Ye Xianggao

Life

His great-grandfather was Ye Shiyan (葉仕儼), his grandfather was Ye Guangbin (葉廣彬), and his father was Ye Chaorong (葉朝榮); his mother was surnamed Lin. His stepmothers were surnamed Guo and Kang, his wife was surnamed Yu, and his younger brothers were Ye Xiangliang, Ye Xiangyong, and Ye Xiangheng.

During an escape from Japanese pirate raids, his mother Lin was pregnant and gave birth to him beside a ruined latrine, which led to the childhood name Cezai (廁仔). In his childhood she repeatedly carried him while fleeing the raiders and refused to abandon him.

He began his education at the age of five and entered formal study at seven; his intelligence earned him the name “Child Prodigy.” In 1567, his father entered the Imperial Academy as a licentiate selected from the prefectures, and Xianggao accompanied him to Beijing. In 1568, Ye Chaorong failed the examination, and father and son returned home, where Xianggao studied in Fuzhou. At his first county examination, in 1570, Xianggao was highly praised.

He had earlier been a shengyuan, with a recorded rank of 25; he passed the provincial examination in 1579, with a recorded rank of 78. In 1583 he passed the Guiwei jinshi examination, ranking twelfth in the second class, was selected as a shujishi, and appointed a compiler; in 1585 he became a compiler of the Hanlin Academy.

When his father died in May 1586, Xianggao resigned and returned home to observe mourning. He was recalled in 1590, but after learning that his mother had died, he returned home in the spring of the following year to attend her funeral.

In 1594 he returned to Beijing to resume office and became Director of Studies at the Nanjing Imperial College; he was well regarded by its teachers and students and later transferred to zuo zhongyun. In 1597 he was promoted to you yude, and in 1598 he was summoned to serve as zuo shuzi.

At the time, the crown prince Zhu Changluo lacked a lecturer. Guo Zhengyu and Zhang Wei recommended Xianggao, but Shen Yiguan opposed the appointment on the grounds that a man from Fujian could not serve as lecturer. Chief grand secretary Zhao Zhigao soon memorialized for Xianggao to become the crown prince’s attendant, whereupon he explained parallel couplets, calligraphy, and the meanings of characters to the prince; Zhu Changluo was greatly pleased with his explanations, and Shen Yiguan became still more displeased with him.

He later served as Vice Minister of Rites in Nanjing and was transferred to Vice Minister of Personnel, also in Nanjing; he repeatedly memorialized against the abuses of the mining-tax system. His opposition to chief grand secretary Shen Yiguan kept him in Nanjing for a long time.

In 1607 he entered the cabinet as Minister of Rites and Grand Secretary of the Eastern Hall, and became chief grand secretary the following year. He repeatedly submitted his views on the successes and failures of government, but the emperor generally ignored them; he could rectify no more than a dozen or so matters, and therefore submitted repeated requests to retire. He was allowed to return home in 1614.

At the beginning of the Taichang era, he was recalled as Junior Grand Tutor, Junior Grand Tutor to the Heir Apparent, Minister of Personnel, and Grand Secretary of the Central Ultimate Hall. From the late Wanli reign through the Tianqi reign, he served three times as chief grand secretary; in 1621, the first year of Tianqi, he resumed that office.

When Wei Zhongxian dominated the government and launched major prosecutions, Xianggao repeatedly tried to provide redress, and court officials who opposed Wei relied on him. After Yang Lian submitted an impeachment memorial listing Wei Zhongxian’s twenty-four major crimes, Xianggao judged that the matter would lead to a complete rupture and did not approve it; instead, he requested that Wei be allowed to return to his private residence, so as to preserve his position to the end. Wei hated him even more and, on a pretext, branded him the leader of the Donglin party. Concluding that the situation could no longer be salvaged, Xianggao pressed to retire and was dismissed in 1624.

He died in 1627, and was posthumously granted the title Grand Tutor and the posthumous name Wenzhong.

Beliefs, connections, and calligraphy

Xianggao respected Daoism and Buddhism, extended courtesy to Western missionaries, and was acquainted with Matteo Ricci and Giulio Aleni. He was skilled in calligraphy, especially cursive script.

His friends included Gu Xiancheng, Zhu Guozhen, and Qian Yiben.

Works

His works included Shuolei (《說類》) and Cangxia cao (《蒼霞草》), a work in 28 juan.

Other titles include Cangxia cao xu cao (《蒼霞草續草》, 22 juan), Cangxia cao yu cao (《蒼霞草餘草》, 14 juan), Qubian (《蘧編》, 20 juan), and Ye Tai quanji (《葉臺全集》, 138 juan).

Further works listed for him include Lunfei zoucao (《綸扉奏草》), Guangzong shilu (《光宗實錄》), and Fuqing xianzhi (《福清縣誌》).