生平

赵文华为人机警，与胡宗宪、戚继光等人合力平定倭寇之乱，因而触动江南、浙江等地的地方势力，被诬告为贪污。之后清朝人编的《明史》更是将他列入奸臣之列。

按照《明史》的说法，赵文华为人狡诈，嘉靖元年（1522年）浙江乡试第四名举人，二十七岁中式嘉靖八年（1529年）己丑科会试第二百十一名，二甲八十八名进士，授官刑部主事，官员考察，左迁东平州同知。赵文华中进士前，曾在国子监，得到时任祭酒的严嵩赏识。后严嵩权势日重，与其结为父子，并安插其任通政使。历官工部右侍郎。

嘉靖年间，倭寇作乱，赵文华上疏献计。此后，下欺将士，上进谗言，打击异己，大肆搜刮，总督张经等被冤杀，倭患日益严重，文华向朝廷谎报军功，竟升工部尚书，加太子太保。不久，以右副都御史总督江南、浙江军务，清剿倭寇。赵文华本不懂军事，依仗胡宗宪。宗宪剿灭徐海，俘获陈东，赵文华以大捷上报，归功于上玄，明世宗大喜，祭告郊庙社稷，加文华为少保，并荫子锦衣千户。

赵文华身居高官，逐渐骄横，对中官及严嵩不若从前。世宗派使者赏赐，文华酒醉，跪拜不拘礼数，世宗不满。西苑建造楼阁，工期延迟。一日，世宗登楼远眺，见西长安街有房屋壮观，便问是谁家宅第，左右趁机进言，称是赵文华私宅，且举报他偷窃皇宫建材，世宗更怒。正逢三大殿火灾，世宗欲修正阳门，催促甚急。赵文华，世宗准备将其撤职，诏谕严嵩，称「文华似不如昔。」嵩犹尚不知世宗本意，还为文华辩解，称文华因南徵得病，应增加侍郎一人专门监督大型工程。世宗同意。文华于是上疏称病请假，世宗批示：「大工方兴，司空是职。文华既有疾，可回籍休养。」举朝闻讯相贺。

文华虽然去职，世宗意犹未尽，且言官无人上疏弹劾，世宗无处泄愤。恰逢其荫子锦衣千户赵怿思，于斋祀停进封章之日请假送父，说是送父启程，无非望世宗再行留他。世宗大怒，藉此斥文华意存尝试，目无君上，黜为民，其子顾家忘国，遣戍边卫。且迁怒礼科，将都给事中谢江以下六人廷杖削籍。文华此时已病重，史载其「及遭谴卧舟中，意邑邑不自聊，一夕手扪其腹，腹裂，脏腑出，遂死。」

此后，给事中罗嘉宾等查核军饷，发现文华贪污以十万四千计。朝廷降诏罚没其家资，但直到万历十一年（1583年），尚未还清半数。明神宗便将其子慎思遣戍烟瘴之地，清廷列赵文华入《明史·奸臣传》。

著作

赵文华有文才，著作收入《文华全集》。嘉靖二十六年（1547年）曾应邀纂《嘉兴府图记》。另有《世敬堂集》，《只役纪略》等。

佚事

《万历野获编》载，赵文华任郎中时，因侵占庙产被和尚痛殴。当地士人做顺口溜讽刺道：「书中自有黄金屋，赵主事被和尚打得哭。」

家族

曾祖赵增。祖父赵广宗。父赵孟。母陈氏。具庆下。兄赵宋、赵文光。

注释

Early career

A native of Cixi, Zhejiang, Zhao Wenhua passed the imperial examination as a jinshi in 1529, whereupon he served as a secretary in the ministry of justice (刑部主事). Although he gained a name for being a skilled essayist in this post, he was found to have neglected his duty and was demoted to the post of vice prefect of Dongping, Shandong (东平州同知). Through the connection he made while he was studying at the National University, Zhao was eventually attached to the Office of Transmission (通政司) by the Grand Secretary Yan Song, who had noticed Zhao's talent when he was the chancellor of the university. In the Office of Transmission, Zhao Wenhua was to intercept all communications that put Yan Song in a negative light and hence foil any impeachment attempts. Zhao Wenhua cooperated so well in this manner that they became close, and Yan Song considered him as an adopted son. He later became a vice minister of works (工部右侍郎) for his proposal to build the southern city wall of Beijing.

Wokou crisis

During the 1540s and the 1550s, the Chinese coast was beset by the wokou, "Japanese pirates" in name, but actually predominantly Chinese smugglers turning to plunder and pillage when their illegal trade was suppressed. Zhao Wenhua presented a number of memoranda suggesting solutions to the problem of the Jiajing wokou raids, in which he showed a deep understanding of the root causes of the crisis. He did not agree with the sort of heavy-handed suppression in the name of the maritime prohibition laws that was carried out by the Zhejiang grand coordinator Zhu Wan (and had tried to coerce the latter into leaving his post to no avail), and instead vouched for an eventual opening of trade as the means to solve the wokou problem. The Minister of War Nie Bao (聂豹) did not act on Zhao Wenhua's suggestions and offered no alternate plan of his own, which prompted the Jiajing Emperor to purge the Ministry of War and send Zhao Wenhua to go to the coast to formulate the government's response to the crisis in person on March 1555. He was also authorized to lead the military forces there.

Upon arriving onto the scene, the headstrong and ambitious Zhao Wenhua came into conflict with the coastal military and administration. He plotted against grand coordinator Cao Bangfu (曹邦辅), whose rapid action against bandit forces at Lake Tai prevented Zhao from claiming credit for the success there. When his own forces were forced to retreat at Taozhai, Zhao placed the blame for his own failure on Cao, and was able to have him arrested and exiled. Of greater consequence was his role in the downfall of the supreme commander Zhang Jing. Zhao Wenhua had urged Zhang Jing, who had been gathering his strength, to attack the pirates, but Zhang resisted and would not even discuss his strategy with him. Zhao Wenhua retaliated by writing a memorial to the throne accusing Zhang Jing of deliberately delaying the operation for his own profit. However, soon after Zhao Wenhua sent out the memorial, Zhang Jing achieved a major victory over the pirates at Wangjiangjing (王江泾) on 10 May 1555. Too late to recant his earlier statement, Zhao was quick to claim the credit for himself and his protege Hu Zongxian; as a result he was able to successfully petition the Court for the execution of Zhang Jing.

Zhang Jing was eventually replaced by Yang Yi (杨宜), who tried to curry favour with Zhao to prevent suffering a similar fate as Zhang Jing. However, Yang was ineffective in his role, and Zhao Wenhua recommended Yang's removal when he returned to Beijing to report to the emperor. Zhao tried to set up Hu Zongxian in Yang's place, but the Minister of Personnel Li Mo (李默), who detested Yan Song's clique, picked Wang Gao (王诰) instead. Zhao Wenhua responded by impeaching Li Mo, suggesting that Li had slighted the emperor. The infuriated emperor threw Li Mo in prison and promoted Zhao Wenhua to Minister of Works and Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent (太子太保) on May 3, 1556. Wang Gao had hardly arrived in his post before he was replaced by Zhao's candidate, Hu Zongxian.

As it turned out, Hu Zongxian was extremely successful as supreme commander. In August 1556, Hu and Zhao, who had returned to the field on the emperor's orders, annihilated the pirate Xu Hai's invasion force and captured a number of pirate leaders, who were later executed. Returning to Beijing triumphant, Zhao Wenhua took much of the credit for the victory, and was conferred the title of junior guardian (少保) while his son Zhao Yisi (赵怿思) was made a chiliarch (千户) in the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Downfall and death

Zhao Wenhua had now reached the apex of his career. However, he had by this time become arrogant and earned the enmity of people from government officials to the court eunuchs. Even Yan Song and the emperor had become annoyed by his disregard of etiquette. He once tried to bypass Yan Song in pleasing the emperor, presenting a medicinal wine to the emperor claiming that it was the secret of Yan's longevity. The emperor liked the wine, and later asked Yan Song about it, who was quite surprised and had to confess that he knew nothing about the wine. Yan almost severed relations with Zhao Wenhua for this transgression if not for the good words by Yan's wife. In another incident, Zhao Wenhua was so drunk that he failed to bow and kneel when receiving a gift from the emperor through an eunuch.

As Minister of Works, Zhao Wenhua was responsible for constructions in the Forbidden Palace. He failed to finish a new storied building in the palace's western garden in time, yet the Jiajing Emperor saw Zhao Wenhua's new mansion being finished on the Chang'an Avenue across from the palace. An aide commented that the reason Zhao could not finish the building in the palace because he had diverted most of the timber to build his own mansion. The emperor was greatly displeased. Then, in May 1557, a fire burned down three palace halls. The emperor ordered Zhao Wenhua to rebuild the tower on Zhengyangmen as soon as possible, but Zhao demurred. Around this time the emperor heard rumours that Zhao had taken bribes and exaggerated his victories in the south, and lost faith in the man entirely. Yan Song attempted to cover for Zhao Wenhua, saying that he had taken ill from his tour to the south. Zhao Wenhua followed up by asking for a short leave of absence for rest and recovery, upon which the emperor ordered the vice minister to take Zhao Wenhua's post so that Zhao could go home on September 13. Zhao was essentially sacked at this point.

The emperor felt this was not enough to punish Zhao Wenhua, but no one had dared to speak out against Zhao Wenhua due to Yan Song's influence at the court. It was at this time that Zhao Wenhua's son Zhao Yisi petitioned the court to be excused from his duties so he could escort his father home. The petition was ill-timed, since it was presented at a time of imperial ceremonial fasting when no petitions could be presented. This allowed the emperor to reduce Zhao Wenhua to a commoner and banish Zhao Yisi to the military frontiers on a technicality on September 23. Zhao Wenhua died on his way home, with the History of Ming recording that he died due to a hernia while another source said he took poison. His family was ordered to repay the government funds that Zhao had misappropriated in his lifetime, to the tune of over one hundred thousand taels. Less than half this money was recovered by 1583, and the authorities recommended that the case be dropped. The Wanli Emperor refused, and banished Zhao Wenhua's second son Zhao Shensi (赵慎思) to the swamps of southwestern China. Zhao Wenhua and his mentor Yan Song are traditionally reviled in Ming historiography, their biographies being placed under the section "Treacherous Ministers" (奸臣传) in the official History of Ming.