Yu Shenxing (1545–1607) was a Ming official and literary figure. His courtesy names included Keyuan (可遠) and Wugou (無垢); he was also known as Wuke (無可) and by the sobriquet Gushan (穀山). He came from Dong'e in Shandong, specifically Hongfan Village in Dong'e County, Dongping Prefecture, Yanzhou, and his ancestral home was in present-day Qiantun Village, Yaozhai Town, Dong'e County. His exact dates are disputed: one account gives 3 November 1545 to 9 January 1608, while another gives the twenty-ninth day of the ninth month of the twenty-fourth year of the Jiajing reign (1545) as his birth date.
Life
His father was Yu Pin, his mother Liu; his great-grandfather was Yu Zhong and his grandfather Yu Shi. His brothers included Yu Shendong, Yu Shensi, and Yu Shenyan, his younger brother was Yu Shenyou, and his wife was Qin.
He was precociously gifted from youth, mature and honest in character, broadly learned across the hundred schools, and well versed in historical precedents. He first held the status of shengyuan; in the 1561 Xinyou examination he ranked sixth in the Shandong provincial examination and became a juren. In 1568, in the Wuchen metropolitan examination, he ranked 287th; at the palace examination he took second-class, 61st place, and was appointed a shujishi.
In 1570 he was promoted to compiler in the Hanlin Academy and helped compile the Veritable Records of the Shizong and Muzong reigns and the History of Muzong. In 1573 he was reappointed compiler, in 1575 promoted to xiuzhuan, and in 1576 appointed daily lecturer at the Classics Banquet, where he lectured on Tang history; his repeated discussion of success and failure won the Wanli Emperor's trust, and the emperor bestowed on him the four characters “責難陳善.” He became a shijiang in December of the same year and in 1579 requested leave to return home for medical care. He later angered Zhang Juzheng by criticizing the “duoqing” issue, withdrew because of illness, and returned to office after Zhang's death.
When Zhang Juzheng's household was confiscated, Shenxing urged those handling the case to remember the distress suffered by Zhang's mother and sons. After returning to office, he rose repeatedly to Minister of Rites, was well versed in institutions and ritual precedents, and took part in determining many major court rites; after petitioning the Wanli Emperor to establish the heir apparent, he left office and lived at home for more than ten years. In the thirty-fifth year of the Wanli reign (1607), a court recommendation of grand councillors led to his appointment as Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent and Grand Academician of the Eastern Repository; he entered the deliberation of state affairs but was unable to serve because of illness, and died soon afterwards. He received the posthumous name Wending.
Learning and writings
His learning ranged across the hundred schools and he was well versed in historical precedents; together with Feng Qi, he was regarded as one of the leading literary figures of his time. His literary activity included writing prefaces, epitaphs, biographies, sacrificial texts, elegies, tomb inscriptions, spirit-way steles, and biographical accounts for others, as well as presenting poems and prose and composing inscriptions, records, and names for buildings. He wrote to Zhang Juzheng, supplied a title, record, and name for a building associated with Pan Jixun, and praised Yang Yikui's achievements. He also presented a poem to Zhang Jiye, comparing him with Tao Zhu and Lu Zhu and describing his pastoral life and local speech. His collected writings are titled Gucheng Shanguan shiwen ji (《穀城山館詩文集》); another title is Gucheng Shanguan wenji (《榖城山舘文集》), recorded in forty-two juan.
References
- CBDB Yu Shenxing (126359)
- 搜韵 于慎行 (42223)
- Wikidata Yu Shenxing (Q45568545)