The Ming Dynasty's First Tribute Scholar

A student at Nanyong Imperial College, starting with the imperial examination in Nan Zhili in the eleventh year of Hongzhi.

This was the age most revered by Ming scholars. Beneath the prosperous revival lay hidden currents of danger. Dayan Khan’s ambition to unite the steppe was plain to see, as he eyed the Central Plains with the fangs of his ancestors. The entire court was full of officials who prided themselves on being upright men, yet preached ritual, music, benevolence, filial piety, and rule by inaction.

Who says the imperial examinations were the only path to success for an ordinary person in this era?

Zhang Zhou, courtesy name Bingkuan, was the least practical scholar in the Ming dynasty. He never intended to drift along under the name of a scholar. With insights that transcended his age, he would lead the Ming dynasty down a path of hegemony that scholars would call “militaristic expansion.”

Hongzhi Emperor? Please call him Emperor Wu of Ming.