The Longqing Emperor (; 4March 15375July 1572), personal name Zhu Zaiji (朱載坖), was the 13th Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1567 to 1572. He was initially known as the Prince of Yu (裕王) from 1539 to 1567 before he became the emperor. His

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 of ...

Longqing Longqing () (9 February 1567 – 1 February 1573) was the era name of the Longqing Emperor, the 13th emperor of the Ming dynasty of China. Comparison table Other eras contemporaneous with Longqing * Vietnam ** ''Sùng Khang'' (崇康, 1568–1 ...

, means "great celebration".

Reign

After the death of the

Jiajing Emperor The Jiajing Emperor (; 16September 150723January 1567) was the 12th List of emperors of the Ming dynasty, Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1521 to 1567. Born Zhu Houcong, he was the former Zhengde Emperor's cousin. His father, Zhu You ...

, the Longqing Emperor inherited a country in disarray after years of mismanagement and corruption. Realizing the depth of chaos his father's long reign had caused, the Longqing Emperor set about reforming the government by re-employing talented officials previously banished by his father, such as

Hai Rui Hai Rui (海瑞; ''Hǎi Ruì'' ; 23 January 1514 – 13 November 1587), courtesy name Ruxian (汝贤), art name Gangfeng (刚峰), was a Chinese scholar-official of the Ming dynasty, remembered as a model of honesty and integrity in office. A p ...

. He also purged the government of corrupt officials namely Daoist priests whom the Jiajing Emperor had favoured in the hope of improving the situation in the empire. Furthermore, the Longqing Emperor restarted trade with other empires in Europe, Africa and other parts of Asia. Territorial security was reinforced through the appointment of several generals to patrol both land and sea borders. This included the fortification of seaports along the

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiang ...

and

Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...

coast to deter pirates, a constant nuisance during the Jiajing Emperor's reign. The Longqing Emperor also repulsed the Mongol army of

Altan Khan Altan Khan of the Tümed (1507–1582; mn, ᠠᠯᠲᠠᠨ ᠬᠠᠨ, Алтан хан; Chinese language, Chinese: 阿勒坦汗), whose given name was Anda (Mongolian language, Mongolian: ; Chinese language, Chinese: 俺答), was the leader of ...

, who had penetrated the

Great Wall The Great Wall of China (, literally "ten thousand Li (unit), ''li'' wall") is a series of fortifications that were built across the historical northern borders of ancient Chinese states and Imperial China as protection against Eurasian noma ...

and reached as far as

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 ...

. A peace treaty to trade horses for silk was signed with the Mongols shortly thereafter. The Longqing Emperor's reign, which was not unlike that of any previous Ming emperor, saw a heavy reliance on court

eunuch A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millennium ...

s. One particular eunuch, Meng Cong (孟沖), who was introduced by the Longqing Emperor's

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

Gao Gong Gao Gong (; 19 January 1513 – 4 August 1578) courtesy name Suqing (), art name Zhongxuan (), was a Chinese politician of the Ming dynasty. Gao was born in Xinzheng, Henan. He became jinshi in 1541, then held a post at Hanlin Academy. Since 1 ...

, came to dominate the inner court towards the end of the emperor's reign. Meng Cong gained favours by introducing Nu Er Huahua (奴兒花花), a female dancer of ethnic Turkish origin, to the Longqing Emperor, whose beauty was said to have captured the ruler's full attention. Despite initial hopeful beginnings, the Longqing Emperor quickly abandoned his duties as a ruler and set about pursuing personal enjoyment. The emperor also made contradictory decisions by re-employing Daoist priests that he himself had banned at the start of his reign. In October 1567, Xu Jie firmly told the Emperor to stop eunuchs supervising the capital training divisions. Enraged, Longqing said "I ordered eunuchs to sit with the training divisions, and the speaking officials objected, and you all objected too. What's the idea? Explain your disobedience." Xu Jie explained that the

had abolished eunuch-run divisions and that the

founder Founder or Founders may refer to: Places *Founders Park, a stadium in South Carolina, formerly known as Carolina Stadium * Founders Park, a waterside park in Islamorada, Florida Arts, entertainment, and media * Founders (''Star Trek''), the ali ...

never set up eunuchs to run divisions. Longqing backed down for now.

Death

The Longqing Emperor died in 1572 and was only 35. Unfortunately, the country was still in decline due to corruption in the ruling class. Before the Longqing Emperor died, he had instructed minister

Zhang Juzheng Zhang Juzheng (; 26 May 1525 – 9 July 1582), courtesy name Shuda (), pseudonym Taiyue (), was a Chinese politician who served as Senior Grand Secretary () in the late Ming dynasty during the reigns of the Longqing and Wanli emperors. He rep ...

to oversee affairs of state and become the dedicated advisor to the

Wanli Emperor The Wanli Emperor (; 4 September 1563 – 18 August 1620), personal name Zhu Yijun (), was the 14th Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1572 to 1620. "Wanli", the era name of his reign, literally means "ten thousand calendars". He was the ...

who was only 10. The Longqing Emperor was buried in Zhaoling (昭陵) of the

Ming tombs The Ming tombs are a collection of mausoleums built by the emperors of the Ming dynasty of China. The first Ming emperor's tomb is located near his capital Nanjing. However, the majority of the Ming tombs are located in a cluster near Beijing an ...

Legacy

The Longqing Emperor's reign lasted a mere five years and was succeeded by his son. It was said that the emperor also suffered from speech impairment which caused him to stutter and stammer when speaking in public. He is generally considered one of the more liberal and open-minded emperors of the Ming dynasty, even though he lacked the talent keenly needed for rulership and he eventually became more interested in pursuing personal gratification rather than ruling itself.

Family

Consorts and Issue: * Empress Xiaoyizhuang, of the Li clan (; d. 1558) ** Zhu Yiyi, Crown Prince Xianhuai (; 15 October 1555 – 11 May 1559), first son ** Zhu Yiling, Prince Dao of Jing (), second son ** Princess Penglai (; 1557), first daughter * Empress Xiao'an, of the Chen clan (; d. 1596) ** Princess Taihe (; d. 1560), second daughter *

Empress Dowager Xiaoding Empress Dowager Xiaoding (1545 – 18 March 1614), of the Li clan, was the mother of the Wanli Emperor. She was the nominal Regent of China during the minority of her son from 1572 to 1582. She became known in history under her posthumous name, Xiao ...

, of the Li clan (; 1545 – 18 March 1614) ** Zhu Yijun, the

(; 4 September 1563 – 18 August 1620), third son ** Princess Shouyang (; 1565–1590), personal name Yao’e (), third daughter *** Married Hou Gongchen () in 1581 ** Princess Yongning (; 11 March 1567 – 22 July 1594), personal name Yaoying (), fourth daughter *** Married Liang Bangrui (; d. 9 May 1582) in 1582 ** Zhu Yiliu, Prince Jian of Lu (; 3 March 1568 – 4 July 1614), fourth son ** Princess Rui'an (; 1569–1629), personal name Yaoyuan (), fifth daughter *** Married Wan Wei (; d. 1644) in 1585, and had issue (one son) * Consort Duanjingshu, of the Qin clan () ** Princess Qixia (; 1571–1572), personal name Yaolu (), seventh daughter * Consort Gonghuizhuang, of the Liu clan (; d. 1582) * Consort Zhuangxirong, of the Wang clan (; d. 1580) * Consort De, of the Li clan (; d. 1632) * Consort Duan, of the Dong clan () * Consort Hui, of the Ma clan () * Consort He, of the Zhao clan (; d. 1581) * Consort An, of the Yang clan (; d. 1576) * Consort Rong, of the Han clan (; d. 11 September 1630) * Consort Jing, of the Zhuang clan (; d. 1580) * Consort Zhaoronggong, of the Li clan () * Consort Yi, of the Yu clan () * Consort Qi, of the Ye clan (; d. 1621) * Consort Xian, of the Jiang clan () * Consort Gong, of the Wu clan () * Consort Jing, of the Qi clan () * Consort Ying, of the Xu clan () * Consort An, of the Qian clan () * Unknown ** Princess Yanqing (; b. 1570), personal name Yaoji (), sixth daughter *** Married Wang Bing () in 1587

Ancestry

References