Old age is a great joy in life, whether it is the home of ordinary people or the royal family with many children. In his lifetime, Zhu Yuanzhang, the ming emperor, had twenty-six sons and sixteen daughters. Among them, Zhu Yuanzhang's most beloved one is the head and tail - the eldest son Zhu Biao, the youngest daughter Baoqing.
Princess Baoqing, the youngest of Taizu's children, was born in the twenty-eighth year of Hongwu (1395), when Zhu Yuanzhang was already 68 years old. Because he was too young, he was even 17 years younger than Zhu Gaozi, the eldest son of his fourth brother Ming Chengzu Zhu Di. Therefore, after Chengzu ascended the throne, he took care of her as his own biological daughter.
Zhu Yuanzhang was the only true civilian emperor in China's feudal society. He was born in an ordinary peasant family in Fengyang, Anhui Province, and his teenage years coincided with natural and man-made disasters, and many of his relatives and ancestors died in war or famine, so Zhu Yuanzhang attached great importance to family affection. It can even be said that the extremely serious financial crisis in the middle and late Ming Dynasty was also rooted in this.
Zhu Yuanzhang's life was full of children, and he was happy and harmonious, but he still didn't feel enough. In his later years, he still continued to visit the young beauties in order to continue the Guangda family. Among them, a beautiful woman surnamed Zhang was deeply favored, and gave birth to a daughter in the twenty-eighth year of Hongwu, which was Princess Baoqing. After the birth of Princess Baoqing, Emperor Taizu was very fond of her and regarded her as a pearl in his hand.
However, Princess Baoqing's mother was only a beauty, and her status was not respected, so that she could not receive special grace according to the regulations. Therefore, in order to enhance the status of Princess Baoqing, Zhu Yuanzhang passed her on to his deceased beloved wife, Empress Xiaocigao of the Ma clan. However, the good times did not last long, and in the thirty-first year of Hongwu (1398), Zhu Yuanzhang unfortunately contracted an illness and died.
The news of the emperor's death quickly spread throughout the harem, and the concubines in the palace could not cry. One is to cry about himself and the loss of his family, and the other is to cry that he will soon be in Huangquan. This is because Zhu Yuanzhang made an extremely absurd decision after he ascended the throne, that is, to restore the extremely cruel burial system.
However, because of his favor for Princess Baoqing, in some stories, it is said that Emperor Taizu decided not to let Zhang Meiren be buried on the grounds that Baoqing was young and could not lose his mother. However, whether this matter is true or false, posterity has different opinions. But no matter what the answer is, it can show Emperor Taizu's special favor for Princess Baocheng.
After the death of Emperor Taizu, his eldest grandson Zhu Yunjiao ascended the throne as emperor, and was known as Emperor Jianwen. According to the generations, Princess Baoqing and Emperor Jianwen were nephews, but in terms of age, Emperor Jianwen could be the father of Princess Baoqing. Therefore, he still took care of Princess Baoqing as a daughter.
In the fourth year of Jianwen (1402), Zhu Di, the King of Yan, led an army to attack the capital of The Ming Dynasty, Yingtian, and the Jianwen Emperor Zhu Yunjiao disappeared. As the fourth brother, Ming Chengzu Zhu Di naturally took over the responsibility of taking care of and pampering this little sister. After Zhu Di took the throne, he had no time to take care of him. Therefore, Zhu Di gave his sister to Empress Xu, the woman he loved the most.
Empress RenXiaowen regarded her as her own and carefully adjusted her. Gradually, Princess Baoqing came out into a big beautiful woman with a pure temperament. As an adult, Cheng zu took time out of his daily state affairs to choose a pony for Princess Baoqing. After layers of consideration, Zhao Hui, the widowed son of the hero who was the vanguard of the Prefectural Army at that time, became a lucky man.
At the time of marriage, Zhu Di broke the royal marriage regulations formulated during Taizu's reign, and ordered the crown prince Zhu Gaozi, the hero of the Battle of Jingnan, to personally send Princess Baoqing away from the palace and return to the palace, and the rewards were several times that of other princesses. This made Chengzu's daughters very red-eyed.
In the twenty-second year of Yongle (1424), Cheng zu died of illness, and the crown prince Zhu Gaozi took the throne, and according to the usual practice, this aunt was honored as the eldest princess. Since Chengzu came to power, Baoqing has been taken care of by the empress, so he has always regarded Baoqing as a sister in his heart. Unlike Taizu, Chengzu's children withered away, and such a family affection was more valued by Emperor Renzong.
Zhao Hui was a low official, and he acted extravagantly and spent a lot of money. Emperor Renzong was afraid that Zhao Hui's behavior would hurt his "good sister", but he could not suddenly promote Zhao Hui, who had no merit, so he gave a great reward to Princess Baoqing.
Although Zhu Zhanji, who was then the crown prince, was the grandmother of Princess Baoqing, the two of them were still the same age. Since Chengzu joined the lordship, the two have been playing and laughing together. After ascending the throne, princess Baoqing was also rewarded more than her father.
But unfortunately, Princess Baoqing's health is not particularly good, especially after giving birth to two children. During the Xuande period, Princess Baoqing fell ill, and Emperor Xuanzong heard about it and urgently sent a doctor to diagnose and treat it. But these efforts failed to save Princess Baoqing's life.
In the eighth year of Xuande (1433), Princess Baoqing died of illness at the age of 39. When Emperor Xuanzong heard this bad news, he was so sad that he personally went out of the city to find a burial place for Baoqing. At the same time, in order to comfort the living, Emperor Xuanzong repeatedly promoted Zhao Hui, a donkey, and repeatedly rewarded him. This also provided sufficient financial support for the luxury of the second half of his life. Legend has it that Zhao Hui, who had more than 100 concubines, eventually died in the fourteenth year of Chenghua (1476).
Although Princess Baoqing enjoyed the favor of five generations of emperors during her birth, she was unusually cold and dilapidated after her death. In 2008, the tomb of Princess Baoqing was found by the archaeological team in Banqiao Sanshan, just outside Nanjing, but what was shocking was that the tomb was seriously damaged by posterity, and almost all the burial items were stolen. The entire tomb was cut in half.
Since ancient times, the harem battles have been very fierce, even the emperor and grandson can not get out, if you want to survive, you must have superior means. For thousands of years, it was rare to be able to receive the grace of five generations of emperors like Princess Baoqing.
Some people say that Princess Baoqing was lucky, fortunate to be born in the Ming Dynasty, which attached great importance to family affection, and lived at the time of Chengxuan, who was not yet prosperous; fortunately, she was born as a daughter and was able to avoid being cut by later emperors.