Important figures and major historical events of the Ming Dynasty (table of major historical events of the Ming Dynasty)

In the Ming Dynasty, there were twelve emperors and sixteen emperors, and the state was appointed for 276 years (1368-1683). Among them, yingtianfu (now Nanjing) was the capital from 1368 to 1421, and shuntianfu (now Beijing) was the capital from 1421 to 1644.

At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the people were in dire straits, and the red scarf uprising broke out. Zhu Yuanzhang joined guozixing. In 1364, Zhu Yuanzhang was called the king of Wu and established the Western Wu. In 1368, Zhu Yuanzhang proclaimed himself Emperor and the country name was Daming. Because the royal family’s surname was Zhu, it was also called Zhu Ming, and the capital was located in Yingtian mansion; In 1420, Zhu Di moved his capital to shuntianfu and took yingtianfu as the accompanying capital. At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, it experienced the governance of Hong Wu, Yongle prosperity, Renxuan governance, etc., with clear politics and strong national strength. In the middle period, the change of civil engineering turned from prosperity to decline, and then the national power of Hongzhi Zhongxing, Jiajing Zhongxing and Wanli Zhongxing revived. In the late Ming Dynasty, the national strength declined due to the Donglin Party Struggle and natural disasters, and the peasant uprising broke out in the late Ming Dynasty. In 1644, when Li Zicheng invaded Beijing, Emperor Chongzhen hanged himself and died. The Ming Dynasty established the Nanming Dynasty in Jiangnan, and then the Qing Dynasty took advantage of the chaos and entered the pass to defeat the regimes of Dashun, Daxi, Hongguang, Longwu, Shaowu, etc; In 1662, Emperor Yongli was killed and Nanming perished. In 1683, the Qing army invaded and occupied Taiwan, and Ming Zheng, who was born in zhengshuo of the Ming Dynasty, ended.

The territory of the Ming Dynasty included the Han area, reaching the sea of Japan and the outer Xing’an Mountains in the northeast, and then shrinking into the Liaohe River Basin; Reaching the Gobi desert in the north and retreating to the great wall of Ming Dynasty; Northwest to Hami, Xinjiang, retreating to guard Jiayu pass; It is adjacent to the bay of Bengal in the southwest, and then turns back to about today’s Yunnan; It also set up a Jimi garrison in the Qinghai Tibet region and recovered Annan. The land area of the Ming Dynasty reached about 10million square kilometers. Some scholars believe that the Ming Dynasty is the golden age after the Han and Tang Dynasties, which is also known as the last prosperous age comparable to the Han and Tang Dynasties. Zhangtingyu and other officials in the Qing Dynasty wrote the history of the Ming Dynasty, which evaluated the Ming Dynasty as “governing the Tang and Song Dynasties” and “stepping far into the Han and Tang Dynasties”.

Chart of Ming emperors

1  Ming Taizu (Hongwu) – four major cases in the early Ming Dynasty (huweiyong case, Kong Yin case, Guo Huan case and Lanyu case)

The four major cases in the early Ming Dynasty, also known as the four major Hongwu cases, refer to the four famous events or massacres planned by Zhu Yuanzhang, the emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, in order to eliminate the people he thought were a threat to his court, rectify the administration of officials, and punish corruption in the early Ming Dynasty; They are: huweiyong case in the 13th year of Hongwu (1380), the “empty seal case” in the 9th or 15th year (1376 or 1382), Guohuan case in the 18th year (1385), and Lanyu case in the 26th year (1393). The case of huweiyong and Lanyu, commonly known as “the prison of Hu and LAN”, was a political event in which Zhu Yuanzhang killed the founding heroes, while the “empty seal case” and “Guo Huan case” were a large-scale crackdown on officials suspected of being greedy for ink. Zhu Yuanzhang went crazy in these cases and executed tens of thousands of people.

Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang

The huweiyong case, which occurred in the 13th year of Hongwu (1380), refers to the killing of prime minister huweiyong by Emperor Hongwu, and the subsequent massacre of meritorious heroes and generals. This case has a wide range of implications. There are six reasons why huweiyong was killed, Zhu Yuanzhang dismissed the prime minister and abolished the Central Secretariat. The crux of the Hu case was that he was too autocratic. Many important cases, such as killing and deposing Zhi, were handled without asking Zhu Yuanzhang for instructions. This naturally made Zhu Yuanzhang, who had a strong desire for power, deeply feel the crisis of the dictatorship of the prime minister and the fall of imperial power. Among them, lishanchang, the Grand Master of Korea, who ranked first among the “honourable ministers”, was exempted from prosecution because of the emperor Yuanxun’s relatives when the Hu Weiyong case started in the 13th year of Hongwu. However, 10 years later, some people accused lishanchang and Hu Weiyong of conspiring against each other. Zhu Yuanzhang pushed the boat along the river and beheaded more than 70 members of Li’s family.

The empty seal case occurred in the 15th year of Hongwu Period (1382, controversial or 1376) and was caused by blank official documents. At that time, Zhu Yuanzhang attached great importance to the case and killed hundreds of relevant officials. This case is actually an unjust case. However, its wide influence and wide range are rare.

In the Ming Dynasty, every year, every prefecture and county subordinate to the chief minister’s office had to send auditors to the capital’s household department to check the money, food and military supplies paid by the Yamen to the central government. All accounts must be completely consistent with the audit of the account department before settlement. If there is any discrepancy in any of these items, the re registration must be rejected, and the re registration must be completed with the seal of the original local authority. At that time, the traffic was not well developed and the journey was long. If it was necessary to send back the reconstruction, it would take a lot of time. Therefore, the officials who went to the Ministry of household affairs for review had prepared blank books with the seals covered in advance for use. This was originally a customary practice of the Yuan Dynasty (“in the Yuan Dynasty, the government first signed the text and then wrote it, which was called the ’empty seal’. Since the founding of the Yuan Dynasty, Hong Wu has not changed the” chronology of Chinese and foreign history “), and has never been explicitly prohibited; According to the Cambridge History of the Ming Dynasty in China, money and grain will be lost in the process of transportation, so the figures from the time of transportation to the time of receipt by the Ministry of household will not match. Officials can not predict in advance how much they have lost on the way. Only when the Ministry of household is about to declare can they know the difference. Therefore, officials in Beijing are used to filling in the actual number in the capital with blank printed documents. Zhu Yuanzhang, the emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, was furious when he learned about this. He thought it was a felony of bullying the monarch committed by officials in collusion with each other, so he ordered all relevant officials to be punished.

The Guohuan case occurred in the 18th year of Hongwu Period (1385). It has attracted worldwide attention because of its huge amount of money involved and its far-reaching impact on the economic field. In the 18th year of Hongwu (1385), Zhu Yuanzhang suspected that Li Yu and zhaoquande, the officials of the Department of political envoys and the Department of criminal investigation in Beiping, together with Guohuan, the Minister of household, and others, had committed fraud and embezzled official food, so he ordered to investigate and deal with it.

The Lanyu case, which occurred in the 26th year of Hongwu (1393), was a major political case in which Zhu Yuanzhang, the emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, repeatedly killed meritorious officials and generals under the pretext of Lanyu, the Duke of Liang. By taking advantage of the blue jade case, Zhu Yuanzhang completely eradicated the potential threat of Zhu Biao’s power to the monarchy after his death, and the general power was firmly controlled in his own hands.

2 Emperor Huidi of Ming Dynasty (Jianwen) – cut down the vassal system

In order to consolidate the imperial family, the emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty granted the imperial family as a vassal, each with a private escort army. For emperor Jianwen, most of the vassal kings were his uncles, and they had military power in the fiefs, so they were uneasy.

Ming Huidi zhuyunwen

When Emperor Jianwen was the grand grandson of the emperor, he asked Huang Zicheng, “all kings have strong troops. How illegal is it?” Zicheng replied that the military strength of the kings was not enough to resist the imperial court. After emperor Jianwen ascended the throne, he ordered the local civil and military officials of all kingdoms to listen to the control of the imperial court and adopt the policy of reducing vassals. He successively deposed the king of Zhou, the king of Xiang, the king of Qi, the king of Dai and the king of min. When deploying to deal with the oldest, most accomplished and most powerful Yan King Zhu Di, most of the advisers around emperor Jianwen lacked practical political experience, which led to the idea of preemptive strike by Yan king. After weighing his interests, Zhu Di set up a rebellion in Peiping, a fief, in July of the first year of Jianwen (1399). He marched towards the capital in the name of “Jingnan”.

3 Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty (Yongle) – set up the royal guards, East Hall and Zheng He’s seven voyages to the West

After the national situation was stable, in order to strengthen the monitoring of the ministers, Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty restored the royal guards that had been abandoned during the Hongwu Period. At the same time, Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty set up the East Hall Yamen to guard the internal ministers, which combined the power of the factory and the defense, and strengthened the autocratic rule.

In the 18th year of Yongle (1420), in order to suppress political opposition, Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty felt that the royal guards were not enough to achieve their goals, and decided to set up a new yamen called “dongjishi factory”, or “Dongchang” for short, which was located in the north of Dongan gate in Yanjing (today’s Beijing). (Dongchang Hutong, Dongcheng District, Beijing, is said to be the location of the former Dongchang.)

Ming Chengzu Zhu Di

The chief executive of the East Hall is the imperial Commissioner’s eunuch with the full title of eunuch in charge of the East Hall School, the governor of the imperial Commissioner, referred to as “Tidu East Hall” for short, and honored as “Chang Gong” or “supervisor”. At the beginning of the establishment, the eunuch of the Department of rites and the eunuch of the Department of rites and the eunuch of the Department of rites and the eunuch of the Department of rites and the eunuch of the Department of rites and the eunuch of the Department of rites and the eunuch of the Department of rites and the eunuch of the Department. The subordinate officials of the East Hall include one member of the thousand families who are responsible for punishing and one member of the hundred families who are responsible for punishing. The thousand families and one hundred families of the royal guards serve as the subordinate officials, and they are called tiexing officers. More than 40 officers, such as subordinate officers (called foremen, foremen and chief officers), and arresting officers (called chief officers and chief officers), are assigned by the royal guards.

During the reign of emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty, in order to carry out foreign exchanges, expand the influence of the Ming Dynasty, and establish the legitimacy of his accession to the throne, from the third year of Yongle, Zhu Di sent Sanbao eunuch Zhenghe (initially named Ma Sanbao) to lead his fleet to the West for six times (the seventh time was in the Xuande period of Emperor Xuanzong of the Ming Dynasty). More than 30 countries he visited became a great event in the early Ming Dynasty. Yongle sent envoys to the DPRK in more than 30 countries.

4 Mingrenzong (Hongxi) – the rule of Renxuan

The rule of benevolence and Xuanzong Zhu gaochi and Xuanzong Zhu Zhanji of the Ming Dynasty adopted the loose policies of governing the country and caring for the people, such as yangshiqi, Yangpu, Yangrong (three yang), xiayuanji and Jian Yi, the senior scholars of the cabinet, which made their eleven years in office (1424-1435) an era of clear official governance, economic development and social stability in the history of the Ming Dynasty.

Mingren Zong Zhu gaochi

After the death of Zhu Di, the emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty, the crown prince Zhu gaochi became the emperor. He was Renzong and changed the Yuan Dynasty to Hongxi. During the reign of emperor Renzong, “stop buying, redress wrongs, pay tribute to each property, and share the benefits with the people.” he pardoned the old ministers of Emperor Huizong and the families of officials who were exiled to the border when Emperor Chengzu was sitting down. In the Hongxi Dynasty, only one year later, Renzong died of illness. His crown prince Zhu Zhanji ascended the throne for Xuanzong and changed the Yuan Dynasty to Xuande. Xuanzong’s personal expedition calmed the rebellion of Zhu gaoxu, the king of Han Dynasty, calmed the king of Zhao, and stabilized the domestic situation.

In the history of the Ming Dynasty, the Qing Dynasty revised the history of the Ming Dynasty, saying that Ren Xuan’s rule was: “the officials are competent, the politics are clean, the principles and disciplines are strict, the warehouses are always full, the people live and work in peace and contentment, and they can save themselves from disasters. This governance is a prosperous era that the Ming Dynasty encountered 60 years after the founding of the country. People’s morale has been gradually relaxed, and the whole dynasty also has the atmosphere of peace and stability on a steaming day.” Gu Yingtai, a scholar, also compared the rule of Renxuan with the rule of Chengkang in the Zhou Dynasty and the rule of Wenjing in the Han Dynasty.

5 Xuanzong of Ming Dynasty (Xuande) – Sanyang assistant administrator

It is the collective name of yangshiqi, Yangrong and Yangpu, the three important ministers surnamed Yang from Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty to Yingzong of the Ming Dynasty. They are all the founders of the rule of benevolence and propaganda, and yangshiqi and Yangrong are one of the founders of the Yongle prosperous age. At the beginning of the reign of emperor Yingzong of the Ming Dynasty, the three of them were supported by the Empress Dowager Zhang, so they were able to continue the rule of benevolence and xuanzhi. Later, when Emperor Yingzong of the Ming Dynasty came into power, three Yang died one after another, and the imperial court was gradually controlled by his inner Minister Wang Zhen.

Ming Xuanzong zhuzhanji

Yangshiqi (1365-1444), who was named Yu and named Shiqi, was named Dongli with the title of Wen Zhen. He was born in Taihe Prefecture, Ji’an Road, Jiangxi Province (now Taihe County, Jiangxi Province) in Jiangxi Province. The chief assistant of the cabinet of the Ming Dynasty, the Minister of the Ministry of war and the grand scholar of the huagaidian hall, together with Yangrong and Yangpu, are called “Three Yang”, and are one of the founders of the Yongle prosperous age and the rule of benevolence and propaganda. After Emperor Xuanzong of the Ming Dynasty ascended the throne, he worked as president to compile the true records of emperor Mingren.

6 Ming Yingzong (orthodox / Tianshun) – the change of tuibao

The change of Tu Tu fort, also known as the change of Tu Tu or the change of Ji Si, refers to the incident that took place in August of the 14th year of orthodoxy of the Ming Dynasty (1449), when the emperor Yingzong of the Ming Dynasty drove an imperial expedition to Zhuqi Town, but the northern expedition to Wala was defeated and captured. It happened in tuibao in Huailai County, Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province. Ying Zong was captured and imprisoned in the north. Therefore, historians of the Ming Dynasty taboo this event as Beishou in historical books. The change of tuibao is a landmark event that the foreign policy of the Ming Dynasty began to change from offensive to defensive.

Zhuqi Town, Yingzong of Ming Dynasty

More than half of the Ming army was killed or wounded in the first battle of tuibao. The elite of the Beijing army was destroyed and many generals and important officials died. Eunuch Xining surrendered. In order to curry favor, he first disclosed the information of the Ming Dynasty to vara. At the end of September of the 14th year of the Ming Dynasty (1449), at the suggestion of Xining, he led the army to coerce the Yingzong to invade the south again in the name of “returning to the emperor”. The Ming Dynasty encountered a serious crisis not seen in the more than 80 years since the founding of the country. The news of Yingzong’s defeat and capture reached Beijing. In order to stabilize the situation, the court officials jointly asked the Empress Dowager to make zhuqiyu, the younger brother of Yingzong, emperor, and remotely respect the captured Zhuqi town of Yingzong of the Ming Dynasty as the supreme emperor. In the Ming Dynasty, Yu Qian, the Minister of the Ministry of war, was ordered to lead his army against the Warsaw army attacking Beijing, which triggered a battle to defend the capital. The change of civil engineering weakened the border defense force of the Ming Dynasty. Since then, the Ming Dynasty no longer expanded its territory by a large margin, but built the Great Wall by a large margin to strengthen the northern border defense.

The war weakened the national strength of the Ming Dynasty and became a turning point from the early heyday to the middle period of Shoucheng.

7 Emperor Zong (Jingtai) of Ming Dynasty – the change of seizing the gate

The change of seizing the gate, also known as the restoration of seizing the gate and the restoration of the Nangong palace, was a coup in the first month of the eighth year (1457) of the reign of Emperor Zhu Qiyu Jingtai of the Ming Dynasty. The supreme Emperor Zhu Qi successfully restored the town and regained the throne. In the 14th year of orthodoxy (1449), the civil castle was changed. The emperor Yingzong of the Ming Dynasty was captured by Wala. His younger brother zhuqiyu was elected as emperor by ministers. He was named emperor Jingdi of the Ming Dynasty (known as Dai Zong in the Southern Ming Dynasty) and changed to Jingtai of the Yuan Dynasty. Empress Dowager sun also asked emperor Jing to establish Zhu Jianshen, the two-year-old son of Yingzong, as the crown prince after he ascended the throne, indicating that the throne of the Ming Dynasty was still inherited by Yingzong.

Zhu Qiyu, Zong of Ming Dynasty

In the first month of the eighth year of Jingtai (1457), zhuqiyu was seriously ill. On the 16th night, Shi Heng, xuyouzhen and other ministers led more than 1000 soldiers to attack the Forbidden City, smashed open the gate of the Nangong palace, and took Yingzong straight to the Donghua gate. The gate keeper did not open the door. Ying Zong came forward and said, “I am the supreme emperor.” The samurai had to open the gate.

At dawn, when the ministers arrived at the “Fengtian hall”, they saw Yingzong sitting on the Dragon chair. Xuyouzhen shouted, “the supreme emperor is reset.” It is called “the change of seizing the gate” or “the restoration of Nangong” in history.

After the restoration of Yingzong, zhuqiyu was moved to the West Palace and died soon.

8 Xianzong of Ming Dynasty (Chenghua) – Wang Zhi is good at government

Zhu Jianshen, Emperor Xianzong of the Ming Dynasty (December 9, 1447 to September 9, 1487), or Chenghua emperor, was originally named Zhu Jianshen and later renamed Zhu Jianru. He was the eldest son of emperor Yingzong of the Ming Dynasty and the ninth emperor of the Ming Dynasty. The emperor Xianzong of the Ming Dynasty reigned for 23 years, during which he restored the title of his uncle zhuqiyu and rehabilitated Yu Qian and other loyal officials. In his early years, he worked hard to rule the country and was compassionate with the people. He appointed Li Xian, Shang Yun, Peng Shi and other virtuous officials, which was popular at that time; In terms of military affairs, it has made a lot of achievements in rectifying the military administration, calming the bandits in Jingxiang and the barbarians in Southwest China, resisting the tartar Nuzhen, recovering Hetao and managing Hami. However, Wanshi, the favorite of emperor Xianzong, Wang Zhi, LiangFang, Wan’an and other eunuchs and treacherous ministers in their middle and late years, also expanded the “imperial villa” to occupy land, which made the politics of the Ming Dynasty worse. The Chenghua Dynasty was a period of outstanding literary and martial arts achievements in the Ming Dynasty since Renxuan. However, the coexisting malpractice had to be said to have some shortcomings. His posthumous title is “jitianning, Daocheng, Mingren, respectful of literature and martial arts, Hongde, shengxiaochun emperor.”

Zhu Jianshen, Emperor Xianzong of Ming Dynasty

The period when eunuch Wang Zhi controlled and disturbed the imperial government through the West Hall. Although Wang Zhi’s good governance did not lead to the danger of subversion of the Ming regime as Wang Zhen’s good governance did, it opened a precedent for eunuchs to collude with court officials through the police spy system. In the first month of the 13th year of Chenghua, Emperor Xianzong officially set up the West Factory and appointed eunuch Wang Zhi to spy on the affairs outside the court. In February of the 13th year of Chenghua, Wang Zhi’s confidant, Wei Ying, a hundred families of the royal guards, said that Yang Ye, the great grandson of Yang Rong, had a huge amount of money. He often killed people and would be recruited to flee to the sea. Wang Zhifa commanded Yang Ye in Fujian Province. His words implicated yangshiwei, the head of the military headquarters, and Dong Yu, the Secretary of the Chinese Academy, both of whom were sent to prison and were on the verge of death. Wei Ying and his family.

In March, Li Bin, the imperial governor of zuodou, sat down and executed those who intended to make false accusations. At that time, the flag School of the West Hall wanted to reward officials for catching the rumours, and a large number of people were arrested and killed unjustly. In April of the same year, Wang Zhiling ordered Wei Ying to arrest General Secretary Zuo, general secretary Fang Xian, and the Taiyuan hospital to sentence Jiang Zongwu to Xichang prison; At that time, the Minister of rites, Zhang tingwang, a passer-by, sent an envoy to Annan to return, the Minister of punishment, Wu Qing, returned from the Guangxi survey, and the Zhejiang political envoy liufuqi returned to the capital. Wang Zhi ordered Wei Ying to arrest them. The imperial historian Huang Ben was returned by the Qing army in Yunnan and Guizhou. Wang Zhiling ordered Wei Ying to search for an elephant wat. He was arrested and sent to the royal guards. He was demoted to the people.

9 Ming Xiaozong (Hongzhi) – Hongzhi Zhongxing

Hongzhi and Zhongxing was the Chengping period during the reign of the Ming Xiaozong in the Ming Dynasty. During the reign of emperor Xiaozong of the Ming Dynasty, Hongzhi was taken as the year title. According to the records in the history of the Ming Dynasty revised by the Qing Dynasty, Zhu Youzhu was born in a slight cold when he was young. Therefore, during his reign, he “renewed the common government and opened up his way of speaking”, making a change in the situation in which crafty people have been in power since the Chenghua Dynasty. The emperor Xiaozong of the Ming Dynasty is known as “the commander of ZTE”. In the history of the Ming Dynasty, the Qing Dynasty also used the words “respectfully inspecting benevolence and loving the people” to describe the Ming Xiaozong. However, some scholars pointed out that these words are praising words, and the so-called “ZTE” is rather over praised. After the emperor Xiaozong of the Ming Dynasty ascended the throne, he began to rectify the administration of officials. In the cabinet, he dismissed the “paper paste three cabinet elders” headed by Wan’an, a foreign relative, to crack down on the evil forces at that time. He appointed officials such as Wang Shu, Huaien, mawensheng, Xupu, Liu Jian, Xie Qian, lidongyang and other virtuous officials; Yu Qian, who also made great contributions to the fight against Wala, built the Jinggong temple, which was called the Chaoxu Qingning temple at that time.

Zhuyouyu, Emperor Xiaozong of Ming Dynasty

The historian wangqiqing pointed out that if we make a careful study of the political accumulation of the emperor Xiaozong of the Ming Dynasty, we will find that the so-called “ZTE” is too much praise, but it has corrected some wrong practices of the emperor Xianzong of the Ming Dynasty, removed the accumulated disadvantages of Chenghua for many years, made no new achievements, and failed to touch the root of the growing social, political and economic contradictions.

10 Ming Wuzong (Zhengde) – rebellion of King Ning

The rebellion of the king of Ning, also known as the rebellion of Zhu Chenhao or the rebellion of Chen Hao, indicates that the rebellion launched by the king of Ning Zhu Chenhao in Nanchang in the 14th year of Zhengde of Wu Zong (1519) spread to the north of Jiangxi and the southwest of nanzhili (now the North of Jiangxi and the south of Anhui), and was finally pacified by the governor of Southern Jiangxi Wang Shouren (Wang Yangming) and the magistrate of Ji’an Wu wending. Zhu Chenhao, the king of Ning, was captured in the battle of Poyang Lake and executed in Tongzhou. Ning fan was also removed.

Zhuhouzhao, Emperor Wu of Ming Dynasty

At that time, WangShouRen, the governor of Southern Jiangxi Province and the censor of the capital of the ducha academy, heard of the change, and communicated to the prefects of Ji’an, wuwending, to raise troops to serve the king. WangShouRen used tricks to confuse Zhu Chenhao, so that Zhu Chenhao thought the imperial court was already on guard and ordered his army not to move in Nanchang, so as to buy time for the gathering of troops. On July 3, zhuchenhao found out that he had fallen into the trap and led his army to besiege Anqing. However, the defenders resisted in Anqing. At this time, WangShouRen took advantage of the emptiness in the rear of King Ning and captured Nanchang on the 20th. On hearing the news, King Ning hurried back to Nanchang. WangShouRen also decided to take advantage of the victory and fight a decisive battle with zhuchenhao in Poyang Lake.

In August, WangShouRen’s victory report had not yet reached Beijing. The emperor Wuzong of the Ming Dynasty claimed to “capture the powerful General Zhu Shou” and led more than 10000 officers and soldiers to the South on August 22. When he arrived in Zhuozhou, Wang Shouren received a good report, but Wu Zong of the Ming Dynasty was still bent on the southern expedition. The eunuch zhangzhongjiangbin and others even suggested that Zhu Chenhao be put back and let Wu Zongsheng capture him to show his authority. Later, he gave up because of this. In December, zhuchenhao was taken to Nanjing. But Wuzong did not return to the dynasty until October of the following year. In December, Wu Zong executed Zhu Chenhao in Tongzhou and took advantage of the situation to remove the vassal of King Ning.

11 Ming Shizong (Jiajing) – Dali discussion

Daliyi was a political struggle caused by Emperor Jiajing, Emperor Shizong of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu houbing, who wanted to offer the title of King zhuyouxi for his biological father during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty. It took place shortly after emperor Jiajing ascended the throne. At that time, there were contradictions between emperor Jiajing and the old Zhengde ministers headed by Yang Tinghe and Mao Cheng. The ministers believed that emperor Jiajing inherited the throne of Emperor Wu Zong of the Ming Dynasty and should respect Xiaozong, the father of Wu Zong. Therefore, they asked emperor Jiajing to admit that he was passed on to Emperor Xiaozong of the Ming Dynasty and to recognize Xiaozong as his heir father. However, Emperor Jiajing only recognized Xiaozong as his uncle, which led to a struggle over who was the emperor of Shizong (that is, the father in the sense of patriarchy) and the question of imperial legitimacy of the father of Shizong.

The grand ceremony lasted three years (1521-1524) and ended with the victory of emperor Jiajing by imposing imperial power. In September of the 17th year of Jiajing (1538), the imperial court held a meeting to honor his biological father zhuyouyi as emperor ruizongxian, who was in the Taimiao temple and renamed his mausoleum Xianling. All the officials of the opposing side were dismissed from their posts.

Mingshizong zhuhouxi

At last, the grand ceremony ended with the high pressure of emperor Jiajing’s monarchy, which established that emperor Jiajing had full wings, and realized how to exercise the supreme majesty of imperial power from the process of the ceremony, and then became dictatorial. If you meet a minister who doesn’t agree with you, you will be sent to prison. The great rites strengthened and established emperor Jiajing’s autocracy of imperial power, which contributed to Emperor Jiajing’s headstrong political style.

The great ceremony discussion made the argumentative rites “express themselves in a few words”. Because they catered to Emperor Jiajing, they rose from lower level officials to the first and second level officials and the six ministers, making the court officials see the benefits of honoring the monarch. Emperor Jiajing also restricted other powerful officials through these ministers. Seventeen years after Jiajing, nine of the 14 assistant ministers in the cabinet of the Ming Dynasty, such as Xu Jie, gudingchen, Yan ne, Xia Yan, Guo Pu, Yan Song, Yuan Wei, Gao Gong, lichunfang, etc., started their careers by writing Taoist youth poems.

12 Ming muzong (Longqing) – Longqing New Deal

The new deal of Longqing was the Chengping period during the reign of Zhu Zaidi, the emperor Mu Zong of the Ming Dynasty. During his reign, Longqing was taken as the year title. Zhu Zaidi had lived in the vassal mansion outside the palace before he ascended the throne, so he had a better understanding of the people’s conditions and had no doubt about the employment of people. He wrote Xu Jie, Gao Gong, Zhang Juzheng, Yang Bo, and Wu Tan Lun, Wang Chonggu, Qijiguang, and lichengliang. During this period, the society was relatively stable and the economy was better than that of the Jiajing Dynasty, so later historians called it the Longqing new deal.

Zhu Zaidi, muzong of the Ming Dynasty

In the first year of Longqing (1567), Emperor Mu Zong of the Ming Dynasty announced the abolition of the sea ban, adjusted the overseas trade policy, and allowed private people to sell both the East and the west, known as the “Longqing switch” in history. Private overseas trade has gained legal status, and private overseas trade in southeast coastal areas has entered a climax. A more comprehensive opening situation has emerged in the Ming Dynasty. According to the analysis of Chinese scholar wangyuxun, from the first year of Longqing (1567) to the seventeenth year of Chongzhen (1644), the total amount of silver flowing into Daming from abroad was about 330million Liang, equivalent to one third of the total amount of silver produced in the world at that time.

13 Mingshenzong (Wanli) – Wanli’s indolence

Wanli’s political laziness refers to the phenomenon of political laziness during the reign of the Ming Shenzong in the Ming Dynasty. Ming Shenzong’s long-term political inaction was mainly in the middle and late period of his reign. Because he was discouraged by political affairs, and he was unable to deal with political affairs after a long illness, it resulted in his 30-year political inaction. Decades of neglect of government led to the relaxation of the government affairs of the Ming Dynasty. While the Nvzhen nationality rose and occupied the territory of the northeast of the Ming Dynasty and expanded its power, the Shenzong of the Ming Dynasty still said that it was unable to go to the court, which was one of the reasons for the gradual extinction of the Ming Dynasty.

Ming Shenzong zhuyijun

In the 10th year of Wanli (1582), when Zhang Juzheng died, Shenzong got rid of his shackles and began to take power. In addition, Shenzong also carried out political liquidation. Feng Bao was the first to be copied. Zhang Juzheng was convicted two years after his death and was also copied. ZhangJuzheng’s son, zhangjingxiu, hanged himself and died. The imperial court only left an empty house and 10 hectares of thin farmland for Zhang Juzheng’s mother.

The most harmful one is the “mineral tax”. Shenzong has successively sent several internal supervisors to collect mineral tax, which is almost all over China. Although it is collectively called mineral tax, it is actually far from limited to mining. There are salt supervisors in Huaihe and Zhujiang in Guangdong, which disturbs the people.

Because Shenzong did not go to the court, the lack of officials was very serious. In the thirtieth year of Wanli (1602), there were three ministers and ten ministers in the northern and southern capitals; There are three governors, sixty-six political envoys, and twenty-five prefects in various regions. Yexianggao once said, “there are five people in the six divisions, and the metropolitan Investigation Institute came to the air space Department.” And “those who have been waiting for a long time have been in Chang’an for two or three years. In recent months, they have been traveling to eat in Chang’an. They have no job. They are sad to use them. It is appropriate to go immediately when it is clear that there is a peaceful government.” The Shenzong was forced to settle at the top, and the hundred officials fought at the bottom. The government was completely in idle. Therefore, the history of the Ming Dynasty said: “the death of the Ming Dynasty is actually the death of the Shenzong.”

During the Wanli emperor’s dereliction of power, he was able to command the Ming army eastward and participated in two Wanli Korean battles. The Han and Korean allied forces defeated the Japanese, enabling Korea to preserve the country and avoid the great danger of national subjugation and genocide. Although the Koreans have deep feelings for the Wanli emperor, in the records of the Korean Envoys, they are more critical of Wanli emperor’s negative dereliction of power, greed and luxury. The image of Wanli emperor created by Korean Envoys also reflects the transformation of Korean collective imagination of Chinese society after the middle of the Ming Dynasty. The image of the Ming Empire has gradually faded from the “fanatical Utopia” created by Korea in the early stage to the declining image of “pedantic power”.

14 Mingguangzong (Taichang) – Donglin Party Struggle

The Donglin Party Struggle refers to the struggle between the Donglin Party and the non Donglin Party in the late Ming Dynasty, “those who say things will govern according to their own interests, and the ruling day and the branches will end in the Ming Dynasty.” The Donglin Party was a political group dominated by scholars and bureaucrats in the south of the Yangtze River in the late Ming Dynasty. In addition to the Donglin Party, there are the Zhejiang party, the Qi party, the Chu party, the Kun party, the Xuan party, etc., collectively referred to as the non Donglin Party. The Donglin Party dispute is almost a dispute between the Donglin Party and the national non Donglin Party group.

Mingguangzong zhuchangluo

In Wanli era, there was a shadow of the Donglin Party struggle from the national base dispute, the demon book case, the three cases in the late Ming Dynasty and the Beijing Chahar dispute. In the 32nd year of Wanli (1604), guxiancheng, a doctor from Wuxi, was dismissed from office because he had offended the emperor. He began to give lectures with gaopanlong, Qian yiben and others at the Donglin Academy in Wuxi, where Yang Zhongli gave lectures in the Song Dynasty. He advocated that “knowledge should assist the master”, “respect reality and detract from emptiness”, “knowledge should not be empty talk, but practice should be valued”, “knowledge must be practiced to be beneficial”, and “in addition to lectures, he often satirized the government and judged people”, He often talked with people in the academy about the imperial government and attacked eunuchs. They gradually formed an opposition group, known as the “Donglin Party”. According to the biography of sun piyang in the history of the Ming Dynasty, “the northern and southern officials attacked Li Sancai, Wang Yuanhan, and even guxiancheng, who lived in the same house, and called them the ‘Donglin Party’.” They advocated opening up their ways of speaking and improving current politics, which was widely supported, and was fiercely opposed by courtiers and eunuchs. At the same time, Shen, a native of Ningbo, Zhejiang, always gathered Zhejiang bureaucrats in Beijing to form the opposition of the Donglin Party, which was called the “Zhejiang party”. The “Chu party” mainly composed of Hubei officials Ying Zhen and Wu Liangsi, and the “Qi party” of Shandong poetry education are all attached to the Zhejiang party. Other parties formed by geographical relations include the “Xuan party” and the “Kun party”, which are collectively known as the “Qi Chu zhe party”. The Qi Chu Zhejiang party and the Donglin Party attacked each other, even harmed the border military, which was a “Donglin Party Struggle”.

15 Ming Xizong (Apocalypse) – WeiZhongxian was good at politics

WeiZhongxian (February 27, 1568 – December 11, 1627), formerly known as Wei Si, was renamed lijinzhong after he entered the palace. After the palace was moved, he was changed back to the Wei surname. Emperor Tianqi gave him the name Zhongxian and the word wuwan. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, Chinese eunuchs (NEI Xie) were called Wei Xie. People from Suning County, Zhili (now Suning County, Cangzhou, Hebei Province) broke out a fierce Donglin Party struggle with Donglin Party members during the Apocalypse period, and drew Qi, Chu and Zhejiang party officials to join their side, which was to eunuch the party. After he ascended the throne, Emperor Chongzhen was purged, exiled, and committed suicide. Emperor Chongzhen was still angry, and his body was lingchi.

Zhuyouxiao, Emperor Xizong of Ming Dynasty

WeiZhongxian was born on the 30th day of the first month of the second year of Longqing (February 27th, 1568). He was a left-handed man. When he was young, he was poor and wandered in the streets. He was illiterate, but he was proficient in archery, knew how to ride a horse, liked gambling, was obsessed with drinking and whoring, and was fond of laughing with people. People call him a “fool”. In fact, he has his own decision, but he likes suspicion and flattery. Later, forced by gambling debts, he had to abandon his wife and sell his daughter. He saw that the eunuch was lavish in the amusement park and decided to become a eunuch in the palace. According to legend, WeiZhongxian only took the knife from the palace when he was beaten by someone chasing for money in the casino. According to unofficial history, the knife only cut clothes. Therefore, he is still a sound man. Because he is familiar with the beauty of the harem, he can accommodate himself.

After entering the palace, he changed his name to lijinzhong. Make friends with the eunuch Wang an in the palace and get his help. Later, I got to know Zhu you, the eldest grandson of the emperor, and met his mother, the Hakka family. To the emperor’s eldest grandson, he did all he could to flatter him, enticed him to have a feast, and won his favor.

In the first year of Taichang (1620), Zhu Youxiao ascended the throne for Xizong, bestowed a name of loyalty and virtue, and was promoted to eunuch BingBi (the actual work was wangtiqian). WeiZhongxian formed a political alliance with the emperor’s nursing mother, the Hakka family, and thus was highly favored by the emperor. He was called “ninethousay” (meaning that he was above the prince who was called “thousand years old” and close to the emperor who was called “long live”. Some people simply called him “ninethousand ninethousand” and “raised the court to flatter those who were obedient but worshipped as godfathers, worshipped five times and kowtowed three times, and called him a ninethousand year old grandfather.” He also raised many adopted children among the people, such as five tigers, five pumas, ten dogs, ten children, and forty grandchildren. From the cabinet, the six ministries to the governors and governors of the four directions, there were many close friends. In its heyday, officials everywhere flattered him and set up ancestral halls for him. Panruzhen, the governor of Zhejiang Province, was the first to propose to build a ancestral hall.

In the seventh year of the Apocalypse (1627), Xizong was critically ill. On August 23, Xizong died without a son. He was ordered to be succeeded by his younger brother zhuyoujian, who was named Chongzhen. Soon after, Jiaxing Gongsheng qianjiazheng impeached WeiZhongxian for ten crimes: Emperor Yidi; 2. To despise the empress; Three lane soldiers; Four have no two ancestors; Five grams cut off the fief; 6. No sainthood; Qi LAN Jue; Eight edge covering skills; 9 hurting the people property; Cross joint. Chongzhen summoned WeiZhongxian to the hall and ordered eunuchs to read out Qian Jiazheng’s memorial in public. Zhongxian looked pale and asked Xu YingYuan, an old eunuch beside the emperor, to intercede with him. Xu persuaded him to resign, so Zhongxian asked for permission to resign.

On November 1 of the same year, Zhongxian was ordered to visit the royal family’s ancestral tombs in Fengyang. On his way to Fengyang, WeiZhongxian still kept a group of outlaws. Chongzhen was so angry that he ordered the royal guards to arrest him and take him back to the capital for trial. When liyongzhen learned the news, she immediately sent a secret report to WeiZhongxian. Knowing that he could not escape death, WeiZhongxian drank with his partner lizhaoqin at the Youshi hotel in Nanguan, Fucheng until the fourth watch, and finally hanged himself. According to records, a scholar stayed at WeiZhongxian’s hotel that night and wrote a song to ridicule WeiZhongxian, prompting him to commit suicide.

After Zhongxian’s body was dug out, he was cut to pieces. Sizong ordered the investigation of the “case of castrating the party”. A total of six accomplices in the first rebellion were found, including nearly 19 associates, 11 associates, 35 criminals in the rebel army, 15 criminals who flatter and support the army, 128 associates, 44 worshippers in the temple, a total of 258 people, and 57 people who got caught in the net, a total of 315 people. Zhongxian’s mistress Hakka and Zhongxian’s nephew weiliangqing were both killed.

16 Emperor Sizong of the Ming Dynasty (Chongzhen) – hanged himself and died in the country

Emperor Chongzhen was the fifth son of Mingguang sect and the different mother and brother of Mingxi sect. At the age of five, his mother, Liu, was convicted and ordered to be killed by the emperor Guangzong, who was then the prince. Zhu Youqian was brought up by his concubine, Xi Li. Several years later, he was raised by another concubine, Dong Li. In the second year of the Apocalypse (1622), he was canonized as king Xin by his elder brother Ming Xizong. The emperor Xizong of the Ming Dynasty died on August 22, the seventh year of the Apocalypse (September 30, 1627 A.D.). As he had no children, Zhu Youqian was ordered to ascend the throne by Ding Si (October 3, 1627) on the 24th day of the same month at the age of 18. The next year, the yuan was changed to Chongzhen.

Mingsizong zhuyoujian

Emperor Chongzhen worked hard all his life, reading memorials day and night, thrifty and self disciplined, not close to women. During the reign of Chongzhen, compared with Wanli and apocalypse, the imperial politics had changed significantly. At the beginning of his accession to the throne, he made great efforts to eradicate the eunuch party. He issued an imperial edict six times to condemn himself. He regretted that he was suspicious by nature and could not save the declining Ming Dynasty. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the civil uprising continued, and the post Jin regime outside the pass was eyeing covetously, and it was already in a situation of domestic and foreign troubles. In the 17th year of Chongzhen (1644), the Jiashen uprising took place. Li Zicheng broke through Beijing. Emperor Chongzhen hanged himself in a tree in Meishan. He was 35 years old (33 years old) and reigned for 17 years.

In the 17th year of Chongzhen (1644), at dawn on March 19, fires broke out everywhere, and there were already flames reflected in the sky outside the city. At this time, it was about to dawn. Chongzhen rang the bell in the front hall to summon all the officials, but no one came. Emperor Chongzhen said, “all the officials mistook me, and the emperor died in the country. Once the world was abandoned for 277 years, it was all mistakenly done by the treacherous officials.” Finally, he hanged himself on the Jingshan old crooked neck tree. When he died, he wore his left foot and his right foot in a red shoe. He died on March 19 at the age of 33.