Ni Yue

Family

His father was 倪謙; his mother was of the Yao lineage, and his stepmother was of the Guo lineage.

His great-grandfather was 倪德潤, his grandfather 倪子實, and his great-great-grandfather 倪啟; his brothers included 倪阜 and 倪臯, his wife was 盧氏, and his son was 倪霦.

Life and career

He was known for learning and literary ability and was versed in the practical affairs of government.

In Tianshun 8 (1464) he passed the jinshi examination, placing twenty-eighth in the second degree.

His examination and school history also lists him as a provincial recommended candidate and a shengyuan.

He was selected as a shujishi and appointed a Hanlin compiler; in the first year of Chenghua he served as a compiler and took part in compiling the Veritable Records of Yingzong.

During the Chenghua era he served as a Reader-in-waiting and Hanlin academician, entered the Eastern Palace as a lecturer, and also lectured at the Classics Banquet.

In Chenghua 22 (1486) he became Right Vice Minister of Rites, changed to Left Vice Minister in the early Hongzhi era, and in Hongzhi 6 (1493) became Minister of Rites.

In Hongzhi 9 (1496) he became Nanjing Minister of Personnel and received the additional title Junior Guardian of the Heir; another account gives the title Senior Guardian of the Heir. In Hongzhi 12 (1499) he became Nanjing Minister of War and assisted in military affairs.

In Hongzhi 13 (1500), when the office of Minister of Personnel fell vacant, the court initially proposed Wu Kuan as minister and Ni Yue as Left Vice Minister, but the emperor appointed Ni Yue Minister of Personnel instead.

As Minister of Rites, he urged the emperor to attend diligently to lectures, open channels for remonstrance, reduce tax and labor burdens, exercise caution in punishments, dismiss the corrupt and greedy, limit construction, advance loyal and upright officials, and eliminate redundant staff; these proposals were accepted.

When the state preceptor Lingzhan Zhu was ordered to go to Sichuan, Ni Yue remonstrated, and the emperor withdrew the order.

He submitted more than one hundred memorials, most addressing abuses in military and state administration. On the question of war in the northwest, he argued for strengthening generals’ authority, increasing forts, clarifying rewards and punishments, and implementing military colonies to reinforce the defenses, but the Ministry of War did not adopt the proposals.

When he returned to the Ministry of Personnel, his administration of appointments was praised as even-handed.

He died on the ninth day of the tenth month of Hongzhi 14 (1501), aged fifty-eight.

He was posthumously granted the title Shaobao, although another account gives Taibao; he was provided with relay support to return home for the funeral and received the posthumous name Wenyi, while Wenmin also appears as a variant.

Learning and writings

Ni Yue combined knowledge of practical statecraft with literary accomplishment. His prose was expansive and flowing and did not pursue elaborate verbal ornament.

His works include *青谿漫稿*, also titled *清溪漫稿* and *清谿漫稿*, in twenty-four juan; *文毅公集* is also listed under his writings.

His literary activity extended to exchange with other writers: he wrote prefaces for works by 羅性 and 謝昌, while 李東陽 wrote his epitaph. He also composed biographies, sacrificial texts, spirit-way stelae, tomb tables, accounts of conduct, dirges, and farewell pieces for a number of contemporaries.