Yu Duanli

Career

He passed the jinshi examination in 1157, the twenty-seventh year of the Shaoxing era of Emperor Gaozong, and served first as magistrate of Wucheng county in Huzhou, where he each year remitted 60,000 strings of the dingjuan levy for the local people. Under Emperor Xiaozong he was recommended as an investigating censor and rose through the posts of vice minister of the Court of Judicial Review and of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices to vice minister of the Ministry of Personnel; he also held concurrently the post of acting vice minister of War and supervisor of the Heir Apparent's household, and was then appointed prefect of Taiping and given a temple sinecure.

Under Emperor Guangzong he was awarded the office of Compiler of the Jiyin Hall and sent out as prefect of Ganzhou; recalled to court, he served as vice minister of Personnel, concurrently acting minister of Justice and expositor-in-waiting, and was then made prefect of Jiankang as Auxiliary Academician of the Huanzhang Pavilion and commissioner for the pacification of the Jiangnan East circuit. In 1193, the fourth year of the Shaoxi era, he was summoned to be minister of Personnel and promoted to vice commissioner of the Bureau of Military Affairs. While prefect of Jiankang he memorialized against the military officer Li Cundao for a shortfall in grain purchased by the Huaixi general quartermaster's office, and Li was demoted by one rank.

On the accession of Emperor Ningzong he joined Zhao Ruyi and others in asking the grand empress dowager to take the curtained regency, and was advanced to commissioner of the Bureau of Military Affairs concurrently assistant administrator of state affairs. In 1195, the first year of the Qingyuan era, he replaced Zhao Ruyi as right chancellor, and in the following year was moved to left chancellor.

He was thereafter kept in check by Han Tuozhou; frustrated in his ambitions, he pleaded illness and asked to retire, and was sent out to govern Longxing fu, then Tanzhou, then Qingyuan fu, and once more to command at Tanzhou. He was also appointed Academician of the Guanwen Hall and enfeoffed as Duke of Wei. He died in the sixth month of 1201, the first year of the Jiatai era, aged sixty-seven; his posthumous name was Zhongsu.

Family

He was a great-grandson of Yu Qing, a grandson of Yu Duo, and a son of Yu Hui, whose wife was of the Yu (虞) clan. He married a woman of the Ye clan; he had a younger brother, Yu Yingcheng, a second son, Yu Rong (1162–1237), and a great-grandson, Yu Gai.

Associates and legacy

Yang Wanli was a friend of his and wrote his epitaph, the "Epitaph for Lord Yu, Left Chancellor", which is preserved in juan 124 of Yang's Collected Works of Chengzhai; Yang also wrote a record of the newly built examination hall of Jiankang prefecture. His biography appears in juan 398 of the History of Song, and two of his poems are recorded in the Complete Song Poetry.