Yu Chenglong, a native of Yongning, Shanxi Province, served as a magistrate, governor, inspector, and official of the Ministry of Defense. During the Kangxi Emperor’s reign, he was honored as “the paragon of an upright official” due to his benevolent and self-disciplined character.
Yu Chenglong possessed great aspirations since his earlier education in Confucianism. At 44 and facing family and friends’ objections, he went to Luocheng in Guangxi and became the first magistrate in the Qing Dynasty. Yu found Luocheng to be a wasteful county inhabited by ethnic minorities who had been fighting for generations. He set a task to build schools to foster education and led the people to engage in agricultural production. In just a few years, Yu managed to eliminate the previous chaos that ruled Luocheng. The people were thus finally able to live and work in peace and experience real contentment.
The people of Luocheng felt sorry for Yu Chenglong, being stranded alone at the southern border, so they gathered around in the morning and evening to send him greetings. They offered him some money and goods because his life was hard. Yu thanked them and said: “I don’t need these things; you can take them home to honor your parents.“
On another occasion, when people heard that Yu Chenglong’s family had come from the north to visit him, they gave Yu money and gifts and said: “You can ask your family to take these things home.” Yu once again thanked them, saying: “This place is 6,000 miles from my home, so it would be too much trouble for the family to take them home.” As he waved his hand and beckoned them to leave, everyone present became emotionally charged.
Labeled an outstanding official during three posts
In the sixth year of the Kangxi period, Yu Chenglong was recommended by the Governor as the only “outstanding official” in Guangxi and was promoted to the governor of Hezhou in Sichuan Province. When Yu left for his post, he had no money for his journey. The local people were reluctant to part with him, saying: “If you leave, we will have no one to rely on!” After escorting Yu for a few dozen miles, they returned home crying.
Sichuan had been at war for a long time, and the decrease in its population was the largest in the country. Yu Chenglong set about implementing effective government by recruiting people to cultivate the land and eliminate long-standing local diseases. In less than two years, the population of Hezhou increased dramatically, and the fields were fully utilized.
Two years later, Yu Chenglong was promoted to assistant governor of the Huangzhou Prefecture in Hunan Province. He advocated education as the primary strategy to reduce crime; “leniency combined with strictness” was his policy. He solved many suspended local cases so that innocent criminals were vindicated. The people labeled him as “Yu the Just.”
Due to his outstanding political achievements, Yu Chenglong was again recommended as an “outstanding official” by Zhang Chaozhen, the governor of Hunan Province, and was promoted to Fujian Minister of Justice.
When Yu Chenglong left for his post, he still traveled with a small bundle and a flat purse. He used dry radishes as food along the way. At that time, the Qing court implemented the “sea ban” (prohibition of private sailing) policy to deal with the anti-Qing forces of the Zheng clan in Taiwan.
The local officials did not care about the chaos and ruin caused by years of war on people’s livelihoods. They often used the charge of “private sailing” to arrest many coastal fishermen. In reviewing these case files, Yu found dozens or hundreds of people were sentenced to death; even women and children were incriminated.
So he resolutely advocated for a retrial, telling those who dissuaded him for fear of offending their superiors: “Heaven is above us, and human life is paramount. I swear that I cannot engage in this perfunctorily!” Under his selfless efforts and presidency, more than 1,000 people were released from the massacre, and those who were poor and could not return to their homeland were provided with travel expenses.
In his term of office as an inspector, Yu Chenglong was elected as an “outstanding official” for the third time. These local people loved him, as he was in the previous places where he held offices.
Rectification of officials
In the twentieth year of the Kangxi reign, Yu Chenglong became the Governor of Liangjiang, one of the top officials in the court. Yu, at this stage, puts the official rectification first. He pointed out that “the security of the country lies in the success or failure of winning the people’s hearts.”
He often visited different units in his jurisdiction, and the officials changed their behavior wherever he went. He recommended many upright and talented officials to Emperor Kangxi (all of whom he appointed to become his officials). Yu also advocated for establishing schools to improve people’s moral standards.
Despite Yu Chenglong’s higher official rank, he still lived a frugal and simple life. It was reported that when the news of his appointment as Governor of Liangjiang spread, the price of cloth in Nanjing rose abruptly. This was because the “officials changed their clothing fabric from silk to cloth to align with Yu’s example as much as possible!”
Being slandered
The fact that Yu Chenglong was devoted to the people caused dissatisfaction among the powerful and the rich, who spread gossip and slanderous remarks against him. Some people in the imperial court took the opportunity to impeach him, saying he was getting old and foolish. Emperor Kangxi, being a virtuous and wise ruler, knew very well that Yu was a good official.
He conducted an investigation and ordered Yu Chenglong to respond to the complaints. After verification, he said: “I have listened extensively to the people’s comments, and they all praised Yu Chenglong for being incorruptible throughout his political career. Because of his unwavering upright and honest dealings, some vicious subjects have made negative accusations against him. How many officials like Yu can there be under the sky?” Kangxi asked the court to publicize Yu’s upright deeds to the whole country and praise him.
After his death, his belongings included only boots, a belt, a robe, three taels of silver, two thousand pennies, some corn, salt, and beans. When people heard about this, they mourned his passing, and many families drew his portrait to pay homage.
The root of his integrity
Yu Chenglong remained self-disciplined for decades, no matter what his official status was, whether a county magistrate or a high-ranking official. He was honest and thrifty and always remained unchanged, whether in the poor countryside or a wealthy town. He pitied the poor, provided disaster relief, eliminated injustice, and rectified improper bureaucracy.
Under his official role, he would always benefit the people in his jurisdiction. All of this was manifested by living according to his principle of “vowing not to violate one’s conscience that should comply with heaven” and from his noble moral cultivation. His lifelong moral conduct reflected the ancient belief that officials should be just and honest.
Translated by Audrey Wang and edited by Maria
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