Jingtai Emperor

Template:Short description Template:Good articleTemplate:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox royalty The Jingtai Emperor (21 September 1428 – 14 March 1457), personal name Zhu Qiyu,Template:Efn was the seventh emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1449 to 1457. He succeeded his elder brother, Emperor Yingzong.

In 1449, Emperor Yingzong, upon the suggestion of eunuch Wang Zhen, personally led the army to battle against the Mongolian army of Esen Taishi. The Emperor left Zhu Qiyu in charge of government affairs. However, in the Battle of Tumu Fortress, the Mongols defeated the Ming army and captured the Emperor. This event caused shock and concern throughout the country, and the court eventually elevated Zhu Qiyu to the throne. The former emperor, who had formed a positive relationship with Esen, was released in 1450 but did not regain his position. He was instead placed under house arrest in the Southern Palace of the Forbidden City.

During his reign, the Jingtai Emperor, with the support of prominent minister Yu Qian, worked to restore the country's infrastructure. This included repairing the Grand Canal and the Yellow River's dam system, resulting in economic prosperity and a bolstering of the country's strength. After ruling for eight years, the Emperor fell ill and his death was imminent in early 1457. He had not designated an heir after his son had died in the fourth year of his reign. In February 1457, a group of officials overthrew the Jingtai Emperor in a palace coup, restoring Emperor Yingzong to the throne. The Jingtai Emperor died a month later.

Early life

Zhu Qiyu, the future Jingtai Emperor, was born on 11 September 1428. He was the second son of the Xuande Emperor, who ruled the Ming dynasty from 1425 to 1435.Template:Sfnp His mother, Lady Wu, was one of the Emperor's concubines.Template:Sfnp When the Xuande Emperor died in 1435, his eldest son, Emperor Yingzong, became the new ruler of the Ming dynasty and created Zhu Qiyu as the Prince of Cheng.Template:Sfnp

As the Prince of Cheng, Zhu Qiyu was said to have lived in Shandong (present-day Wenshang County, Jining) as an adult.Template:Sfnp He was naturally shy, weak, indecisive and had no desire for power.Template:Sfnp He had a close relationship with his brother, which may have been the reason he remained in the capital, even though he was old enough to move to Wenshang in the latter half of the 1440s.Template:Sfnp

Ascension

Emperor Yingzong, the brother and predecessor of the Jingtai Emperor

In the summer of 1449, there was growing unrest along the northern border of the Ming dynasty. In late July, reports reached Beijing that the Mongols, under the leadership of their de facto ruler Esen, had launched an attack on Datong as part of a massive invasion. Emperor Yingzong decided to lead personally the campaign against the Mongols, with the support of his trusted advisor Wang Zhen.Template:Sfnp

On 3 August, Zhu Qiyu was appointed as the provisional administrator of Beijing. He was accompanied by aides who represented the most influential power groups. Prince Consort Commander Jiao Jing (Template:Zhi) represented the imperial family. Director of Ceremonial Jin Ying, the highest-ranking eunuch in the absence of Wang Zhen, led the palace eunuchs. Minister of Personnel Wang Zhi (Template:Zhi) represented the government, and Grand Secretary Gao Gu (Template:Zhi) was the fourth aide. All major decisions were to be postponed until the Emperor's return.Template:Sfnp

On 4 August, Emperor Yingzong led his army into battle. Despite a month-long campaign, they achieved no results. On their return journey, the imperial army was unexpectedly attacked by the Mongols on 1 September at the Tumu post station. The Mongols were able to defeat and scatter the imperial army. They killed numerous high-ranking commanders and captured the Emperor.Template:Sfnp

With the approval of Empress Dowager Sun, Emperor Yingzong's mother, Zhu Qiyu assumed control of the government on 4 September, but the Empress Dowager made it clear that his authority was temporary. On 6 September, she named Emperor Yingzong's eldest son, the two-year-old Zhu Jianshen, as heir to the throne.Template:Sfnp

On 15 September, high-ranking civil and military officials led by Yu Qian petitioned the Empress Dowager to install Zhu Qiyu as the new emperor in order to stabilize the government and improve relations with the Mongols by reducing the influence of the captured Emperor Yingzong. As the only adult relative of the captured emperor, Zhu Qiyu was seen as a natural choice. Initially, Zhu Qiyu rejected the proposal, but those around him saw this as a formalityTemplate:Sfnp and he eventually accepted. On 17 (or possibly 22Template:Sfnp or 23Template:Sfnp) September, he ascended the throneTemplate:Sfnp and adopted the era name Jingtai, which means "bright exhalation".Template:Sfnp He declared his brother as Taishang Huang (Template:Zhi; 'Emperor Emeritus'), a title that was higher in rank but only honorary.Template:Sfnp Only one official objected to the new emperor's accession and was punished with death.Template:Sfnp

After their victory at Tumu, the Mongols did not immediately launch an attack on Beijing, even though they would likely have been successful. Instead, they hesitated and allowed the Ming dynasty two months to recover from their defeat. During this time, Yu, who had just become minister of war, took charge of organizing the defense of Beijing and effectively became the leader of the government even before the new emperor was appointed. The Mongols did not approach the city until 27 October, but after four days of siege, they abandoned their efforts upon realizing they had no chance of victory.Template:Sfnp

The Jingtai Emperor's government refused all of Esen's attempts to pay for the release of Emperor Yingzong and insisted on his unconditional return. Emperor Yingzong became a burden to the Mongols, so they eventually released him without any conditions. The Jingtai Emperor confined his brother to the Southern Palace and cut off all contact with government officials. His fear of his brother's influence dominated the rest of his reign and influenced a cautious approach towards the Mongols.Template:Sfnp

Government

Ministers, eunuchs and grand secretaries

17th-century depiction of Yu Qian, the most important minister of the Jingtai Emperor's government.

Traditional historians often praise the rule of the Jingtai Emperor, particularly when compared to the corrupt and inept eunuchs who had controlled the government in the previous decade, but the power did not completely transfer from eunuchs to officials during his reign. Eunuchs still held a considerable amount of influence. Instead, after 1449, both eunuchs and officials collaborated to revitalize the country.Template:Sfnp

To some extent, the Jingtai Emperor's regime followed the tradition of the three grand secretaries,Template:Efn who managed the empire from the mid-1420s to the early 1440s. This continuity was embodied by Wang Zhi, who held the position of minister of personnel from 1443 to 1457. During the 1440s, Wang Zhi was a constant opponent of Wang Zhen, but after 1449, he began to cooperate with Yu. From 1451 to 1453, he was assisted in his duties by co-minister He Wenyuan, who was later replaced by Wang Ao. Yu supported Wang Zhi's rise, and he successfully defended Liaodong, as well as later Guangdong and Guangxi. Wang remained minister of personnel until his death in 1467 at the age of 73. The widely respected ministers of personnel, along with their careful selection of capable officials, contributed to a high level of administration in the third quarter of the fifteenth century.Template:Sfnp

One notable characteristic of the Jingtai Emperor's reign was the remarkable stability within his core group of ministers. The heads of the Six Ministries all maintained their positions throughout his rule: Jin Lian (Template:Zhi) overseeing the Ministry of Revenue, Hu Ying (Template:Zhi) leading the Ministry of Rites, Yu Shiyue (Template:Zhi) in charge of the Ministry of Justice, and Shi Pu (Template:Zhi) directing the Ministry of Works. Similarly, the leadership of the Censorate remained constant from 1445 to 1454, with Chen Yi (Template:Zhi), followed by Yang Shan (Template:Zhi), Wang Wen (Template:Zhi), Xiao Weizhen (Template:Zhi), and Li Shi (Template:Zhi). Additionally, the influential army commander Shi Heng (Template:Zhi), along with the powerful eunuchs Cao Jixiang (Template:Zhi) and Liu Yongcheng (Template:Zhi), also retained their positions throughout this time.Template:Sfnp

Some of the Jingtai Emperor's key supporters were the eunuchs Jin Ying and Xing An. Jin held significant influence in the 1430s but eventually lost power to Wang Zhen. During the Jingtai Emperor's reign, he was appointed as Director of Ceremonial but was later imprisoned in 1450 for backing the return of Emperor Yingzong. Xing then took over as head of the eunuchs and played a crucial role in negotiating the return of Emperor Yingzong and the change of the heir apparent in 1452. Two other eunuch generals, Cao and Liu, were instrumental in the military reform of 1453. However, prominent officials such as Grand Secretaries Chen Xun (Template:Zhi) and Gao Gu did not support the Jingtai Emperor.Template:Sfnp

Despite having a stable personnel, the ruling group was not free from controversy. In 1451–1452, Yu, the most influential figure in Beijing, had a heated conflict with Shi over the abuse of power and corruption by Shi and his family. The Emperor was unable to resolve the dispute until Yu fell ill in 1454–1455, causing him to lose much of his influence.Template:Sfnp

Military reforms

In 1451, once the immediate danger had passed, Yu initiated military reform. He handpicked 100,000 soldiers from the remaining troops in the Beijing area and divided them into five training divisions (Template:Zhi; tuanying). In 1452, he added an additional 50,000 soldiers and created ten training units. He also restructured the command system of the capital garrison. Initially, command was divided between generals and eunuchs, with each of the Three Great Camps (for infantry, cavalry, and firearms) operating independently under its own field commander, but there was little coordination between detachments from different camps. Yu placed each camp under one field commander and the entire garrison under the field marshal. He also removed the eunuchs from their supervisory role, resulting in a unified command and a greater involvement of the capital generals in managing the training camps.Template:Sfnp This new arrangement of the drill camps was unique among the various Ming command systems, as the generals in charge of training also commanded the same soldiers in battle.Template:Sfnp

After 1449, the practice of hiring soldiers for wages from the peasant and urban population became more widespread due to the shortage of men and the inefficiency of many hereditary soldiers. These hired soldiers were referred to as bing (Template:Zhi), in contrast to the hereditary soldiers known as jun (Template:Zhi).Template:Sfnp

After Emperor Yingzong regained power in 1457, Yu was executed and his reforms were reversed.Template:Sfnp

Economy

In 1450, Shandong experienced a famine, and from 1452 to 1454, the provinces in northern China and the lower Yangtze River were greatly affected by heavy rains and cold weather.Template:Sfnp The drought of 1455 was followed by summer rains in 1456 in northern China. The state treasury was depleted due to providing aid to the population and dealing with tax arrears.Template:Sfnp

In 1453, the ban on using coins for trade was lifted. From the mid-1450s, illegal private coins from Jiangnan began to dominate the markets in Beijing, replacing the old Yongle coins. Although there were some proposals to address this problem by resuming state production, they were disregarded, resulting in the spread of illegal mints through unofficial networks.Template:Sfnp

After the severe floods and changes in its course in 1448, the government took urgent action to regulate the Yellow River.Template:Sfnp As a result, the river began to flow into the sea both north and south of the Shandong Peninsula, but these changes in the river's flow caused problems with the water supply for the Grand Canal. Despite attempts to fix the issue and repairs carried out from 1449 to 1452, they were ultimately unsuccessful. In 1453, Xu Youzhen, who had fallen out of favor during the crisis of 1449 when he suggested relocating the capital from Beijing to Nanjing, presented a plan to rebuild the levees and canals. With a workforce of 58,000, he completed complex repairs to the dams and excavated hundreds of kilometers of canals within two years. His work successfully withstood the great flood of 1456 and remained in use for decades.Template:Sfnp

Traditional history portrays the 1450s as a time of intense competition between two imperial brothers, but Marxist historians emphasize the presence of class conflicts.Template:Sfnp The population was consistently dissatisfied, leading to rebellions and keeping the army occupied for much of the decade. By 1452, the uprisings in Fujian and Zhejiang had subsided.Template:Sfnp In Guangdong and Guangxi, the lawlessness of non-Chinese populations (specifically the Miao and Yao tribes) went unchecked until Wang Ao was sent to the region in 1452–1453.Template:Sfnp In 1450–52, the Miao and Yao rebelled in Guizhou and Huguang, and unrest continued in Fujian, Huguang, Sichuan, and Zhejiang in the years 1453–56.Template:Sfnp Throughout the 1450s, there were armed conflicts in Guangdong, where the authorities mobilized loyal tribes against the rebels.Template:Sfnp Non-Han Chinese groups generally rebelled against the Ming government, while Han Chinese miners and landless individuals in the peripheral regions of the provinces remained relatively calm.Template:Sfnp

Overall, the reign of the Jingtai Emperor was marked by successful reforms and the restoration of stability, thanks to the efforts of capable ministers.Template:Sfnp In the field of culture, the Jingtai era is known for the advancement of wire enamel (cloisonné) decoration, which is now referred to as Jingtai-lan (Template:Zhi; meaning 'blue [color of the era] Jingtai') in Chinese.Template:Sfnp

Succession problems, deposition and death

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} A persistent political problem during the Jingtai Emperor's reign was the fate of the deposed Emperor Yingzong and the question of succession. Although Emperor Yingzong was kept in isolation, he still had supporters in the government, such as Minister of Rites Hu Ying.Template:Sfnp Normally, the Emperor's opponents would have been removed from office, but the Jingtai Emperor hesitated to address these issues and allowed them to remain in government positions.Template:Sfnp

Emperor Yingzong's eldest son, Zhu Jianshen, was the heir since 1449, but the Jingtai Emperor decided to reserve the throne for his own descendants. Through a combination of bribery and intimidation, he was able to gain enough support for his plan.Template:Sfnp On 20 May 1452, despite opposition from the grand secretaries and other officials,Template:Sfnp he created Zhu Jianshen as the Prince of Yi and his son Zhu Jianji as the new heir to the throne.Template:Sfnp On the same day, he removed Empress Wang from her position and replaced her with Lady Hang, the mother of Zhu Jianji. This move, which appeared to prioritize personal interests, weakened the Emperor's authority.Template:Sfnp

Zhu Jianji died in 1453 and Lady Hang died in 1456. As the Emperor had no other son, a new heir was not chosen.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp Some officials, including Zhang Lun (Template:Zhi; d. 1483), Director of the Ministry of Rites, and Zhong Tong (Template:Zhi; d. 1455), a censor, suggested reinstating Zhu Jianshen, but they were imprisoned for their suggestion. Zhong and others were even flogged to death.Template:Sfnp This event sparked the ambition of courtiers and government officials to conspire in favor of Emperor Yingzong.Template:Sfnp

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The plot was orchestrated by Shi, Cao, Xu, and Zhang Yue (Template:Zhi; 1393–1458). They saw an opportunity when the Emperor fell ill at the end of 1456, causing him to cancel audiences and New Year ceremonies in 1457. The Emperor refused to appoint a successor, and the court was filled with anxiety as they prepared for his death.Template:Sfnp On the morning of 11 February 1457, the conspirators forcefully removed Emperor Yingzong from his residence and placed him on the throne, surprising officials who had come for the morning audience. Emperor Yingzong wasted no time in making changes to the government, promoting the conspirators and dismissing officials from the previous regime. Some supporters of the Jingtai regime, including Yu Qian, Wang Wen, and three high-ranking eunuchs, were executed.Template:Sfnp

Emperor Yingzong demoted the Jingtai Emperor to the Prince of Cheng, and the former emperor never fully recovered from his illness. He died on 14 March 1457.Template:Sfnp There is speculation that he may have been murdered.Template:EfnTemplate:Sfnp His brother gave him the posthumous name Li (Template:Zhi; 'Rebel') and buried him outside the imperial mausoleums at Yuchuanshan. Some officials suggested abolishing his era name, similar to the abolishment of the Jianwen era, but Emperor Yingzong did not agree. In 1475, the Chenghua Emperor restored his imperial title and changed the posthumous name to Emperor Gongren Kangding Jing (Template:Zhi), which was shorter than the names given to other emperors. In the mid-17th century, the Hongguang Emperor of the Southern Ming dynasty gave him the temple name Daizong (Template:Zhi).Template:Sfnp

Consorts and issue

After the Jingtai Emperor's death, his concubines were ordered to commit suicide. The former empress, Lady Wang, was allowed to continue living outside the palace, allegedly under the protection of her nephew, who had regained his position as heir and later became the Chenghua Emperor. Emperor Yingzong had her house searched and confiscated 200,000 liang of silver and other treasures. The Chenghua Emperor allowed her to keep her remaining possessions. Lady Wang died in January 1507. She was given the posthumous name Empress Zhenhui Jing (Template:Zhi) and buried in her husband's mausoleum.Template:Sfnp

The Jingtai Emperor had a daughter,Template:Efn Princess Gu'an (Template:Zhi), who was born in 1449. She married Wang Xian (Template:Zhi; d. 1514).Template:Sfnp

• Empress Xiaoyuanjing (Template:Zhi) of the Wang clan (Template:Zhi; 1427–1507)Template:Sfnm
  • Princess Gu'an (Template:Zhi), first daughterTemplate:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp
    • Married Wang Xian (Template:Zhi; d. 28 December 1514) in 1469, and had issue (one son)
• Empress Suxiao (Template:Zhi) of the Hang clan (Template:Zhi; d. 1456)Template:Sfnm
  • Zhu Jianji (Template:Zhi), Crown Prince Huaixian (Template:Zhi; 1445–1453), first sonTemplate:Sfnm
• Imperial Noble Consort (Template:Zhi) of the Tang clan (Template:Zhi; 1438–1457)Template:Sfnp
• Li Xi'er (Template:Zhi)Template:Sfnp
• Consort (Template:Zhi) of the Sun clan (Template:Zhi)Template:Sfnp

See also

• Chinese emperors family tree (late)

References

Works cited

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External links

• Template:Commons category-inline