Wanli Emperor

Wanli Emperor – Ming Dynasty

Zhu Yijun, or Emperor Wanli, was the Ming Dynasty’s 14th emperor who ruled from 1572 to 1620. He reigned for 48 years, which was the longest of all emperors of the Ming Dynasty.

His reign witnessed numerous successes; however, it was followed by the dynasty’s decline. It happened in 1600 when the Ming emperor stepped back from his role in the government.

Emperor Wanli was somewhat of a hermit whose disinterest in government affairs led to the abuse of power. Those who took advantage of his inattention were provincial officials and other government figures who dominated in the past.

Generally, Emperor Wanli was among the worst emperors in China’s history. However, he’s respected in Korea since he strongly demanded to protect Korea from the Japanese invasion in 1592.

A Child Emperor Ascends the Throne

Zhu Yijun became emperor when he was only nine years old. He ascended the throne only after his father died at a young age.

His mother became the Empress Dowager Li, though she was originally the imperial palace’s maid. She didn’t have any powerful clans nor political resources to manipulate politics.

Thus, the empress dowager put her trust in prime minister Zhang Juzheng to manage the government. He was also tasked to teach and assist the young Emperor Wanli.

Zhang Juzheng was among the best prime ministers and reformers in the history of ancient China. He carried out numerous successful reforms that helped the empire flourish. These also brought about the last great rule of the Ming Dynasty.

During this period, Emperor Wanli highly respected Zhang as his valued mentor and minister.

Reforms of Zhang Juzheng

In 1572, Zhang Juzheng was appointed as the Ming Dynasty’s minister. It was the time when he started a reform called “abiding by ancestors’ rules”.

He started by improving the administration via different measures like decreasing redundant personnel in the government. He also improved the officials’ performance assessments. Such measures helped improve the quality and efficiency of the administration’s officials.

Other than these, he began other relevant reforms in the field of finance, land, and military affairs. In essence, the prime minister’s reforms were rectifications of social issues without displeasing the Ming’s established fiscal and political systems.

Although the reforms didn’t resolve land annexations and political corruption, they relieved the present social contradictions. Moreover, Zhang Juzheng protected the Ming from Japan, the Mongols, and the Jurchens to save the national defense expenses.

In 1580, Zhang kept a huge amount of silver. It was worth two to ten years of the Ming’s overall tax revenue. The first few years of Wanli’s rule brought about a revival of the economy, culture, and military. This era was known as Wanli’s Renaissance of China.

The Empire under the Leadership of Emperor Wanli

After the death of prime minister Zhang, Emperor Wanli was free to function independently. Hence, he reversed a lot of Zhang’s administrative developments and improvements.

In 1584, the Ming emperor Zhu Yijun passed an edict that confiscated all of the late prime minister’s wealth. He even went as far as getting rid of Zhang’s family members.

After 1586, Wanli had a few conflicts with vassals regarding his heir. He then chose to avoid holding council for 20 years. Because of this, the decline of the Ming Dynasty began.

Earlier during his rule, the Ming emperor Zhu Yijun taught himself how to be a diligent and competent leader. The economy prospered continuously, and the Ming remained a powerful empire. He took the time to attend meetings and even discussed different state affairs.

Northern Yuan and Mongols

In the unexplored northern regions, the Ming Dynasty’s general defected and allied with the Mongol army to attack the Ming. Because of this, the Ming emperor sent out his army to deal with the issue, resulting in a successful victory.

Imjin War and Japanese

During his first expedition, Toyotomi Hideyoshi ordered his men to invade and attack Korea. Upon hearing this, Emperor Wanli came up with three strategic ideas.

First, he sent off a strong army to aid Korea. Second, if the Koreans would decide to enter the Ming Dynasty’s territory, he would provide them with a sanctuary. Lastly, he advised everyone in the Liaodong area to prepare for any invasions.

The first few battles against the Japanese ended in defeat. So, Zhu Yijun sent a larger army with 80,000 men. This strategy provided them with better luck, hence, achieved more success, resulting in negotiations that were positive for the Ming.

In 1596, Japan once again attacked the area. Yet, in that same year, Toyotomi Hideyoshi perished, and the remaining leaders of Japan lost the will to fight.

With that, the combined victories of commander Chen Lin (Guangdong) and admiral Yu Sun-sin (Korea) made the Japanese army retreat. What followed was peace negotiations between the two.

Yang Yinglong rebellion

At first, Emperor Wanli set his eyes on Japan. After his army, along with general Yang Guozhu, was annihilated, his focus shifted to Yang Yinglong.

There, he sent Guo Zhizhang and Li Huolong to lead the offensive. After an arduous battle, Li was able to defeat Yang and was taken back to the capital.

Once the three wars ended, the Ming emperor Zhu Yijun withdrew from participating in morning meetings.

The Decline of Emperor Wanli’s Regime

During the last few years of the Ming emperor’s reign, he alienated himself from his imperial role. To put it simply, he went on strike.

He didn’t attend the usual morning meetings, nor did he meet his ministers or act upon their directives. Other than those, he refused to make any appointments, resulting in an understaffed Ming administration.

However, Emperor Wanli did pay great attention to the construction of his tomb. It was a grandiose structure that took about decades to complete.

There were a couple of reasons why Zhu Yijun began neglecting his duties. The first was he felt embittered by the moralistic attacks and retaliation of the officials. These actions were mostly based on an abstract Confucian belief.

Another reason was because of the dispute regarding the imperial succession. He wanted to promote his son by his favorite consort, Noble Consort Zheng. He was Zhu Changxun and the emperor’s third son.

Although the emperor favored him to be the crown prince, he wasn’t recommended for the succession. Many of his great ministers were even opposed to this, leading to a clash between them and the sovereign. It was an issue that lasted for over 15 years.

In 1601, Emperor Wanli gave in and went ahead to promote Zhu Changluo as the crown prince. He then became the future Emperor Taichang of the empire.

Since then, his favorite son, Zhu Changxun, left the capital and lived in his fief located far from the capital. Before the Ming emperor passed, he commanded to have the queen’s crown for his beloved consort.

He even asked that they bury her with him. But when she died, his officials buried her someplace else, ignoring the fallen emperor’s command.

Death of Wanli Emperor

The Ming emperor Zhu Yijun died in 1620. He was buried in the Dingling Mausoleum together with the other Ming tombs. Also, it was among the biggest tombs in the vicinity. Plus, it’s only one of the two that are open to the people.

Many claim that Wanli’s rule was the reason for the dynasty’s quick downfall. Yet, there are different notes as to why he neglected his duties.

Some claim that he had severe depression after the death of his favorite consort. It led him to heavily and habitually utilize opium. Some say that he suffered from a rare illness on his back and leg, preventing him from walking without assistance.

In 1997, a book was published on the history of drug abuse. There, it stated that the Ming emperor Zhu Yijun’s remains were examined in 1958. From there, they discovered morphine residues at extremely high levels.