Yu Ji
Foremost of the Four Great Poets of the Yuan; led the compilation of the Jingshi Dadian (Compendium on Statecraft).
Life
Descendant of a famous minister
Yu Ji was a fifth-generation descendant of the Southern Song chancellor Yu Yunwen. In his early years he taught with his father in his hometown; he was later recommended to the capital and became an assistant instructor at the Imperial College.
Academician of the Kuizhang Pavilion
A man of vast learning, he enjoyed the deep trust of Emperor Wenzong of Yuan, became Academician-in-Waiting of the Kuizhang Pavilion, and led the compilation of the Jingshi Dadian, which recorded the institutions and regulations of the Yuan dynasty.
Four Great Poets of the Yuan
His poetry and prose were elegant, and he was ranked with Yang Zai, Fan Peng and Jie Xisi as one of the "Four Great Poets of the Yuan," revered as the grand master of the Yuan literary world. He went blind in old age and died in 1348.
Legacy
Yu Ji was the leader of the literary world in the mid-Yuan, and the Jingshi Dadian (Compendium on Statecraft) he oversaw is an important source for studying Yuan institutions.
Major works & achievements
- Jingshi Dadian (Compendium on Statecraft)
- Daoyuan Xuegu Lu (Collected Works)
Did you know? He was a descendant of Yu Yunwen, hero of the Battle of Caishi.
Key dates
- 1297Recommended to the capital (approx.)
- 1329Became Academician-in-Waiting of the Kuizhang Pavilion
- 1330Led the compilation of the Jingshi Dadian (Compendium on Statecraft)
- 1348Died