← Explore on the interactive map

Yan Song

Type Figure Region China Time 1480–1567 Also known as Yan Weizhong、Yan Song of Fenyi

Powerful minister of the Ming dynasty's Jiajing era, Grand Secretary for nearly twenty years, known for writing Daoist petitions to please the empero…

Timeline

  1. 1480–1521Fenyi · JiangxiYan Song, courtesy name Weizhong, was from Fenyi, Jiangxi. He passed the jinshi examination in the sixteenth year of Zhengde, entered the Hanlin Academy, excelled in literary composition, and served successively as Vice Minister of Personnel, rising steadily in his career.
  2. 1522–1550Beijing · Northern ZhiliAfter the Jiajing Emperor's accession, Yan Song gained favor for his skill in writing Daoist petitions, entered the Grand Secretariat in 1542, and after ousting Xia Yan in 1548 monopolized the post of Chief Grand Secretary. During this period he courted eunuchs and excluded rivals, and government gradually fell under the control of father and son.
  3. 1551–1560Beijing · Northern ZhiliAt this time Yan Song's power reached its peak; his son Yan Shifan interfered in the affairs of the Six Ministries, sold offices, and took bribes. Officials like Xu Jie endured and maneuvered in secret, quietly collecting evidence of his crimes; meanwhile the wokou raids in the southeast continued, and Yan's faction also influenced military affairs.
  4. 1561–1567Fenyi · JiangxiIn 1562 Yan Shifan was impeached and imprisoned, and Yan Song was also dismissed, returning to his native Fenyi. Early in the Longqing reign Yan Shifan was executed, Yan Song's property was confiscated, and he himself, destitute and ill, died in his hometown in 1567 at the age of eighty-eight.

Sources