Eminent Chinese of the Ch'ing Period/Chin Chih-chün
CHIN Chih-chün 金之俊 (T. 豈凡, H. 息齋), 1593–1670, Ming-Ch'ing official, was a native of Wu-chiang, Kiangsu. He became a chin-shih in 1619 and under the Ming dynasty reached the office of junior vice-president of the Board of War. When Li Tzŭ-ch'êng [q. v.] took Peking in 1644 Chin endured torture, but in the same year submitted to the Manchu conquerors and was given his former official post. In 1648 he was made president of the Board of Works and in 1653 president of the Censorate. In March 1654 he was appointed a Grand Secretary. In the following year he asked leave to retire on account of illness but the Emperor, instead of granting the request, sent a painter to make his portrait. In 1658 he was made concurrently president of the Board of Civil Office, and collaborated in fixing the code of laws. In 1659 he was given the titles of Grand Guardian and Grand Tutor of the Heir Apparent, and in the following year that of Grand Tutor. He was permitted to retire in 1662 on account of age.
Though his official and personal character were attacked after his return home, and the title of Grand Tutor revoked in consequence, his recorded official acts seem to have been in the interests of the common people—lightening the burden of taxation and relieving from punishment the families of offenders. He was given the posthumous name, Wên-t'ung 文通. He left 10 chüan of works in prose and poetry which were printed in 1649, under the title 息齋集 Hsi-chai chi, together with a supplement in 4 chüan of memorials to the throne and a chronological autobiography in one chüan.
For his relations with Adam Schall see under Yang Kuang-hsien.
[1/244/6b; 2/79/4a; 天津直隸圖書館書目 Tientsin, Chihli t'u-shu-kuan shu-mu 27/2a]
Dean R. Wickes