Zhang Juzheng

Life and career

His examination record includes the status of a shengyuan (student) and a provincial recommended candidate. In the twenty-sixth year of the Jiajing reign (1547), he passed the jinshi examination. He ranked ninth in the second class. After being selected as a shujishi, he was appointed a Hanlin Academy compiler and later served as Right Zhongyun, Administrator of the Directorate of the Imperial Academy, Right Instructor in the Eastern Palace, Hanlin Reader, and lecturer.

His father was 張文明 and his mother was 趙氏; his grandfather was 張鎮 and his great-grandfather was 張誠. His elder brother was 張居仁; his younger brothers were 張居敬、張居安、張居易、張居寬、張居業、張居學、張居中, and his wife was 顧氏. His five sons were 張敬修、張嗣修、張懋修、張簡修、張允修; his son-in-law was 劉戡之; his grandsons included 張重元、張重允、張重光、張重登、張重輝, and 張綮珩 was also listed as a direct descendant.

In 1567, the first year of Longqing, he entered the Grand Secretariat as Vice Minister of Rites. He successively served as Right Vice Minister of Rites, Minister of Rites, Left Vice Minister of Personnel, and Minister of Personnel, and held Grand Secretariat posts in the East, Wuying, Jianji, and Zhongji halls. He was chief compiler of the Veritable Records of Shizong and Muzong, served as a grand councillor appointed to give testamentary advice, supervised the Office of the Chief of the Heir Apparent's Household, and served as deputy chief compiler of the Chengtian Gazetteer, chief compiler of the Da Ming Huidian, and deputy commissioner for the imperial wedding; he also instructed shujishi and received the titles of Junior Guardian, Junior Preceptor, Junior Grand Preceptor, Grand Tutor, Grand Preceptor, and the corresponding offices for the heir apparent. In the sixth year of Longqing (1572), he became chief grand secretary.

Yan Song and Xu Jie both valued him; while serving as Right Zhongyun, he befriended Gao Gong, and the two looked toward a career as grand councillors. After Xu Jie succeeded Yan Song as chief grand secretary, he entrusted Zhang Juzheng with important responsibilities. When Xu Jie retired, Zhang Juzheng and the eunuch Li Fang arranged for Gao Gong to enter the Grand Secretariat; together they settled the matter of conferring a title on Altan, after which the northern frontier became peaceful. The two men later became estranged. Under the Wanli emperor, Zhang Juzheng conspired with the eunuch Feng Bao to remove Gao Gong and thereby became chief grand secretary. His examination contemporaries included Lu Guangzu and Wang Daokun.

Statecraft and reform

His administration emphasized examining names against realities and making rewards and punishments certain; he relied on Qi Jiguang to defend the Jiyu frontier, appointed Li Chengliang to defend Liaodong, and employed Pan Jixun to control the waterways. He surveyed the land and implemented the Single-Whip method; during his ten years in office, he carried out extensive reforms. His enforcement was severe and drew many resentments; he was not receptive to remonstrance, so censorial officials often incurred his displeasure, and he disliked scholarly lecturing, ordering the destruction of academies throughout the realm. When his father died, he refused to leave office and remained through duoqing, a decision much debated at the time; Shen Sixiao, Wu Zhongxing, and Zhao Yongxian all submitted memorials criticizing his duoqing. The Wanli emperor was still a child at his accession. When the boy made a minor mistake, the Empress Dowager Cisheng warned, “What shall we do if Master Zhang hears of this?” As the emperor grew older, he came to dislike Zhang Juzheng.

Later fate

He was posthumously granted the title Shangzhuguo and the posthumous name Wenzhong. After his death, impeachments quickly followed: his offices and titles were removed the next year, and his property was confiscated the year after; during the Wanli reign, the eunuch Zhang Cheng also slandered him, leading to the removal of his rank and confiscation of his estate. In the second year of the Tianqi reign, his former offices and reputation were finally restored.

Writings and literary work

His works included 《張太岳集》 and 《太岳雜著》; bibliographic titles also include 《太岳先生集》 in 64 juan, 《太嶽集》 in 46 juan, 《張太岳文集》 and 《張太岳詩文集》 in 47 juan each, as well as 《張文忠公集》, 《張文忠奏議》, and 《張江陵集》. Other titles include 《四書直解》, 《奏對稿》 in 10 juan, 《學園農記》, 《帝鑑圖說》 in six juan, 《書經直解》, also titled 《尚書直解》, 《通鑑直解》, 《興都志》, 《郊祀新舊圖考》, and 《陳六事疏》. In autumn 1554, after his reform ambitions failed, he withdrew on grounds of illness; while passing through Wuchang, he saw the Yellow Crane Tower and composed the seven-character regulated verse poem 《舟泊漢江望黃鶴樓》 to express his later political frustration. He also wrote the following couplet for Toutuo Temple: “千座頭陀皆北拱；一江春水向東流。”