Xia Yan

Life and career

His father, Xia Ding, had served as magistrate of Linqing; his grandfather was Xia Yingong and his great-grandfather Xia Zixin. His mother was from the Chen family and his stepmother was Wu; his elder brothers were Xia Nan'an and Xia Qi, his younger brother was Xia Xing, and he married first Xu and later Zhan.

His nephew Xia Kecheng, grandnephew Xia Chaoqing, and grandson Xia Chaofu are also identified. In 1510 he placed sixth in the Jiangxi provincial examination; in 1517 he passed the Dingchou jinshi examination in third place in the third class and was appointed xingren.

At the beginning of the Jiajing reign, he held the post of 兵科都給事中; his discussion of the suburban sacrifices brought him to the attention of the Jiajing emperor. In 1528 he was promoted to 禮科左給事中 and in the same year transferred to 兵科都給事中; in 1529 he became 吏科都給事中, proposed abolishing the maritime-trade office and enforcing the sea ban, inspected imperial estates, and advocated returning property taken from the people.

In October 1530 he was promoted to Hanlin Reader-in-Waiting (翰林院侍讀學士), while retaining 吏科都給事中, and became a daily lecturer for the Classics Banquet; he was granted the emoluments and dress of a fourth-rank official. In 1531 he became 少詹事 of the Directorate of the Heir Apparent and concurrently a Hanlin academician in charge of the Hanlin院; in July he was promoted to vice minister of rites and in September to minister of rites.

In 1532 he received the additional title 太子太保; in 1536 he was granted 少保, 少傅, and 太子少師, and entered the cabinet as Minister of Rites concurrently Grand Academician of the Wuying Hall (武英殿大學士). In the winter of 1538 he succeeded Li Shi as chief grand secretary and enjoyed the exceptional favor of the Jiajing emperor.

In 1541 he was dismissed after being slandered by Yan Song and Guo Xun, Marquis of Wuding; he was recalled soon afterward, but with less favor than before. In 1542 Yan Song again forced him out on the charge of “deceiving and slandering the ruler”; in 1545 he returned to the cabinet, a reinstatement also described as restoration to his former office. Yan Song was then chief grand secretary, but Xia Yan dealt with memorial rescripts without showing him deference.

Xia Yan was upright and outspoken, willing to take responsibility, but was also regarded as self-assured and overbearing, which brought him into conflict with Zhang Fujing; after Yan Song entered the cabinet, he removed Xia Yan's political allies.

In 1547 Altan Khan, leader of the Mongol Tatar forces, led 30,000 cavalry in attacks on Sanyuan, Jingyang, and other places. Zeng Xian, governor-general of Shaanxi, memorialized the court to recover the Hetao region; Xia Yan strongly supported the proposal, and the Jiajing emperor initially ordered the frontier commanders to deliberate on a strategy and allocated 200,000 for border repairs.

Yan Song opposed opening a major frontier campaign and induced the frontier commander Qiu Luan to accuse Xia Yan of colluding with Zeng Xian; in January 1548 Xia Yan was forced into retirement on the charge that his actions were arbitrary and showed signs of coercing the ruler.

After Altan moved south and raided the Xuanfu area, Yan Song again blamed Xia Yan and Zeng Xian for provoking the recovery campaign. At Tongzhou, Xia Yan learned that Zeng Xian had been killed on a charge of “associating with palace attendants”; he fell from his carriage and cried, “Alas! I am doomed.”

Xia Yan submitted another appeal, and the Minister of Justice Yu Maojian and Chief Censor Tu Qiao sought clemency for him, but the emperor refused and penalized both officials. In October of the same year Xia Yan was executed for “associating with palace attendants”; one account specifies beheading, while another gives the form of public execution in the marketplace (棄市).

At the beginning of the Longqing reign in 1567, Xia Yan's family petitioned the court; he was rehabilitated, his offices were restored, and he received the posthumous name Wenmin.

Literary work and associations

Xia Yan excelled in ci poetry; his style was compared with that of Zhang Xiaoxiang and Lu You, while his poetry and prose were regarded as broad and well ordered, and he became known especially for ci and qu. While serving as an envoy to Huguang, he climbed the Yellow Crane Tower, exchanged poems with Qin Jin and others, and wrote the seven-character ancient poem “秦鳳山招飲黃鶴樓次西涯公原韻.”

His collection 《桂洲集》 is also known as 《桂洲詞》 or 《桂翁詞》, and he had a sanqu collection, 《鷗園新曲》. Other works include 《賜閒堂稿》, 《南宮奏稿》, and 《桂洲集》.

The titles associated with him also include 《南宮稿》, 《寧桂洲奏議》, 《扈蹕錄》, 《桂洲文集》, 《聖駕渡黃河記》, 《記召對廟廷事》, 《郊祀通典》, 《深衣考》, and 《桂洲先生文集》. 《南宮稿》 comprised five juan, 《寧桂洲奏議》 twenty-one, 《扈蹕錄》, 《聖駕渡黃河記》, 《記召對廟廷事》, and 《深衣考》 one juan each, 《郊祀通典》 twenty-seven, and 《桂洲先生文集》 fifty.

Xia Yan wrote a preface for Tian Rucheng and academy inscriptions for Tian Rucheng, Cai Kelian, and Gong Yongqing; he exchanged poems with Liu Wenguang, and Wang Shizhen wrote his biography. He also composed epitaphs for Lu Shen, Fei Hong, Tao Yan, Li Qi, Wu Jie, You Tai, and Wen Xi; spirit-way inscriptions for Zhou Yong, Mao Chao, Mu Shaoxun, Shao Yuanjie, and Deng Zhang; a sacrificial text for Fei Hong; and farewell poems or prefaces for Zhu Tingsheng and Zhan Ruoshui.