Jiajing Emperor

Not to be confused with Jiaqing Emperor.
Jiajing Emperor
Emperor of the Ming Empire
Reign 27 May 1521 – 23 January 1567
Predecessor Zhengde Emperor
Successor Longqing Emperor
Born (1507-09-16)16 September 1507
Died 23 January 1567(1567-01-23) (aged 59)
Burial Yongling, Ming Dynasty Tombs, Beijing
Spouse Empress Xiaojiesu
Empress Zhang
Empress Xiaolie
Empress Xiaoke
Issue 8 sons and 5 daughters
Full name
Family name: Zhu (朱; Chu in Wade-Giles spelling)
Given name: Houcong (厚熜; Hou-tsung in Wade-Giles spelling)
Era name and dates
Jiajing (Chia-ching; 嘉靖): 28 January 1522 – 8 February 1567
Posthumous name
Emperor Qintian Lüdao Yingyi Shengshen Xuanwen Guangwu Hongren Daxiao Su
欽天履道英毅聖神宣文廣武洪仁大孝肅皇帝
Temple name
Ming Shizong
明世宗
House Ming dynasty
Father Zhu Youyuan
Mother Empress Cixiaoxian

The Jiajing Emperor (Chinese: 嘉靖; pinyin: Jiājìng; Wade–Giles: Chia-ching; 16 September 1507  23 January 1567) was the 11th emperor of the Chinese Ming dynasty who ruled from 1521 to 1567. Born Zhu Houcong, he was the former Zhengde Emperor's cousin. His father, Zhu Youyuan (1476–1519), the Prince of Xing, was the fourth son of the Chenghua Emperor (r. 1465–1487) and the eldest son of three sons born to the emperor's concubine, Lady Shao. The Jiajing Emperor's regnal name, "Jiajing", means "admirable tranquility".

Early years

As the nephew of the Hongzhi Emperor, Zhu Houcong was not brought up to succeed to the throne. However, the throne became vacant in 1521 with the sudden death of the Hongzhi Emperor's son, the Zhengde Emperor, who did not leave an heir. The 14-year-old Zhu Houcong was chosen to become emperor, and so relocated from his father's princedom (near present-day Zhongxiang, Hubei) to the capital, Beijing.

As the Jiajing Emperor, Zhu Houcong had his parents posthumously elevated to an "honorary" imperial rank, and had an imperial-style Xianling Mausoleum built for them near Zhongxiang.[1]

Reign as emperor

Custom dictated that an emperor who was not an immediate descendant of the previous one should be adopted by the previous one, to maintain an unbroken line. Such a posthumous adoption of Zhu Houcong by the Hongzhi Emperor was proposed, but he resisted, preferring instead to have his father declared emperor posthumously. This conflict is known as the "Great Rites Controversy." The Jiajing Emperor prevailed and hundreds of his opponents were banished, flogged in the imperial court (廷杖), or executed. Among the banished was the poet Yang Shen.[2]

The Jiajing emperor was known to be intelligent and efficient, whilst later he went on strike, and choose not to attend any state meetings, he did not neglect the paperwork and other governmental matters. The Jiajing Emperor was also known to be a cruel and self-aggrandizing emperor and he also chose to reside outside of the Forbidden City in Beijing so he could live in isolation. Ignoring state affairs, the Jiajing Emperor relied on Zhang Cong and Yan Song to handle affairs of state. In time, Yan Song and his son Yan Shifan – who gained power only as a result of his father's political influence – came to dominate the whole government even being called the "First and Second Prime Minister". Ministers such as Hai Rui and Yang Xusheng challenged and even chastised Yan Song and his son but were thoroughly ignored by the emperor. Hai Rui and many ministers were eventually dismissed or executed. The Jiajing Emperor also abandoned the practice of seeing his ministers altogether from 1539 onwards, and for a period of almost 25 years refused to give official audiences, choosing instead to relay his wishes through eunuchs and officials. Only Yan Song, a few handful of eunuchs and Daoist priests ever saw the emperor. This eventually led to corruption at all levels of the Ming government. However, the Jiajing Emperor was intelligent and managed to control the court.[3]

The Jiajing Emperor's ruthlessness also led to an internal plot by his concubines to assassinate him in October, 1542 by strangling him while he slept. A group of palace maids who had had enough of the emperor's cruelty decided to band together to murder him. The lead palace maid tried to strangle the emperor with ribbons from her hair while the others held down the emperor's arms and legs but made a fatal mistake by tying a knot around the emperor's neck which would not tighten. Meanwhile, some of the young palace maids involved began to panic and one (Zhang Jinlian) ran to the empress. The plot was exposed and on the orders of the empress and some officials, all of the palace maids involved, including the emperor's favourite concubine (Consort Duan, née Cao) and another concubine (Consort Ning, née Wang), were ordered to be executed by slow slicing and their families were killed.[4][5][6]

The Ming dynasty had enjoyed a long period of peace, but in 1542 the Mongol leader Altan Khan began to harass China along the northern border. In 1550, he even reached the suburbs of Beijing. Eventually the Ming government appeased him by granting special trading rights. The Ming government also had to deal with wokou pirates attacking the southeastern coastline.[7]

The Jiajing Emperor on his state barge, from a scroll painted in 1538 by unknown court artists
A porcelain vase with glazed fish designs, from the Jiajing era.

Starting in 1550, Beijing was enlarged by the addition of the outer city.[8]

The deadliest earthquake of all times, the Shaanxi earthquake of 1556 that killed over 800,000 people, occurred during the Jiajing Emperor's reign.

Taoist pursuits

The Jiajing Emperor was a devoted follower of Taoism and attempted to suppress Buddhism. After the assassination attempt in 1542, the emperor moved out of the imperial palace, and lived with a 13-year-old teenage girl who was small and thin, and was able to satisfy his sexual appetite (Lady Shan). The Jiajing Emperor began to pay excessive attention to his Taoist pursuits while ignoring his imperial duties. He built the three Taoist temples Temple of Sun, Temple of Earth and Temple of Moon and extended the Temple of Heaven by adding the Earthly Mount. Over the years, the emperor's devotion to Taoism was to become a heavy financial burden for the Ming government and create dissent across the country.

Particularly during his later years, the Jiajing Emperor was known for spending a great deal of time on alchemy in hopes of finding medicines to prolong his life. He would forcibly recruit young girls in their early teens and engaged in sexual activities in hopes of empowering himself, along with the consumption of potent elixirs. He employed Taoist priests to collect rare minerals from all over the country to create elixirs, including elixirs containing mercury, which inevitably posed health problems at high doses.

Legacy and death

After 45 years on the throne (the second longest reign in the Ming dynasty), the Jiajing Emperor died in 1567 – possibly due to mercury overdose believing to be the Elixir of Life – and was succeeded by his son, the Longqing Emperor. Though his long rule gave the dynasty an era of stability, the Jiajing Emperor's neglect of his official duties resulted in the decline of the dynasty at the end of the 16th century. His style of governance, or the lack thereof, would be emulated by his grandson later in the century.

Portrayal in art

The Jiajing Emperor was portrayed in contemporary court portrait paintings, as well as in other works of art. For example, in this panoramic painting below, the Jiajing Emperor can be seen in the right half riding a black steed and wearing a plumed helmet. He is distinguished from his entourage of bodyguards as an abnormally tall figure.

Original – A panoramic painting showing the Jiajing Emperor traveling to the Ming Dynasty Tombs with a huge cavalry escort and an elephant-drawn carriage.

Family

Sons

Number Title Name Born Death Married Spouse Mother Notes
1 Crown Prince Aichong
哀沖太子
Zhu Zaiji
朱載基
15331533nonenoneImperial Consort Yan
2 Crown Prince Zhuangjin
莊敬太子
Zhu Zairui
朱載壡
15361552nonenoneImperial Consort Wang
3 Emperor Muzong Zhuang
穆宗莊皇帝
Zhu Zaihou15371572-Empress XiaoyizhuangEmpress Xiaoke
4 Prince Gong of Jin
景恭王
Zhu Zaixun
朱载圳
15371565--Consort Lu
5 Prince ...
Zhu Zai...
15371538nonenoneTang Fei Jiang Shi
6 Prince ...
Zhu Zai...
15371538nonenoneYee Fei Zhao
7Prince ...
Zhu Zai...
15381538nonenoneConsort Chen
8 Prince ...
Zhu Zai...
15...15...nonenoneRong Fei Zhao-

Daughters

Number Title Name Born Death Married Spouse Mother Notes
1 Princess Chang'an
常安公主
Zhu Shouying
朱寿媖
1536 1549 none none Consort Duan, née Cao
2 Princess Si'rou
思柔公主
Zhu Fuyuan
朱福媛
1538 1549 none none Consort Hui, née Wang
3 Princess Ning'an
宁安公主
Zhu Luzhen
朱禄媜
1539 1607 Li He
李和
Consort Duan, née Cao Raised by Noble Consort,née Shen, after Consort Duan was executed in 1542
4 Princess Guishan
归善公主
Zhu Ruirong
朱瑞嬫
1541 1544 none none Consort Yong, née Chen
5 Princess Jiashan
嘉善公主
Zhu Suzhen
朱素嫃
1541 1564 Xu Congcheng
许从诚
Consort De, née Zhang

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jiajing Emperor.
  1. Eric N. Danielson, "The Ming Ancestor Tomb"
  2. "Invasion of the Great Green Algae Monster. Salon. 25 Jun 2007.
  3. 一本书读懂大明史
  4. 端妃曹氏与嘉靖宫变
  5. 明廷“壬寅宫变”之谜
  6. 萬曆野獲編, vol.18
  7. "China > History > The Ming dynasty > Political history > The dynastic succession", Encyclopædia Britannica Online, 2007
  8. "Beijing." Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 2007.
Jiajing Emperor
Born: 16 September 1507 Died: 23 January 1567
Regnal titles
Preceded by
The Zhengde Emperor
Emperor of China
1521–1567
Succeeded by
The Longqing Emperor
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