Chenghua Emperor

Chenghua Emperor – Ming Dynasty

The Ming Dynasty Emperor Chenghua was born as Zhu Jianshen. He was the 9th emperor of the empire, ruling from 1464 to 1487. His era name translates to “accomplished change”.

Zhu Jianshen was known as a mild-mannered individual who was fond of the arts and was a good calligrapher. However, his challenging upbringing somehow left its mark on him. He became quite indecisive and was often caught stuttering.

Emperor Chenghua only ruled for 22 years since he died young at the age of 40.

Emperor Chenghua’s Childhood

Zhu Jianshen was Emperor Zhengtong’s son and was only 2-years-old when his father was taken captive by the Oirat Mongols. After the incident, his uncle, Emperor Jingtai, took over and ruled the Ming. This was while keeping Emperor Zhengtong under house arrest for almost seven years.

During this period, the future Ming Dynasty emperor lived under the shadow of his uncle. He even had his crown prince title removed while Emperor Jingtai installed his son as heir to the throne. Zhu Jianshen was only given back his title on the eve of his uncle’s death in 1457.

Rule of the 9th Emperor

Emperor Chenghua then took the throne when he was 17-years-old. During the early years of his rule, the Ming emperor carried out fresh policies to decrease tax while strengthening the empire.

However, these didn’t last, and by the end of his reign, government affairs fell into the hands of the eunuchs. Precisely, these were mainly controlled by Wang Zhi.

Emperor Chenghua’s Council

Peasant uprisings continued throughout China. However, they were suppressed in a violently.

A council of regents aimed to amend the issues caused by the wars conducted by Zhu Jianshen’s father. These wars left suffering peasants to care for themselves.

Those unjustly punished individuals were rehabilitated by the council, and they even offered ample relief to the drought-stricken locations. The military was entirely organized, providing them with successful campaigns against the Jurchens and Mongols.

Autocratic Rule

Compared to his predecessors, Emperor Chenghua’s rule was more autocratic. Freedom was also sharply reduced when he built institutes like the Western Depot to match the current Eastern Depot. They began monitoring the civilian’s words and actions

The institute wasn’t comparable to a spy agency. However, it punished anyone who was suspected of treason.

At some point, the Western Depot was eventually closed, yet it was the beginning of a dangerous trend. Yet, in the 16th century, the descendants of Emperor Chenghua revived the Western Depot.

Arts, Crafts, and Culture

Emperor Chenghua’s rule can be noted for his attempts to amend the government while attempting to rule the country. His rule even saw cultural improvements with famous people like Chen Baisha and Hu Juren, who dominated the academic environment.

The rule of the Ming Dynasty’s Chenghua became known for developing porcelain. A couple of blue and white porcelain, along with color glazed wares, were displayed together with Doucai items.

Doucai or color competition, is a mix of over and underglaze coloring crafts. Technically, the production of such wares was tricky and complex, hence, needing two firings.

The Doucai Craft

The Doucaivcraft was introduced during Emperor Xuande’s rule, but reached its peak popularity during Emperor Chenghua’s rule. The Ming Dynasty ruler, Zhu Jianshen, didn’t make notable achievements in managing China. However, his rule oversaw the development of porcelain.

Chenghua’s imperial court used a lot of money in establishing kilns in the Jingdezhen area. During his earlier ruling years, porcelains were often imitations of the beautiful blue and white wares of Xuande’s time.

In the later years, Doucai started dominating the production. Chenghua porcelain was extremely elegant. They were greatly valued by collectors for having subtle charm and smooth tactility.

The Ming Dynasty emperor delighted in little, perfectly-formed porcelain that he could easily grasp in his hand. During his rule, a lot of these pieces were created for the imperial palace. Specific items included jars, cups, and little dishes.

Since Emperor Chenghua was an accomplished painter, the designs on these porcelain items were often flowers, birds, children, and fruit.

The Reign under the Consort Wan

Emperor Chenghua spent most of his rule under the influence and dominance of Consort Wan. She was an imperial concubine that was 17-years older than him. She acted as a mother figure to the young emperor, who greatly protected the young Zhu Jianshen.

After becoming emperor, she instantly turned into Chenghua’s favorite consort. In 1466, she gave birth to a child yet died right after.

She then dominated the emperor’s harem for almost two decades. There, Lady Wan employed eunuchs to check the harem and report if any of Emperor Chenghua’s concubines became pregnant.

Her tactics included forcing abortions and even murdering those in the harem. The lack of having a male heir eventually led to Zhu Jianshen’s frustrations.

Though eventually, it was revealed to the emperor that one male heir was secretly saved and protected from Lady Wan. He was raised and kept in a secure area outside the palace.

Lady Wan, together with eunuch Liang Fang and eunuch/chief-of-police, Wang Zhi, plotted to plunder the empire. They were able to accumulate a huge amount of money and even sold titles to various officials. Doing so allowed them to make themselves rich at the expense of the commoners.

All these evil deeds happened with the silent consent of Emperor Chenghua. He couldn’t gather the needed authority to end the misappropriation that eventually led to the fall of growth and prosperity.

Because of such, more peasant uprisings appeared, and the Ming Dynasty started relying on the military to rule China.

The Chosen Crown Prince and Throne’s Heir

At some point, one of the concubines of Zhu Jianshen, named Ji, became pregnant. She was able to safeguard her pregnancy and conceal the child’s birth with the help of the first empress. He was named Zhu Youcheng, the boy who eventually became the future Ming Dynasty emperor.

Youcheng was entrusted to a certain palace gatekeeper. When he reached five years old, he was brought to Zhu Jianshen. Upon seeing his child, the emperor became ecstatic since he finally had an heir to the throne.

After they reunited, Youcheng was named the crown prince.

When she learned about Zhu Youcheng, concubine Wan became greatly angered by overlooking the situation. She took revenge by immediately having the gatekeeper and concubine Ji killed without remorse.

The heir’s mother was later rehabilitated, and when Youcheng ascended, he gave her the title of Empress Ji. She was then reburied holding the Imperial Empress rank, in the tomb of his father called Maoling.

In 1487, Consort Wan died, then shortly after, Emperor Chenghua died after ruling the empire for 23 years. He was buried in Maoling of the Ming Tombs.

There are various claims on the death of this Ming Dynasty emperor. But the most common claim is that he died of grief due to his favorite consort’s demise.

The Legacy of Emperor Chenghua

Although Emperor Chenghua was able to fulfill some notable works, his reign was known for controlling people in the government. Not only that, but he was known for being easily persuaded to grant favors. These were often based on who he liked instead of their skills or abilities.

This attitude of his led to the deterioration of the ruling class and wasteful spending by corrupt officials. Eventually, the wrongdoings led to the depletion of the Ming government’s treasury.