Yan Jingming (閻敬銘)

Overview

Yan Jingming was a Vice Minister.

PeriodQing

IdentityHistorical · Male

Roles

Found in

Other names

Type	English	Chinese	Pinyin
Courtesy name	Danchu	丹初	Danchu
Posthumous name	Wenjie	文介	Wenjie

Life and dates

Death

AD 1892 光緒十八年
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 438, passage 63

Attested activity

AD 1877 光緒三年
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 438, passages 52-54
AD 1883 光緒九年
Dated from the passage context · Draft History of Qing 438, passage 58
AD 1879 光緒五年
Dated from the passage context · Draft History of Qing 465, passage 86
AD 1875 光緒元年
Dated from the passage context · Draft History of Qing 440, passages 75, 85
AD 1882 光緒八年
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 438, passages 55-56
AD 1885 光緒十一年
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 438, passages 59-61

Show 13 more source-backed claims

AD 1887 光緒十三年
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 438, passage 62
AD 1892 光緒十八年
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 438, passage 63
AD 1862 同光以後
Strongly inferred · Draft History of Qing 438, passages 209, 212-213
AD 1864 同治三年
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 438, passage 17
AD 1866 同治五年
Dated from the passage context · Draft History of Qing 438, passages 44-45, 47, 49-50
AD 1862 同治元年
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 438, passages 8-9
AD 1867 同治六年
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 438, passage 51
AD 1862 to AD 1864 同治初
Dated from the passage context · Draft History of Qing 464, passage 109
AD 1865 同治四年
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 438, passages 39-40
AD 1870 同治至光緒初
Dated from the passage context · Draft History of Qing 423, passage 223
AD 1859 咸豐九年
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 438, passage 5
AD 1852 to AD 1856 文慶在戶部時
Dated from the passage context · Draft History of Qing 386, passage 41
AD 1845 道光二十五年
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 438, passage 4

Family

Immediate relationships attested in the translated histories.

Child of Father of Yan Jingming
biological father 本生父
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 438, passage 9

Key source chapters

Career and standing

Grand Councilor 軍機大臣
AD 1883 光緒九年 · Appointed
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 438, passage 58
minister of Revenue 戶部尚書
AD 1882 光緒八年 · Appointed
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 438, passage 55
Grand Secretary of the Eastern Pavilion 東閣大學士
AD 1885 光緒十一年 · Appointed
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 438, passage 59
governor of Shandong 巡撫
AD 1864 同治三年 · Appointed
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 438, passage 17
acting provincial treasurer of Hubei 署布政使
AD 1862 同治元年 · Appointed
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 438, passage 8
bachelor of the Hanlin Academy 庶吉士
AD 1845 道光二十五年 · Appointed
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 438, passage 4

Show 18 more source-backed claims

acting governor of Shandong 擢署巡撫
Appointed
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 438, passage 9
acting minister of War 兼署兵部
Appointed
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 438, passage 56
acting Shandong salt transport commissioner 署山東鹽運使
Appointed
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 438, passage 9
associate grand secretary 協辦大學士
Appointed
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 438, passage 58
commissioner of the Zongli Yamen 總理衙門行走
Appointed
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 438, passage 58
principal secretary in the Ministry of Revenue 戶部主事
Appointed
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 438, passage 4
provincial judicial commissioner of Hubei 湖北按察使
Appointed
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 438, passage 7
head of Ministry of Revenue 掌戶部
Held
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 465, passage 86
vice minister 侍郎
Held
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 440, passage 85
vice minister of Works 工部侍郎
Offered
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 438, passage 51
Grand Councilor 軍機大臣
Resigned
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 438, passage 60
yellow riding jacket 黃馬褂
Granted
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 438, passage 59
Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent 太子少保
Posthumously granted
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 438, passage 63
Entered
AD 1887 光緒十三年 · Rank restored
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 438, passage 62
Entered
AD 1867 同治六年 · Retirement
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 438, passage 51
Entered
Retirement
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 438, passage 62
Entered
Stripped of rank retained
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 438, passage 61
impeachment for embezzling relief funds 奏劾侵帑
Initiated · With Duan Dingyao (段鼎耀)
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 438, passage 53

Places and affiliations

Qing 清
Relation Served
Strongly inferred · Draft History of Qing 438, passages 4, 55
Qing 清
Relation Served
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 464, passage 109
Polity Qing 清 · Relation Served
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 465, passage 86
At Chaoyi, Shaanxi 陝西朝邑
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 438, passage 3
AD 1859 咸豐九年
At Hubei 湖北 · Relation Posted to
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 438, passage 5

Learning and skills

Earned
AD 1845 道光二十五年 · Credential Presented Scholar 進士
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 438, passage 4
Skill financial administration 理財 · Level renowned
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 438, passage 65

Works and attributed material

Memorial · Author · Direct quotation
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 438, passages 19-35
Speech · Speaker · Direct quotation
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 438, passages 13, 37

Events and relationships

Captured
AD 1862 同治元年 · Military · Commander · At Zichuan 淄川
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 438, passage 11
Defeated rebels
AD 1866 同治五年 · Military · Commander · At Yellow River and Grand Canal region 黃運
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 438, passage 49
Destroyed
AD 1866 同治五年 · Military · Commander · With Zhang Jizhong (張積中) · At Huangya, Feicheng 肥城黃崖
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 438, passage 50
Impeached
Legal · Accuser · With Encheng (恩承)
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 440, passage 85
Inspected relief
AD 1877 光緒三年 · Administrative · Inspector · At Shanxi 山西
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 438, passage 52
Organized famine relief
Administrative · Commissioner
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 464, passage 109

Assessments and attributes

Assessment blunt integrity led to early retirement · Mode historian-judgment
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 438, passage 67
Assessment hoped to serve a ruler directing state affairs but was constrained · Mode historian-judgment
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 438, passage 213
Assessment plain, incorruptible, looked like an elderly Confucian scholar · Mode historian-judgment
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 438, passage 64

References in the histories

Search passages

History

23 passages

Draft History of Qing, Chapter 386Volume 386 Biographies 173: Wen Qing, Wen Xiang, Bao Yun · 1 passage

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在戶部，閻敬銘方為主事，當採用其議，非所司者亦諮之。 At the Board of Revenue, when Yan Jingming was still a director, Wen Qing took his advice even on matters outside Yan's formal duties.

Draft History of Qing, Chapter 423Volume 423 Biographies 210: Zong Jichen, Yin Gengyun, Wang Zheng, Mu Jixianga, You Baichuan, Shen Huai · 1 passage

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疏劾戶部主事楊鴻典攬權納賄，下刑部逮治，僅以小過議鐫級，及閻敬銘為尚書，始奏劾譴黜。 He impeached Revenue director Yang Hongdian for grasping power and taking bribes. The case went to the Ministry of Justice, but Yang was only lightly demoted until Yan Jingming became minister and secured his dismissal.

Draft History of Qing, Chapter 438Volume 438 Biographies 225: Yan Jingming, Zhang Zhiwan, Lu Chuan Lin, Lin Shaonian · 18 passages

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閻敬銘張之萬鹿傳霖林紹年 Yan Jingming, Zhang Zhiwan, Lu Chuanlin, and Lin Shaonian

閻敬銘，字丹初，陝西朝邑人。 Yan Jingming, whose style was Danchu, was a native of Chaoyi in Shaanxi.

林翼請病，复疏薦敬銘才，授湖北按察使。 When Hu Linyi fell ill and requested leave, he again memorialized recommending Jingming's ability, and Jingming was appointed provincial judicial commissioner of Hubei.

同治元年，嚴樹森繼為巡撫，亦推敬銘湖北賢能第一，署布政使。 In the first year of Tongzhi, Yan Shusen succeeded him as governor and likewise ranked Jingming first among Hubei's able men, appointing him acting provincial treasurer.

敬銘既受任，檄總兵保德等進剿，而自督軍規淄川，克之。 Once Jingming had taken up his post, he ordered Brigade General Baode and others to advance in suppression while he personally directed the army against Zichuan and captured the city.

已革參將宋景詩引降眾屯東昌，复叛，飭按察使丁寶楨討之。 The dismissed deputy general Song Jingshi had led surrendered troops to encamp at Dongchang and rebelled again; Jingming ordered provincial judicial commissioner Ding Baozhen to suppress him.

景詩竄莘，敬銘檄軍防運河，令之曰：「使一匪潛渡者，殺無赦！」 Jingshi fled to Shen. Jingming ordered troops to guard the Grand Canal and instructed them: "If even a single bandit slips across in secret, execute without mercy!"

敬銘言：「東省變故頻仍，亂甫定，降眾未必革心。 Jingming said: "Shandong has suffered repeated upheavals. The rebellion has only just been suppressed, and the surrendered masses may not yet have truly changed their hearts.

敬銘言：「斂鄉里之財以為餉，集耕種之民以為兵，於事有害無益，不如力行堅壁清野之法。」 Jingming said: "To levy village wealth for pay and gather farming folk as soldiers is harmful rather than helpful. It would be better to carry out vigorously the policy of strengthening walls and clearing the countryside."

敬銘督師東昌，還軍御之，增設砲劃防河，賊折而東。 Jingming directed operations at Dongchang, brought his army back to resist them, added batteries to defend the river, and the rebels turned eastward.

敬銘方臥疾，強起視師東平。 Jingming was then ill in bed but forced himself up to take command at Dongping.

敬銘赴濟寧，會曾國籓商定分扼黃、運之議。 Jingming went to Jining and met with Zeng Guofan to work out a plan for dividing control along the Yellow River and Grand Canal.

有張積中者，結寨肥城黃崖，集眾自保，以不受撫，夷之。 A man named Zhang Jizhong had fortified a stockade at Huangya in Feicheng and gathered followers for self-defense. Because he refused to submit to pacification, Jingming destroyed him and his followers.

時上意將修圓明園，而敬銘論治以節用為本，會廷議錢法，失太后旨，因革職留任。 At the time the court intended to restore the Old Summer Palace, while Jingming's governing principle was frugality. When deliberations on currency reform offended the Empress Dowager, he was stripped of rank but kept in his post.

十八年，卒，贈太子少保，諡文介。 In the eighteenth year he died. He was posthumously granted the title Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent and given the posthumous name Wenjie.

敬銘質樸，以潔廉自矯厲，雖貴，望之若老儒。 Jingming was plain and unassuming, holding himself to strict standards of integrity. Though he rose to high rank, in appearance he still looked like an elderly Confucian scholar.

敬銘質樸，之萬練達，傳霖廉約，紹年勁直，其任封疆、治軍旅多有績，而立朝不復有所建樹。 Jingming was plain, Zhiwan seasoned, Chuanlin frugal, and Shaonian forceful and upright. Each achieved much in frontier posts and military affairs, yet at court they accomplished little of lasting note.

敬銘初欲得君專國政，為勢所限，終不能行其志，世尤惜之。 Jingming had once hoped to serve a ruler who would personally direct state affairs, but circumstances prevented him from realizing his aims, and the age especially regretted it.

Draft History of Qing, Chapter 440Volume 440 Biographies 227: Ying Gui, Zong Shizailing, En Cheng, Zong Shifukun, Chong Li, Yu De · 1 passage

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復命赴雲南查辦事件，以侍郎閻敬銘劾恩承入川時失察家人需索，部議革職留任。 He was again ordered to proceed to Yunnan to investigate affairs. When Vice Minister Yan Jingming impeached En Cheng for failing to detect extortion by his household staff during his mission to Sichuan, the ministry deliberated dismissal from office with retention in post.

Draft History of Qing, Chapter 464Volume 464 Biographies 251: Li Duanfen, Xu Zhijingzi, Ren Zhu, Chen Baozhen, Huang Zunxian, Ceng He, Yang Shenxiu, Yang Rui, Liu Guangdi, Tan Sitong With: Tang Caichang, Lin Xu, Kang Guangren · 1 passage

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假歸，值晉大饑，閻敬銘銜命籌賑，深秀條上改革差徭法，困少蘇。 While on leave he encountered the great famine in Shanxi; Yan Jingming, charged with organizing relief, received Shenxiu's detailed plan to reform corvée and labor levies, and the people's distress was somewhat relieved.

Draft History of Qing, Chapter 465Volume 465 Biographies 252: Xu Tong With: Yu Shi, Yu Shi Son: Cheng Yu, Gang Yi, Zhao Shuqiao, Qi Xiu, Ying Nian, Yu Lu With: Ting Yong, Yu Xian With: Li Tingxiao · 1 passage

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東省練新軍，倚餉京師，閻敬銘掌戶部，方規節帑，未應也。 Eastern provinces were raising new armies and depended on Beijing for pay; Yan Jingming at the Ministry of Revenue was cutting expenses and had not yet approved the funds.