Yang Tinghe (; 15 October 1459 – 25 July 1529), style name Jiefu, was a

Grand Secretary The Grand Secretariat (; Manchu: ''dorgi yamun'') was nominally a coordinating agency but ''de facto'' the highest institution in the imperial government of the Chinese Ming dynasty. It first took shape after the Hongwu Emperor abolished the off ...

in the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

under the

Zhengde Zhengde () (24 January 1506 – 27 January 1522) was the era name of the Zhengde Emperor, the 11th emperor of the Ming dynasty of China. Comparison table Other eras contemporaneous with Zhengde * China ** ''Mingzheng'' (明正, 1511): Ming per ...

(Wuzong) and

Jiajing Jiajing () (28 January 1522 – 8 February 1567) was the era name of the Jiajing Emperor, the 12th emperor of the Ming dynasty of China. Comparison table Other eras contemporaneous with Jiajing * China ** ''Tianyuan'' (天淵, 1546): Ming peri ...

(Shizong) emperors. Yang was born and died in

Xindu Xindu District () is one of 11 urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province, Southwest China, covering part of the northern suburbs. Overview The Xindu District borders the prefecture-level city of D ...

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

province, China.

Biography

Yang Tinghe earned the

Jinshi ''Jinshi'' () was the highest and final degree in the imperial examination in Imperial China. The examination was usually taken in the imperial capital in the palace, and was also called the Metropolitan Exam. Recipients are sometimes referre ...

degree in the

imperial examination The imperial examination (; lit. "subject recommendation") refers to a civil-service examination system in Imperial China, administered for the purpose of selecting candidates for the state bureaucracy. The concept of choosing bureaucrats by ...

in 1478 at the age of 19. After the death of the Zhengde Emperor in 1521, Yang became the ''de facto'' policymaker of the imperial government for 37 days. He conducted a series of reforms in these 37 days, abolished many unpopular legacies of Wuzong, including the arrest of his favorite, general Jiang Bin.Chiang Pin
in the ''Dictionary of Ming biography, 1368-1644, Volume 2'', p. 232 Yang played an important role in choosing the young Zhu Houcong (then Prince Xing and a cousin of the late Zhengde) as the next emperor. After Zhu Houcong was brought to Beijing from his parents' estate in the

Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...

countryside In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, ...

and enthroned as the Jiajing Emperor, Yang Tinghe tried to continue his influence in the court, given the young age of the new emperor. However, the Grand Secretary disagreed with the emperor as to whom the latter should

venerate Veneration ( la, veneratio; el, τιμάω ), or veneration of saints, is the act of honoring a saint, a person who has been identified as having a high degree of sanctity or holiness. Angels are shown similar veneration in many religions. Etymo ...

as his dead father. Yang Tinghe was forced to retire after his political failure during this so-called

Great rites controversy The Great Rites Controversy () took place in the decade following 1524 in Ming China. It pitted the young and newly enthroned Jiajing Emperor against the Grand Secretary Yang Tinghe and the majority of the Confucian officials in his government. ...

in 1524.

Family

The poets

Yang Shen Yang Shen (; 1488–1559) was a poet in the Chinese Ming dynasty. His courtesy name was Yongxiu (); his art names included Sheng'an (), Bonan Shanren () and Diannan Shushi (). Yang Shen was the son of Yang Tinghe and originally lived in Chengdu ...

and

Huang E Huang E (, also known as Huang Xiumei (黄秀眉); 1498–1569) was a Chinese poet of the Ming dynasty. Life and work Her family's home was in Suining in Sichuan, but she often lived with her father, who was a high-ranking official of the Ming c ...

were Yang Tinghe's son and daughter-in-law.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yang, Tinghe Politicians from Chengdu 1459 births 1529 deaths Writers from Chengdu Senior Grand Secretaries of the Ming dynasty Ming dynasty historians Historians from Sichuan 15th-century Chinese historians 16th-century Chinese historians

Biography

Family

See also

References