Hai Rui

Hai Rui (1514 to 1587) was a Chinese philosopher and politician of the Ming dynasty, remembered as a model of honesty and integrity in office. He was born in Haikou on Hainan and raised by his Muslim mother after his father died when he was three, but he was noted primarily as a Neo-Confucianist and never discussed Islam in his Confucian works. After failing the imperial examination, he began his official career in 1553 as a clerk of education in Fujian and gained a reputation for uncompromising morality, honesty and fairness. In 1565 he submitted a memorial strongly criticizing the Jiajing Emperor for neglecting his duties and was sentenced to death, but he was released when the emperor died in 1567. He died in 1587 while serving as censor in chief of Nanjing.