Qin Jin

Life

His great-grandfather was Qin Wuchu, his grandfather Qin Jingxun, and his father Qin Lin; Wang was his mother and Yu his stepmother; Qin Ming was his younger brother, Niu his wife, Qin Pan his son, and Qin Cheng his grandson.

In 1486, he passed the Yingtian Prefecture examination as the 62nd provincial graduate. In 1493, he placed 144th in the metropolitan examination and received the second-degree jinshi rank, 32nd place, after which he was appointed a secretary in the Fujian section of the Ministry of Revenue. He later served as an assistant director in the Henan section, a director in the Shanxi section, and a director in the Sichuan section of the same ministry; after his father's death he returned home in mourning and was restored to his former post.

Early in the Zhengde era, Qin Jin was promoted to vice education commissioner of Henan and then became a Henan administrative commissioner—the title appears as Right Commissioner in one account and Left Commissioner in another. He guarded Kaifeng and defeated Zhao Sui at Chenqiao. He subsequently held the right and left provincial administration commissioner posts in Shandong. In the ninth year of Zhengde, he was promoted to Vice Censor-in-Chief and appointed governor of Huguang (1514; another account gives 1515); he suppressed the Yao stockades in Guiyang and pacified the uprisings of He Zhang, Luo Dahong, and Gong Fuquan, receiving a one-grade salary increase before entering the Ministry of Revenue as a vice minister.

After the accession of the Jiajing Emperor, he became a vice minister in the Ministry of Personnel. Following a dispute involving remonstrating officials, he returned as vice minister in the Ministry of Revenue, was made senior vice minister, and took charge of the ministry. In 1523, he was promoted to Minister of Rites in Nanjing; his proposals, including a request for greater solicitude toward the people, were approved. He was soon transferred to be Minister of War in Nanjing, and after Sun Jiao left office he was summoned as Minister of Revenue.

During the Grand Rites Controversy, Qin Jin opposed the emperor's designation of his biological father as huangkao. In 1527, he submitted a request to retire. Five years later he was recalled as Minister of Revenue in Nanjing, summoned as Minister of Works, and granted the additional ranks of Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent and Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent; he was then transferred to be Minister of War in Nanjing and retired to his home. He died in 1544 and was posthumously granted the title Junior Guardian and the posthumous name Duanmin.

Poetry and literary associations

Qin Jin was approachable and upright in office. He met friends at the Yellow Crane Tower and composed the qigu poem “Written in Response to Grand Secretary Li Xiya’s Rhyme at the Yellow Crane Tower,” which later prompted multiple poetic responses; he also wrote the qilu poem “Ascending the Yellow Crane Tower.”

After poetry society had fallen into abeyance during the Hongzhi and Zhengde eras, Qin Jin returned from the southern capital and invited Erquan Shao, Xinquan Lü, Huiyan Gu, Songge Gu, Outang Qin, and Shicun Chen to form a poetry gathering in the hills, naming it the Bishan Society. Fei Cai wrote his epitaph, Zhang Bi supplied a colophon for his calligraphy and paintings, and Yuan Zhi wrote an inscription for his temple stele; Yan Song, Lin Jun, Lü Nan, Gu Lin, and Cui Xian also presented him with poems and prose.

His works include the ten-juan 《鳳山詩集》, also referred to as 《鳳山詩槀》, as well as 《安楚錄》 and the two-juan 《通惠河志》.