Zhang Juzheng

Zhang Juzheng (26 May 1525 – 9 July 1582) was a Chinese scholar-official of the Ming dynasty who served as grand secretary during the reigns of the Longqing and Wanli emperors. In 1547, he passed the highest level of official examinations and was granted the rank of jinshi. He then served at the Hanlin Academy. In 1567, the Longqing Emperor appointed him as grand secretary, and upon the ascension of the Wanli Emperor in 1572, he became the head of the grand secretaries.

During the early years of the Wanli Emperor's reign, Zhang was the de facto ruler of China and played a key role in centralizing the administration, limiting various privileges, and revising land tax exemptions. His decisive foreign and economic policies contributed to one of the most successful periods in Ming history. After his death in 1582, many of these reforms were reversed, and in 1584 his family was stripped of its accumulated property and wealth. He was not rehabilitated until more than half a century later, shortly before the fall of the Ming dynasty.