Zeng Xian
| Zeng Xian | |
|---|---|
| 曾銑 | |
| Supreme Commander of the Shaanxi Three Borders Defense Areas | |
|
In office 8 May 1546 – 1548 |
|
| Monarch | Jiajing Emperor |
| Grand Coordinator of Shanxi | |
|
In office February 1544 – May 1546 |
|
| Preceded by | Li Yu |
| Succeeded by | Yang Shouqian |
| Grand Coordinator of Shandong | |
|
In office 1541 – February 1544 |
|
| Regional Inspector of Liaodong | |
|
In office January 1534 – 1535 |
|
| Magistrate of Changle | |
|
In office 1529–1533 |
|
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1499 |
| Died | April 25, 1548 (aged 48–49) |
| Occupation | Official, censor, general |
| Courtesy name | Zizhong (子重) |
| Art name | Shitang (石塘) |
| Posthumous name | Xiangmin (襄愍) |
Zeng Xian (曾銑; 1499 - 1548) was a military official of the Ming dynasty of China. Serving in various high military positions in the northern provinces, he was tasked with the defence of the frontier against the Mongols. He was most famous for his proposal to retake the Ordos Loop for the Ming and extend the Great Wall of China over the region, which was met with initial enthusiasm from the Jiajing Emperor; however, opponents of the proposal brought upon a quick reversal which resulted in the downfall and execution of Zeng Xian and his principal supporter, the Senior Grand Secretary Xia Yan.
Zeng Xian was born into a military family in Jiangdu of Hangzhou, Jiangsu province in 1499. By the age of 30, he had passed the imperial examinations twice, first as a juren and later as a jinshi. His first official assignment was as magistrate of the town of Changle in Fujian province, after which he was posted to Liaodong as a censor and regional inspector in January 1534. During his duty here, a mutiny broke out in Liaoyang in April 1535, and Zeng Xian's rapid action in putting down the mutiny and executing the ringleaders earned him recognition as a military expert. He was promoted as the director of the Grand Court of Revision (大理寺丞) later in the year, and moved up to the posts of left assistant censor-in-chief (右僉都御史) and grand coordinator of Shandong in 1541.
China of the 1540s was under the threat of Altan Khan's raids across the northern frontier. As grand coordinator of Shandong, Zeng Xian initiated defence works around the city of Linqing on the Grand Canal. The resulting wall was seven miles long, crossing two rivers, and had nine gates including three water gates, along with numerous towers along its length. It became such a spectacle that the wall and the city became popularly known as the Jade Girdle City (玉帶城) at the time. After this, he was made vice-censor-in-chief (右副都御史) in September 1543 and later grand coordinator of Shanxi, being posted on various passes of the Great Wall of China in that province. The Veritable Records of the Ming notes that as a result of Zeng Xian's long service on the border and his outstanding achievements, the nomads had not attacked Xuanfu, Datong, or Shanxi. In 1546, Zeng became the vice minister of war and the Supreme Commander of the Shaanxi Three Borders Defense Areas, namely Yulin, Ningxia, and Guyuan.
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