丹陽布衣邵芳考--政客の活動をとおして見る明代後期の政治世界

Abstract

The Yugang zhai bi zhu : 鬱岡齊筆塵 of the scholar Wang Kentang 王肯堂 from the Wanli era (1573-1620) contains an episode about the return of Gao Gong 高拱, who had been senior grand secretary 首輔 during the Longqing era (1567-1572), to office for the second time. The episode involves the "commoner" : 布衣 Shao Fang 邵芳 from Danyang (present-day city of Danyang in Jiangsu). Officials who were out of office and had retired to their homes sought Shao Fang's intercession. He was able to respond to their demands by using the money he received from them to fund their return through connections with eunuchs, and thus he realized Gao Gong's political revival. Taking this incident as its starting point, this article details Shao Fang's achievements on the basis of the Shao shi zongpu 邵氏宗譜, which is found in the Shanghai library, and considers how the activities of a politician outside the government had sufficient influence to greatly impact the political situation for a time. Through this examination, I attempt to portray in detail the political world of the late Ming. The multi-talented Shao Fang abandoned a career as an official after failing in the examinations and chose to make his livelihood as a commoner. He read through books of all genres and devoted himself to various disciplines, including military tactics. His services were acquired by the governor general 總督 Hu Zongxian 胡宗憲. He effectively exercised his talents while serving in Hu Zongxian's headquarters in operations against the Japanese raiders, and using his relationship to the officials in Hu Zongxian's headquarters as foothold, he built a wide-ranging network of relationships in the bureaucratic world. He later served under Gao Gong, operating actively as a special advisor, and he also operated as his agent carrying out the dirty work of the bureaucrats. After Gao Gong was ousted, his rival Zhang Juzheng 張居正 fearing the political influence of Shao Fang pressed for his execution. The existence of a commoner politicians like Shao Fang who could exercise power great enough to drive a senior grand secretary from office can be confirmed from a number of contemporary sources. Armed with the spirit of gallantry in less than optimal circumstances during a period of internal distress and external troubles, they occupied a firm position in the political realm of the day. The bureaucratic class also fully recognized their power and actively exploited it. The freewheeling nature of this political world can be described as special characteristic of the late-Ming politics.