In February of the third year of Xuande, Emperor Xuanzong of Ming issued an edict deposing Empress Hu Shanxiang and crowning the imperial concubine Sun Shi as empress. Hu Shanxiang then retired to Chang'an Palace, gave him the title of "Jing Ci Immortal Master", and began his posthumous career in depression.
Hu Shanxiang's dethronement caused an uproar in the government and the public. People at the time were very sympathetic to her plight, and even Empress Zhang felt that Xuanzong's move was a bit excessive, and she was very pitiful to Hu Shanxiang, and often invited her to the palace every three to five minutes. In the event of a banquet or a large celebration in the palace, Empress Zhang also asked Hu Shanxiang to sit above Empress Sun.
Even The protagonist of the concoction, Xuanzong Zhu Zhanji, showed remorse when he mentioned the incident many years later. He once said to his ministers self-deprecatingly, "This is a juvenile affair. "Meaning, this is something I did when I was younger, and it was a cross-cutting voice that revealed the chagrin of handling this matter too hastily.
(Hu Shanxiang stills)
So, why was Hu Shanxiang deposed? Why did her dethronement receive universal sympathy?
This matter must start from before Zhu Zhanji took the throne.
Zhu Zhanji (朱瞻基), grandson of Emperor Mingcheng (明成祖朱棣) and the eldest son of Emperor Akihito's Zhu Gaozi (朱高纓嫡). Legend has it that when Zhu Zhanji was born, Zhu Di dreamed that the grandfather Zhu Yuanzhang gave him a great gui and instructed: "The descendants of the heirs will live forever." ”
After Zhu Di saw Zhu Zhanji, Long Yan was overjoyed, and immediately decided that he was the successor of Daming Jiangshan, and from then on he took good care of him.
Zhu Di hesitated on the issue of Li Chu, and he did not see Zhu Gaozi's personality as too gentle. In addition, Zhu Gaozi was physically weak, and even had to be supported when he walked, so he planned to choose another talent. But he never made up his mind.
Therefore, Zhu Di asked the Cabinet University Scholar Xie Jin on this issue.
Xie Jin pondered Zhu Di's thoughts and replied, "The Emperor's eldest son, Ren Xiaoxiao, the world returns to his heart." ”
Zhu Di was silent.
Xie Jin then said, "Good Saint Sun! Zhu Di immediately nodded his head in approval, and in the second year of Yongle, zhu Gaozi was made crown prince. Just a few years later, Zhu Zhanji was made the emperor's grandson.
(Zhu Gaozi stills)
In this way, Zhu Gaozi successfully ascended to the throne by virtue of Zhu Di's love for Zhu Zhanji, and Zhu Zhanji immediately became the crown prince. I didn't expect that in just one year, Zhu Gaozi would die and become a short-lived emperor.
In 1425, Zhu Zhanji succeeded to the throne and became the fifth emperor of The Ming Dynasty. As a crown princess, Hu Shanxiang also became the empress of the main palace.
However, she only sat in the empress position for 3 years before she was deposed by Zhu Zhanji with an edict.
Hu Shanxiang was elected empress dowager in 1418. She has a gentle personality, a knowledgeable and virtuous personality. After marriage, Hu Shanxiang was once favored by Zhu Zhanji, and he also especially attracted the likes of Empress Zhang, and his life was full of taste.
But there were still two things that made Hu Shanxiang feel upset.
First, Hu Shanxiang routinely advised Zhu Zhanji to have less fun and to study more so that he could inherit the unification in the future. But Zhu Zhanji seemed to turn a deaf ear to this, and thought she was too wordy.
The second is that her stomach has not responded. Zhu Zhanji was the heir to the imperial throne, and as his own wife, he should have given birth to a son for him as soon as possible, so that there would be someone to succeed him in the future. But if you are weak, you just can't get pregnant.
On the other hand, sun is as beautiful as a flower, "young and beautiful", which is very pleasing to Zhu Zhanji. More importantly, Sun's personality is lively, and when he sees Zhu Zhanji, he will smile all over his face, and everything will follow his wishes, and he will not forcefully persuade him to play less with moths and other actions.
(Zhu Zhanji stills)
When Zhu Zhanji succeeded to the throne as emperor, Hu Shanxiang's worries grew day by day. Hu Shanxiang was made empress, and Sun Guifei was immediately crowned as an imperial concubine. Moreover, Zhu Zhanji also gave Sun Guifei Jinbao. This is obviously unreasonable, because according to the etiquette system, a noble concubine cannot have a golden treasure, only the empress can be given a golden treasure, and there is no such thing as an "imperial concubine", which shows Zhu Zhanji's favor for Sun Guifei.
Finally, one thing became the last straw that crushed Empress Hu.
In November of the second year of Xuande, Sun Guifei gave birth to a crown prince, later Emperor Yingzong Zhu Qizhen. This is undoubtedly great news for Zhu Zhanji, who is 30 years old, and means that the Ming Dynasty has finally had a successor. But for Empress Hu, this almost ended her posthumous career.
Sure enough, soon after the birth of the crown prince, the ministers played Zhu Zhanji one after another, and in accordance with the etiquette system of "having a concubine and not having a concubine", as soon as possible, the son of Sun Guifei was appointed as the crown prince. Zhu Zhanji was overjoyed in his heart, but he also understood that in this way, there would be no foothold for Empress Hu in the palace.
Therefore, after consulting with the ministers, Zhu Zhanji made Zhu Qizhen, who was only 4 months old, as crown prince in February of the third year of Xuanzong. A few days later, Yang Shiqi, a cabinet scholar, asked to meet With Empress Hu. After hesitating, Yang Shiqi still explained his intentions. He told Hu Shanxiang that the emperor meant that she take the initiative to give up the throne to Sun Guifei.
Hu Shanxiang, who has a weak personality and a kind heart, blames all the faults on himself. She knew that it was her greatest responsibility not to be able to bear a prince for the emperor. So she took the initiative to take responsibility and submitted the adenosion form.
In March of the third year of Xuande, Zhu Zhanji issued an edict and crowned Emperor Sun's concubine as empress. Hu Shanxiang, on the other hand, retired to the palace, and the honorific titles, services, and attendants were all business as usual. After the edict was proclaimed, "the whole world hears it and has mercy." ”
After Hu Shanxiang abdicated, he learned that Sun Guifei's son was not Sun Guifei's own son, but "Yin took the son of the palace as his own son". But it was too late, not to mention Hu Shanxiang's personality, even if she knew the inside story, she would not make unnecessary moves.
In October of the seventh year of orthodoxy, Empress Zhang died, and Hu Shanxiang's thoughts were all gray, and he followed the empress dowager the following year. Although the ministers played Zhu Zhanji and hoped to bury Hu Shanxiang according to the empress's etiquette, Zhu Zhanji did not agree. In the end, Hu Shanxiang was buried in Jinshan.
It was not until the seventh year of Tianshun that Emperor Yingzong restored Hu Shanxiang to the throne and rebuilt her mausoleum.
(Reference: History of the Ming Dynasty)