Wu Shilai

Life

His great-grandfather was 吳叔深 and his grandfather 吳榮贊; his father, 吳炳臺 (1496–1565), and mother, 王氏, are also identified. His paternal uncle 吳炳庶 (born 1520), younger brothers 吳時教 and 吳時永, and wife, 尹氏, are likewise named. His examination career included 生員, a provincial recommended candidate (鄉貢舉人), and a presented scholar (進士); the listed ranks were 80 for 生員 and 210 for 鄉貢舉人, while the 進士 result was Third Class, 11th. In 1549 he passed the juren examination in the 己酉 division; in 1553 he passed the jinshi examination in the Third Class, 11th place, and subsequently served in the Ministry of Rites for observation of government affairs. An entry for 1554 also gives him the status 義民／義官.

He was first appointed as the Songjiang Prefecture 推官 in Zhili and acted in charge of prefectural affairs. When Japanese pirates attacked, he admitted refugees into the city, treated visiting military commanders well, and kept their subordinates law-abiding. He was then promoted to 刑科給事中 and impeached Yan Song's associates, including the Ministry of War minister 許論, the Xuan-Da governor 楊順, and the investigating censor 路楷. In 1558 he was ordered to serve as an envoy to Ryukyu; just before departure, he again impeached Yan Song and his son for unlawfully appropriating power. Because he was 徐階's disciple, he was falsely accused and imprisoned; he was interrogated with 張翀 and 董傳策, and all three denied knowing who had instigated the action. He was subsequently sent to Hengzhou for military garrison service.

Early in the Longqing reign he was restored to his former office and successively served as 吏科給事中, 吏科右給事中, 工科給事中, and 工科左給事中. He later served as 撫治 in Yunyang and impeached the vice censor 劉秉仁; in the first year of Longqing (1567), in the eleventh month, he was promoted to prefectural assistant of Shuntian Prefecture. While in office, he recommended 譚綸, 俞大猷, and 戚繼光 for service in the northern frontier defenses. In the second year of Longqing (1568), in the third month, he was appointed Right Associate Chief Censor of the Nanjing Censorate and placed in charge of 操江; in the fourth year (1570), in the third month, he became governor of Guangdong. After Censor 光懋 and others accused him of making excessive recommendations, he was demoted in the fifth month of the fourth year of Longqing to vice commissioner of the Yunnan Provincial Administration; in the second month of the fifth year (1571), he was again impeached by the chief censor 韓楫, a protégé of 高拱, and left office on honorary status. After the Wanli emperor's accession, repeated recommendations failed to restore him to office. In the twelfth year of Wanli (1584), in the tenth month, he was recalled on the recommendation of the supervising secretary 周世選 and appointed vice commissioner in Huguang; in the twelfth month he became Left Director of the Court of Transmission. In the thirteenth year (1585), he was promoted in the sixth month to Grand Judge of the Court of Judicial Review and in the ninth month to Vice Minister of Justice; in the fourteenth year (1586), in the second month, he became Vice Minister of Personnel and later served as Left Vice Minister of Personnel. In the fifteenth year (1587), in the third month, he became Left Chief Censor of the Censorate; another account calls him Right Chief Censor, holding the Censorate court, and in the seventeenth year (1589) he also served as a reader of examination scripts.

Later years and posthumous honors

As Left Chief Censor, he impeached the Chengyi伯 劉世延 for persistently defying imperial orders. His early impeachments of powerful figures made him prominent; after more than a decade of setbacks, he increasingly accommodated himself to the powerful in his later years. Subsequently, 饒伸, 薛敷教, 王麟趾, 史孟麟, 趙南星, and 王繼光 successively impeached him. He was compelled to seek retirement and died before leaving the capital. After his death, the Ming court awarded him the title 太子太保 and the posthumous name Zhongke (忠恪). Other records give 太子少保 and the posthumous name Wenke (文恪), and one account says that the posthumous name was later withdrawn after opposition from the Ministry of Rites junior secretary 于孔兼.

Works

His works included the fifteen-volume 《悟齋集》, also titled 《悟齋稿》 or 《梧齋集》, and the six-volume 《江防考》.