Hai Rui, was born in Qiongshan, Guangdong (modern-day Hainan) on January 23, 1513. His father died when he was three, and he was raised by his mother.[1] His great-great-grandfather was a native of Guangzhou named Hai Da-er (海答兒, Haidar, an Arabic name), and his mother was from a Muslim (Hui) family that originated from the Indian subcontinent.[2] Hai Rui himself however was noted primarily as a Neo-Confucian and never discussed Islam in his Confucian works.[1][3]
Hai took the Imperial examination but was unsuccessful, and his official career only began in 1553, when he was 39, with a humble position as clerk of education in Fujian. He gained a reputation for his uncompromising adherence to upright morality, scrupulous honesty, poverty, and fairness. This won him widespread popular support, evinced among other things by his being enshrined while alive; but he also made many enemies in the bureaucracy. Nevertheless, he was called to the capital Beijing and promoted to the junior position of secretary of ministry of Revenue. In 1565, he submitted a memorial strongly criticizing the Jiajing Emperor for the neglect of his duties and bringing disaster to the country,[4] for which he was sentenced to death in 1566. He was released after the Emperor died in early 1567.[1]
Hai Rui was reappointed as governor of South Zhili under the Longqing Emperor, son and heir of Jiajing Emperor, but was soon forced to resign in 1570 after complaints were made over his overzealous handling of land-tenure issues. Major moneylenders in the prefecture were accused of lending at exorbitant rates to smaller landowners and tenants, then seizing their lands as collateral. Hai Rui devoted considerable time to investigate these cases, pressing for the lands' return to their previous owners, but was in turn accused by officials of violating procedures and encouraging frivolous complaints and impeached by Tai Feng-Hsiang, a supervising secretary (御史, yushi).[5]
Hai Rui then spent 15 years in retirement in Hainan before being finally brought back to the imperial "auxiliary capital" of Nanjing, in 1585, to serve under the Wanli Emperor, successor of Longqing Emperor. Hai Rui was promoted to censor-in-chief of Nanjing in 1586, but died in office a year later.[1]
LegacyEdit
Tomb of Hai RuiHai Rui memorial in Haikou
In 1959, writer and scholar Wu Han became interested in the life of Hai Rui, and wrote several articles on his life and his fearless criticism of the emperor. He then wrote a play for Peking Opera titled "Hai Rui Dismissed from Office", which he revised several times before the final version of 1961.[1] Wu's play was interpreted by the Gang of Four member Yao Wenyuan as an allegorical work, in which the honest moral official Hai Rui representing the disgraced communist marshal Peng Dehuai, who was purged by Mao after criticizing the Great Leap Forward. According to Yao, the corrupt emperor in Wu's play represented Mao Zedong. The November 10, 1965, an article in a prominent Shanghai newspaper, "A Criticism of the Historical Drama 'Hai Rui Dismissed From Office'" (评新编历史剧《海瑞罢官》), written by Yao, began a propaganda campaign that eventually led to the Cultural Revolution. During the Cultural Revolution, the tomb of Hai Rui was destroyed, Hai Rui's body dug up and incinerated by Red Guards (the tomb has since been rebuilt).[6] Yao's campaign led to the persecution and death of Wu Han, as well as others involved in related works, such as Zhou Xinfang for his opera Hai Rui Submits His Memorial (海瑞上疏).[7]
While Wu Han considers Hai Rui to be a moral socialist, this was not necessarily the case. As historian Ray Huang puts it, "Though one might expect the moral interpretation of history to be generally discredited by now, this is not the case. Some modern historians tend to view the Confucian morality in of certain individuals in terms of the own sense of social justice. Wu Han, for instance, praises his hero Hai Jui for ‘standing on the side of peasantry’ in their conflict with the landlords. He also asserts that Hai, ‘despite a hundred setbacks, still continued the struggle to build a socialist society."[8]
Haikou, the largest city on Hai Rui's home island of Hainan, celebrates Hai Rui's deeds. A memorial has been constructed and his tomb is open for worship.[citation needed]
ReferencesEdit
^ abcdeGoodrich, L. Carrington; Chaoying Fang, eds. (1976). Dictionary of Ming Biography, 1368–1644. Vol. 1. Columbia University Press. pp. 474–479. ISBN978-0231038331.
^by Jonathan Unger, ed. (1997). Using the Past to Serve the Present: Historiography and Politics in Contemporary China. M.E. Sharpe. p. 99. ISBN9780873327480.
^Tan Ta Sen (2009). Cheng Ho and Islam in Southeast Asia. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. p. 114. ISBN978-9812308375.
^Frederick W. Mote (2003). Imperial China 900–1800. Harvard University Press. ISBN978-0674012127.
^Ray Huang (1981). 1587: A Year of No Significance. Yale University. pp. 138–140. ISBN0-300-02884-9.
^Roderick MacFarquhar, The Red Terror: Mao's Last Revolution (Cambridge: Harvard University, 2006) p. 120.
^Rudolf G. Wagner (1997). by Jonathan Unger (ed.). Using the Past to Serve the Present: Historiography and Politics in Contemporary China. M.E. Sharpe. pp. 46–102. ISBN9780873327480.
^Huang, Ray (1974). Taxation and Governmental Finance in Sixteenth-Century Ming China. London: Cambridge University Press. p. 312.
External linksEdit
Media related to Hai Rui at Wikimedia Commons
A Preliminary Study of Hai Rui: His Biography in the Ming-Shih
professional, basketball, player, basketball, 海瑞, hǎi, ruì, january, 1514, november, 1587, courtesy, name, ruxian, 汝贤, name, gangfeng, 刚峰, chinese, scholar, official, ming, dynasty, remembered, model, honesty, integrity, office, play, based, career, dismissed,. For the professional basketball player see Hai Rui basketball Hai Rui 海瑞 Hǎi Rui 23 January 1514 13 November 1587 courtesy name Ruxian 汝贤 art name Gangfeng 刚峰 was a Chinese scholar official of the Ming dynasty remembered as a model of honesty and integrity in office A play based on his career Hai Rui Dismissed from Office by Wu Han gained political significance in the 1960s during the inception of the Cultural Revolution Hai RuiBorn 1514 01 23 January 23 1514Qiongshan Guangdong Ming ChinaDiedNovember 13 1587 1587 11 13 aged 73 Nanjing Ming ChinaResting placeHaikou Hainan ChinaNationalityChineseOccupation s Scholar official politicianChinese nameChinese海瑞TranscriptionsStandard MandarinHanyu PinyinHǎi RuiWade GilesHai3 Jui4Yue CantoneseJyutpingHoi2 Seoi6Southern MinHokkien POJHai Sui Contents 1 Biography 2 Legacy 3 References 4 External linksBiography Edit nbsp Statue of Hai RuiHai Rui was born in Qiongshan Guangdong modern day Hainan on January 23 1513 His father died when he was three and he was raised by his mother 1 His great great grandfather was a native of Guangzhou named Hai Da er 海答兒 Haidar an Arabic name and his mother was from a Muslim Hui family that originated from the Indian subcontinent 2 Hai Rui himself however was noted primarily as a Neo Confucian and never discussed Islam in his Confucian works 1 3 Hai took the Imperial examination but was unsuccessful and his official career only began in 1553 when he was 39 with a humble position as clerk of education in Fujian He gained a reputation for his uncompromising adherence to upright morality scrupulous honesty poverty and fairness This won him widespread popular support evinced among other things by his being enshrined while alive but he also made many enemies in the bureaucracy Nevertheless he was called to the capital Beijing and promoted to the junior position of secretary of ministry of Revenue In 1565 he submitted a memorial strongly criticizing the Jiajing Emperor for the neglect of his duties and bringing disaster to the country 4 for which he was sentenced to death in 1566 He was released after the Emperor died in early 1567 1 Hai Rui was reappointed as governor of South Zhili under the Longqing Emperor son and heir of Jiajing Emperor but was soon forced to resign in 1570 after complaints were made over his overzealous handling of land tenure issues Major moneylenders in the prefecture were accused of lending at exorbitant rates to smaller landowners and tenants then seizing their lands as collateral Hai Rui devoted considerable time to investigate these cases pressing for the lands return to their previous owners but was in turn accused by officials of violating procedures and encouraging frivolous complaints and impeached by Tai Feng Hsiang a supervising secretary 御史 yushi 5 Hai Rui then spent 15 years in retirement in Hainan before being finally brought back to the imperial auxiliary capital of Nanjing in 1585 to serve under the Wanli Emperor successor of Longqing Emperor Hai Rui was promoted to censor in chief of Nanjing in 1586 but died in office a year later 1 Legacy Edit nbsp Tomb of Hai Rui nbsp Hai Rui memorial in HaikouIn 1959 writer and scholar Wu Han became interested in the life of Hai Rui and wrote several articles on his life and his fearless criticism of the emperor He then wrote a play for Peking Opera titled Hai Rui Dismissed from Office which he revised several times before the final version of 1961 1 Wu s play was interpreted by the Gang of Four member Yao Wenyuan as an allegorical work in which the honest moral official Hai Rui representing the disgraced communist marshal Peng Dehuai who was purged by Mao after criticizing the Great Leap Forward According to Yao the corrupt emperor in Wu s play represented Mao Zedong The November 10 1965 an article in a prominent Shanghai newspaper A Criticism of the Historical Drama Hai Rui Dismissed From Office 评新编历史剧 海瑞罢官 written by Yao began a propaganda campaign that eventually led to the Cultural Revolution During the Cultural Revolution the tomb of Hai Rui was destroyed Hai Rui s body dug up and incinerated by Red Guards the tomb has since been rebuilt 6 Yao s campaign led to the persecution and death of Wu Han as well as others involved in related works such as Zhou Xinfang for his opera Hai Rui Submits His Memorial 海瑞上疏 7 While Wu Han considers Hai Rui to be a moral socialist this was not necessarily the case As historian Ray Huang puts it Though one might expect the moral interpretation of history to be generally discredited by now this is not the case Some modern historians tend to view the Confucian morality in of certain individuals in terms of the own sense of social justice Wu Han for instance praises his hero Hai Jui for standing on the side of peasantry in their conflict with the landlords He also asserts that Hai despite a hundred setbacks still continued the struggle to build a socialist society 8 Haikou the largest city on Hai Rui s home island of Hainan celebrates Hai Rui s deeds A memorial has been constructed and his tomb is open for worship citation needed References Edit a b c d e Goodrich L Carrington Chaoying Fang eds 1976 Dictionary of Ming Biography 1368 1644 Vol 1 Columbia University Press pp 474 479 ISBN 978 0231038331 by Jonathan Unger ed 1997 Using the Past to Serve the Present Historiography and Politics in Contemporary China M E Sharpe p 99 ISBN 9780873327480 Tan Ta Sen 2009 Cheng Ho and Islam in Southeast Asia Institute of Southeast Asian Studies p 114 ISBN 978 9812308375 Frederick W Mote 2003 Imperial China 900 1800 Harvard University Press ISBN 978 0674012127 Ray Huang 1981 1587 A Year of No Significance Yale University pp 138 140 ISBN 0 300 02884 9 Roderick MacFarquhar The Red Terror Mao s Last Revolution Cambridge Harvard University 2006 p 120 Rudolf G Wagner 1997 by Jonathan Unger ed Using the Past to Serve the Present Historiography and Politics in Contemporary China M E Sharpe pp 46 102 ISBN 9780873327480 Huang Ray 1974 Taxation and Governmental Finance in Sixteenth Century Ming China London Cambridge University Press p 312 External links Edit nbsp Media related to Hai Rui at Wikimedia Commons A Preliminary Study of Hai Rui His Biography in the Ming Shih Coordinates of tomb linking to maps 20 00 31 N 110 17 32 E 20 008528 N 110 292097 E 20 008528 110 292097 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Hai Rui amp oldid 1153618973, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
