Shen Shixing
Ming dynasty government leader (1535–1614) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Shen Shixing (Chinese: 申时行; pinyin: Shēn Shíxíng; Wade–Giles: Shen Shih-hsing; 1535 – 1614) was a Ming dynasty Chinese politician, academic, and First Grand Secretary under the Wanli Emperor from 1583 to 1591.
Shen Sixing | |
---|---|
Senior Grand Secretary | |
In office 1583–1591 | |
Monarch | Wanli Emperor |
Preceded by | Zhang Siwei |
Succeeded by | Wang Xijue[1] |
Personal details | |
Born | 1535 |
Died | 1614 |
He was born in Changzhou County, South Zhili (present-day Suzhou). With the help of First Grand Secretary Zhang Juzheng, he was appointed as Minister of Rites and then Minister of Personnel. He later became Grand Secretary of the Jianji Hall [zh]. After the death of Zhang and the fall of his successor amid great controversy, Shen became the First Grand Secretary (首辅; Shǒufǔ), the de facto Grand Chancellor of the Ming empire, a position he held for eight-and-a-half years. In this role, Shen served as the primary channel of communication between the Emperor and the civil service, while also serving as the emperor's personal tutor in public study sessions. During his tenure as First Grand Secretary, Shen was the personally closest civil servant or academic to the Wanli Emperor, having lectured before the emperor more often than any other academic, among other distinctions.[2] Shen also took part in the drafting of the Collected Statutes of the Ming Dynasty.[3]