Wang Chonggu

Life

He was Wang Yao’s third son; his mother was Sun and his stepmother was Meng.

His elder brothers were Wang Chongren, Wang Chongyi, Wang Chongdao, Wang Chongzu, and Wang Chongzhi; his younger brothers were Wang Chongya, Wang Chongdian, Wang Chongxun, and Wang Chongjiao. His wife was Zhang; his sons-in-law were Hao Chengxun and Zhang Xunji, his grandsons Wang Zhizhen and Wang Zhi-mo, and his great-grandsons Wang Zongsun and Wang Hesun.

His examination career lists him as a shengyuan (庠生) and a provincial recommended candidate, while the jinshi result placed him 87th in the second class; the entries attach 279 and 10 respectively to the recommended-candidate and shengyuan entries. The year of his jinshi degree is disputed: it is given as the twentieth year of the Jiajing reign (1541) and also as the twenty-second year (1543).

After obtaining the jinshi degree, he was appointed a secretary in the Ministry of Justice and later served as prefect of Anqing and Runing, inspector in Shaanxi, and provincial administration commissioner in Henan. In the thirty-fourth year of Jiajing (1555), he became military-defense vice commissioner for Changzhou and Zhenjiang; the start of this appointment is also given as the thirty-eighth year of Jiajing.

Accounts differ over the location of his anti-pirate campaign in the Changzhen command: one places his victory at Xiagang, another his annihilation of pirates at Jingjiang, and both associate him with fighting at Hushu alongside Cao Bangfu.

In the forty-third year of Jiajing (1564), he was promoted to vice censor-in-chief and appointed governor of Ningxia. He repaired defenses, accepted surrendered groups, and repeatedly sent out forces to strike enemy bases; while other garrisons suffered repeated Tatar attacks, Ningxia alone remained intact.

Frontier administration and later offices

At the beginning of the Longqing reign, he became vice minister of war and concurrently vice censor-in-chief, commanding military affairs in Shaanxi, Yan, Ningxia, and Gansu, where he won repeated military successes; another summary describes him as commander of the Three Border Garrisons.

In the fourth year of Longqing (1570), he was transferred to command the military affairs of Shanxi, Xuanfu, and Datong, and made strategic decisions with the governor Fang Fengshi. After Altan’s grandson Bahan Naj surrendered, Wang Chonggu made peace with Altan and returned the grandson, advocating peace and regulated trade; the frontier thereafter became quiet. The settlement became known as the Altan accord (「俺答封貢」) or the Longqing peace (「隆慶議和」), and was described as bringing prosperity to soldiers and civilians across several thousand li from Yan-yong in the east to the seven garrisons at Jiayu in the west, while reducing annual expenditure by seven-tenths. He was advanced to Minister of War.

Zhang Juzheng called the settlement an extraordinary undertaking that no one but Wang Chonggu could have accomplished; his frontier achievements were also summed up as having served across seven garrisons and made outstanding contributions on the frontier.

At the beginning of the Wanli reign, he was summoned to assist with military administration and was made Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent. The accounts differ on his retirement: one gives it as the beginning of Wanli, while a more detailed chronology has him enter the capital in the ninth month of Wanli 1 (1573) to supervise the military camps, become Minister of Justice in the ninth month of Wanli 3, and Minister of War in Wanli 5 (1577), before he retired to his home in the tenth month of that year.

He died in the sixteenth year of Wanli (1588), was posthumously made Grand Guardian, and received the posthumous title Xiangyi.

Works and correspondence

His works include Gongyu man gao (《公餘漫稿》); Shantang huigao (《山堂彚槀》) is also listed among his writings.

His correspondence included letters sent to him by Wen Chun, Wang Zongmu, Zhang Juzheng, Wang Jiaping, Zhang Han, Wang Zudi, He Dongxu, and Meng Si.

He also received replies from Zhang Juzheng, Zhang Jiayin, and He Dongxu; Ai Mu sent him a congratulatory message.

Xu Guo and Wang Xijue wrote a tomb inscription or tomb table for him. Wang Chonggu wrote epitaphs for Jing Qin and Xie Lan, and tomb tables for Yang Zongqi and Huo Ji.