Eminent Chinese of the Ch'ing Period/Yeh Ying-liu
YEH Ying-liu 葉映榴 (T. 丙[炳]霞, H. 蒼巖), Dec. 3, 1638–1688, June 23, official, and martyr, was a native of Shanghai. He became a chin-shih in 1661 at the age of twenty-four (sui). After holding several posts in Peking he was appointed in 1676 superintendent of customs of Kiangsi. There he co-operated with the local officials in relief work and in defending the province against the rebellious forces of Wu San-kuei [q. v.]. Two years later he became assistant secretary to the provincial judge of Shensi, and concurrently director of education in the same province. In 1685 he was made grain intendant of Hu-kuang province and in 1688 acting lieutenant-governor of Hu-kuang.
A few days after Yeh took over the latter post a mutiny under the leadership of Hsia Fêng-lung 夏逢龍 took place at Wuchang, the capital of the province, to protest against the government's measure to demilitarize that area, and in particular to compel payment of the local troops whose stipends were in arrears. The governor, K'o Yung-shêng 柯永昇, was stabbed and committed suicide, and Yeh Ying-liu, as lieutenant-governor, was compelled by the insurgents to go over to their side. Powerless to deal with the situation, he proposed to the mutineers that if they would promise not to harm the cornmon people he would, after three days, join them in their plans. In the meantime he sent away his family from the troubled city and entrusted his official seals to a servant. Attired in full official uniform, he reproached the mutiueers and then died by cutting his own throat. For his loyalty and bravery he was rewarded with posthumous honors, and in the year following his death he was canonized as Chung-chieh 忠節.
In view of Yeh Ying-liu's martyrdom, his eldest son, Yeh Fu 葉敷 (T. 來青, 南田, H. 雲巢散人, 1670–1760), was given the rank of a department magistrate. He served as magistrate of Ching-mên-chou in Hupeh (1691–93), and of Yü-lin-chou in Kwangsi (1697–1703); and as prefect of Canton (1709–14), and of I-chou-fu, Shantung (1734–37). He achieved some note as a painter. His adopted son, Yeh Fêng-mao 葉鳳毛 (T. 超宗, H. 恆齋, 六泉, 錦帶居士, 1709–1781), was also a painter and calligrapher who served in the Grand Secretariat as a secretary (1730–35) and as an archivist (1735–39). He left two brief descriptions of the buildings and traditions of the Grand Secretariat, entitled 內閣小志 Nei-ko hsiao-chih and Nei-ko ku-shih (故事), both printed in the collectanea, Chih-hai (see under Chang Hai-p'êng).
[1/259/5b; 3/345/17a; 19 ping hsia 17b; 28/1/1a; Shanghai hsien-chih (1572) 20/11b; Wu-chung Yeh-shih tsu-p'u (see bibl. under Yeh Fang-ai), 53/30a.]