Zhengde Emperor
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Categories: Ming Dynasty emperors | Child rulers who reached age of majority | 1491 births | 1521 deaths
The Zhengde Emperor (October 26, 1491–April 20, 1521) was emperor of China (Ming dynasty) between 1505-1521. Born Zhu Houzhao, he was the Hongzhi Emperor's eldest son.
Early yearsZhengde was created crown prince at a very early age and because his father did not take up any other concubines, Zhengde did not have to contend with other princes for the throne. (His younger brother died in infancy.) Zhengde was thoroughly educated in Confucian literature and he excelled in his studies. Many of Emperor Hongzhi's ministers expected that Zhengde would become a benevolent and brilliant emperor like his father, but this was not to be. Reign as EmperorZhengde ascended the throne at the age of 14. Unlike his father, Zhengde was not interested in ruling and disregarded all state affairs. He took up a luxurious and prodigal lifestyle and indulged himself in women. It was said that he liked to frequent brothels and even created palaces called "Pao Fang" (豹房) outside the Forbidden City in Beijing initially to house exotic animals such as tigers and leopards for his amusements and then later used to house beautiful women for his personal enjoyment. For months at a time he would live outside the Forbidden City or travel around the country with heavy expenditures being paid from the empire's coffer. While being urged to return to the palace and attend to governmental matters, Zhengde would refuse to receive all his ministers and ignored all their petitions. Zhengde also sanctioned the rise of eunuchs around him. One particular Liu Jin (劉瑾) was notorious for taking advantage of the young emperor and squandered immense amount of silver and valuables. There was even rumor of a plot that Liu Jin had intended to murder the emperor and place his own grandnephew on the throne. Liu Jin's plot was ultimately discovered, and he was executed in 1510 however the rise of corrupt enunchs continued throughout Zhengde's reign. In time Zhengde became notorious for his childish behaviour as well as abusing his power as emperor. In 1518 Zhengde declared himself General Zhu and personally led an expedition to the north claiming his intention to pacify the Mongol tribes but in the end did not accomplish much. Then again in 1519, Zhengde Emperor led another expedition to Jiangxi province to the south in hopes to quell a local prince's revolt only to discover that the revolt has already been put down. Frustrated at not being able to lead his troops to victory, Zhengde ordered the release of the prince just so he could experience the chance to capture his prisoner for himself. In January of 1521, Zhengde had the rebel Prince of Ning executed in Tongzhou, an event that was recorded even by the Portuguese embassy to China. Emperor Zhengde died in 1521 at the age of 30. One day in the fall of 1520 it was said that Zhengde was drunk while boating on a lake. He fell off his boat and almost drowned himself ¹. After that he became ill and died the following year. He had no heir and was succeeded by his cousin. Contact with EuropeImage:Afonso de Albuquerque.jpg
Afonso de Albuquerque, who commissioned the first direct Europea maritime ventures to China from Portuguese Malacca.
The first direct European contacts occurred during the reign of Zhengde. In several initial missions commissioned by Afonso de Albuquerque of Portuguese Malacca, the Portuguese explorer Jorge Álvares and the Italian explorer Rafael Perestrello landed in southern China and traded with Chinese merchants of Tuen Mun and Guangzhou. Their king Manuel I of Portugal then sent Fernão Pires de Andrade and Tomé Pires to formally open relations between the main court at Beijing with Lisbon of Portugal. Although Zhengde gave the Portuguese embassy his blessing while touring Nanjing in May of 1520, he died soon after and the Portuguese—who were rumored to be troublemakers in Canton and even cannibals of kidnapped Chinese children—were rejected by Chinese authorities under the new Grand Secretary Yuan Tinghe. Although illegal trade continued after, official relations between the Portuguese and the Ming court would not improve until the 1540s, culminating in the Ming court's consent in 1557 of allowing Portugal to establish Macau as their trading base in China. LegacyThough bred to be a successful ruler, Zhengde thoroughly neglected his duties, beginning a dangerous trend that would plague future Ming emperors. The abandoning of official duties to pursue personal gratifications would slowly lead to the rise of powerful eunuchs that would dominate and eventually ruin the Ming dynasty. Source¹ Source: Imperial China - 900-1800, F.W. Mote, Pages 658, First Harvard University Press, 2003.
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