Zhengde Emperor

Zhengde Emperor – Ming Dynasty

The Zhengde Emperor or Emperor Wuzong was one of the most controversial Ming emperors of the dynasty.

He was born Zhu Houzhao and was Emperor Hongzhi’s eldest son. He ascended the throne when he was only 14 and took the name Zhengde, meaning “Rectification of Virtue”.

He was known for having favorite eunuchs like Liu Jin and even became infamous for his childish behavior.

The Early Moments of Zhu Houzhao

Zhu Houzhao was made the crown prince at an extremely young age. Since his father didn’t have other concubines, Zhu Houzhao didn’t need to compete with other princes for the throne. He did have a younger brother, yet the child died in infancy.

The future Ming emperor was properly educated in Confucian literature and even excelled in different studies. Because of his attitude, many of Emperor Hongzhi’s ministers expected him to be as brilliant and benevolent as his father.

The Zhengde Emperor as a Ruler

Zhu Houzhao was named and respected as the Zhengde Emperor or Emperor Wuzong of the Ming. When he ascended the throne, he married his empress at the age of 14.

Unlike his father, the Ming emperor Zhu Houzhao wasn’t interested in his empress or even ruling the dynasty. In fact, he neglected and disregarded most of the state affairs.

Because of his actions, the Ming emperor was considered foolish, reckless, and pointless. There were also several instances where he displayed a lack of responsibility.

The Burning Palace and Adoptive Children

During the lantern festival, the Zhengde Emperor thought it was good to keep gunpowder in his palace. Eventually, the entire palace was caught on fire, and it literally burned to the ground.

He would also leave the Forbidden City for months, living elsewhere, and refusing to return for court meetings and such. The Ming emperor paid less attention to court matters, wouldn’t meet his ministers, and ignored their petitions.

What’s worse, he adopted more than a hundred fosters and rewarded them with the royal family name, Zhu. Whether they were eunuchs, officials, or soldiers, they could be his adoptive sons as long as they impressed him.

The Controversial Leopard’s Chamber

Unfortunately, he was greatly interested in women. One time, he had an extremely large personal harem; because of this, the women ended up starving to death because of inadequate supplies.

Supposedly, a Bao Fang or Leopard’s Chamber was situated outside the Forbidden City. Yet, for the Zhengde Emperor’s amusement, he changed the area to house women. Of course, this didn’t satiate his ridiculous hunger for women, and he still frequented brothels within the city.

For his safety and convenience, Zhu Houzhao created a business street within his palace. There, he asked the maids and servants to act as retailers. This allowed him to safely shop, eat, and act like a simple, carefree civilian.

The Plot of Liu Jin

One of the Zhengde Emperor’s eunuchs, Liu Jin, was notorious for taking advantage of the Zhengde Emperor. He used up an immense number of silver and different valuables. Hence, the diverted funds were around 36 million pounds of both silver and gold.

There were even rumors that Liu Jin plotted to murder the Ming emperor Zhu Houzhao. After, he would set his grand-nephew to the throne. However, his plot was discovered, which led to his execution in 1510.

Despite getting rid of Liu Jin, the rise of corruption during the Ming emperor’s reign continued. There were even uprisings that occurred one after the other. These were led by the Prince of Anhua and the Prince of Ning, respectively.

The Anhua prince was Zhengde’s great-granduncle, while the Ning prince was his granduncle.

Muslim Relations

The Ming emperor Zhu Houzhao was greatly fascinated by foreigners. So, he invited many Muslims to his empire to serve as eunuchs, advisors, and envoys. Even works of art in his court featured Islamic inscriptions either in Persian or Arabic.

Aside from their art and culture, the Ming emperor preferred Muslim women; hence, he had a lot of relationships with them.

One book stated that Zhengde had a homosexual relationship with a certain Muslim leader named Sayyid Husain. This book was called Passions of the Cut Sleeve: The Male Homosexual Traditions in China by Bret Hinsch. However, there was no evidence that supported this claim.

A Dark Affliction

Before the Ming emperor’s death in early 1521, there were rumors about a mysterious group called Dark Afflictions or Hei Sheng. Their random attacks caused worry and fear since they aimlessly assaulted people at night.

The Minister of War asked the Ming emperor to create an imperial edict. This should state that the local security troops would arrest anyone who frightened people. The threat suddenly ended the spread of such stories.

Death of Zhengde Emperor

Zhu Houzhao died 14 years after he was made emperor. It was said that in 1520, he was drinking a lot while riding a boat and ended up falling into the lake. He almost drowned yet survived the ordeal.

Despite his luck of surviving, he contracted an illness from the water, which was the reason for his death. He was succeeded by Zhu Houcong, his cousin, since none of his sons survived childhood.

Despite being a highly controversial emperor because of his actions, the Zengde Emperor was still a good administrator. When he still attended court meetings and such, he made highly competent decisions. Under his reign, the country’s economy grew, and the people prospered as well.