汝述 Rǔshù

Rushu

Rushu, courtesy name Mingke, was a descendant of Taizong in the eighth generation. His great-grandfather Shiyue was carried north with the Two Emperors, and died cursing the enemy on the bank of the river. Rushu passed the jinshi examination in the eleventh year of Chunxi. He was posted as Sheriff of Shunchang in Nanjian Prefecture. In the sixth year of Jiading an edict made him Superintendent of the Office of Warrants, and from then on he often served concurrently on the chief minister's staff. Through successive promotions he became Vice Director of the Directorate for Imperial Manufactories and acting Attendant Court Diarist. In the eighth year he was appointed Imperial Diarist and concurrently Chief Recipient of Edicts of the Bureau of Military Affairs, and soon after was promoted to Vice Minister of War. He left office to mourn his mother; when the mourning was over he was moved to Vice Minister of Justice, promoted to Minister, and made Prefect of Pingjiang, where he died. Edit

As sheriff, Rushu answered an imperial call by submitting a sealed memorial, and his arguments were earnest and heartfelt. At court the men he recommended and brought forward were mostly men of note. But because he was close to the chief minister of the day and rose to high and prominent office out of the usual order, people thought the less of him for it. Edit