Two Types of Scholar-officials in the 16th Century in China: Wang Shizhen the Scholar and Zhang Juzheng the Minister

Wang Shizhen and Zhang Juzheng have been regarded as two most important representatives of scholar-officials in the 16th century. Wang Shizhen got involved enthusiastically in literary circles in his early official career and became a leader of literati in his middle age. His critiques of political affairs made him a target of attack and repression and his official career full of frustrations as a victim of the anti-intellectualism. Although his personal experiences did impact his study of history, he had tried his best to be objective and impartial in his comments on historical events. Maybe that is why he could reach remarkable achievements in Ming history studies and became one of the most important historians in the Ming Dynasty. By contrast, Zhang Juzheng had been a Shujishi, a new official trained to be a high official in future, in his early official career, then a member of the Imperial Academy (Hanlinyuan), and finally became an influential minister. His career is typical for intellectual elite. Although he was honorable and glorious in his lifetime, he was doomed to be sad and tragic after death. They both stand for scholars and influential ministers in the reigns of the Emperor Jiajing and the Emperor Wanli respectively and their fates are those of the two types in miniature.