The Rise of Xu Jie and the Fall of Yan Song

In the mid-16th century, the Ming Dynasty faced a crisis of corruption under the rule of the Jiajing Emperor. The notorious Grand Secretary Yan Song had dominated the court for decades, amassing wealth through bribery and nepotism. His downfall in 1562 marked a turning point, as Xu Jie—a former ally turned rival—assumed power.

Though both men were accused of financial misconduct, Xu Jie distinguished himself through action. Unlike Yan Song, who enriched himself while neglecting governance, Xu Jie restored meritocratic appointments, revived censorial criticism, and rejected the emperor’s extravagant demands. His reforms paved the way for capable officials like Zhang Juzheng, but they also set the stage for a far more radical figure: Hai Rui, the “Iron-faced Official.”

The Making of a Fanatic: Hai Rui’s Early Life

Born in 1514 to a struggling scholar’s family in Hainan, Hai Rui’s childhood was marked by poverty and isolation. His widowed mother drilled into him Confucian ideals of integrity, fostering a rigid worldview that brooked no compromise. Repeated failures in the imperial examinations delayed his career until middle age, when he finally became a low-ranking education officer in Fujian.

Here, Hai Rui’s idiosyncrasies emerged. He refused to kneel before visiting officials, earning the nickname “Hai the Penholder” for standing straight between bowing subordinates. Transferred to Zhejiang as a magistrate, he enforced austerity with puritanical zeal: banning gifts, auditing expenses, and even serving guests coarse meals. When the son of Viceroy Hu Zongxian extorted local inns, Hai had him flogged and confiscated his silver—a brazen act that surprisingly went unpunished.

The Thunderclap Memorial: Challenging the Emperor

By 1564, Hai Rui’s reputation for incorruptibility earned him a promotion to the Ministry of Revenue in Beijing. There, he witnessed the Jiajing Emperor’s obsession with Daoist alchemy and neglect of state affairs. In 1566, he submitted the Memorial on the State of the Realm—a scorching indictment that accused the emperor of incompetence, extravagance, and abandoning his familial duties.

Prepared for execution, Hai Rui had already purchased his coffin. The enraged Jiajing initially ordered his death, but advisors dissuaded him, noting Hai’s mental instability (and the publicity his martyrdom would bring). Instead, Hai languished in prison until the emperor’s death months later.

Legacy: Symbolism vs. Reality

Hai Rui’s later appointments, including as governor of Southern Zhili, continued his crusade against corruption. He confiscated estates from powerful landowners, simplified tax codes, and lived in austere poverty. Yet his inflexibility often undermined practical governance. Colleagues privately mocked his idealism, and his reforms were frequently reversed after his death in 1587.

Nevertheless, Hai Rui became a cultural icon. Ming intellectuals lauded him as the “Upright Sea” (海青天), while Communist leaders like Mao Zedong later appropriated his image for anti-corruption campaigns. His life underscores a timeless tension in Chinese politics: the clash between moral absolutism and the compromises of real power.

The Paradox of Power

Hai Rui’s story reveals a deeper struggle in Ming governance. By abolishing the position of Chancellor, the Hongwu Emperor had sought to concentrate authority in the throne. Yet as Jiajing discovered, even autocrats needed functional bureaucracies. Xu Jie’s rise demonstrated how skilled officials could check imperial excess—a precedent Hai Rui took to its extreme.

In the end, Hai Rui’s defiance was less about personal courage than institutional friction. His memorial, though addressed to the emperor, implicitly challenged the entire system that enabled corruption. That system endured, but his name became shorthand for resistance—a reminder that in the face of decay, some men would rather break than bend.