Song Yingchang (; 1536－1606) was an administrative official during the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

, most famously known for managing the first Ming campaign of the

Imjin war The Imjin River ( in South Korea) or Rimjin River ( in North Korea) is the 7th largest river in Korea. It flows from north to south, crossing the Korean Demilitarized Zone, Demilitarized Zone and joining the Han River (Korea), Han River downstre ...

during 1592-1593 .

Career

Song entered public service in 1565, during his career he held posts such as the governor of Jiangzhou (絳州知府), vice chief inspector (副都御史), Overseer of Shandong province (巡撫山東) and the Overseer of the imperial guards (籌建營衛巡司) . In late August 1592, he was appointed Vice Minister of Defense, when the decision was made for the Ming forces to fully commit into

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republi ...

, he also took the position as the chief manager for this task, so his full title was "Vice premier of the department of military and chief administrator of military affairs against Japanese force" (兵部右侍郎經略備倭軍務) Song made extensive preparation from September to December 1592, gathering military forces from across China and securing supplies and equipment. The expedition would eventually be led by general

Li Rusong Li Rusong (1549–1598) was a Ming dynasty general from Tieling, Liaodong. He was a Ming army commander in the first half of the Imjin War that took place in the Korean peninsula. Upon the request of the Korean King Seonjo of Joseon, the Ming Wa ...

and would set out on 12/25 (

lunar calendar A lunar calendar is a calendar based on the monthly cycles of the Moon's phases ( synodic months, lunations), in contrast to solar calendars, whose annual cycles are based only directly on the solar year. The most commonly used calendar, t ...

) 1592 from

Liaodong The Liaodong Peninsula (also Liaotung Peninsula, ) is a peninsula in southern Liaoning province in Northeast China, and makes up the southwestern coastal half of the Liaodong region. It is located between the mouths of the Daliao River (th ...

province with an army of 36,000, Song would stay behind as the Ming forces managed to retake

Pyongyang Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populat ...

in the siege of Pyongyang within 2 weeks of setting out,

Kaesong Kaesong (, ) is a special city in the southern part of North Korea (formerly in North Hwanghae Province), and the capital of Korea during the Taebong kingdom and subsequent Goryeo dynasty. The city is near the Kaesong Industrial Region close t ...

a couple weeks later, and

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...

by March 1593, it was a staggering success as the Ming forces managed to retake the 3 largest cities in Korea in short periods with a much smaller army than the Japanese forces. After retaking Seoul, the Japanese forces began to enter into negotiation with the Ming dynasty in earnest, the negotiation was headed by Konishi Yukinaga on the Japanese side and

Shen Weijing __NOTOC__ Shen may refer to: * Shen (Chinese religion) (神), a central word in Chinese philosophy, religion, and traditional Chinese medicine; term for god or spirit * Shen (clam-monster) (蜃), a shapeshifting Chinese dragon believed to create m ...

(沈惟敬) on the Ming side. Song was ambiguous towards the negotiation though generally landed on the opposing side more often than not, this along with the various disputes he got into with his boss, the Minister of Defense (兵部尚書) Shi Xing (石星) who was the chief proponent of the peace talks, and some of the controversies of the Ming military during the war (most notably some of the faction dispute of the Ming generals from different garrisons and backgrounds),History of the Ming chaptor 320
/ref> made Song resign from his post and retire from public service, he spent the remainder of his life back in his home province of

Hangzhou Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of Hangzhou Bay, wh ...

(modern day

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by ...

province, by the West Lake ( Xi Hu ). Song compiled a good number of his letters wrote during the 1592-1593 span, into the work "The collection of the management of the restoration" (經略復國要編). which is one of the best first hand source on the

from the

Ming The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peop ...

perspective. the letters involve the various logistic works, and some of the battle plans and letters to both Korean and Japanese leaders of the time. Song Yingchang was described as an imposing looking man with square face and dark-bluish beard.

References

Sources

*History of Ming (明史)
The History of the county of XiaoXing, biographies
. (紹興縣誌人物列傳) *經略復國要編宋應昌著 {{DEFAULTSORT:Song, Yingchang People of the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598) Ming dynasty politicians 1536 births 1606 deaths