The Jingtai Emperor (21 September 1428 – 14 March 1457), born Zhu Qiyu, was the seventh Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1449 to 1457. The second son of the

Xuande Emperor The Xuande Emperor (16 March 1399 31 January 1435), personal name Zhu Zhanji (朱瞻基), was the fifth Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1425 to 1435. His era name "Xuande" means "proclamation of virtue". Ruling over a relatively p ...

, he was selected in 1449 to succeed his elder brother Emperor Yingzong (then reigned as the "Zhengtong Emperor"), when the latter was captured by Mongols following the

Tumu Crisis The Crisis of the Tumu Fortress (), also known as the Tumu Crisis (; mn, Тумугийн тулалдаан), or the Jisi Incident (), was a frontier conflict between the Northern Yuan and Ming dynasties. The Oirat ruler of the Northern Yuan, ...

. He reigned for 8 years before being removed from the throne by his elder brother Emperor Yingzong (then reigned as the "Tianshun Emperor"). The Jingtai Emperor's

era name A regnal year is a year of the reign of a sovereign, from the Latin ''regnum'' meaning kingdom, rule. Regnal years considered the date as an ordinal, not a cardinal number. For example, a monarch could have a first year of rule, a second year o ...

, " Jingtai", means "exalted view". He was one of two Ming emperors who was not buried in either the

Ming tombs The Ming tombs are a collection of mausoleums built by the emperors of the Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

or the Xiaoling Mausoleum in

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

Early life

The future Jingtai Emperor was born on 21 September 1428 with the name Zhu Qiyu to the Xuande Emperor and Consort Xian. On 3 August 1449, he was appointed regent by his older half-brother, the

Zhengtong Emperor Emperor Yingzong of Ming (; 29 November 1427 – 23 February 1464), personal name Zhu Qizhen (), was the sixth and eighth Emperor of the Ming dynasty. He ascended the throne as the Zhengtong Emperor () in 1435, but was forced to abdicate in 1 ...

. Zhu Qiyu would ascend the throne by the Ming court in 1449 after his brother was defeated and taken prisoner by the

Oirat Mongols Oirats ( mn, Ойрад, ''Oirad'', or , Oird; xal-RU, Өөрд; zh, 瓦剌; in the past, also Eleuths) are the westernmost group of the Mongols whose ancestral home is in the Altai region of Siberia, Xinjiang and western Mongolia. Histor ...

of Esen Khan. He immediately set about the defence of Beijing and was ultimately successful.

Reign

During his reign, aided by the able minister

Yu Qian Yu Qian (; 1398–1457), courtesy name Tingyi, art name Jie'an, was a Chinese official who served under the Ming dynasty. Biography Yu Qian was born in Qiantang County, Hangzhou, Zhejiang. He started his career in the Ming civil service after o ...

, Jingtai paid particular attention to matters affecting his country. He repaired the Grand Canal as well as the system of dykes along the

Yellow River The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Standard Beijing Mandarin, Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system in the world at th ...

. As a result of his administration, the economy prospered and the dynasty was further strengthened. In 1452, he demoted his first wife Empress Wang (1427–1507) since she had only had two daughters, and not a son. He instead promoted his Consort Hang to become empress, but her five-year-old son, Zhu Jianji, died in 1453 under suspicious circumstances, and she bore no other children. The

was released in 1450 after the Mongols learned that the Ming government had installed Zhu Qiyu as the new emperor. After that, Jingtai continued to rule as emperor while his brother was granted the title of ''

Taishang Huang In Chinese history, a ''Taishang Huang'' or ''Taishang Huangdi'' is an honorific and institution of a retired emperor. The former emperor had, at least in name, abdicated in favor of someone else. Although no longer the reigning sovereign, ther ...

'' (or Emperor Emeritus; 太上皇) and lived in obscurity.

Deposition and death

Jingtai reigned for eight years. Empress Hang died in 1456, and Jingtai himself became ill. With his death imminent in 1457, he still refused to name an heir, particularly because his own son had died mysteriously in 1453—perhaps poisoned. Jingtai's predecessor, his brother the sidelined Zhengtong Emperor, saw an opportunity to regain the throne and through a military coup overthrew the ailing Jingtai. Zhengtong then adopted a new

, "Tianshun", and was henceforth known as the Tianshun Emperor. Jingtai was demoted by his brother to his previous title, Prince of Cheng, and placed under house arrest in Xiyuan (西苑).Present day

Zhongnanhai Zhongnanhai () is a former imperial garden in the Imperial City, Beijing, Imperial City, Beijing, adjacent to the Forbidden City; it serves as the central headquarters for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the State Council of the People' ...

to the west of the

Forbidden City The Forbidden City () is a Chinese palace, palace complex in Dongcheng District, Beijing, China, at the center of the Imperial City, Beijing, Imperial City of Beijing. It is surrounded by numerous opulent imperial gardens and temples includ ...

. He died a month later, with some sources hinting that he was murdered by eunuchs on the order of the Tianshun Emperor. After the Jingtai Emperor's death, the Tianshun Emperor denied his brother's rightful honor to be buried at the

(together with his predecessors) located north of

. He was instead buried well away from that locale in the hills west of Beijing and was buried as a prince rather than an emperor. His posthumous name was also shortened to five characters, instead of the normal seventeen, to reflect his demoted status. His brother also did not respect the emperor's wish to set up his own son as heir apparent.

Family

Consorts and Issue: *

Empress Xiaoyuanjing Empress Wang (1427–1507) was a Chinese empress consort of the Ming dynasty, married to the Jingtai Emperor. Wang was married to Jingtai in 1449. When the elder brother of Jingtai was taken prisoner by the Mongols later that year, Jingtai becam ...

, of the Wang clan (; 1427–1507) ** Princess Gu'an (; 1449–1491), first daughter *** Married Wang Xian () in 1469, and had issue (one son) ** ''Second daughter'' *

Empress Suxiao Empress Hang (肅孝皇后; d. 1456) was a Chinese empress consort of the Ming dynasty, married to the Jingtai Emperor. Hang was originally a concubine of Jingtai. When the elder brother of Jingtai was taken prisoner by the Mongols in 1449, Han ...

, of the Hang clan (; d. 1456) ** Zhu Jianji, Crown Prince Huaixian (; 28 March 1445 – 21 March 1453), first son * Imperial Noble Consort, of the Tang clan (; 1438–1457) * Li Xi'er () * Consort, of the Sun clan ()

Ancestry

Notes