Around the time Copernicus published his famous work On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres in 1543, and Queen Elizabeth I(1533-1603) of Great Britain was still a little princess. China was in Ming Dynasty. Zhang Juzheng (1525-1582）, hailed as an “illustrious statesman of his era”, the most influential statesman and reformer of the middle and later Ming, whose benevolent rule and strong foreign and economic policies are generally considered by Chinese and Western historians to have brought the Ming dynasty to its peak, was 18. The next couple of years, he would got in first in the imperial examinations and embarked on his official career.
Upon entering the bureaucracy, Zhang Juzheng quickly distinguished himself through his exceptional talent and willingness to speak his mind. However, during the Jiajing reign(reign 1521-1567)—a period marked by the unchecked power of eunuchs and widespread corruption within the imperial government—Zhang’s ambitious reformist zeal was repeatedly thwarted, making his path in the civil service a difficult and arduous one. Yan Song, the scholar-official and the longest-serving grand secretary in three centuries was in control of the court. Dissatisfied with Yan Song’s monopolization of power, he once returned to his hometown to live in seclusion; after coming back to the capital, he gradually rose through the ranks. In 1568, following the accession of the Longqing Emperor (Ming Muzong), Zhang Juzheng was appointed Minister of Personnel and entered the Grand Secretariat.
In 1572, the nine-year-old Wanli Emperor(in reign 1572-1620) started his reign. Zhang Juzheng joined forces with Feng Bao to oust Gao Gong, subsequently becoming the Senior Grand Secretary and serving as an advisor to the Emperor. The empire was deeply entrenched in the mired of crisis. Zhang Juzheng started to push for reform. Politically, the “system of performance evaluation” (kaocheng method) was implemented to rectify the civil service and enhance administrative efficiency. Economically, a nationwide land survey was conducted in the sixth year of the Wanli reign (1578), followed by the introduction of the “Single Whip Reform” (yitiao bian fa) in the ninth year (1581). Militarily, figures such as Qi Jiguang and Li Chengliang were entrusted with the defense of the frontiers. The reform policies turned the tide, drastically improved the Ming dynasty’s fiscal situation, eased social tensions, and fostered the “Wanli Restoration.”
Because of heavy duty works, Zhang Juzheng passed away in 1582 after period of illness. Soon after, he was investigated, his property was confiscated, and his posthumous title was revoked. The fates of Zhang Juzheng’s six sons took a drastic turn for the worse—a poignant reminder of the caprice of destiny. His eldest son, Jingxiu—who had served as a director in the Ministry of Rites—found himself ensnared by the fallout from his father’s reputation and the scandals surrounding him. He was imprisoned and subjected to brutal torture, with his captors demanding that he surrender the “ill-gotten gains” allegedly amassed by his father through corruption. Unable to endure such humiliation, he ultimately chose to take his own life—a final, resolute act to attest to his innocence. The confiscation of the Zhang family’s estate was marked by further tragedies, all stemming from a political persecution orchestrated by the trusted inner circle of the Wanli Emperor. The second son, Sixiu—formerly a compiler at the Hanlin Academy—was a man of exceptional talent, yet his life was irrevocably altered by his father’s death and the subsequent collapse of his family. Not long after his father’s passing, Sixiu was exiled to a remote, pestilential frontier in the Yunnan-Guizhou region, where he lived out the remainder of his days. No further records of his life survive; thus, a piece of history simply faded into oblivion.