1513-1587
Government Official

Early Life. Hai Rui was a native of the capital of Hainan Island. His grandfather was a magistrate in Fujian. When he was three years old, Hai Rui lost his father. His mother trained him to read the classics and took care of his education. At school, where he remained for some twenty years, he was famous for his good conduct and earned the admiration of his fellow students. About 1546, his mother asked him to divorce his first wife, who then sued him for the return of her dowry. To evade a court trial and publicity, he borrowed money to pay her.

Official. In 1549 he earned a juren degree after passing the examination. A year later, when traveling to Beijing to take the higher examination, he submitted a memorial to the Ming court on the pacification in the central highlands of Hainan. In...