Shen Miao

Life

Shen Miao passed the jinshi examination, was classified in the first category, and entered office as a Review Officer of the Court of Judicial Review (大理寺評事).

During the Renzong emperor’s Baoyuan era, he served as magistrate of Houguan, assistant prefect at Guangzhou and Tanzhou, and governor of Zhenzhou and Fuzhou.

At the beginning of the Qingli era, he became Investigating Censor (侍御史), concurrently acting as Salt and Iron Judge (權鹽鐵判官), and was transferred to Vice Director in the Ministry of War (兵部員外郎) with the additional title of zhi Shiguan (直史館). He was then appointed Transport Commissioner for Jingdong with surveillance responsibilities, became Censorate Investigating Officer (侍御史知雜事), was promoted to Academician Awaiting Instructions at the Tianzhang Pavilion (天章閣待制) and governor of Chanzhou, and was transferred in succession to Chief Transport Commissioner for Hebei and Shaanxi.

During his service as Investigating Censor, he opposed promotions in official rank without achievement and accused Xia Song of secretly cultivating eunuch connections in order to monopolize state affairs; when Lü Yijian was dismissed as chancellor and the assisting ministers were all promoted, he argued that the frontier was repeatedly in alarm and that the court had made no plan to repel external threats.

In the fifth year of Qingli (1045), he became governor of Yanzhou, ended his career as Langzhong in the Ministry of Justice (刑部郎中), and died at Yanzhou in 1047. He was buried at Luoyang in 1071.

Other titles in his career included 大理寺丞、殿中省丞、太常寺博士、尚書省工部屯田司員外郎、尚書省刑部都官司員外郎、尚書省工部侍郎、朝散大夫、諫議大夫、開國男（吳興郡）、上輕車都尉 and 賜緋.

Other external appointments included 知某軍事 at Jian’an Army, 知某縣事 at Quanzhou, Jiangshan and Houguan, and 通判 at Guangzhou and Tanzhou. He also held 知某州軍州事 at Fuzhou, Tanzhou and Yanzhou, acted as 知某州軍州事 at Qinzhou, and held 知某府軍府事 in Shaanxi Circuit; in the Fuyan Circuit he served as 经略安抚使 and 馬步軍都總管（部署）.

Family

His ancestry is traced back to Shen Jiji (沈既濟), an eleventh-generation ancestor, and Shen Chuanshi (沈傳師; 777–835), a tenth-generation ancestor. Shen Zhan (沈瞻) is described as a great-great-grandfather and also as a fourth-generation ancestor; Shen Yue (沈岳) is described as a fifth-generation ancestor and also as a higher ancestor.

His great-grandfather was Shen Yan (沈言), his grandfather was Shen Shigu (沈師古), and his father was Shen Wenxu (沈文頊); both his mother and his wife were surnamed Qian (錢氏).

Shen Miao had four sons: Shen Qunyu (沈群玉), Shen Jiayu (沈嘉玉), Shen Boyu (沈伯玉), and Shen Yiyu (沈夷玉).

His recorded grandsons were Shen Lin (沈臨), Shen Guang (沈廣), Shen Hua (沈華), Shen Yong (沈雝), Shen Jin (沈晉), and Shen Tang (沈唐); a daughter is listed as Shen (沈氏), and the husbands of his second and third daughters were Deng Zizhen (鄧子真) and Wu Anju (吳安矩).