Zhao Zhigao (, 1524–1601) was a

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

court official in China who served as senior grand secretary in the

Grand Secretariat The Grand Secretariat, or the Cabinet (), was nominally a coordinating agency but ''de facto'' the highest institution in the imperial government of the Chinese Ming dynasty. It first took shape after the Hongwu Emperor abolished the office of Ch ...

during the reign of the

Wanli Emperor The Wanli Emperor (4 September 1563 – 18 August 1620), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Shenzong of Ming, personal name Zhu Yijun, art name Yuzhai, was the 14th List of emperors of the Ming dynasty, emperor of the Ming dynasty, reig ...

. He was born in

Lanxi County Lanxi County () is a county of western Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China. It is under the jurisdiction of the prefecture-level city of Suihua. Administrative divisions Huma County is divided into 4 subdistricts, 8 towns and 7 t ...

Zhejiang ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...

Province. Prior to his appointment as senior grand secretary, Zhao served as Minister of Rites. In 1591, the Wanli Emperor appointed him to the senior grand secretary position without consulting other officials, a decision that drew criticism from Minister of Personnel Lu Guangzu and other court officials who argued it violated proper procedure. Zhao played a significant role during the

Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598) The Imjin War () was a series of two Japanese invasions of Korea: an initial invasion in 1592 also individually called the "Imjin War", a brief truce in 1596, and a second invasion in 1597 called the Chŏngyu War (). The conflict ended in 159 ...

, where he was part of the "dove" faction that favored diplomatic solutions over military action. His political rivalry with Xing Jie, the supreme commander during the second stage of the war, exemplified the court political divisions that influenced Ming decision-making during the conflict.

References

1524 births 1601 deaths Politicians from Zhejiang Senior grand secretaries of the Ming dynasty {{China-hist-stub