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Xu Xianqing

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Xu Xianqing
Xu Xianqing wearing common official uniform
Vice-Minister of Rites
In office
1587-1588
MonarchWanli Emperor
Vice-Minister of Personnel
In office
1588-1589
MonarchWanli Emperor
Personal details
Born1537
Suzhou
Died1602 (aged 65)
Jiaxing
Xu Xianqing
Traditional Chinese徐顯卿
Simplified Chinese徐显卿
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinXú Xiǎnqīng
IPA[ɕy̌ ɕjɛ̀ntɕʰíŋ]

Xu Xianqing (simplified Chinese: 徐显卿; traditional Chinese: 徐顯卿; 1537–1602), courtesy name Gongwang (公望), pseudonym Jian'an (檢庵), was a Chinese statesman in the late Ming dynasty during the reigns of the Longqing and Wanli emperors.

Xianqing's literary work gained him much fame during his lifetime. His poems and essays are later collected and edited into the "Tianyuanlou Ji"(天遠樓集).

Life

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Native of Suzhou, Xu was born in a rich family of textile manufacturer.[1] His mother died when he was 12. He passed the final stages of the imperial exams and received his jinshi (進士) degree in 1568 and worked in the Hanlin Academy for many years. In 1584, he was appointed chief of Guozijian, the highest national central institution of the Empire.

Xu was one of the main contributors of the final edition of the Collected Statutes of the Ming Dynasty.

In 1587, Xu was appointed as Vice-Minister of Rites and later became Vice-Minister of Personnel.[2]

Painting folio

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In 1588, Xu asked two painters to draw the important events of his life. The painting folio, named Xu Xianqing Huanji Tu (Painting folio of Xu Xianqing's working career) is now in the Collections of the Palace Museum of Beijing. The folio contains vivid materials reflecting the ritual paraphernalia of the Ming court.[3]

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References

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  1. ^ Tianyuanlou Ji (天遠樓集)
  2. ^ Ming Shilu
  3. ^ The working career of a Hanlin official: An analysis of the painting folio Xu Xianqing huanji tu, Yang Lili, in Palace Museum Journal, 2005-04