Yang Junmin

Life

He was the son of Yang Bo (1509–1574), the grandson of Yang Zhan, and the great-grandson of Yang Xuan; his mother was Duan and his wife was Shi.

His younger brothers were Yang Junshi, Yang Junyan, Yang Junqing, and Yang Junchen. He was listed as a shengyuan and a xianggong juren, placed 40th in the Shanxi provincial examination, and in 1562 passed the jinshi examination held in the forty-first year of the Jiajing era, ranking thirteenth in the second class.

Initially appointed an assistant in the Zhejiang Section of the Ministry of Revenue, he transferred to the Ministry of Rites and rose through the Office of Guest Affairs, the Office of Ceremonial Regulations, the Office for Provisioning, and the Office of Guest Affairs again as director. In 1569 he became Henan educational commissioner; the appointment is also styled vice commissioner of the Henan Provincial Surveillance Commission. In the fifth year of the Longqing era he became a right provincial administration commissioner in Henan, and in 1573 was appointed a vice minister of the Court of Imperial Stud.

In 1577 he became a vice minister of the Court of State Ceremonial, and in 1578 a left vice minister of the Court of Judicial Review; he then rose to investigating censor of the Right Censorate and administered Yunyang. In 1581 he became vice chief censor of the Right Censorate and governor of Shandong. During these years he also served as supervisor of schools, superintendent of the Bureau of Foreign Languages, and reader of examination papers; in 1590 he was an attendant at the Classics Lectures.

In 1582 he became vice minister of war and returned home on mourning leave. Recalled in 1585 as vice minister of revenue, he concurrently served as investigating censor, supervised the transport administration on the Grand Canal, and governed Fengyang. In 1587 he became senior vice minister of revenue, and in 1589 minister of revenue and superintendent of the granary administration.

Public affairs and posthumous honours

While serving as minister of revenue, he requested the distribution of silver and rice during a major famine in Henan. When some accused him of delay, he impeached himself and sought dismissal, but the request was not accepted. As mining supervisors and tax agents were dispatched throughout the country, the population suffered, and contemporaries criticized him for not opposing the policy forcefully enough.

Late in life he was repeatedly elevated with the title Taizi taibao; Taizi shaobao and Taizi taifu are also associated with his final appointments. He died in office in 1599 and was posthumously granted the title Shaobao.

Associations

His correspondence includes letters sent to him by Zhang Juzheng, Mao Kun, Wang Jiaping, He Dongxu, and Yang Yuting, as well as replies received from Xu Xuemo, Zhang Juzheng, Shen Shixing, He Dongxu, and Zhang Tongde. Yu Shengan wrote a preface for him; Wang Jiaping composed an inscription for his tomb; Wang Shugao and Jiang Yingke wrote sacrificial texts; Wang Xijue composed a tomb inscription; and Fang Yang wrote an account of an academy.