Ideas, Determination, Power: How Zhang Juzheng Dominated China, 1572–82

Abstract

Zhang Juzheng (1525-1582) was psychologically the most complex of Ming China’s chief grand secretaries. His rise owed something to an appealing combination of brilliance with diffidence and humility. He was learned, and mastered the literary arts of memorization, comprehension, and interpretation, and the articulation of these things in a clear and creative way in writing. But learning, for Zhang, was never enough. One’s learning, if thoroughly and conscientiously come by, must somehow find its appropriate impact and end in the rectified governance of a realm that after functioning in a faltering way for two centuries had developed some very serious problems. Anything less was just vapid talk. To prepare himself, Zhang joined learning with psychological self-strengthening to meet the political resistance that could be expected in the future. Zhang was not outgoing, but did share feats and frustrations with friendly colleagues in the field. Was Zhang Juzheng corrupt? Martyr complex. (Sarah Schneewind)