Li Yu

Life

His great-grandfather was Li Kejing, his grandfather was Li Zhongzhi, and his father was Li Duanming; his mother was Lady Zhou and his stepmother was Lady Xiong.

His elder brothers were 李輿 and 李純, and his younger brothers were 李容, 李䜭, 李㕡, 李?, and 李谿. His wife was 羅氏, his son was 李槩, and his nephew (從子、姪子) was Li Han (李漢; 1453–1498).

He was a shengyuan (庠生) and was also listed as a provincial recommended candidate; in 1454, he passed the jiaxu Presented Scholar examination under the Jingtai reign, ranking 123rd in the third class. After passing, he was appointed a censor; from 1455 to 1463 he served as a circuit surveillance censor in Henan.

During the Tianshun era he served as inspector in Shaanxi and submitted eight proposals for securing the frontier. He also investigated Shi Biao’s inflated claims of first-capture merit and came into conflict with Shi Heng. From 1463 to 1470 he served as Provincial Surveillance Commissioner in Shandong.

He then moved to the Shaanxi provincial administration, described variously as Provincial Administration Commissioner and Left Provincial Administration Commissioner, and in 1470 entered the capital administration as Prefect of Shuntian, serving until 1473. In 1473 he was promoted to Vice Chief Censor, oversaw grain transport, and concurrently inspected the Jiangbei prefectures; this appointment lasted until 1478.

In 1483 he was again promoted to Chief Censor, and in 1484 was transferred to the Nanjing Censorate. Accounts differ on the circumstances: one attributes the transfer to his opposition to the Western Depot, while another says that Li Zisheng, a fellow native of Fengcheng who had gained imperial favor, sought to remove Geng Yu and replace him with Li Yu, damaging Li Yu’s reputation.

After traveling to the capital for a performance review, he was retained as Minister of Works in 1486 and promoted to Minister of Personnel in 1487. He died during the Zhengde era at the age of eighty-eight.

Writings and poetry

He is associated with 《餘力稿》, and the title 《古澹集》 is also found in connection with him. His poetry was praised as “翩翩唐響” and as “頗近雅音.” Other titles connected with his name include 《三朝奏議》 in seven juan, 《分類史鈔》 in twenty-two juan, 《單東雪冤錄》 in one juan, 《東藩倡和詩》 in one juan, 《歸田訓》 in one juan, 《若史鈔》, 《若政事略》, 《若正家條約》, 《若辯誣錄》, 《若餘力集》, and 《雜錄（李裕）》 in ten juan.