Zhang Tingyu

Author: Yao Zi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-12-01
Features: As a historical biography novel, this book combines historical facts from the Qing Dynasty to introduce Zhang Tingyu, his life, and his extraordinary journey. It also incorporates the author's own creative reimagining based on historical facts, comprehensively showcasing Zhang Tingyu's official career, emotional world, and family life, making the content richer. The language is easy to understand, the plot is engaging, and it is indeed a highly readable historical biography novel.
This book tells us that Zhang Tingyu was not a legendary figure, but a very special one. He served through the three reigns of Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong, becoming the first Han official in the Qing Dynasty to be granted a place in the Imperial Ancestral Temple and setting a precedent for literary officials to be enfeoffed as Marquises and Barons. Zhang Tingyu (1672-1755), styled Hengchen and styled Yanzhai, was from Tongcheng, Anhui. He served through the three reigns of Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong. At the age of twenty-nine, Kangxi selected him as a Cishiji (a rank of scholar-official), and at thirty-two, he was appointed as a Jintailing (a position in the Hanlin Academy). He then rose rapidly in the court, becoming one of Kangxi's close associates. Zhang Tingyu truly rose to prominence during the reign of Yongzheng. The reform-minded Yongzheng made him flourish in the official world. Although Yongzheng was suspicious, he trusted Zhang Tingyu above all others. After Qianlong ascended the throne, Zhang Tingyu gradually slid down from the peak of honor. However, he was the first Han official in the Qing Dynasty to be granted a place in the Imperial Ancestral Temple and set a precedent for literary officials to be enfeoffed as Marquises and Barons.