flourished 1340–55, China
High government official during the later years of China's Yuan dynasty (1206–1368).
He followed his uncle as minister of the right (1340–44) and favoured a centralized approach to government. Under him, positions that had been closed to the Chinese were reopened, many literati returned to the capital, and the Chinese examination system was restored. He was called back to office for another term (1349–55), during which time he oversaw projects to reroute the Huang He (Yellow River) and to develop an apparatus for quelling the many popular uprisings of the 1350s.