Cheng Jufu

Career

His entry into office was through a summons. When Yuan forces moved south at the end of the Song, he followed his uncle Cheng Feiqing in surrendering to the Yuan, was taken as a hostage, and was appointed a military qianhu; he later accompanied Feiqing to Yanjing for an audience and remained in the palace guard. Emperor Shizu summoned him to the Fragrant Hall, was impressed by his abilities, and ordered him to write more than twenty sheets; Cheng was then appointed a writer in attendance in the Hanlin and National History Academy, a post he held from 1279, and rose successively to Direct Academician of the Jixian Academy.

In Zhiyuan 19 (1282), he submitted five proposals and called for the establishment of the National Academy, the search for reclusive talents in Jiangnan, and the employment of men from both north and south; all were adopted. In Zhiyuan 24 (1287), he was appointed Investigating Censor and placed in charge of the Censorate, then sent to seek worthy men in Jiangnan; he recommended Zhao Mengfu and more than twenty others, all of whom were placed in important posts. During Sangge’s autocratic administration, Cheng submitted a strongly worded remonstrance and nearly lost his life.

When the Secretariat was first established, he was ordered to serve as a Vice Councillor but firmly declined; he was then ordered to become Censor-in-Chief. Censorate officials objected that he was a southerner and too young, but Shizu rebuked them and appointed him Investigating Censor, with responsibility for acting as head of the Censorate. He subsequently held such posts as Hanlin and National History Academy Compiler, Vice Director of the Palace Library, Direct Academician of the Jixian Academy, Investigating Censor of the Censorate, and Surveillance Commissioner of the Jiangnan-Hubei Circuit; he also served as Surveillance Commissioner in the Fujian Branch Secretariat. He was summoned as a Hanlin Academician and Secretariat councillor in Dade 8 (1304), while the appointment to the Hanlin and National History Academy is also dated Dade 9 (1305). During the Zhida era he helped compile the Veritable Records of Emperor Chengzong, and under Wuzong he became Hanlin Academician-in-Chief. He served four reigns over a career of more than four decades and was regarded as a leading official of his time.

At the beginning of Yanyou, he took part in deliberations on implementing the examination system. In Yanyou 3 (1316), illness led him to request retirement, and he was granted the rank of Guanglu Dafu. Court officials held a farewell banquet for him outside Qihua Gate; he was sent south by courier post, and the provincial authorities were ordered to make periodic inquiries after him. After three years in retirement he died at the age of seventy. He was posthumously granted the titles of Grand Councillor and Pillar of State, enfeoffed as the Duke of Chu, and given the posthumous name Wenxian. He was imposing in appearance and had a voice like a bell; in his youth he had studied with Wu Wenzheng. During the transition from Song to Yuan he received exceptional favor, and his service in central and provincial government lasted more than forty years. Yingzhou had a White Snow Tower, which he used to name his residence; he was consequently known as Xuelou xiansheng.

Family

His father was Cheng Xiangqing (1221–1295). He had five sons: Cheng Danian, the eldest, born in 1277; Cheng Daguang, the second; Cheng Daben, the third, born in 1289; Cheng Dalai, the fourth; and Cheng Daguan, the fifth, born in 1297. His sons-in-law were Nie Gongjin and Rao Cai. His grandsons included Cheng Shichang, Cheng Shichen, Cheng Shiyan, Cheng Shizhong, Cheng Shiliang, and Cheng Shishi; other grandsons were Cheng Shiying, Cheng Shide, Cheng Shihong, Cheng Shilu, Cheng Shizhe, and Cheng Shiji.

Literature and thought

Cheng’s prose and critical discussions were esteemed throughout the realm. Yu Wenjing praised his use at court of plain and upright learning to renew literary style and strengthen scholarly morale, and attributed the flourishing of Yuan classical prose to his initiative; the same assessment criticized late-Song scholars for either esteeming formulaic writing or, reacting against its conventionality, exalting strangeness and difficulty, a tendency said to be particularly marked in Jiangxi. After Cheng’s retirement, Zhao Mengfu succeeded him as Hanlin Academician-in-Chief, first paying his respects at Cheng’s gate before entering the academy; contemporaries regarded the episode as a grand event among the official class.

Works

He wrote the Xuelou ji (Snow Tower Collection), in thirty juan.