Yan Song

For the footballer, see Yan Song (footballer).

In this Chinese name, the family name is Yan.

Yan Song
嚴嵩
Senior Grand Secretary
In office 1544–1545
Monarch	Jiajing
Preceded by	Zhai Luan
Succeeded by	Xia Yan
In office 1548–1562
Monarch	Jiajing
Preceded by	Xia Yan
Succeeded by	Xu Jie
Grand Secretary
In office 1542–1562
Monarch	Jiajing
Minister of Rites
In office 1536–1543
Monarch	Jiajing
Preceded by	Xia Yan
Succeeded by	Zhang Bi
Personal details
Born	3 March 1480 Fenyi County, Jiangxi
Died	1565
Education	jinshi degree (1505)
Courtesy name	Weizhong
Art name	Jiexi
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	嚴嵩
Simplified Chinese	严嵩
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Yán Sōng

Yan Song (3 March 1480 – 1565), courtesy name Weizhong, art name Jiexi, was a Chinese scholar-official during the Ming dynasty. He held various high-ranking positions during the reign of the Jiajing Emperor in the mid-16th century, including minister of rites (1536–1543), grand secretary (1542–1562), and head of the Grand Secretariat (1544–1545, 1548–1562).

He came from a merchant family in Jiangxi Province. His father was a teacher and principal at a local school. After passing the civil service examinations, he excelled in the final round, the palace examination, in 1505, ranking fifth among all candidates. This was a remarkable achievement. As a distinguished graduate of the examinations, he was appointed to the Hanlin Academy, where he eventually rose to the position of Hanlin academician and head of the academy in Nanjing. From 1525 to 1528, he served as the chancellor of the Imperial University, and later held the positions of vice minister of rites (1528–1531) in Beijing and minister of rites (1531–1536) in Nanjing. In 1536, he returned to Beijing to assume the high-ranking roles of minister of rites and grand secretary. In his role as minister of rites, he oversaw important tasks such as rituals and ceremonies, foreign relations, state Confucian schools, civil service examinations, and the affairs of the imperial family. As a minister and one of the grand secretaries, he was one of the closest advisors to the emperor, and in the 1550s, he was the emperor's most trusted confidant. As a statesman, he was diligent and responsible, while also maintaining a polite and modest demeanor. In his political dealings, he often sought compromise solutions.

As a prominent statesman, he was frequently sought after for support and often delegated the task of dealing with applicants to his son, Yan Shifan. Their political rivals repeatedly accused Yan Shifan of engaging in corrupt practices and using bribery to influence politics. Despite defending himself against these accusations for a considerable amount of time, he was ultimately removed from his position in 1562 due to his advanced age. As a result, his son was also exiled. In 1564–1565, Yan Shifan was accused of plotting a rebellion and was subsequently executed. The family's immense wealth, accumulated during Yan Song's time in high office, was seized by the authorities, leaving Yan Song to live out his final days in poverty and isolation.

Biography

Youth and early career

Yan Song was born on 3 March 1480 in Fenyi, Jiangxi Province. Although his family was registered as artisans, they were actually engaged in trade. Later, when Yan Song became wealthy, he joined the wholesale trade with his son. Together, they owned several shops in Yangzhou, the leading commercial center in the southern part of the country. Yan Song's father, Yan Huai (嚴淮; 1453–1495), was primarily a teacher and principal of a local school. Despite being a weak and often sickly child, Yan Song showed great literary talent. His father spared no effort in educating him in Confucian teachings. In 1495, at the age of fifteen, Yan Song applied for the provincial civil service examination, but his father had just died, and he could not take the exam because of mourning. He eventually passed the provincial examination in 1498, ranking sixteenth, which was a decent performance. It was not until 1505, at the age of thirty-eight, that he succeeded in the metropolitan examination. He ranked fifth in the palace examination that followed, which was a great success. Yan Song had hoped for an even better result.

During the examination and final banquet in 1498, biographer Wang Shizhen states that Yan Song left a negative impression on the examiner due to his gaunt appearance and poorly dressed attire. This negative perception continued to haunt him for years. He often reminisced about the challenging times of his youth, particularly after his mother's died in 1509, when he lacked the means to give her a dignified funeral. In 1499, he married Lady Ouyang, and they had a daughter that same year. In 1513, their son Yan Shifan (嚴世蕃) was born.

In 1505, he was appointed as a bachelor (Shujishi) at the Hanlin Academy. In approximately 1508, he requested a leave of absence due to illness and returned to his hometown of Fenyi. He spent eight years there, avoiding the factional conflicts and purges that occurred during the dominance of Liu Jin (1506–1510) at the imperial court. It was not until 1516 that he fully recovered and even then, he rarely returned to work. Upon his return to Beijing, he was reassigned to the Hanlin Academy as a junior compiler. In addition to his duties at the academy, he was given various short-term assignments, such as training imperial eunuchs in 1517, serving on the examination board for the metropolitan and palace examinations, and being part of a delegation sent to Guangxi Province in 1518 to oversee the accession of a new Ming prince. He refrained from participating in protests against the emperors, including those against the Zhengde Emperor's trips to the northern borderlands and south in 1517–1519, as well as discussions about the order of accession for the new Jiajing Emperor in 1521 and the Great Rites Controversy in 1524. As a politician, he avoided getting involved in factional disputes and did not hold strong opinions on political matters. This made him open to supporting any applicants who offered suitable gifts when he rose to higher positions.

He was later transferred to the Hanlin Academy in Nanjing and in 1525, he returned to Beijing to take over the administration of the state-run Imperial University. After three years, he was appointed vice minister of rites and given the honorable task of traveling to the tomb of the emperor's father in Anlu, Huguang Province to announce his new temple name to his spirit.

Minister of Rites

From 1531 to 1536, Yan Song served as the minister of rites in Nanjing. In 1536, he was promoted to minister of rites in Beijing. He had the support of Xia Yan, who served as minister of rites from 1531 to 1537 and was later appointed grand secretary in 1536. In January 1537, Yan Song became the sole minister of rites. He held this position until May 1543, when he was appointed grand secretary. The Ministry of Rites was responsible for various duties, including overseeing rituals and ceremonies, managing foreign relations, overseeing state Confucian schools and civil service examinations, and handling matters related to members of the imperial family living in different regions.

During the 1530s, as he rose in office, Yan Song's financial situation significantly improved. Between 1537 and 1539, he had a new residence built in Beijing, immediately south of the Forbidden City. His son, Yan Shifan, oversaw the construction and subsequently managed the household. In 1540, Yan Shifan also oversaw the construction of a new extensive family residence in his native region, Yuanzhou Prefecture, which was located 40 kilometers away from his hometown of Fenyi. As Yan Song's power and influence grew, he gradually handed over the responsibility of accepting applicants for help and various benefits in exchange for a reasonable "gift" to his son, Yan Shifan. This allowed Yan Song to keep his hands clean and focus on fulfilling the wishes of the ruler as a reliable, efficient, and always loyal minister.

As the minister of rites, Yan Song played a crucial role in the ceremonial reforms of the late 1530s. This included the change of the temple name of the Yongle Emperor (r. 1402–1424), the third emperor of the dynasty. In 1536, after the birth of the emperor's son Zhu Zairui, Yan Song was instrumental in persuading the emperor to officially declare him as the heir. This declaration took place in 1539. Later that year, the emperor's mother died. After discussions between the emperor and the government, it was decided that she would be buried in Anlu, in the tomb of her husband. The Jiajing Emperor personally inspected his father's tomb and Yan Song played a significant role in organizing the journey. The journey was accompanied by over a thousand officials and servants, as well as six thousand soldiers. It took place in March–May 1539. In June of the same year, a funeral procession with the remains of the emperor's mother set off for Anlu.

Foreign policy

The Viet ruler Mạc Thái Tổ (center) presents tribute to the Ming envoy in 1541. Illustration from the Annan laiwei tuce (安南來威圖冊; 'Graphic Account of the Overawing of Annam') published during the Longqing era (1568–1572).

The major foreign policy concern during the late 1530s and early 1540s was the situation in Đại Việt (present-day in northern Vietnam). After the birth of the emperor's son in November 1536, envoys were sent to neighboring countries to share the good news. Grand Secretary Xia Yan refused to include Đại Việt in these diplomatic efforts. He argued that Đại Việt had not paid tribute for twenty years and that the current ruler, Mạc Thái Tông of the Mạc dynasty, was not a legitimate leader. The Minister of War and the militarist faction in the government, led by Guo Xun, Marquis of Wuting, responded by proposing a punitive expedition. This proposal was met with criticism for being extravagant and costly. In March 1537, envoys from the Viet ruler Lê Trang Tông of the Lê dynasty arrived in Beijing, seeking assistance against the usurping Mạc dynasty. The Jiajing Emperor then tasked the Ministries of Rites and War with investigating the situation. Yan Song presented the emperor with a summary of the history of Sino-Viet relations over the past fifteen centuries and the conclusions of consultations between high-ranking officials. They agreed that the Mạc Thái Tông was responsible for the civil war, the closure of the border, and the interruption of mutual relations. They recommended military action against him, and the Jiajing Emperor agreed. However, local authorities in Guangdong protested against the invasion of Đại Việt. They argued that the Viets were not violating the border and that the outcome of their civil war was unclear. These protests from regional officials caused the emperor to hesitate, and in June, he canceled military preparations. In September 1537, influenced by new proposals from the regions, he resumed preparations for war.

In the spring of 1538, the Jiajing Emperor appointed a commander for the campaign, but the border authorities responded by quantifying the expected costs and problems of the war. The Ministry of War responded to the emperor's inquiry by submitting the matter to inter-ministerial consultations, and the Ministry of Rites found that Mạc Thái Tông controlled three-quarters of the country, while Lê Trang Tông had only minimal influence. Additionally, the opposition to the Mạc dynasty was dominated by the powerful Trịnh and Nguyễn families. Mạc Thái Tông also humbly requested the Ming government to establish relations, claiming that Lê Trang Tông was an impostor with no legitimate claim to the throne. With both sides of the Viets willing to acknowledge Ming supremacy, Yan Song recommended waiting, and the emperor ultimately decided to call off the invasion. Discussions on the Đại Việt problem continued into 1539–1540. In 1539, a delegation from Mạc Thái Tông requested to establish relations with the Ming authorities. They submitted censuses and maps of the country as evidence of Mạc Thái Tông's rule over Đại Việt. In late 1540, the gathering of 110,000 Ming soldiers in Guangxi Province alarmed Mạc Thái Tông. In an attempt to avert an invasion, he personally knelt on the Ming-Viet border and presented Ming officials with a new request for recognition. This request was accompanied by documentation of his government, civil and military offices, and a willingness to hand over disputed border territories to the Ming dynasty. Finally, in April 1541, the Jiajing Emperor decided in favor of the Mạc dynasty (then ruled by Mạc Thái Tổ). He pardoned Mạc Thái Tổ for crimes committed during the civil wars, declared the previous Lê dynasty extinct, and recognized him as the ruler of Đại Việt. However, he did not grant him the title of king (wang), which the Ming dynasty had granted to the rulers of the Lê dynasty. Instead, he gave him the title of "pacification commissioner". The Jiajing Emperor also honored and presented gifts to Grand Secretaries Xia Yan and Zhai Luan for organizing war preparations, and to Yan Song and Guo Xun for their constructive proposals. This chosen solution, not insisting on the general principle of foreign policy—the Ming dynasty supports legitimate rulers if they recognize Ming superiority—and instead respecting the power reality in Đại Việt, was characteristic of Yan Song's concept of politics.

Japan posed a significant challenge for Ming authorities, who cut off diplomatic relations with the country following the Ningbo incident in 1523. Despite this, Japan had a high demand for Chinese goods, particularly silk. In the 1530s, new silver deposits were discovered and Chinese mining techniques were introduced, giving Japan the financial means to afford larger imports from China. In 1539, three Japanese ships arrived in Zhejiang with tribute and a request for trade. The envoys, led by Buddhist monk Koshin Sekitei, were received by the emperor in Beijing; however, the fifty-member delegation was closely monitored and not permitted to engage in trade. The following year, Japanese ships arrived again, and the emperor referred their requests to inter-ministerial consultations led by Yan Song. After deliberation, the ministries and Censorate concluded that the ships should be turned away and that future Japanese visits should adhere to the rules established by the Hongwu Emperor in the 14th century: one visit every ten years with only three unarmed ships. In the event of any issues, contact should be terminated. They also urged for the reinforcement of coastal defenses, which were in poor condition, as a precautionary measure. The emperor concurred with his officials. However, another delegation in 1544 was also rejected, and from 1545 onwards, the Japanese disregarded the Ming authorities and engaged in annual trade with Chinese merchants on Shuangyu Island off the coast of Zhejiang. Yan Sung accused the merchants and government of the Ryukyu Islands of participating in illegal trade and demanded that the ruler of the island rectify the situation.

A Ming war junk, illustration from Illustrated book on maritime preparedness (籌海圖編, Chouhai tubian), Zheng Ruozeng, 1562

The Tibetans, Jurchens, and Koreans behaved calmly. The Mongols, specifically the Uriankhai in eastern Mongolia, submitted to the Ming rules of foreign relations. When their request for expanded trade was rejected, they apologized. They also asked for an extraordinary subsidy to compensate for the damage to their economy caused by adverse weather and the raid of the "yellow-haired Tatars". The emperor agreed to this request. Relations with the states and countries west of China, specifically in Uyghur, were relatively smooth. The ministry only attempted to limit the number and size of incoming delegations. Yan Song found it inappropriate that both the official translators and escorts of Central Asian delegations were primarily of Central Asian origin. With the emperor's approval, he stipulated that only ethnic Chinese individuals should be employed in these positions. Later, the censors accused Yan Song of hiring relatives of officials or wealthy Beijing merchants as translators in a patronizing manner. Yan Song defended himself by stating that he had no influence on the hiring process and that those in question had passed foreign language exams after three years of study, including a year's stay in the relevant border region. However, to avoid suspicion, he dismissed them. The emperor approved the dismissal of translators from merchant families, but allowed those of official origin to remain.

Education and civil service examination

As the population continued to grow, the number of officials also increased, but the number of students and candidates for examinations grew even more rapidly. In response, Yan Song took action by organizing the expansion and establishment of new state Confucian schools, particularly in the peripheral regions of the empire where there had previously been little interest in studying. He also appealed to the emperor to increase the quotas for successful graduates of the provincial and metropolitan civil service examinations. This request was supported by provincial authorities who argued that the current graduates of the metropolitan and palace examinations only governed 10 to 20% of the counties, and that for the sake of effective administration, they should have a larger presence in the counties. While the Jiajing Emperor did increase the provincial quotas in some cases, he rejected other requests.

In regards to the civil service examinations, the Ministry of Rites, led by Yan Song, expressed concern about the quality of candidates' examination essays. In 1537—38, due to intense competition, these essays had become excessively wordy and contained unorthodox views and unwarranted criticism of state ceremonies and security policies. The ministry was particularly troubled by the fact that these essays were being positively evaluated by examiners. The situation was most severe in Guangdong Province, where both students and examiners looked to the works of Lun Wenxu (1467—1513) and the esteemed philosopher Chen Xianzhang (1428—1500) as models. As a result, the emperor approved the ministry's proposal to purge provincial examination boards and to dismiss or arrest examiners in Guangdong, as well as in Huguang, South Zhili, Jiangxi, and Henan. Students were also warned against using or referencing the works of unorthodox philosophers, including Chen Xianchang, his disciple Zhan Ruoshui (1466—1560), and Wang Yangming (1472—1529). Academies founded by these philosophers or their disciples were placed under state supervision or shut down. Zhan Ruoshui, who was then the minister of personnel in Nanjing, was not affected by these actions as officials from the ministries of personnel and rites agreed that he was not personally at fault. He was not dismissed from civil service until 1540, when the emperor deemed some of his commentaries on the Book of Rites to be indirect criticisms of his policies.

Other matters

In 1537, one of the censors proposed strict measures against Buddhism, including reducing the number of monasteries, confiscating their property, and forcing monks ordained without state consent to return to secular life. Although the emperor held a negative view of Buddhists and was sympathetic to the proposal, Yan Song argued for a more moderate approach. He believed that forcing thousands of monks back into secular life would only add to the already large population of vagrants and homeless people, potentially causing unrest. Additionally, Yan Song pointed out that the confiscated property would likely benefit the families of officials rather than the state treasury. As a compromise, Yan Song suggested gradually restricting Buddhism by halting repairs on temple buildings and prayer halls, ceasing the ordination of new monks, and encouraging existing monks to return to secular life. The emperor ultimately approved this proposal.

The Ministry of Rites was responsible for addressing the issue of a large number of untrained and unlicensed physicians practicing in Beijing. There was a constant disagreement over the appropriate number of cooks needed for imperial ceremonies. The Office of Scurtiny for Revennue argued that the current number of four thousand was excessive and suggested dismissing some of them, but the Court of Imperial Entertainments objected, stating that the official number was actually over six thousand eight hundred and that there was a shortage of almost three thousand. Eventually, Yan Song was able to reach a compromise with the emperor, resulting in the hiring of only a few dozen new cooks. Additionally, the emperor approved Yan Song's proposal to not return runaway cooks to Beijing, as it would unnecessarily burden the taxpayers.

The handling of petitions and disputes among princes of the imperial family was a delicate matter that required careful consideration. Additionally, the ministry was responsible for interpreting and recording signs from Heaven, both favorable and unfavorable. In more serious instances, such as the lightning strike that caused a fire in one of the palaces of the Forbidden City in 1537, the comet of 1539, or the lightning strike on the imperial ancestral temple in 1541, it was clear that Heaven was expressing its anger, but the exact cause was uncertain. It could have been due to negligence, corruption, or injustice within any ministry or office. In these situations, officials were instructed to perform atonement ceremonies, reflect on their actions, and undergo audits.

Grand Secretary

In the early 1540s, Xia Yan lost the trust and support of the Jiajing Emperor. Although he had previously participated in Taoist ceremonies organized by the emperor in the 1530s, he became cold towards them in the 1540s. This change in attitude was seen by the Jiajing Emperor as an attack on his authority. Yan Song took advantage of this opportunity to remove his rival. As a result, in August 1542, the emperor dismissed Xia Yan from the Grand Secretariat. This left only Zhai Luan, who was not a strong and decisive statesman, in the Grand Secretariat. In September, the emperor appointed Yan Song as the new grand secretary.

Yan Song was known for showering the emperor with attention and diligence, in stark contrast to Xia Yan. He also showed strong support for the emperor's interest in Taoism. While he openly endorsed Taoist prayers, he remained cautious about life-extending potions and offers to transform common metals into gold and silver. He pointed out that past experiences had proven these claims to be fraudulent. Although he did recommend some Taoist alchemists who offered potions for a considerable fee, he still advised caution and careful examination of their medicines. To the Jiajing Emperor, Yan Song was like a father figure—a generation older, tall, always elegantly dressed, and full of energy. He carried out the emperor's instructions meticulously, seeking his approval for all matters. He also resorted to dishonest methods to eliminate his opponents, which earned him a negative reputation.

See also

• List of premiers of China

References

Works cited

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