John W. Dardess. A Political Life in Ming China: A Grand Secretary and His Times.

Abstract

That Ming-dynasty emperors, assisted by only some 20,000 officials, could govern their vast territory has awed sixteenth-century Jesuits and modern historians alike. Offering a clue to how the political organization enabled such economy are some 230 extant letters from Xu Jie (1503–1583), who was appointed, in 1552, to the Grand Secretariat and promoted, in 1562, to chief grand secretary, the highest position in the central government, reporting directly to the emperor. John W. Dardess makes excellent use of these letters, translating and setting generous portions of them into a gripping account of Xu's political maneuverings. Xu insinuated himself into military affairs, counseled provincial officials and generals, strove to promote policies he favored, fended off rivals, and advised the emperor, all the while surviving an environment where missteps could lead to one's impeachment, even execution. Dardess's accounts of Xu's role in the defense of the northern frontier and southeastern coast, which were besieged, respectively, by Mongols and marauding “pirates,” illuminate both the emperor's centralized command and Xu's ambition. Although he was posted in Beijing and never visited the northern frontier, Xu managed, through correspondence, to gather enough information from provincial officials to make decisions about the allocation of goods and the deployment of troops. Taking advantage of the crises—and of his mastery of such matters as hydraulic engineering, regulating grain prices, accounting, and provisioning the military with food—Xu made personnel and policy recommendations to the emperor and spoke on the emperor's behalf.