Yin Zhu

Life

Yin Zhongxuan was his father, and Yin Zhu was Zhongxuan's second son; Yin Yuan was his elder brother and Yin Xiang a younger brother.

His daughter Yin Shi was the wife of Zhang Jingxian; Xie Jingping is also listed as a son-in-law. He had a first son, Yin Pu, and a third son, Yin Gou.

Yin Zhu studied under Mu Xiu in his youth and was deeply versed in the Spring and Autumn Annals. He passed the Presented Scholar examination in the second year of the Tiansheng era (1024) and also entered the Shupan Bacui examination.

His early appointments included registrar of Zhengping County in Jiangzhou, a household-section assistant at Henan Prefecture, a military-secretariat judge in Anguo Army, magistrate of Guangze County, secretary of Shannan East Circuit, and magistrate of Yiyang County. He was summoned for examination and appointed a collator in the palace libraries, later becoming taizi zhongyun.

During Fan Zhongyan's demotion in the third year of the Jingyou era (1036), Yin Zhu called him a teacher and friend, declared himself one of Fan's party, and asked to share his punishment; he consequently lost his collator post, returned as a secretary, and was assigned to supervise the liquor tax at Tangzhou.

In the first year of Kangding (1040), he became military administrative judge of Yongxing Army. When Western Xia attacked Song, he repeatedly served as a judge in the Shaanxi military headquarters and submitted memorials on military affairs. In the first year of Qingli (1041), he was transferred to be associate prefect of Haozhou; the reason is given in two ways, either that he was charged with dispatching troops without authorization or that he was demoted after the commanders' defeat at Haoshui.

Later Han Qi, then prefect of Qinzhou, recommended him as associate prefect of Qinzhou. In the third year of Qingli (1043), he became Taichang cheng and prefect of Jingzhou, and subsequently governed Weizhou, Qingzhou, Luzhou, and Jinzhou while concurrently handling military affairs on the Jingyuan Circuit.

His other appointments included a jiedushi at Xiangyang Prefecture, a tongpan, a county magistracy, administration of a prefectural military government, Taichang si cheng, Right Admonisher, Attendant at the Jixian Academy, liquor-tax supervisor at Tangzhou, a post in the Shaanxi Jingyuan Command, and Longtu.

He ultimately held the offices of qiju sherens and zhizhi Longtuge. In the fifth year of Qingli (1045), the reason for his demotion is given in two forms: one account attributes it to a dispute with frontier commanders over the construction of Shuoluo City at Jingzhou, followed by a false accusation; another to his use of public-service funds to settle a debt for a subordinate commander. In either account, he was reduced to deputy military commissioner of Chongxin Army and transferred to supervise the liquor tax at Junzhou. He died of illness in the seventh year of Qingli (1047), aged forty-seven.

Literary and historical writing

Yin Zhu was inwardly firm but outwardly mild, learned and discerning, and wrote in a concise, well-regulated style. He joined Ouyang Xiu and others in promoting classical prose and was a forerunner of the classical prose of Ouyang Xiu and Su Shi; he became known as Henan xiansheng.

He composed nine essays, including 《敘燕》, 《息戍》, and 《述享》, which sharply addressed northwestern military affairs and defects in the court's military administration; during the Western Xia attack, he also submitted memorials on military affairs.

His friends included Fan Zhongyan, Jiang Xiufu, and Zhang Rushi; Ouyang Xiu wrote his epitaph, the 《尹師魯墓誌銘》.

Works

His works include 《河南集》, the 27-volume 《河南先生文集》, and the extant 《五代春秋》.

The one-volume 《尹洙詩》 was based on the Sibu Congkan photographic reproduction of the Chun Cen Ge manuscript of 《河南先生文集》, and was collated against 《兩宋名賢小集》, the manuscript revised by Huang Pilie, the Guangxu edition of 《三宋人集》, and the Wenyuange 《四庫全書》 edition.