The Twilight of an Iron-Fisted Chancellor
By 1562, the political landscape of Ming China had shifted dramatically. Yan Song, the once-omnipotent Grand Secretary who had dominated the imperial court for over two decades, found his power crumbling like autumn leaves. His protector Lu Bing was dead, his ruthless son Yan Shifan exiled, and even the Jiajing Emperor who had relied on him for twenty years showed signs of weariness. Yet as statesman Xu Jie observed, the final act of this political drama remained unwritten.
The relationship between Yan Song and the Jiajing Emperor transcended typical ruler-minister dynamics. Since 1538, Yan had perfected the art of anticipating the emperor’s whims, becoming indispensable in managing both state affairs and the emperor’s Taoist obsessions. This deep understanding created a bond that mere political missteps couldn’t sever – a reality Xu Jie recognized with characteristic patience. Having waited twenty years, the cunning statesman understood that in the marathon of Ming court politics, youth and endurance would ultimately triumph over temporary advantage.
The Philosophical Undercurrents of Resistance
Beneath the surface of Ming politics flowed powerful intellectual currents that would contribute to Yan Song’s downfall. The philosophical legacy of Wang Yangming’s School of Mind had fractured into competing branches following the master’s death in 1529. Xu Jie belonged to the conservative Jiangyou School through his teacher Nie Bao, while the radical Taizhou School, represented by firebrand He Xinyin, advocated near-anarchist views that challenged imperial authority itself.
He Xinyin, originally named Liang Ruyuan, embodied Ming China’s most dangerous intellectual tendencies. This unconventional thinker moved effortlessly between scholarly circles and the underworld, rejecting Confucian orthodoxy and imperial authority with equal fervor. His nickname “He the Madman” barely captured his radicalism – he openly advocated dismantling government structures and promoted individual liberation centuries before such concepts gained Western traction.
The Unlikely Alliance Against Tyranny
In a remarkable convergence of philosophical adversaries, Xu Jie (Jiangyou School), He Xinyin (Taizhou School), and the deceased Tang Shunzhi (Zhezhong School) found common cause against Yan Song’s corruption. Wang Yangming’s disciples, despite their doctrinal differences, shared a commitment to righteous governance that transcended factional lines. As He Xinyin revealed to Xu Jie, the School of Mind’s influence extended surprisingly deep within the Ming bureaucracy, including senior officials like Minister of Rites Ouyang De and Vice Minister of Revenue Zhao Zhenji.
Yet He Xinyin delivered sobering analysis: no bureaucratic faction could directly challenge Yan Song while he retained imperial favor. The only person who could remove Yan Song was the emperor himself. This realization led to an audacious plan targeting the Jiajing Emperor’s greatest vulnerability – his superstitious reliance on Taoist divination.
The Divination Gambit
The Jiajing Emperor’s decades-long obsession with Taoist immortality practices created an unexpected vulnerability. His regular consultations through “fuji” (planchette writing) sessions provided the perfect vehicle for manipulation. In these rituals, the emperor would write questions to deities, which court Taoists would ceremonially burn before producing “divine” responses through spirit-writing.
He Xinyin’s masterstroke involved infiltrating this sacred communication channel through Lan Daoxing, the emperor’s trusted Taoist diviner who secretly sympathized with Wang Yangming’s teachings. During a crucial session, Lan manipulated the fuji responses to declare: “Treacherous ministers block the way, virtuous ones go unused!” When pressed to identify these figures, the “spirits” named Yan Song as the villain and Xu Jie as the worthy candidate.
The psychological impact proved devastating. Faced with apparent divine condemnation of his long-time minister, the emperor’s attitude shifted irrevocably. Lan Daoxing’s brilliant follow-up response – leaving Yan Song’s punishment to the emperor’s discretion – preserved imperial authority while sealing Yan’s fate.
The Final Campaign
With the emperor’s mindset prepared, Xu Jie orchestrated the final blow through censor Zou Yinglong’s memorial. Rather than attacking Yan Song directly – which might have triggered imperial sympathy – the memorial focused on Yan Shifan’s well-documented crimes. Zou’s bold accusation that Yan’s son “relied on his father’s power to endlessly satisfy his greed” culminated in a dramatic demand: “I beg to have Yan Shifan’s head displayed in the marketplace as warning to disloyal, violent ministers!”
The strategy worked perfectly. In May 1562, the emperor ordered Yan Shifan’s arrest while “mercifully” allowing the elderly Yan Song to retire with pension intact. The once-mighty chancellor who had orchestrated the deaths of rivals like Xia Yan, Yang Jisheng, and Shen Lian found himself powerless, his political machine dismantled after twenty years of dominance.
The Illusion of Conclusion
As celebrations erupted through the bureaucracy, Xu Jie demonstrated his political mastery through a surprising gesture – personally visiting the fallen Yan Song to offer condolences. This act of apparent magnanimity masked Xu Jie’s acute awareness that the struggle wasn’t truly over. The complex web of Yan faction loyalists, the unpredictable Jiajing Emperor, and Yan Shifan’s impending trial all signaled that the political drama had merely entered a new phase.
History would prove Xu Jie correct. The aftermath of Yan Song’s fall saw continued intrigue, including Yan Shifan’s temporary resurgence and eventual execution in 1565. The episode stands as a testament to Ming political complexity – where philosophical movements, personal networks, and even imperial superstitions could converge to topple seemingly unshakable power structures. Through patience, strategic alliances, and psychological insight, Xu Jie’s campaign against Yan Song remains one of imperial China’s most sophisticated political maneuvers.