Princess Rongchang (1582–1647) was a Chinese princess, the eldest child 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 ...

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 ...

and his primary wife's,

Empress Xiaoduanxian Empress Xiaoduanxian (; 7 November 1564 – 7 May 1620), personal name Wang Xijie (), was empress consort of the Wanli Emperor. She was the longest serving empress consort in Chinese history. Early life Wang was born in Beijing to Wang Wei (� ...

, only child.

Biography

In 1596, Zhu Xuanying was given the title of Princess Rongchang. In May of the same year, she married Yang Chunyuan, for which Yang was granted a command by the

. Their first son Guangkui was born in 1600. Princess Rongchang's family remained closely connected to the imperial house, as shown by the appointment in 1608 of her eldest son to the

Jinyiwei The Embroidered Uniform Guard () was the imperial secret police that served the emperors of the Ming dynasty in China. The guard was founded by the Hongwu Emperor in 1368 to serve as his personal bodyguards. In 1369 it became an imperial milit ...

. In addition, the

Ming Shilu The ''Ming Shilu'' () contains the imperial annals of the emperors of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). It is the single largest historical source for the dynasty. According to modern historians, it "plays an extremely important role in the histo ...

note that she attended court to participate in ceremonies and rituals alongside her siblings,

Princess Shouning Princess Shouning (1592–1634) was a Ming dynasty princess, the seventh daughter of the Wanli Emperor and third daughter of Noble Consort Zheng. She was a particularly favoured child of her father, who ordered her to visit the palace once every ...

, the King of Gui, and the King of Rui, right up until 1620. In May 1621, Princess Rongchang's nephew, the

Tianqi Emperor The Tianqi Emperor (23 December 1605 – 30 September 1627), personal name Zhu Youjiao (), was the 16th Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1620 to 1627. He was the eldest son of the Taichang Emperor and a elder brother of the Chongzhe ...

, conferred honours upon his paternal aunts and uncles. Princess Rongchang was given the title ''Princess Supreme Rongchang'' ().

Husband's penalisation

In 1604, Princess Rongchang quarrelled with her husband. The

was angered on his daughter's behalf and issued an imperial edict, scolding his son-in-law. In response, Yang abandoned his command and travelled in a small, two-person

litter Litter consists of waste products that have been discarded incorrectly, without consent, at an unsuitable location. Litter can also be used as a verb; to litter means to drop and leave objects, often man-made, such as aluminum cans, paper cups, ...

back to the town of his parents in modern-day

Gu'an County Gu'an County () is a county of Hebei province, China, bordering Beijing to the north. It is under the jurisdiction of Langfang City, with direct access to central Beijing via both G45 Daqing–Guangzhou Expressway and China National Highway 106. ...

. Incensed, the

expelled Yang's father from office and sent members of the

to bring Yang back to

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 ...

, with the intention of compelling Yang to fulfil his duty as husband to Princess Rongchang. Before he was caught, however, Yang returned voluntarily to the capital and professed repentance. As punishment, Yang was sent to the

Guozijian The Guozijian,Yuan, 194. sometimes translated as the Imperial College, Imperial Academy, Imperial University, National Academy, or National University, was the national central institution of higher learning in Chinese dynasties after the Sui ...

to be lectured on

propriety Etiquette () is the set of norms of personal behaviour in polite society, usually occurring in the form of an ethical code of the expected and accepted social behaviours that accord with the conventions and norms observed and practised by a ...

for 100 days. Only after he had studied diligently was his father's official position to be restored.History Office (1620a), volume 395 Yang Chunyuan's mother died in January 1606, after which Yang demonstrated

filial piety In Confucianism, Chinese Buddhism, and Daoist ethics, filial piety (, ''xiào'') (Latin: pietas) is a virtue of respect for one's parents, elders, and ancestors. The Confucian ''Classic of Filial Piety'', thought to be written around the late W ...

by grieving and refusing to eat. He died after seven days of this, leaving Princess Rongchang a widow with five sons.

Later life

On 24 April 1644, a rebellion lead by

Li Zicheng Li Zicheng (22 September 1606 – 1645), born Li Hongji, also known by the nickname, Dashing King, was a Chinese peasant rebel leader who overthrew the Ming dynasty in 1644 and ruled over northern China briefly as the emperor of the short-li ...

captured

and the

emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

committed suicide. In the ensuing attempts by Li's forces to purge the Ming dynasty, four of Princess Rongchang's children were killed. On 5 June, Qing forces entered Beijing. Princess Rongchang attempted to provide the Qing with food, but by this point the

tenant farmers A tenant farmer is a person (farmer or farmworker) who resides on land owned by a landlord. Tenant farming is an agricultural production system in which landowners contribute their land and often a measure of operating capital and management, ...

on her lands were refusing to give up their crops. All of Princess Rongchang's property was given over to the military and she was sent to her husband's hometown in

, reportedly with her only surviving son and 13 grandchildren. In 1644, the

Shunzhi Emperor The Shunzhi Emperor (15 March 1638 – 5 February 1661) was the second Emperor of China, emperor of the Qing dynasty of China, and the first Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1644 to 1661. A Deliberative Council of Prince ...

of the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

bestowed favours on Princess Rongchang, which included appointing two of her grandsons, Yang Qingyu (楊慶餘) and Yang Qiyu (楊旗餘), to the ''Jinyiwei''. Both were children of Princess Rongchang's fourth son, Guangyi.Wang Songyu (1800s), volume 1, bin (鬢) She died in 1647, the last of the

's children.

References

Notes

Works cited

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rongchang, Princess 1582 births 1647 deaths Ming dynasty princesses 16th-century Chinese people 17th-century Chinese people 16th-century Chinese women Daughters of emperors People from Beijing