Shen Kai

Life

His great-grandfather was 沈思明, his grandfather 沈文浩, and his father 沈照; his mother was of the Chen family. His elder brothers were 沈泰 and 沈綬, his younger brothers were 沈鳴, 沈悌, 沈懷, and 沈忱, and his wife was also of the Chen family. In 1528, in the Wuzi year of the Jiajing reign, he ranked 135th in the Ying tian Prefecture provincial examination; in 1529, in the Jichou year, he ranked 78th in the metropolitan examination and earned the jinshi degree in the second class, 63rd rank.

He was first appointed zhushi in the Ministry of Punishments, promoted to langzhong, and sent out as prefect of Ningbo. He later rose to a canzheng in the Huguang Provincial Administration Commission; accounts differ as to whether the office was the left or right post. As prefect of Ningbo, he strictly prohibited maritime dealings with foreigners and opposed military action on the islands; his superiors rejected the proposal, and the expedition ended in defeat.

Accounts differ about the end of his career: one places his compulsory retirement in the first month of the 31st year of the Jiajing reign (1552), attributing it to prolonged illness and absence from duty; another says that after offending powerful court figures he requested retirement and withdrew home to write; a further account says that he retired during the Longqing reign as Taipu shaoqing.

Writings and calligraphy

His prose favored an archaizing and elegant style, and he was accomplished in literary composition. His works included *Yedeng Guance* (《夜燈管測》) and *Huanxi ji* (《環溪集》), the latter also appearing as *Huanxi manji* (《環溪漫集》). His calligraphy imitated Zhang Dian and had the force of “flying dragons and snakes.” His literary activity included writing prefaces for books by Feng En (馮恩), Yu Shan (郁山), and Fan Weiyi (范惟一), as well as epitaphs, biographies, sacrificial texts, and academy inscriptions for others; he also exchanged letters and poems and prose.