1. Hu Zongxian, courtesy name Ruzhen and art name Meilin, was a Chinese general and politician of the Ming dynasty who presided over the government's response to the wokou pirate raids during the reign of the Jiajing Emperor.
26 Facts About Hu Zongxian
1. 2.
Hu Zongxian was rehabilitated decades after his death and was given the posthumous name Xiangmao by the emperor in 1595.
3.
Hu Zongxian is a direct ancestor of Hu Jintao, General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party from 2002 to 2012.
4.
Hu Zongxian was born in the year 1512 in the Hu ancestral village of Longchuan in Jixi County, part of Huizhou prefecture of the Southern Metropolitan Region at the time.
5.
Hu Zongxian raised a thousand volunteer troops from miners out of work and sent them to the northern frontiers under the command of the Shandong grand coordinator Zeng Xian.
6.
Two years later, his father died, and Hu Zongxian stayed at his home village for another three years.
7.
In 1547, Hu Zongxian reemerged as the magistrate of Yuyao of Zhejiang province.
8.
Hu Zongxian was summoned to the capital, Beijing, in 1548 to take a position under the Censorate.
9.
The defences of Xuanfu, where Hu Zongxian was stationed during the crisis, held fast, and Hu sent troops to relieve Beijing.
10.
Hu Zongxian was rewarded for this, and the emperor began to take note of his abilities.
11.
Hu Zongxian was recalled to serve in the Censorate headquarters in Beijing in 1552.
12.
Hu Zongxian made lasting connections with the political elite there, the most important of which was that of Zhao Wenhua, and by extension, that of Zhao's patron, the Senior Grand Secretary Yan Song, the official closest to the emperor.
13.
For over six months, Hu Zongxian could write nothing but reports of military failures and the serious loss of life fighting against the pirates, citing the government troops' poor discipline and leadership.
14.
Zhao Wenhua claimed that Hu Zongxian was present at the scene of battle in a suit of armour, even though he was actually at Hangzhou at the time.
15.
Hu Zongxian nevertheless went along with Zhao Wenhua and denounced Zhang Jing, adding that he had become arrogant after the victory.
16.
Hu Zongxian, in turn, carried out a policy of appeasement despite his subordinates' disapproval and the emperor's orders to capture the pirate lord Wang Zhi dead or alive.
17.
Hu Zongxian made use of existing interpersonal feuds among Xu Hai, Chen Dong, and Ye Ma by sending Xu's mistress trinkets so she would badmouth Chen Dong and Ye Ma in front of Xu Hai.
18.
Hu Zongxian handed Xu Hai a copy of the letters, making Xu Hai grateful and thinking that Hu Zongxian had his interests in mind.
19.
Hu Zongxian offered to patrol the coast and persuade the raiders to return to the islands through force if necessary.
20.
Hu Zongxian now faced a dilemma: he could not let Wang Zhi go, but if he accepted Wang Zhi's surrender, he might be forced to execute him, turning appeasement efforts to naught.
21.
Hu Zongxian tempered the rising criticism against him by blaming Yu and Qi, sending Beijing a white deer, an auspicious Taoist symbol, to the emperor's delight.
22.
Hu Zongxian had now reached the zenith of his career.
23.
The Jiajing Emperor, remembering Hu's substantial service and auspicious gifts, interceded on his behalf and refuted claims that Hu Zongxian was part of Yan Song's clique, commenting that the recent attacks on Hu Zongxian were partisan.
24.
Luo Longwen's estate was confiscated, and a search turned up a letter from Hu Zongxian asking Luo to present a bribe to Yan Shifan.
25.
When Hu Zongxian's son tried to transport his father's body back to their home village, the local populace sixty miles north of Jixi threatened the entourage, forcing the son to leave the coffin on the roadside.
26.
Hu Zongxian is featured in the Vietnamese epic poem The Tale of Kieu.