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About Xuande Emperor
Lifespan: 1399-1435 A.D
Reign Years: 1425 – 1435 A.D
Given Name: Zhu Zhanji
Reign Name: Xuande
Xuande Emperor
Xuande Emperor – Ming Dynasty
Emperor Xuande was born Zhu Zhanji. He was the Ming Dynasty’s 5th emperor who ruled from 1425 to 1435. His period name was Xuande, which translates to “Proclamation of Virtues”.
To the people, he was the ruler who brought the best governance in all of Chinese history. He never instigated wars against other empires. Yet when his realm was under attack, Zhu Zhanji was able to defend and protect his kingdom.
He never really constructed grandiose projects like what his grandfather did. The reason for this was to keep his people resting and living a good life.
Enthronement of the Ming Emperor Xuande
After Emperor Zhu Di’s death, Zhu Zhanji was named the crown prince. This occurred when his father, Zhu Gaochi, became Emperor Renzong of the Ming Empire.
His father was a kind ruler who started a lot of humane policies. People who were executed or those expelled were recognized as honorable and loyal individuals. One of them was a scholar named Fang Xiaoru.
Yet after a couple of months, Emperor Zhu Gaochi died due to sickness. And upon hearing of the death, Zhu Zhanji rushed to the capital from South China. This was when he successfully escaped his uncle’s assaults to kill him.
Upon arriving in Beijing, Zhu Zhanji ascended the throne and ruled as Emperor Xuande. He was also referred to as Emperor Xuanzong of Ming or Ming Xuan Zong.
Emperor Xuande’s encounters during his early rule were somewhat similar to that of Emperor Zhu Yunwen. They ascended the throne at a very young age and experienced the aggressiveness of uncles who tried taking their crown.
But compared to Emperor Jianwen, whose throne was taken by his uncle, Zhu Zhanji won and successfully became emperor.
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Buy Now!The Rebellion of the Prince of Han
Emperor Xuande’s uncle, Zhu Gaoxu or the Prince of Han, was always Emperor Yongle’s favorite. That’s because of the military successes he brought to the empire. Yet in 1417, he disobeyed the imperial rules and was exiled to a little Le’an fief in Shandong.
When Zhu Gaoxu rebelled, Emperor Xuande took with him 20,000 troops then launched an attack at Le’an. After, Zhu Gaoxu surrendered, and his status was reduced to a simple commoner from the Prince of Han.
When Zhu Gaoxu saw Emperor Xuande succeed the throne, he never stopped attempting to get the throne for himself. In the next year, Zhu Gaoxu initiated a war to take the throne.
This was the time Emperor Xuande faced the same troubles as Emperor Jianwen. They were both young emperors fighting against an experienced uncle who even excelled in the military.
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Buy Now!Xuande Emperor’s First Military Operation
Based on Emperor Jianwen’s failed experiences and plans, Emperor Xuande didn’t trust his men with any generals. With that, he led the soldiers on his own.
He was lucky to have experience in battles because of his grandfather, Zhu Di. The experience, combined with his outstanding judgment, allowed Zhu Zhanji to lead his army successfully.
In the battle with his uncle, he surrounded Zhu Gaoxu’s military base and continued throwing letters into the city. This act was to urge the people inside to surrender. Eventually, Zhu Gaoxu gave up, surrendered, and was imprisoned for what he did.
Zhu Zhanji also aimed for another one of his uncles to give up all their military power. Plus, he was able to properly eliminate possible threats from the other half-independent kings from the Ming Dynasty.
After a couple of months, Zhu Gaoxu didn’t stop with his aims to acquire the throne. He attempted to attack Zhu Zhanji during a visit but failed once again. This time, he and all his sons were finally executed.
Excellent Governance
After focusing on getting rid of the empire’s issues, Emperor Xuande began his reign as an outstanding monarch. Just like other intelligent and diligent emperors in China, Xuande turned his government into something more efficient. Thus, he worked hard to decrease taxes while encouraging the improvement of business and agriculture.
He was great at choosing talented officials, setting them to their proper positions in the government. Together with his notable command, the Ming Dynasty flourished and improved greatly under his leadership.
Emperor Xuande also frequented the civilians in his empire and communicated with them from time to time. He wore simple clothes when visiting them. His reason for doing this was to acquire first-hand information about his people’s lives and situations.
From there, he would adjust and refine his policies to improve the well-being of his citizens.
Under his rule, the officials in his government were qualified and hardworking. Some of them were even talented and famous. There weren’t any factions and conflicts, as well as clans that had unbalanced power and wealth.
Overall, the people under his rule were wealthy and lived in peace.
Defeat against Vietnam
Xuande wanted to withdraw his army from Vietnam, yet a couple of his advisors suggested not to. After the Ming garrisons suffered greatly, the Xuande sent Liu Sheng with his own army.
Unfortunately, they were defeated by the Vietnamese troops. When the Ming forces withdrew, Emperor Xuande finally recognized Vietnam’s independence.
In the north, he inspected the border in 1428. There, they were able to retaliate against an army of Mongols who raided them.
The Ming Dynasty allowed Arughtai’s Eastern Mongol troops to battle with the Oirat tribe of Toghon. There, the Ming received fine horses from Arughtai, yet this stopped when he was defeated in 1431 by the Oirats. In 1434, he was killed when Toghon ruled over the eastern area of Mongolia.
From there, the Ming Dynasty maintained a friendly relationship with the Oirats. Their diplomatic relations with other areas like Japan improved in 1432.
Their relations with Korea were good. But there were exemptions of Koreans who disliked having virgins occasionally sent to Xuande’s imperial harem.
Centralized Power
A separate eunuch council improved centralized power by managing the Jinyiwei or secret police. With that, their influence continued to expand. In 1428, Liu Guan was sentenced to disciplinary servitude and was dislodged by Gu Zuo.
He was an honest individual who dismissed more than 40 members of the Nanjing and Beijing censorates due to incompetence. A couple of censors were imprisoned, demoted, and banished, yet none of them was executed.
The same year, Zhu Zhanji reformed his rules that governed the military draft and treatment of deserters. Despite these, the hereditary military continued being inefficient, which led to suffering because of low morale.
In 1430, Emperor Xuande ordered tax cutback on every imperial land. He even sent tour pacifiers to relate provincial administration while having civilian control over the military. The emperor also regularly ordered retrials to allow large numbers of innocent people to be released.
When the ninth year of his rule came, the Jurchens living in Manchuria suffered from famine. Because of this, they were forced to sell their daughters and make them into slaves. They had to move to Liaodong to ask for help and assistance from the Ming Dynasty government.
The Death of the Xuande Emperor
At the age of 38, Emperor Xuande died because of illness in 1435. He ruled for ten years, and it was a notably peaceful period. There weren’t any significant problems, whether it’s externally or internally.
The later historians considered his rule to be the Ming Dynasty’s height and its golden age.
After his death, the crown prince Zhu Qizhen became the next emperor at age eight. Since he was too young to rule, he had the assistance of five ministers.
With their guidance, any regular emperor could adequately govern and rule the empire well.