Yan Song

Timeline

1. 1480–1521Fenyi County · FenyiYan Song came from a scholarly family in Fenyi, Jiangxi; he passed the jinshi examination in the eighteenth year of Hongzhi (1505), was selected as a Hanlin Academy shijishi, and later appointed compiler. After his mother's death he observed mourning at home, devoted himself to study, and lived in his hometown for about ten years. He returned to office during the Zhengde era, serving successively as Ceremonial Master of the Imperial Academy and Vice Minister of Rites, and was noted for his writing.
2. 1521–1548Beijing · BeijingAfter the Jiajing Emperor's accession, Yan Song held key posts including Minister of Rites and Minister of Personnel. Skilled at writing Daoist petitions, he deeply pleased the emperor, entered the Grand Secretariat to participate in state affairs in the twenty-first year of Jiajing (1542), and later rose to Deputy Chief Grand Secretary. Smooth and deferential toward superiors, he humored the Jiajing Emperor's Daoist tastes and thereby gained the emperor's trust.
3. 1548–1562Beijing · BeijingAfter former Chief Grand Secretary Xia Yan was executed in the twenty-seventh year of Jiajing (1548), Yan Song formally became Chief Grand Secretary and monopolized the Grand Secretariat for fifteen years. His son Yan Shifan entered office through his father's patronage, brazenly amassed power and took bribes, and was called 'the little chancellor' by contemporaries. In 1552 Yang Jisheng submitted a memorial impeaching Yan Song with ten major charges and was framed and executed by Yan Song. Those at court who opposed Yan Song were all struck back at.
4. 1562–1565Fenyi County · FenyiIn the forty-first year of Jiajing (1562), Xu Jie joined with Censor Zou Yinglong and others to submit a memorial exposing Yan Shifan's crimes; the Jiajing Emperor dismissed Yan Song, and Yan Shifan was subsequently executed. Yan Song was stripped of his registration and reduced to commoner status, sent back to his native place, and all his property was confiscated. In his final years, destitute and ill, he lived on aid from fellow townspeople, dying in the forty-fourth year of Jiajing (1565) at the age of eighty-five.