言：「比年罰行於文臣而於武弁，及於主帥而略於偏裨，請飭法以振國威。」俱報可。已，劾薊督劉燾、巡撫耿隨卿觀望，寇退則斷死者報首功，又奪遼東將士棒槌崖戰績，並論副使沈應乾，遊擊李信、周冕罪。帝為黜應乾，下信、冕獄，敕燾、隨卿還籍聽勘。詔遣中官李祐督蘇、杭織造，工部執奏，不從。傑言：「登極詔書罷織造甫一年，敕使復遣，非畫一之政。且內臣專恣，有司剝下奉之，損聖德非小。」帝終不聽。駕幸南海子，命京營諸軍盡從。徐階、楊博等諫，不聽，傑復爭之，卒不從。刑部侍郎洪朝選以拾遺罷，上疏自辨，傑等劾其違制，遂削職。以嘗論高拱非宰輔器，為所嫉。及拱再召，傑遂請急去。拱罷，起故官。旋以私議張居正逐拱非是，出為陜西副使。再遷山東左布政使。被劾，降遼東苑馬寺卿兼海道兵備，加山東按察使。

Hao Jie, styled Yanfu, came from Yuzhou. His father Ming had served as censor. Jie became a jinshi in Jiajing 35, served as courier, and was raised to censor. In Longqing 1 he was grand coordinator of the capital region. That winter, after raiders struck Yongping in force, he asked that levies be waived in plundered areas and wrote, "Punishment lately hits civil officials but not military men, and commanders but not their juniors—discipline the code to restore imperial authority." Both proposals were approved. He then charged Jizhou Superintendent Liu Tao and Grand Coordinator Geng Suiqing with holding back; after the raiders withdrew they claimed credit with severed heads of the slain, and he also stripped Liaodong troops of Bangchuiya battle honors while indicting Vice Commissioner Shen Yingqian and battalion commanders Li Xin and Zhou Mian. The throne removed Shen Yingqian, jailed Li Xin and Zhou Mian, and sent Tao and Suiqing home to await inquiry. The court ordered eunuch Li You to oversee Suzhou and Hangzhou weaving; the Ministry of Works protested in memorial, but the emperor refused. Jie argued, "The enthronement edict ended weaving only a year ago, yet an envoy has been dispatched again—policy is no longer consistent. Worse, eunuchs rule unchecked while officials squeeze the populace to feed them—a serious blow to the throne's reputation." The emperor still ignored him. On an imperial visit to the Southern Park, all capital garrison troops were ordered to accompany the procession. Xu Jie, Yang Bo, and others remonstrated in vain; Jie protested again, and the emperor still refused. Vice Minister of Justice Hong Chaoxuan was removed after a supplemental impeachment; when he memorialized in self-defense, Jie and others charged him with breaking protocol and he was demoted. He had once declared Gao Gong unfit for the premiership, and Gao resented him for it. When Gao returned to power, Jie immediately sought leave to quit. Once Gao fell, Jie was reinstated in his old office. He was soon posted to Shaanxi as vice commissioner after privately criticizing Zhang Juzheng's ouster of Gao Gong. He was next promoted to Left Provincial Administration Commissioner of Shandong. After impeachment he was reduced to Liaodong Stud Farm director with concurrent coastal defense duties, and given the additional title Shandong Surveillance Commissioner.

十七年，擢右僉都御史，巡撫遼東。以督諸將擊敵，錄一子官。時李成梁為總兵官，威望甚著，然上功不無抵欺。寇入塞，或斂兵避，既退，始尾襲老弱，或乘虛搗零部，誘殺附塞者充首功，習以為常。督撫諸臣庇之，傑獨不與比。十九年春，成梁用參將郭夢徵策，使副將李寧襲板升於鎮夷堡，獲老弱二百八十余級。師旋，為別部所遮，寧先走，將士數千人失亡大半，成梁飾功邀敘。傑具奏草，直言其故，要總督蹇達共奏。達匿其草，自為奏論功。巡按御史胡克儉馳疏劾寧，詞連成梁，亦詆傑。兵部置寧罪不議。克儉大憤，盡發成梁、達隱蔽狀。先是，十八年冬，海州被掠十三日，副將孫守廉不戰，成梁亦弗救。克儉既劾守謙，申時行、許國庇之，止令聽勘。克儉乃言：「臣初劾守廉，時行以書沮臣；及劾寧，又與國諭臣寬其罪。徇私背公，將壞邊事。」並歷詆一鶚、達及兵科給事中張應登朋奸欺罔，達置傑會稿功罪疏不奏，遂追數成梁前數年冒功狀。帝謂成梁前功皆由巡按勘報，克儉懸度妄議。卒置成梁等不問，而心以傑為不欺。

In year seventeen he became Right Vice Censor-in-Chief and grand coordinator of Liaodong. Because he directed the generals against the enemy, one son received an official appointment. Li Chengliang was then regional commander: widely feared, yet not above falsifying battle credit. When raiders crossed the border he sometimes held back; after they withdrew he would pick off the aged and weak, raid isolated bands, or slaughter frontier dependents for false head counts—a settled habit. Supervising and coordinating officials covered for him; Jie alone refused to join them. In spring of year nineteen Chengliang, following Battalion Commander Guo Mengzheng's scheme, sent Vice Commander Li Ning to strike Ban Sheng at Zhenyi Fort and claimed over two hundred eighty heads of old and weak captives. On the march home another band blocked them; Ning ran first and several thousand troops were lost—well over half—yet Chengliang dressed up the affair to claim honors. Jie drafted a full memorial stating the facts and demanded that Governor-General Jian Da co-submit it. Da hid Jie's draft and filed his own memorial praising the victory. Investigating censor Hu Kejian hurried a memorial against Ning, linking Chengliang in the charges and attacking Jie as well. The Ministry of War declined to consider Ning's crimes. Kejian, furious, laid bare all Chengliang's and Da's cover-ups. Previously, in winter of year eighteen Haizhou had been ravaged for thirteen days; Vice Commander Sun Shoulian never fought, and Chengliang never relieved the town. Kejian had impeached Shoulian, but Shen Shihang and Xu Guo protected him, and the court merely ordered him to await inquiry. Kejian then wrote, "When I first impeached Shoulian, Shihang tried to block me by letter; when I impeached Ning, he and Xu Guo urged me to soften the charges. Private favor over public duty will wreck frontier defense." He also denounced Shen Yiyu, Da, and Ministry of War supervising secretary Zhang Yingdeng as a deceitful clique; Da had suppressed Jie's joint memorial on merit and guilt, and he now traced years of Chengliang's inflated victories. The emperor ruled that Chengliang's earlier feats had been confirmed by investigating censors and that Kejian's charges were groundless surmise. Chengliang and the rest were left untouched, yet the emperor inwardly judged Jie trustworthy.

旋就進右副都御史。日本陷朝鮮，達遣裨將祖承訓以三千人往，皆沒。事聞，傑亦被劾，帝特免之。朝鮮王避難將入遼，傑請擇境外善地處之，且周給其從官、衛士，報可。尋遷兵部右侍郎，總督薊、遼、保定軍務。召理戎政，進右都御史。日本封貢議起，傑曰：「平秀吉罪不勝誅，顧加以爵命，荒外聞之，謂中朝無人。」議不合，徙南京戶部尚書。移疾歸。起南京工部尚書。就改兵部，參贊機務。卒官。贈太子少保。

He was soon advanced to Right Vice Censor-in-Chief. After Japan overran Korea, Da sent Lieutenant Commander Zu Chengxun with three thousand troops; all perished. When news arrived Jie was impeached too, but the emperor expressly spared him. With the Korean king fleeing toward Liaodong, Jie asked that he be lodged at a safe site beyond the border and that his retinue be provided for; the court agreed. He was soon made Right Vice Minister of War and governor-general of Ji, Liaodong, and Baoding. Recalled to direct military affairs, he rose to Right Censor-in-Chief. When Japan's enfeoffment and tribute were debated, Jie declared, "Hideyoshi's crimes cry out for execution, yet if we grant him rank and titles, the outer world will say the court has no worthy men." Overruled, he was moved to Nanjing Minister of Revenue. He went home on sick leave. He was recalled as Nanjing Minister of Works. He was at once shifted to the Ministry of War to assist in state affairs. He died while serving. He was posthumously enfeoffed as Junior Mentor of the Heir Apparent.

胡克儉，字共之，光山人。萬曆十四年進士。由庶吉士改御史，巡按山東。遼東其所轄也，奏禁買功、竊級諸弊。既劾成梁，為要人所忌。會克儉劾左都御史李世達曲庇罪囚，至詆為賊，執政遂言克儉妄排執法大臣，不可居言路，謫蘄水丞。上官以事遣歸，裏居三十年。光宗立，起光祿少卿。天啟中，歷刑部右侍郎。五年冬，逆黨李恒茂論其衰朽，落職歸。崇禎初，復官。卒贈尚書。克儉本姓扶，冒胡姓，久之始復故。

Hu Kejian, styled Gongzhi, came from Guangshan. He became a jinshi in Wanli 14. Leaving the Hanlin Academy, he became investigating censor for Shandong. Liaodong fell under his circuit, and he memorialized to ban purchased merit and stolen battle credit. Once he impeached Chengliang, men of influence turned against him. Kejian charged Left Censor-in-Chief Li Shida with shielding criminals, even calling him a traitor; the ruling faction declared him unfit for the censorate and banished him to Qishui assistant magistrate. Sent home over the affair, he remained in private life for thirty years. At Guangzong's accession he was recalled as Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Entertainments. In the Tianqi era he rose to Right Vice Minister of Justice. In winter of year five the factionalist Li Hengmao denounced him as decrepit and he was removed. Early in Chongzhen his rank was restored. After death he was posthumously made Minister. Kejian was born Fu but had taken the surname Hu, restoring his original name only after many years.

趙參魯

Zhao Canlu

趙參魯，字宗傳，鄞人。隆慶五年進士。選庶吉士，改戶科給事中。萬曆二年，慈聖太后立廟涿州，祀碧霞元君。部科臣執奏，不從。參魯斥其不經，且言：「南北被寇，流害生民，興役浚河，鬻及妻子。陛下發帑治橋建廟，已五萬有奇。茍移振貧民，植福當更大。」亦不聽。南京中官張進醉辱給事中王頤，給事中鄭嶽、楊節交章論，未報，參魯復上言：「進乃守備中官申信黨，不並治信，無以厭人心。」時信方結馮保，朝議遂奪嶽等俸，謫參魯高安典史。遷饒州推官，擢福建提學僉事，請急歸。遭喪，服除，仍督學福建。歷南京太常卿。十七年，以右副都御史巡撫福建。申嚴海禁，戮奸商通倭者。遷大理卿。召為刑部左侍郎，改兵部，旋改吏部。日本封貢議起，參魯持不可。總督顧養謙不懌，爭於朝，且言參魯熟倭情，宜任。章下廷臣，參魯復持前說，因著《東封三議》，辨利害甚悉。其後封事卒不成。拜南京刑部尚書。誠意伯劉世延妄指星象，欲起兵勤王，被劾下吏，參魯當以死。南京工部主事趙學仕以侵牟為侍郎周思敬所劾，擬戍。學仕移罪家僮，法司予輕比。御史朱吾弼復劾之，並及參魯，言學仕乃大學士誌臯族父，故參魯庇之。參魯乞休。吏部尚書孫丕揚等言參魯履行素高，不當聽其去，詔留之。累加太子太保。致仕，卒，謚端簡。

Zhao Canlu, styled Zongchuan, came from Yin. He became a jinshi in Longqing 5. Chosen as Hanlin Bachelor, he moved to supervising secretary in the Revenue section. In Wanli 2 Empress Dowager Cisheng built a temple at Zhuozhou to the Goddess Bixia. Ministry and censorate officials protested in memorial, but the emperor refused. Canlu condemned the rite as improper and wrote, "Bandits have ravaged north and south, ruining the people; dredging levies have driven families to sell even wives and children. Your Majesty has already drawn over fifty thousand taels from the treasury for bridges and temples. Redirected to famine relief, the blessing would be far greater." The emperor still ignored the plea. When Nanjing eunuch Zhang Jin drunkenly humiliated supervising secretary Wang Yi, Zheng Yue and Yang Jie memorialized in protest without response; Canlu added, "Jin belongs to garrison eunuch Shen Xin's faction—unless Xin is punished too, the public will not be appeased. Shen Xin was then in league with Feng Bao, and court opinion turned against the memorialists: Yue and the others lost their stipends, and Canlu was banished to the post of county recorder at Gao'an. Later transferred to magistrate's assistant at Raozhou and promoted to educational commissioner in Fujian, he soon petitioned to hurry home on urgent leave. After a death in the family and completion of mourning, he returned to his educational duties in Fujian. He rose through service to Vice Minister of Ceremonies in Nanjing. In Wanli 17 he was appointed Grand Coordinator of Fujian with the rank of Right Vice Censor-in-Chief. He tightened the coastal prohibition and put to death merchants who colluded with Japanese pirates. He was appointed Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. Recalled as Left Vice Minister of Justice, reassigned to War and then shortly to Personnel. As the proposal to enfeoff Japan and receive its tribute came up, Canlu held firm that it must not be allowed. Grand Coordinator Gu Yangqian took offense, disputed the point at court, and argued that Canlu understood Japanese affairs and should be given the task. When the memorial reached the court for discussion, Canlu restated his position and composed Three Discourses on Eastern Enfeoffment, setting out the pros and cons with thorough clarity. In the end the enfeoffment scheme came to nothing. He was made Minister of Justice at Nanjing. The Marquis of Chengyi, Liu Shiyan, had falsely read the stars and plotted to raise troops in the name of saving the throne; once impeached and brought before the courts, Canlu ruled that he deserved death. Zhao Xueshi, a director in the Nanjing Ministry of Works, was impeached by Vice Minister Zhou Sijing for profiteering, and exile was recommended. Xueshi transferred guilt to his household servants, and the judicial authorities imposed a light penalty. Censor Zhu Wubi renewed the impeachment and extended it to Canlu, charging that Xueshi was a kinsman of Grand Secretary Zhao Zhigao and that Canlu had protected him for that reason. Canlu asked to retire. Personnel Minister Sun Piyang and others argued that Canlu's record had always been upright and that he ought not be permitted to resign; the throne ordered him to remain. He was eventually raised to Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent. He retired from office, died, and was posthumously honored with the title Duansu.

張孟男

The biography turns to Zhang Mengnan.

張孟男，字元嗣，中牟人。嘉靖四十四年進士。授廣平推官。稍遷漢中同知。入為順天治中，累進尚寶丞。高拱以內閣兼吏部，其妻，孟男姑也，自公事外無私語。拱憾之，四歲不遷。及拱被逐，親知皆引匿，孟男獨留拱邸，為治裝送之郊。張居正用事，擢孟男太仆少卿。孟男復不附，失居正意，不調。久之，居正敗，始累遷南京工部右侍郎。尋召入，以本官掌通政司事。

Zhang Mengnan, styled Yuansi, came from Zhongmu. He became a jinshi in Jiajing 44. He was made magistrate's assistant at Guangping. He was later moved up to subprefect of Hanzhong. Recalled to the capital as judicial assistant of Shuntian, he rose step by step to Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Seals. While Gao Gong served in the Grand Secretariat and also headed Personnel, his wife was Mengnan's aunt by marriage, yet beyond official matters they exchanged no private words. Gong took offense at this, and for four years Mengnan received no advancement. After Gong was driven from office, friends and relatives all kept their distance, but Mengnan alone stayed at Gong's house, helped him pack, and escorted him to the city outskirts. Once Zhang Juzheng came to power, he raised Mengnan to Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Stud. Mengnan again refused to court favor, fell from Juzheng's good graces, and was passed over for further appointments. Only after Juzheng's downfall, and after a long wait, was he gradually promoted to Right Vice Minister of Works at Nanjing. He was soon recalled to the capital and, retaining his rank, took charge of the Office for Transmission.

萬曆十七年，帝不視朝者八月，孟男疏諫，且言：「嶺南人訟故都御史李材功，蔡人訟故令曹世卿枉，章並留中，其人系兵馬司，橐饘不繼，莫必其生，虧損聖德。」帝心動，乃間一禦門。其冬，改戶部，進左侍郎。尋拜南京工部尚書，就改戶部。時留都儲峙耗竭，孟男受事，粟僅支二年，不再歲遂有七年之蓄。水衡修倉，發公羨二千金助之。或謂奈何耘人田，孟男曰：「公家事，乃畫區畔耶？」南京御史陳所聞劾孟男貪鄙，吏部尚書孫鑨言孟男忠誠謹恪，臺臣所論，事由郎官，帝乃留之。孟男求去，不允。再疏請，乃聽歸。久之，召拜故官。

In Wanli 17, after eight months without holding court, Mengnan submitted a remonstrance noting that southerners were pleading the case of the late Censor-in-Chief Li Cai while the people of Cai were protesting the injustice done to the late Magistrate Cao Shiqing; with those petitions still held back and the petitioners detained at the Horse and Chariot Office, barely fed and facing uncertain survival, the throne's moral standing was being harmed. Moved by this, the emperor began to hold court at the gate from time to time. That winter he moved to Revenue and was advanced to Left Vice Minister. He was soon made Nanjing Minister of Works and then immediately reassigned to Revenue. Nanjing's granaries were then nearly empty; when Mengnan took charge the supply would barely cover two years, yet within a year he had built up a seven-year reserve. When the Water Office repaired its granaries, he contributed two thousand taels from surplus public funds to help. When someone asked why he was working another man's field, Mengnan replied: if it is the state's business, must one mark off boundaries? Nanjing censor Chen Suowen accused Mengnan of greed and meanness, but Personnel Minister Sun Rong testified that Mengnan was loyal and scrupulous and that the censor's charges stemmed from a director's dispute; the emperor kept him in office. Mengnan asked to resign, but permission was denied. After a second petition to retire, he was at last allowed to go home. After some years he was recalled to his former post.

三十年春，有詔罷礦稅。已，弗果行。孟男率同列諫，不報。加太子少保。五上章乞歸，不許。時礦稅患日劇，孟男草遺疏數千言，極陳其害，言：「臣備員地官，所征天下租稅，皆鬻男市女、朘骨割肉之余也。臣以催科為職，臣得其職，而民病矣。聚財以病民，虐民以搖國，有臣如此，安所用之？臣不勝哀鳴，為陛下杞人憂耳。」屬其子上之，明日遂卒。南京尚書趙參魯等奏其清忠，贈太子太保。

In the spring of Wanli 30 an edict announced the abolition of mining levies. Before long the order was not put into effect. Mengnan led his colleagues in protest, but received no reply. He was promoted to Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent. He petitioned five times to retire, but each request was refused. As the mining-tax scourge worsened by the day, Mengnan drafted a deathbed memorial thousands of words long, denouncing the levy in detail and declaring: as a territorial official I know that every tax collected across the realm comes from what people have left after selling their children and cutting flesh from their bones. My duty is to collect taxes — I perform that duty, and the people are the ones who suffer. To gather riches by harming the people and to oppress the people so as to unsettle the realm — what use is a minister who does this? I cannot contain my grief; I speak only as one who fears for the realm, like the man of Qi who worried that the sky might fall. He had his son present the memorial, and died the following day. Nanjing Minister Zhao Canlu and others praised his upright loyalty, and he was posthumously honored as Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent.

衛承芳，字君大，達州人。隆慶二年進士。萬曆中，累官溫州知府。公廉善撫字。進浙江副使，謝病歸。薦起山東參政，歷南京鴻臚卿。吏部推太常少卿朱敬循為右通政，以承芳貳之。敬循，大學士賡子也。賡言：「承芳臣同年進士，恬淡之操，世罕能及，臣子不當先。」帝許焉。尋遷南京光祿卿，擢右副都御史，巡撫江西。嚴絕饋遺，屬吏爭自飭。入為南京兵部右侍郎，就拜戶部尚書。福王乞蘆洲，自江都抵太平南北千餘里，自遣內官征課。承芳抗疏爭，卒不從。萬曆間，南京戶部尚書有清名者，前有張孟男，後則稱承芳。尋就改吏部。卒官。贈太子太保，謚清敏。

Wei Chengfang, styled Junda, came from Dazhou. He became a jinshi in Longqing 2. Under Wanli he rose through the ranks to prefect of Wenzhou. Upright and honest, he was adept at caring for the populace. Raised to Vice Commissioner in Zhejiang, he cited illness and retired. On recommendation he returned to office, served as Shandong administrative commissioner, and later became Minister of Banquets at Nanjing. The Ministry of Personnel proposed Vice Minister of Ceremonies Zhu Jingxun for Right Commissioner for Transmission, with Chengfang as his deputy. Zhu Jingxun was the son of Grand Secretary Geng. Geng argued: Chengfang was my jinshi year-mate, and his quiet integrity is seldom matched; a minister's son should not rank ahead of him. The emperor approved. He was soon made Nanjing Minister of Imperial Sacrifices, then promoted Right Vice Censor-in-Chief and appointed Grand Coordinator of Jiangxi. He rigorously barred gifts, and his subordinates vied to tighten their own conduct. Recalled as Right Vice Minister of War at Nanjing, he was immediately appointed Minister of Revenue. The Prince of Fu sought reed lands stretching more than a thousand li from Jiangdu to Taiping and sent his own eunuchs to impose levies along the route. Chengfang protested in strong memorials, but in the end the throne would not yield. During Wanli, Nanjing ministers of Revenue famed for integrity were first Zhang Mengnan and later Chengfang. He was shortly transferred to Personnel. He died while still serving. He was posthumously honored as Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent with the title Qingmin.

李禎，字維卿，安化人。隆慶五年進士。除高平知縣，征授御史。萬曆初，傅應禎以直言下詔獄，禎與同官喬嚴、給事中徐貞明擁入護視之，坐謫長蘆鹽運司知事。遷歸德推官、禮部主事，三遷順天府丞。十八年，洮、河有警，極言貢市非策，因歷詆邊吏四失。帝以納款二十年，不當咎始事，遂寢其議。以右僉都御史巡撫湖廣，言：「知縣梁道凝循吏，反註下考，宜懲挾私者以勵其余。薦舉屬吏，不應專及高秩，下僚如趙蛟、楊果者，亦當顯旌之。」蛟、果，萬曆初以吏員超擢者也。詔皆報可。召為左僉都御史，再遷戶部右侍郎。趙用賢以絕婚事被訐，戶部郎中鄭材復詆之。禎駁材疏，語侵其父洛。材憤，疏詆禎，禎遂乞休，不允。御史宋興祖請改材他部避禎，全大臣體，乃出材南京。禎尋調兵部，進左侍郎。

Li Zhen, styled Weiqing, came from Anhua. He became a jinshi in Longqing 5. He served as magistrate of Gaoping before being called up as a censor. Early in Wanli, when Fu Yingzhen was thrown into prison for outspoken remonstrance, Zhen joined colleague Qiao Yan and supervising secretary Xu Zhenming in forcing entry to watch over him and was punished with demotion to clerk of the Changlu Salt Transport Office. He moved on to magistrate's assistant at Guide and a directorship in Rites, then rose three times to vice prefect of Shuntian. In Wanli 18, with trouble on the Tao and Yellow River frontiers, he argued forcefully that tribute trade was no policy and listed four failings of the border administration. The emperor held that tribute relations had stood for twenty years and the original arrangement should not be faulted, so the memorial was set aside. As Grand Coordinator of Huguang with the rank of Right Vice Censor-in-Chief, he argued that Magistrate Liang Daoning, a capable local administrator, had wrongly received the lowest evaluation and that officials who let bias govern ratings should be punished to spur the others. When recommending staff, one should not single out only senior men; junior officials such as Zhao Jiao and Yang Guo also deserve clear commendation. Jiao and Guo were among those raised from clerical posts early in Wanli. The throne approved each proposal. Recalled as Left Vice Censor-in-Chief, he was soon advanced to Right Vice Minister of Revenue. When Zhao Yongxian came under attack for refusing a marriage alliance, Revenue Bureau director Zheng Cai renewed the slander against him. Zhen answered Cai's memorial in a rebuttal that also touched on Cai's father, Luo. Enraged, Cai memorialized against Zhen in turn; Zhen asked to retire, but permission was refused. Censor Song Xingzu proposed moving Cai to another ministry so he would not clash with Zhen and the standing of senior ministers would be preserved; Cai was accordingly posted to Nanjing. He was shortly moved to War and raised to Left Vice Minister.

二十四年，日本封貢事僨，首輔趙誌臯、尚書石星俱被劾。廷臣議戰守，章悉下兵部。禎等言：「今所議惟戰守封三事。封則李宗城雖征，楊方亨尚在。若遽議罷，無論中國數百人淪於異域，而我兵食未集，勢難遠征。宜令方亨靜俟關白來迎則封，不迎則止。我以戰守為實務，而相機應之。且朝鮮素守禮，王師所屯，宜嚴禁擾掠。」得旨如議。而疏內言誌臯、星當去。詔詰禎，止令議戰守事，何擅及大臣去留，姑勿問。誌臯自是不悅禎。明年，星得罪，命禎攝部事。禎以平壤、王京、釜山皆朝鮮要地，請修建大城，興屯開鎮，且列上戰守十五策，俱允行。後又數上方略。

In Wanli 24 the Japanese enfeoffment and tribute negotiations broke down, and both Senior Grand Secretary Zhao Zhigao and Minister Shi Xing faced impeachment. The court debated war and defense, and every memorial on the subject went to the Ministry of War. Zhen and his colleagues wrote that the debate now turned on only three questions: war, defense, and enfeoffment. On enfeoffment, though Li Zongcheng has already been dispatched, Yang Fangheng remains in Japan. To break off the mission abruptly would abandon several hundred countrymen in a foreign land, while our armies and provisions are not yet ready for a distant campaign. Yang Fangheng should wait quietly — if the kampaku comes to receive the envoy, proceed with enfeoffment; if not, halt. War and defense should be our substantive work, with policy adjusted as conditions require. Korea has long upheld ritual decorum, and wherever our troops are stationed they must be strictly barred from looting. The throne approved the plan as memorialized. The memorial also held that Zhao Zhigao and Shi Xing should resign. The emperor reprimanded Li Zhen: confine yourself to strategy and defense—why did you presume to weigh senior ministers' fate? For now the matter would drop. Zhao Zhigao thereafter bore a grudge against Li Zhen. The next year Shi Xing fell from favor and Li Zhen was told to stand in as minister. Li Zhen urged major fortification, colonization, and new garrisons at Pyongyang, Seoul, and Pusan, Korea's key sites, and laid out fifteen war-and-defense measures—all adopted. He continued to send strategic plans to court.

四川被寇，禎言：「川、陜接界，而松潘向無寇患者，以諸番為屏蔽也。自俺答西牧，隴右騷然。其後隴右備嚴，寇不得逞，而禍乃移之川矣。今諸番強半折入於西部。臣閱地圖，從北界迤西間道達蜀地，多不隔三舍。幸層巖疊嶂，屹然天險，如鎮虜堡為漳臘門戶，虹橋關為松城咽喉。關堡之外，或嶺或崖，皆可據守。守阿玉嶺，則不能越咂際而窺堡。守黃勝場，則不敢逾塞墩而寇關。他如橫山、寡石崖尤為要害，皆當亟議防禦，令撫鎮臣計畫以聞。」報可。

When Sichuan came under attack, Li Zhen argued: "Sichuan borders Shaanxi; Songpan had long been unmolested because tribal peoples formed a buffer. After Altan drove his herds westward, the Longyou frontier erupted. As Longyou hardened its defenses the raiders turned aside—and the harm moved into Sichuan. Today more than half the tribes have been subordinated to the western Mongols. On the maps, secret routes from the northern frontier into Shu pass through gaps often less than three hamlets apart. Only sheer cliffs stand in the way: Zhenlu Fort holds the gate to Zhangla, and Hongqiao Pass guards the neck of Songpan. Outside the forts and passes, every ridge and cliff can be garrisoned. Hold Ayu Ridge and the enemy cannot pass Zha Ji to threaten the fort. Garrison Huang Shengchang and they will not dare bypass the beacon towers to strike the pass. Hengshan and Guai Shiya are equally vital—all need urgent defense plans; the governor-generals should draw them up and report. The memorial was approved.

禎質直方剛，署事規畫頗當。有欲即用為尚書者，誌臯以故憾，陰沮之。而張位、沈一貫雅與經略邢玠、經理楊鎬通，亦不便禎所為，言禎非將材，惟蕭大亨堪任。帝不聽。其後玠、鎬益無功，誌臯等又請罷禎，御史況上進劾禎庸鄙。帝皆不聽。甘肅缺巡撫，禎以劉敏寬名上。給事楊應文言敏寬方坐事勘，不當推舉。帝以詰禎，禎言：「前奉詔，敏寬須巡撫缺用，臣故舉之。」帝怒禎不引罪，調之南京。後考察，南京言官拾遺及禎，遂命致仕。

Li Zhen was blunt, principled, and firm; his stewardship was judged sound. Some urged making him minister at once, but Zhao Zhigao, nursing old grievances, quietly blocked it. Zhang Wei and Shen Yiguan, close to Xing Bing and Yang Hao, likewise disliked Li Zhen's course and called him no soldier—only Xiao Dayheng was fit. The emperor would not listen. When Xing and Yang continued to fail, Zhao Zhigao again moved to remove Li Zhen, and Censor Kuang Shangjin charged him with mediocrity. The emperor again refused. When Gansu needed a governor, Li Zhen nominated the well-known Liu Minkuan. Supervising Secretary Yang Yingwen objected: Liu Minkuan was already under disciplinary review and should not be put forward. The emperor challenged Li Zhen, who replied: "An earlier edict reserved Liu Minkuan for the next governorship vacancy—that is why I named him. Enraged that Li Zhen would not admit error, the emperor posted him to Nanjing. At the next personnel review Nanjing remonstrators brought charges against him and he was forced to retire.

久之，起南京刑部尚書。逾年復引疾，不俟報徑歸，帝怒。大學士葉向高言：「禎實病，不可深責。十余年來，大臣乞休得請者，百無一二。李廷機、趙世卿皆羈留數載，疏至百余上。今尚書孫丕揚、李化龍又以考察軍政疏不下，相率求去。若復踵禎轍，實傷國體。諸臣求去，約有數端。疾病當去，被言當去，不得其職當去。宜曲體其情，可留留之，不可留則聽之。」帝竟奪禎職閑住。未幾卒。

Years later he was recalled as Nanjing minister of Justice. A year on he pleaded illness again and left for home without waiting for permission; the emperor was furious. Grand Secretary Ye Xianggao argued: "Li Zhen is genuinely ill and should not be harshly punished. For a decade and more, perhaps one in a hundred senior ministers who asked to retire was allowed to go. Li Tingji and Zhao Shiqing were held at court for years, their pleas numbering over a hundred memorials. Today Ministers Sun Piyang and Li Hualong, whose reviews of military administration have gone unread, are likewise pressing to resign. If others follow Li Zhen's path, the prestige of the government itself will suffer. Ministers leave for a handful of reasons. Sickness, censure, or inability to perform the duties—all are grounds to let a man go. Meet their circumstances flexibly: keep them when retention is justified, release them when it is not. The emperor nevertheless stripped Li Zhen of rank and ordered him to live in disgrace. He died soon after.

丁賓，字禮原，嘉善人。隆慶五年進士。授句容知縣。征授御史。大學士張居正，賓座主也，誣劉臺以贓，屬賓往遼東按之。賓力辭，忤居正意，去官。萬曆十九年，用薦起故官，復以憂去。起南京大理丞。累遷南京右僉都御史兼督操江。江防多懈，賓率將校乘一舟往來周視，增守兵戍要害，部內宴然。南衛世職率赴京師請襲，留滯不得官，賓請就南勘襲。妖民劉天緒左道事覺，兵部尚書孫钅廣欲窮治之，詔下法司訊鞫。賓兼攝刑部大理事，力平反，論七人死，余皆獲釋。召拜工部左侍郎，尋擢南京工部尚書。自上元至丹陽道路，盡易以石，行旅頌之。數引年乞罷，光宗立，始予致仕。

Ding Bin, courtesy name Liyuan, came from Jiashan. He earned his jinshi degree in Longqing 5. He was made magistrate of Jurong. He was called up and made a censor. Grand Secretary Zhang Juzheng—Bin's examiner—framed Liu Tai for graft and sent Bin to Liaodong to prosecute the case. Bin refused outright, provoked Juzheng, and resigned. Wanli 19 brought restoration on recommendation, but mourning soon took him home again. He was recalled as assistant director of the Nanjing Court of Punishments. He advanced to Nanjing Right Assistant Censor-in-Chief and inspector of Yangtze river defenses. With river defenses slack, he toured the line in one boat with his officers, reinforced critical posts, and kept his jurisdiction at peace. Southern garrison officers who traveled to the capital to claim hereditary posts often languished without appointment; he proposed conducting succession reviews in Nanjing instead. When the heretical cult of Liu Tianxu was exposed, War Minister Sun Kuang sought a sweeping prosecution; the court referred the case to the judiciary. Acting as Nanjing chief judicial reviewer, he overturned the case: seven were sentenced to death, the rest freed. He was called to be Left Vice Minister of Works and soon made Nanjing minister of Works. He replaced the road from Nanjing proper to Danyang with stone paving, to travelers' acclaim. He repeatedly asked to retire on grounds of age; only when Guangzong took the throne was release granted.

賓官南都三十年，每遇旱潦，輒請振貸，時出家財佐之。初以御史家居，及丁憂歸，連三年大饑，鹹捐資以振。至天啟五年，復捐粟三千石振貧民，以資三千金代下戶之不能輸賦者。撫按錄上其先後事，時已加太子少保，詔進太子太保，旌其門。以年高，三被存問。崇禎六年卒，年九十一。謚清惠。

For thirty years in Nanjing office he sought famine relief whenever drought or flood struck, often adding his own funds. Early in retirement as a censor, then again during mourning leave, three consecutive famine years led him to give generously for relief. In Tianqi 5 he again gave three thousand shi of grain to the poor and three thousand taels to pay taxes for impoverished households. The provincial authorities reported his record of charity; already a Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent, he was raised to Senior Guardian and his household was publicly honored. In his great age he received three imperial inquiries after his welfare. He died in Chongzhen 6 at the age of ninety-one. He was posthumously named Qinghui ("Pure and Kind").

贊曰：南京卿長，體貌尊而官守無責，故為養望之地，資地深而譽聞重者處焉。或強直無所附麗，不為執政所喜，則以此遠之。袁洪愈諸人類以清強居優閑之地，不竟其用，亦以自全。幹時冒進之徒，可以風矣。

The historians note: Nanjing ministries were posts of high dignity but little executive weight—a garden in which to cultivate standing; men of depth and reputation were sent there. Those who were stern and independent, and therefore disliked by the men in power, were kept at such a distance. Men like Yuan Hongyu lived out their careers in these honorable but idle posts, their talents unused—yet preserving themselves in the process. Ambitious climbers of the age might take the lesson to heart.

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