Hu Zongxian

Life

His father was Hu Shangren and his mother was Fang; his grandfather was Hu Kun and his great-grandfather Hu Ruochuan. He had an elder brother, Hu Zongyu, a younger brother, Hu Zongting, a wife surnamed Zhang, and a son, Hu Guiqi. Hu was studious from childhood. His mother, Fang, came from a scholarly family, taught him the Thousand Character Classic and the Elementary Learning, and sent him to a private school at seven; initially indifferent to the civil examinations, he began serious study after his father's admonition. In 1528 he became a student of the county school; in 1534 he took the Yingtian prefectural examination, for which the placing is variously given as 100th and 84th; in 1538 he earned the third-class jinshi degree in the Wuxu examination, placed 188th in the third class. After observing government service in the Ministry of Punishments, he became magistrate of Yidu in Shandong in 1540, where he dealt with drought, locusts, and banditry and gained a reputation for effective administration. His mother died in 1542 and his father in 1544; during mourning he read Zhu Xi's Gangmu, Daxue yanyi, Wujing qishu, Baijiang zhuan, and other works. After completing mourning, he became magistrate of Yuyao in Zhejiang; the starting year is given as 1546 or 1547, and he was praised for clean public service and upright enforcement. In 1548, because of outstanding administrative performance, he was selected as a probationary censor of the Huguang circuit; in June 1549 he was confirmed as censor, inspecting Xuanfu and Datong and then serving as inspector in North Zhili. In 1551, as inspector in Huguang, he suppressed a Miao uprising.

Coastal defense and high office

In 1554, while inspecting Zhejiang, he is said to have killed hundreds of wokou at Jiaxing with poisoned wine; on Zhao Wenhua's instructions, he impeached Zhang Jing for “squandering provisions and harming the people, fearing the enemy and missing the opportunity.” Zhang was later executed at the Western Market, and Hu rose three ranks to become Right Vice Censor-in-Chief. In 1555–1556 he became Right Vice Censor-in-Chief and governor-general of Zhejiang's military affairs; after repeated campaigns, the coastal wokou threat in southeast China was said to have somewhat abated. During the anti-wokou campaign, he recruited Xu Wei to his staff to devise strategy. After Xu Hai was induced to surrender and bind Chen Dong and Ma Ye and hand them over, Hu surrounded Xu Hai again and drove him to suicide. Accounts differ over Wang Zhi: one says Hu lured him to his death and the wokou troubles in the Two Zhejiang region gradually subsided; another says Wang was pacified and then executed by the court, causing the wokou to run out of control. His accumulated successes brought him promotion to Chief Censor, and his authority shook southeast China; he drew southeast literati into his councils and acquired considerable reputation. In 1560, the Jiajing emperor rewarded him for capturing Wang Zhi (the name also appears as 汪直 rather than 王直); he was appointed Junior Protector of the Heir Apparent in the official listings, Grand Protector in another account, and Censor-in-Chief, with the left/right designation varying in the accounts, concurrently Vice Minister of War. Three months later he became Minister of War, and in 1561 was additionally made Junior Guardian and given command over Jiangxi. In 1562, after Yan Song and his son fell, Lu Fengyi impeached him as a partisan of Yan Song; one account says he was dismissed as a Yan partisan, another that the emperor declared him not a Yan partisan and released him. In 1564 he retired to his native place. In 1565 a handwritten letter from Yan Shifan implicated him, and he was arrested and imprisoned; he wrote the ten-thousand-character *Bianwu shu* in his own defense, received no response, and finally killed himself in prison with a blade, reportedly reciting: “A precious sword is buried in a wronged prison; a loyal soul circles the white clouds.” At the beginning of the Wanli reign he was restored to office and posthumously given the name Xiangmao.

Staff and writings

His staff also included Zhou Shuxue, Wang Yin, Su Eshan, and Liu Tingying. The attribution of the thirteen-volume *Chouhai Tubian* (《籌海圖編》) is disputed: one account says it was compiled by his staff member Zheng Ruoceng; another lists Hu as its compiler, while a separate summary calls it his work.