Eminent Chinese of the Ch'ing Period/Wang Yung-chi
WANG Yung-chi 王永吉 (T. 修之, H. 鐵山), d. 1659, Ming-Ch'ing official, was a native of Kao-yu, Kiangsu. He became a chin-shih in 1625, and served as district magistrate at Tat'ien, Fukien and at Jên-ho (Hangchow). Later he was police magistrate at Jao-chou, Kiangsi. While at Hangchow he built public granaries and a sea-wall for the protection of the city against tides. Surrendering to the Manchu regime, he was appointed director of the Court of Judicature and Revision in 1645, and two years later a vice-president of the Board of Works. In 1651 he was made a vice-president of the Board of Revenue. He gave special attention to the lands assigned to military colonies and to plans for better control of the Yellow River and affluents of the Grand Canal. In 1653 he was made president of the Board of War, and in the following year was associated with Bahana 巴哈納 (d. 1666), Grand Secretary 1655–62, in distributing relief among eight prefectures of Chihli. In 1654 he was made a Grand Secretary.
Accused of making a corrupt decision while in the Board of War and of showing anger when questioned about it, he was reproved by the Emperor and degraded to the superintendency of Government Granaries at the capital with rank of junior vice-president of the Board of Revenue. In 1655 he was again made Grand Secretary and concurrently president of the Board of Civil office. During a drought in 1657 he recommended the purging of jails and the release of men wrongfully imprisoned. On the occasion of an earthquake, he memorialized the Emperor to reform himself. When a nephew was involved in an examination scandal, in 1658, Wang Yung-chi was again degraded, and made sub-director of the Court of Sacrificial Worship. He was soon transferred to the senior vice-presidency of the Censorate, but died in the following year. The titles of Junior Guardian and Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent, and president of the Board of Civil Office, and the name Wên-t'ung 文通 were posthumously conferred upon him.
A son of Wang Yung-chi, named Wang Ming-tê 王明德 (T. 亮士, H. 金樵), one time a department director in the Board of Punishments, wrote a work on criminal law, entitled 讀律佩觿 Tu-lü p'ei-hsi, 5 chüan, printed 1674–76.
[1/244/8a; 2/79/11b; 4/7/8b, containing a proposal by Wang Yung-chi for the construction of locks; Kao-yu chou-chih (1845) 10 shang 26b.]
Dean R. Wickes