Zhu Youyuan (; 22 July 1476 – 13 July 1519), was a prince of the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. He was the fourth son of the

Chenghua Emperor The Chenghua Emperor (; 9 December 1447 – 9 September 1487), personal name Zhu Jianshen, was the ninth Emperor of the Ming dynasty, who reigned from 1464 to 1487. His era name " Chenghua" means "accomplished change". Childhood Zhu Jianshen wa ...

. Created Prince of Xing (興王), his fief was near today's

Zhongxiang Zhongxiang () is a county-level city of Jingmen, central Hubei province, People's Republic of China. The name ''Zhongxiang'' means "Blessed with propitious omen", and was given to the city by the Jiajing Emperor in the Ming dynasty. History Zhong ...

, in Hubei Province. He and his wife were posthumously honored by his son after he became 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 ...

in 1521.

Aftermath

Burial place

His tomb originally was an ordinary prince's tomb which located at Songlin Mount (松林山),

Hubei Province Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...

. The tomb was rebuilt in 1519, until 1521. His son the

enthroned, Jiajing against the ministers for his posthumously title. Later, he was posthumously honored as "Emperor Xingxian" (興獻帝), then his tomb rebuilt as emperor's style and renamed as "Xianling" (顯陵).

Worship imperial ancestral temple

Originally, ministers against the

for worship imperial temple for Zhu Youyuan. Then, Jiajing had to set up another temple for him and named as "shimiao" (世廟), then renamed as "Temple of Emperor Xian" in 1536. Two years later, the temple restyled as imperial ancestral temple, and Jiajing honored Zhu Youyuan with the temple name "Ruizong". At that time, Jiajing had relocated the temple with the

Hongzhi Emperor The Hongzhi Emperor () (30 July 1470 – 9 June 1505) was the tenth Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1487 to 1505. Born Zhu Youcheng, he was the eldest surviving son of the Chenghua Emperor and his reign as emperor of China is called t ...

's temple, because they were brothers. After the temple was rebuilt, Jiajing had veto for let Zhu Youyuan shared the sam temple with Hongzhi, and relocated the temple at the above of the

Zhengde Emperor The Zhengde Emperor (; 26 October 149120 April 1521) was the 11th Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1505 to 1521. Born Zhu Houzhao, he was the Hongzhi Emperor's eldest son. Zhu Houzhao took the throne at only 14 with the era name Zhen ...

's temple. At this point, Jiajing had finally posthumously honored Zhu Youyuan as emperor and finished the worship. During the reigns of the

Wanli Wanli was the era name of the Chinese Ming dynasty. Wanli may also refer to: *Wanli Emperor (1563–1620), the 14th emperor of the Chinese Ming dynasty *Wanli District, Nanchang, district of Nanchang, Jiangxi, China *Wanli District, New Taipei, a ...

and Tianqi emperors, ministers had requested to remove Zhu Youyuan's temple, but still got veto.隆慶六年八月，穆宗將祔廟，敕禮臣議當祧廟室。禮科陸樹德言：“宣宗于穆宗僅五世，請仍祔睿宗于世廟，而宣宗勿祧。”疏下禮部，部議宣宗世次尚近，祧之未安。因言：“古者以一世為一廟，非以一君為一世，故晉之廟十一室而六世，唐之廟十一室而九世。宋自太祖上追四祖至徽宗，始定為九世十一室之制，以太祖、太宗同為一世故也。其后徽宗祔以与哲宗同一世，高宗祔以与欽宗同一世，皆無所祧，及光宗升祔，增為九世十二室。今自宣宗至穆宗凡六世，上合二祖僅八世，准以宋制，可以無祧，但于寢殿左右各增一室，則尊祖敬宗，并行不悖矣。”帝命如舊敕行，遂祧宣宗。天啟元年七月，光宗將祔廟。太常卿洪文衡請無祧憲宗，而祧睿宗。不听。（《明史》卷五十一）

Zhu Youyuan's imperial made epitaph of Prince Xian of Xing

The original text: Approximately translate:

Family

Consorts and Issue: * Empress Cixiaoxian, of the Jiang clan (; d. 1538) ** Zhu Houxi, Prince Huai of Yue (; 7 July 1500 – 12 July 1500), first son ** Princess Changning (; 26 November 1501 – 16 April 1504), first daughter ** Princess Yongfu (; 20 May 1506 – 20 June 1525), third daughter *** Married Wu Jinghe (; 1508–1568) in 1523 ** Zhu Houcong, the

(; 16 September 1507 – 23 January 1567), second son ** Princess Yongchun (; 2 October 1511 – 1540), fourth daughter *** Married Xie Zhao (; 1512–1567) in 1527, and had issue (one son) * Consort Wenjingshu, of the Wang clan (; d. 1532) ** Princess Shanhua (; 21 July 1503 – 15 May 1512), second daughter

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zhu, Youyuan 1476 births 1519 deaths Ming dynasty imperial princes Ming dynasty posthumous emperors Sons of emperors