Dong Fen

Life

He was a government-school student (生員) before passing the Zhejiang provincial examination as a juren (舉人) in 1537; in 1541, the twentieth year of the Jiajing era, he obtained the jinshi degree with a place in the second class. He was chosen as a bachelor (庶吉士) of the Hanlin Academy and in the tenth month of 1543 completed his training with appointment as a compiler (編修); he also took part in the compilation of the Collected Statutes of the Great Ming (大明會典).

In 1544 and 1553 he served twice as an associate examiner at the metropolitan examination; in the tenth month of 1554 he was promoted to right zhongyun of the Right Spring Cradle (右春坊右中允) with charge of the Directorate of Education, and in the second month of 1555 he returned to the Spring Cradle. When the Jiajing Emperor withdrew to the Western Palace for Daoist retreats, he chose Dong Fen in person as a Hanlin academician, and most of the petitions to the gods used in the rites came from his hand.

In 1556 he presided over the military metropolitan examination, in 1558 was chief examiner of the northern examination (北闈), and the following year, 1559, served again as an associate examiner at the metropolitan examination; as chief compiler of the Southern Palace he was granted a seal inscribed "Chief Compiler of the Eastern Library" (東觀總裁).

He was afterwards promoted to grand minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices (太常寺少卿) with the gift of first-rank robes, then to right vice minister of rites, receiving a flying-fish robe and a salary of the second grade; he became left vice minister of personnel concurrently Hanlin academician and was placed in charge of the Heir Apparent's household, was made minister of works while continuing to manage the left vice ministry of personnel, and finally rose to minister of rites concurrently Hanlin academician. He served as vice president in the compilation of the gazetteer of Fengtian, and in the forty-first year of the Jiajing era was granted a python robe. In 1565 the supervising secretary Ouyang Yijing (歐陽一敬) impeached him, and he was dismissed to the status of a commoner. He died on the fifth day of the third month in 1595, at the age of eighty-six.

Works

His collected works, the Miyuan ji (泌園集), also known as the Dong xueshi Miyuan ji, comprise thirty-seven juan.

Associates

The Miyuan ji contains letters he wrote to Xu Fuyuan (許孚遠), Lu Guangzu (陸光祖), Wang Shizhen (王世貞), Hu Zongxian (胡宗憲), Shen Shixing (申時行), Wang Xijue (王錫爵) and Yu Youding (余有丁), as well as replies from Li Panlong (李攀龍), Zhang Juzheng (張居正) and Mao Kun (茅坤) and verses presented to him by Xu Jie (徐階). Cai Runan (蔡汝楠) wrote a preface to the collection, and after Dong's death Wang Shilu (王士驌) composed his epitaph and Li Tingji (李廷機) a sacrificial address. He himself wrote epitaphs for Wu Shan (吳山), Shen Mi (沈謐), Yao Yiyuan (姚一元) and Cai Runan, a spirit-path stele for Jia Yong (賈詠), and a record of conduct for Wu Peng (吳鵬).

Family

His great-grandfather was Dong Duo (董鐸), his grandfather Dong Xiang (董庠) and his father Dong Huan (董環); his mother was of the Zhang family and his wife of the Gu family. His son Dong Daochun (董道醇) was born in 1543.