Yu Jing

Life and career

He passed the jinshi examination in Tiansheng 2 (1024), began as assistant magistrate of Gan County, later served as a Secretary Assistant and Collator in the Jixian Institute, and was ordered to collate the Records of the Grand Historian, the Book of Han, and the Book of Later Han with Wang Zhu. In Jingyou 3 (1036), after submitting a memorial on Fan Zhongyan's demotion, he was demoted to supervise the liquor tax in Junzhou and later became prefect of Yingzhou.

When Fan Zhongyan was removed from office for remonstrating, Yu Jing and Yin Shu pleaded on his behalf; Yu Jing was demoted together with Yin Shu and Ouyang Xiu, and later gradually returned to his former office. In Qingli 3 (1043), he became Right Remonstrant, supported the new policies, and repeatedly submitted proposals for frontier defense. He made three missions to the Khitan, all without dishonoring his mission; one account says that he became prefect of Jizhou after composing a poem in the Khitan language, while another says he was censured for learning the Khitan language on a later mission and then resigned and returned home.

Around Huangyou 4 (1052), he successively served as prefect of Tanzhou and Guizhou and was charged with suppressing banditry in the eastern and western Guangnan circuits; the order of his Guizhou appointment is also given simply as “appointed prefect of Guizhou.” The following year he assisted Di Qing and Sun Mian in defeating Nong Zhigao’s revolt and remained in Guangxi to settle the aftermath; after the pacification, he was promoted to Vice Minister of Works, made Academician of the Jixian Institute, and then Vice Minister of Personnel, and later served as prefect of Tanzhou and Qingzhou.

During the Jiayou era, after the incursions from Jiaozhi, he served as Military and Pacification Commissioner for Guangxi and then, as Left Vice Councillor, became prefect of Guangzhou; the year of his appointment to Guangzhou is given as Jiayou 6 (1061) in one account, while another places the Jiaozhi incursions and his appointment as commissioner after Jiayou 5. On Yingzong’s accession, he was appointed Minister of Works. In Zhiping 1 (1064), he was recalled; he fell ill and died on the road at sixty-five, and was posthumously titled Xiang.

Family and associations

His father was Yu Qing and his father-in-law was Lin Congzhou. He had three sons—Yu Bozhuang, Yu Zhongxun, and Yu Shuying—and five sons-in-law—Guo Shiyu, Sun Shao, Zhou Xiong, Zhang Dunyu, and Zhang Yuanchun.

He recommended Sun Yi, recognized Liu Qi’s ability, praised him in a recommendation, and sought an appointment for him at Dan.

Works

He wrote the twenty-volume Wuxi ji, the one-volume Qingli Zhengdan Guoxin yulu, and the three-volume Jian cao. Other titles associated with his writings include Hanshu kanwu (30 juan), Sanshi kanwu (40 juan), Zouyi (5 juan), and Yuxiang gong zouyi; Guoxin yulu is also listed as a one-volume work. A two-volume collection of his poems was compiled from Wuxi ji, with poems outside the collection appended at the end.