Zhang Bangqi

Family and early life

His father was Zhang Shimin, his grandfather Zhang Chen, his great-grandfather Zhang Chun, and his mother was Lady Shen.

He had an elder brother, Zhang Bangyan, and eight younger brothers: Zhang Bangyan, Zhang Bangyan, Zhang Bangzhen, Zhang Bangjun, Zhang Bangyi, Zhang Bangjie, Zhang Bangheng, Zhang Banghong, and Zhang Bangyong.

His wife was a member of the Wang family.

An avid reader in his youth, he was said to have read widely, studied with concentrated thought, and aspired to become a sage. He was already composing at fourteen. At fifteen he wrote 《易解》 and 《釋國語》. At seventeen he entered the capital with the candidates recommended through the Mingjing route.

In the fourteenth year of the Hongzhi reign (1501), he passed the Zhejiang provincial examination in the Xinyou cycle; his placing is given as fourteenth in one account and “141” in another. In the eighteenth year of Hongzhi (1505), he passed the metropolitan examination in the Yichou cohort. The examination register places him in the Third Class, one hundred and eighty-third place.

After the examination he was selected as a shujishi and appointed an investigative compiler in the Hanlin Academy. He also took part in compiling and revising the Veritable Record of Emperor Xiaozong.

Career and public affairs

At the beginning of the Zhengde reign he served as a Hanlin compiler. When Liu Jin dominated the court and many officials attached themselves to his faction, Zhang expressed his indignation in the fu “Zhang Qian Riding a Raft to the Milky Way”; he then requested an outside post so that he could support his parents and was appointed deputy education commissioner of Huguang.

In Chu he repaired the Yuelu, Mingshan, and Chongzheng academies, lectured on the Classics to the students himself, and insisted that learning follow Confucius and Yan Hui and conduct aspire to Zeng Shen and Min Ziqian, for even brilliant writing alone would not earn approval. When the Jiajing emperor was still in his Anlu princely residence and sought to take an academic examination, Zhang prepared a separate examination paper and admitted him to the school.

At the beginning of the Jiajing reign Zhang returned to office, serving successively as deputy education commissioner in Sichuan and Fujian, Director of the Imperial College in Nanjing, and Vice Minister of Personnel in Nanjing. He returned home in mourning for his father, was then summoned as Vice Minister of Personnel, and later became Senior Vice Minister while acting as head of the ministry.

He subsequently oversaw the Hanlin Academy and the Office of the Heir Apparent, served as tutor to the heir and as a daily lecturer, acted as chief examiner for the metropolitan examination and as a compiler of the Jade Genealogy, and rose to Minister of Rites, Nanjing Minister of Personnel, and finally Nanjing Minister of War, with responsibility for military affairs.

In the Ministry of Personnel he held that appointments and dismissals had to follow public justice and refused to seek prior approval from the central authorities. He also rejected forty thousand in gold offered to lessen the punishment of a family member, insisting that the law belonged to the whole realm; these actions brought him into conflict with powerful figures. The emperor repeatedly considered making him chief minister, but Zhang likewise rejected approaches sent by Cui Bingyi and the Taoist adept Tao.

He opposed the proposal to establish princely states in Zhejiang and Fujian, arguing that the region supplied the empire’s revenues and bordered the southern capital; the proposal was abandoned. He also refused to adopt Daoist court dress, saying that he could not turn his back on the sages, and blocked Feng Fang’s attempt to gain advancement through a proposal for an imperial Ming Hall and Fengshan sacrifice.

When his mother was over ninety, Zhang requested a southern appointment and became Nanjing Minister of War. The emperor repeatedly wished to recall him as chief minister, but Yan Song argued that Zhang’s aged mother would not want him to return north, and the recall did not take place.

Zhang died in the twenty-third year of the Jiajing reign (1544), at the age of sixty-one. He was posthumously granted the title Grand Protector of the Heir Apparent; the posthumous names Wengke and Wenmin were first proposed, but the emperor changed the title to Wending.

Learning and writings

Zhang took the Cheng-Zhu school as his intellectual foundation, emphasized self-cultivation, and advocated putting learning into practice. He was closely associated with Wang Shouren, although their views on learning often diverged.

The 《明州阿育王山志》 preserves one of Zhang’s seven-character quatrains, “登上塔.”

His writings include 《學庸傳》, 《五經說》, 《易解》, 《易說》, 《春秋說》, 《書說》, 《詩說》, and 《釋國語》.

《兀涯西漢書議》 also appears as 《兀涯漢書議》, and the title 《兀涯兩漢書議》 is also found.

His collected poetry and prose include 《四友亭集》, 《環碧堂集》, 《紆玉樓集》, 《覲光樓集》, 《養心亭集》, 《甬川集》, and 《靡悔軒集》; 《紆玉樓集》 also appears as 《紓玉樓集》, while 《靡侮軒集》 is another recorded form.

There are also editions titled with his posthumous designation: 《張文定公環碧堂集》 in sixteen juan, 《張文定公靡悔軒集》 in twelve juan, and 《張文定公紆玉樓集》 in ten juan.

Yang Tinghe wrote a preface to one of Zhang’s books, while Zou Shouyi had a preface written by Zhang. Zhang Shiche was his clan uncle and was also listed as his student. The two men both served as Nanjing Ministers of War, giving rise to the expression “the uncle and nephew ministers of War.”