Peng Shao

Life

His father was 彭思孝, his grandfather 彭體正, and his great-grandfather 彭孟德; his mother was of the Lin family, his wife of the Huang family, and his younger brothers were 彭䪧 and 彭韹. His examination credentials included the statuses of shengyuan and xianggong, as well as the jinshi degree; in the first year of the Tianshun era (1457), he passed the dingchou examination in the second class, twenty-sixth place.

He first served as a 主事 in the Ministry of Justice and advanced to 員外郎 and 郎中. From 1470 to 1475 he served as Assistant Surveillance Commissioner of Sichuan, becoming Surveillance Commissioner there in 1475; in 1478 he became Left Administration Commissioner of Guangdong, and in 1482 he was transferred to Guizhou in the same capacity. In 1484 he was promoted to Right Vice Censor-in-Chief, a title also given as Right Assistant Censor-in-Chief; he governed Su-Song, Yingtian, Shuntian, and Yongping, and in 1485 was summoned as Grand Minister of the Dali Temple. From 1487 to 1488 he served as Right Vice Minister of Justice, from 1488 to 1490 as Left Vice Minister of Justice, and from 1490 to 1491 as Left Vice Minister of Personnel; in 1491 he became Minister of Justice.

At Minghe Salt Field he administered salt affairs and drew eight diagrams showing the salt field, mountain field, grass marsh, brine leaching, salt boiling, 微鹽, salt release, and recovery of arrears. In early Chenghua, a memorial attacking powerful favorites and corrupt figures led to his imprisonment twice; the remonstrance official Mao Hong and others intervened on his behalf. During Hongzhi, he repeatedly submitted memorials on abuses in government without success. His impartial conduct made him disliked by noble relatives and palace intimates and, unable to realize his aims, he requested retirement on grounds of illness. After his death in 1495, he was posthumously granted Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent and the posthumous name Hui'an. With He Qiaoxin he was known as “He-Peng”, and he was a friend of Chen Baisha.

Works and style

His prose followed the grand-secretariat style while remaining deep, refined, and well grounded; his poetry was characterized by stern structure and mellow richness. His works include 《政訓》 in two juan, 《天曹日錄》 (also given as 《天曹日記》), 《彭惠安集》, and 《從吾滯稿》 in twelve juan.