Overview
Altan was a ruler.
Life and dates
Attested activity
Events and relationships
Mongol ruler whose enfeoffment, tribute, and market settlement was debated at court.
Biographical event · Participant
References in the histories
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History of Ming, Chapter 219Volume 219 Biographies 107: Zhang Siwei, Ma Ziqiang, Xu Guo, Zhao Zhigao, Zhang Wei, Zhu Geng · 2 passages
拱掌吏部，超擢翰林學士．甫兩月，拜吏部右侍郎．俺答封貢議起，朝右持不決．四維為交關於拱，款事遂成．拱益才四維，四維亦干進不已，朝士頗有疾之者．御史郜永春視鹽河東，言鹽法之壞由勢要橫行，大商專利，指四維、崇古為勢要，四維父、崇古弟為大商．四維奏辨，因乞去．拱力護之，溫詔慰留焉．
When Gao Gong headed the Ministry of Personnel, he promoted Siwei straight to Hanlin Academician; within two months Siwei was made Right Vice Minister of Personnel. Debate over Altan's enfeoffment and tribute left the court divided, but Siwei acted as Gao's go-between and the peace settlement went through. Gao prized him all the more, while Siwei never stopped pressing for advancement, and many at court came to dislike him. Censor Gao Yongchun, inspecting the salt administration in Hedong, blamed the ruin of the salt laws on powerful men acting lawlessly and great merchants monopolizing profit; he named Siwei and Chonggu as the powerful men and Siwei's father and Chonggu's brother as the great merchants. Siwei memorialized in his defense and asked to leave office. Gao defended him vigorously, and a reassuring edict kept him in post.
禮官所掌，宗藩事最多，先後條例自相牴牾，黠吏得恣為奸利．自強擇其當者俾僚吏遵守，諸不可用者悉屏之．每藩府疏至，應時裁決，榜之部門，明示行止，吏無所牟利．龍虎山正一真人，隆慶時已降為提點，奪印敕．至是，張國祥求復故號，自強寢其奏．國祥乃重賄馮保固求復，自強力持不可，卒以中旨許之．初，俺答通貢市，賞有定額，後邊臣徇其求，額漸溢．自強請申故約，濫乞者勿與，歲省費不貲．世宗實錄成，加太子少保．
The Ministry of Rites handled more clan affairs than anything else; successive regulations contradicted one another, and clever clerks profited at will. Ziqiang chose the sound rules for his staff to follow and discarded the rest. Whenever a princely memorial arrived, he decided it promptly, posted the ruling at the ministry gate, and left clerks no room to profit. The Zhengyi Perfected Man of Longhu Mountain had already been reduced during Longqing to Supervisory Commissioner and stripped of seal and patent. Now Zhang Guoxiang sought restoration of his old title; Ziqiang shelved the memorial. Guoxiang then bribed Feng Bao heavily to press the case; Ziqiang held firm that it could not be allowed, but an edict from the inner court permitted it in the end. When Altan first opened tribute and markets, rewards had fixed quotas; later frontier officials indulged his requests until the quotas swelled. Ziqiang asked that the old agreement be enforced and excessive demands refused, saving incalculable yearly expense. When the Veritable Records of Emperor Shizong were completed, he was given the additional title of Junior Tutor of the Crown Prince.