Yan Song
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Yan Song | |
|---|---|
Senior Grand Secretary | |
| In office 1544–1545 | |
| Monarch | Jiajing Emperor |
| Preceded by | Zhai Luan, Xia Yan |
| Succeeded by | Xu Jie |
| In office 1548–1562 | |
| Monarch | Jiajing Emperor |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 3, 1480 |
| Died | May 29, 1567 (aged 87) |
Yan Song (
courtesy name Weizhong (惟中), pseudonym Jiexi (介溪), was a Chinese politician and regent of the Ming dynasty. He was notorious for being corrupt and for dominating the Ming government for two decades as Grand Secretary during the reign of the Jiajing Emperor
.
Biography
Early life
Yan Song was born in
jinshi degree at the age of 25, being inducted into the imperial secretariat (Hanlin Academy
) as an editor.
His early career was quickly cut short by a severe illness which forced Yan Song to return to his hometown, though this proved to be a blessing in disguise, since it kept him away from the imperial court just as it was under the domination of powerful eunuch Liu Jin.
Yan Song returned to Beijing not long after the fall of Liu Jin, returning to work in the Hanlin Academy in both Beijing and auxiliary capital Nanjing.
Senior Grand Secretary
Yan Song was the Senior Grand Secretary under the
Yang Jisheng imprisoned and executed. Yan Song was finally disgraced in his later years and died in poverty not long after that, while his son, Yan Shifan, was executed for collaborating with the wokou pirates who invaded Chinese coastal provinces at the time
.
He was the subject of the Chinese opera called Beating Yan Song (打嚴嵩 Dǎ Yán Sōng).
See also
References
- ISBN 978-0-674-03109-8. Retrieved 28 May 2013.