Li Yaomin

Life and career

In the first year of the Wanli reign (1573), he placed sixth in the Shandong provincial examination. In the second year (1574), he passed the Jiaxu metropolitan examination in 88th place and received the jinshi degree in the third class, ranked 196th.

He was first appointed magistrate of Changzhou. After mourning his father and completing the mourning period, he was appointed magistrate of Yongnian; after a year in office, he returned home because of his mother's death. Known for integrity and administrative clarity, he was promoted in the thirteenth year of Wanli to Investigating Censor of the Jiangxi Circuit. He served at court with uncompromising rectitude, remonstrated boldly, and was credited with serving the cause of the succession. The following year he inspected the Hedong salt administration—described elsewhere as censorially supervising it—addressed entrenched abuses, and submitted four proposals on practical affairs.

In the sixteenth year of Wanli, he was assigned to inspect the Three Wu region; he acted so vigorously that, in the phrase of the account, “the mountains trembled,” and then returned home because of illness. Recalled to his former office in the twentieth year, he directed education in the metropolitan region in the twenty-first year, governed impartially, refused private approaches, and was praised in the phrase “化如實雨”; local literary culture changed and students continued to admire him. After another return home because of illness, he was appointed Right Vice Commissioner of the Court of Judicial Review in the twenty-seventh year and promoted in the thirty-first year to Right Lesser Minister of the same court; the office is also given generically as 大理寺少卿. He administered justice fairly at the judicial court.

In the thirty-second year of Wanli he became Prefect of Yingtian Prefecture; in the thirty-third year he requested retirement because of illness, and in the thirty-fourth year he died at home. At the beginning of the Tianqi era, he was posthumously granted the titles 工部侍郎, 正議大夫, and 資治尹; the local magistrate Liu Gong had a stele engraved to commemorate his conduct.

His father was Li Qin (李勤), his grandfather Li Xian (李顯), his great-grandfather Li Qi (李玘), and his younger brother Li Shunmin (李舜民). His wife was Diao (刁氏); his birth mother was Liu (劉氏), and his principal mother was Duan (段氏).

Writings and associations

He wrote 快獨集, also titled 雍野李先生快獨集, in twenty juan. Among the related commemorative texts, Li Weizhen wrote his preface and epitaph; Yu Ruoying wrote his biographical account and sacrificial text; Ye Xianggao wrote his spirit-path stele inscription, while Li Yaomin wrote an epitaph for Li Yiqian.

The collection also preserves letters sent and answered, involving Wang Zhideng, Zhao Jin, Liu Dongxing, Yu Ruoying, Wang Shizhen, Jiang Yingke, and Shen Zimu.