Zhengde Emperor
| Zhengde Emperor | |||||||||||||||||
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| 10th Emperor of the Ming dynasty | |||||||||||||||||
| Reign | 19 June 1505 – 20 April 1521 | ||||||||||||||||
| Predecessor | Hongzhi Emperor | ||||||||||||||||
| Successor | Jiajing Emperor | ||||||||||||||||
| Born | 26 October 1491 | ||||||||||||||||
| Died | 20 April 1521 (aged 29) | ||||||||||||||||
| Burial | Kangling, Ming tombs, Beijing | ||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | Empress Xiaojingyi | ||||||||||||||||
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| House | House of Zhu | ||||||||||||||||
| Father | Hongzhi Emperor | ||||||||||||||||
| Mother | Empress Xiaochengjing | ||||||||||||||||
| Full name | |
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Family name: Zhu (朱) Given name: Houzhao (厚照) |
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| Era name and dates | |
| Zhengde (正德): 24 January 1506 – 27 January 1522 | |
| Posthumous name | |
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Emperor Chengtian Dadao Yingsu Ruizhe Zhaode Xiangong Hongwen Sixiao Yi 承天達道英肅睿哲昭德顯功弘文思孝毅皇帝 |
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| Temple name | |
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Ming Wuzong 明武宗 |
The Zhengde Emperor (Chinese: 正德; pinyin: Zhèngdé) (26 October 1491 – 20 April 1521) was the Ming dynasty Emperor of China between 1505–1521. Born Zhu Houzhao, he was the Hongzhi Emperor's eldest son. His era name means "Right virtue" or "Rectification of virtue".
Zhu Houzhao was created crown prince at a very early age and because his father did not take up any other concubines, Zhu did not have to contend with other princes for the throne. (His younger brother died in infancy.) The prince was thoroughly educated in Confucian literature and he excelled in his studies. Many of the Hongzhi Emperor's ministers expected that Zhu Houzhao would become a benevolent and brilliant emperor like his father.
Zhu Houzhao ascended the throne as the Zhengde Emperor and was married to his Empress at the age of 14. Unlike his father, the Zhengde Emperor was not interested in ruling or his Empress and disregarded most state affairs. His actions have been considered reckless, foolish or pointless. There are many instances where he showed a lack of responsibility.
The Zhengde Emperor took up a luxurious and prodigal lifestyle and indulged himself in women. It was said that he liked to frequent brothels and even created palaces called "Bao Fang" (豹房; literally "The Leopards' Chamber") outside the Forbidden City in Beijing initially to house exotic animals such as tigers and leopards for his amusement and then later used to house beautiful women for his personal enjoyment. On one occasion he was badly mauled while hunting tigers, and could not appear in court audiences for a month. On another occasion he burned down his palace by storing gunpowder in the courtyards during the lantern festival. His harem was so overfilled that many of its women starved to death due to lack of supplies.
Zhu Houzhao was noted by many sources as fairly efficient administrator, although indulging in an luxurious life style and refusing to attend most meetings, he showed himself to be competent in his decisions and governance. Under his rule, the economy continued to grow, and the people were generally prosperous.
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Wikipedia