Yin Shidan

Life

He first held the status of a shengyuan (licentiate). In 1540, the nineteenth year of the Jiajing reign, he placed fifth in the Shandong provincial examination and qualified as a juren; in 1547, the twenty-sixth year of Jiajing, he ranked thirty-third in the metropolitan examination, passed as a third-class jinshi in 106th place, and was selected as a shujishi. In 1549, the twenty-eighth year of Jiajing, he was appointed a Hanlin Academy expositor; in 1558, the thirty-seventh year, he entered mourning for his mother, and after completing the mourning period was reappointed to his former post.

In 1562 he became a lecturer to the Prince of Yu; in 1564 he was promoted to Right Assistant in the Eastern Palace and Hanlin expositor, and with Lin Xian served as chief examiner for the Shuntian prefectural examination; in 1566 he was promoted to Cavalier of the Directorate of the Heir Apparent and Hanlin expositor. In 1567, the first year of Longqing, he was promoted to Hanlin Academician for Reading, served as a daily lecturer in the Classic Matin, and became deputy chief editor of the Veritable Records of the Shizong Emperor; he also held the posts of Vice Minister of Personnel and Vice Minister of Rites. In 1568 he became Minister of Rites.

During the Longqing era, he entered the Grand Secretariat through the influence of the eunuch Chen Hong. In 1570 he became a Grand Secretary of the Wenyuan Pavilion and eventually a Grand Secretary of the Wuying Hall; he also held the titles Shaobao and Taizi Shaobao (also recorded as Taizi Taibao). In 1571 he served as a reader for the palace examination. He was subsequently forced out by the powerful minister Gao Gong and returned home, building a retreat beside the Luo waters, where he occupied himself with the classics and histories.

He died in 1582, the tenth year of the Wanli reign. He was posthumously granted the title Taibao; his posthumous title was Wenzhong, later changed to Wenzhuang, and he was buried south of Fenghuang Mountain, east of Dangjiazhuang.

Family and associations

His great-grandfather was Yin Heng (殷衡), and his grandfather was Yin Jun (殷畯). His father is variously named Yin Rulin (殷汝麟) and Yin Honglin (殷洪麟); his mother was Lady Guo, and his wife was Lady Zhai. His recorded sons were Yin Gao (殷誥) and Yin Pancheng (殷盤承), and his grandson was Yin Qixian (殷啟賢).

He wrote epitaphs for Li Panlong and Li Kaixian, and a book preface and sacrificial text for Tu Long. He also wrote a sacrificial text and a biography in the xingzhuang form for Yu Shenxing, a sacrificial text for Zhang Yigui, and a preface to Wang Daokun's poetry and prose. He exchanged letters with Li Panlong, Zhao Zhenji, and Wang Jiaping; Huang Fengxiang and Yu Shenxing received poems and prose presented by him.

Scholarship and works

His scholarly and literary designations included classicist, historian, and writer of collections of zhu gong diao and sanqu. His poetry and prose were considered accomplished; his verse was described as combining the refined elegance of Qi–Lu, the tragic force of Yan–Zhao, and the graceful beauty of Wu–Yue, and he was praised as “a great master of our region.” His works include Jinyu Shanfang gao (《金輿山房稿》), also titled Jinyu Shanfang ji (《金輿山房集》); the former is listed as fourteen juan.