Ming Dynasty, many people are more familiar. This dynasty is still relatively special in the history of our country, it is the last dynasty established by the Han people, so many people pay more attention to this dynasty. Moreover, the emperors of this dynasty are still quite interesting, there are those who like to fight, those who fall in love with xiu immortals, those who are addicted to being generals, those who want to be carpenters, and so on, it can be said that there are all kinds of emperors. Because of this, many people feel that there are more Emperors in the Ming Dynasty, and most of them in the Ming Dynasty are Emperors. However, a closer look at history shows that the monarchs of the Ming Dynasty are a little different from what we think. Some are indeed dimsters, but some are not.
In 1368, Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Dynasty. In 1644, Chongzhen Coal Mountain hanged itself, the Ming Dynasty officially fell, and Guozuo was established in 276 years. Although the Ming dynasty imperial family later established the Southern Ming Dynasty, and many emperors appeared. This is not to be counted.
From 1368 to 1644, there were 16 emperors in the Ming Dynasty.
Let's take a look at the general situation of these 16 emperors and see which ones are the real emperors.
The first emperor Zhu Yuanzhang.
Leaving aside others, Zhu Yuanzhang's ability to change from a commoner to an emperor deserves everyone's admiration. In the great unified dynasty, only Zhu Yuanzhang and Liu Bang had this experience. Zhu Yuanzhang's family situation was much more difficult than Liu Bang's, and he couldn't even eat. In 1368, Zhu Yuanzhang was proclaimed emperor and served as emperor for a total of thirty years. During the reign of Zhu Yuanzhang, the political situation of the Ming Dynasty was stable and the society developed steadily. Especially economically, the people can be said to live and work in peace and contentment. In addition to these, there is also the improvement of the central organs, the determination of the "country that does not levy", and so on. These are zhu Yuanzhang's contributions. However, he also had many shortcomings during his reign.
First, abolish the Zhongshu Province.
The fundamental reason for Zhu Yuanzhang's abolition of the chancellor system was that the chancellor's power was too great, threatening the imperial power. However, he completely ignored the merits of the beggar system. After the Abolition of the Chancellor system in the Ming Dynasty, although the imperial power was centralized, it laid hidden dangers for the future emperor's misdeeds;
Second, set up a secret service agency, Jinyiwei.
Before Zhu Yuanzhang's death, although the Jinyi Guard was abolished, it was re-established in later generations. It can be said that this is the product of the emperor's distrust of officials, and after the Ming Dynasty, the status of officials and emperors was obviously not equal. This also set a precedent for the ming dynasty to set up many factory secret service agencies;
The third and eighth shares are taken.
Zhu Yuanzhang's restoration of the imperial examination is a good thing, but the use of eight shares to take the soldiers has obviously limited people's thinking, and the impact on culture is very large;
Fourth, severely punish corrupt officials and lawless nobles, the most famous of which is Hu Lan's prison.
It can be said that Zhu Yuanzhang was still relatively harsh in dealing with corrupt officials and corrupt officials, and he felt a bit of indiscriminate killing of innocents.
In general, Zhu Yuanzhang is indeed a Ming Jun, and he is a very capable Ming Jun. However, during his reign, he did create many bad precedents. In particular, the fact that he killed the hero has been controversial in later generations. However, this incident is similar to Qin Shi Huang's burning of books and pit Confucianism, Liu Bang's killing of heroes, and the impact on ordinary people is not great. Therefore, in the hearts of ordinary people, Zhu Yuanzhang is definitely a good emperor.
The second emperor, Zhu Yunjiao.
This was a very tragic emperor, who reigned for a few years but was overthrown by his uncle. Leaving aside the rest, just by looking at what he did during his reign, we can see that Zhu Yunjiao is of average ability. One of the most correct things Zhu Yunjiao did was to cut the domain. However, his excuse for cutting the domain was also very problematic, and in the face of Zhu Di's rebellion, he did not make an accurate choice. Zhu Yunjiao also changed some harsh policies during Zhu Yuanzhang's period, but the direction of reform was very problematic, there were idealistic overtones in it, and a lot of useless work was done. Personally, I think that Zhu Yunjiao is not a Ming Jun, but he is not a Dim Jun, he can only be said to be a mediocre Jun, and he is a Dim Jun who is not very capable.
The third emperor, Ming Chengzu Zhu Di.
After the success of the Battle of Jingnan, Zhu Di successfully ascended the throne and became emperor. During his reign, he cut down political domains and strengthened the centralization of power. However, this was not done thoroughly, so his son King Han had the opportunity to rebel. However, the remaining problems are not serious; there are also advantages and disadvantages to reforming the official system and setting up a cabinet and an east factory. Li relied on the cabinet system to enable the Ming Dynasty to operate normally. The disadvantage was to expand the power of eunuchs, and eunuchs began to intervene in politics from the Time of Zhu Di. The cabinet system and the East Factory system gave eunuchs the opportunity to interfere in politics. Moreover, Zhu Di also restored the Jinyi Guard and continued to strengthen his control over the Hundred Officials. Militarily, Zhu Di's five conquests of Mongolia, the occupation of Annam, the establishment of the Nuer Gandu Division, and the strengthening of control over Tibet can be said to have made great military contributions; diplomatically, he sent Zheng He to the West to promote the development of China's maritime industry. However, the Ming Dynasty's politics in the West were strong, and they were all loss-making. This also left an excuse for the retreat of later generations; economically, Zhu Di dredged the canal and built the city of Beijing; culturally, Zhu Di compiled the Yongle Canon, which is very important to our country.
Personally, I think that Zhu Di's contribution to the Ming Dynasty is very large, and it is also worthy of the name to say that he is a Ming Jun, but it is a bit belligerent. Although he fought for many years during his reign and did a lot of things to consume national strength, these problems were not big. The biggest problem is the establishment of the East Factory and the reconstruction of Jinyiwei, which is crucial. If it were not for the East Factory and the Cabinet, the Ming Dynasty would not have given birth to so many eunuchs.
The fourth emperor was Emperor Akihito.
Zhu Gaozi reigned for only nine months and died before he could do anything. As for the history books saying that he was politically enlightened during his reign, pardoning old ministers during the Jianwen Emperor's reign, stopping the use of foreign troops, and recuperating, these do exist, but they do not mean that he was a full Ming Emperor, but it can only be said that he was the three fires of the new official. Seriously, to say that he is Mingjun is a bit exaggerated for his credit, but it is even more inappropriate to say that he is Mingjun. But in any case, giving him the temple name of Akihito is indeed exaggerated. After all, his reign was too short, far from the temple title of Emperor Renzong.
The fifth emperor, Emperor Xuanzong of Ming, Zhu Zhanji.
In general, Zhu Zhanji did a good job during his reign, and the monarchs in the Ming Dynasty were very high in both political ability and personal quality. Politically, Zhu Zhanji continued to cut the domain and strengthen the centralization of power, after which the king of the domain could no longer confront the central government. Moreover, he also expanded the powers of the cabinet and made the cabinet system more complete; economically, he continued to recuperate; diplomatically, he continued to support Zheng He's voyage to the West and stopped using troops against the toe. If Zhu Zhanji only did this, he would definitely be a wise man without any flaws. But he also did other things, the most important of which was that he liked to play with crickets, and he also liked calligraphy and painting. Seriously, he and Song Huizong are still quite similar.
However, his ability to govern the country is far stronger than that of Emperor Huizong of Song, so playing crickets and calligraphy and painting are not a big deal at all. After all, many Ming emperors have their own hobbies, as long as they do not affect the governance of the country. Among all the emperors of the Ming Dynasty, Ming Xuanzong was also a relatively rare Ming Emperor.
The sixth emperor Zhu Qizhen.
Zhu Qizhen is not only special among the Emperors of the Ming Dynasty, but also very conspicuous among all the emperors, because he has been emperor twice, which is still very rare. When Zhu Qizhen first became emperor, he could be said to be a complete emperor, favoring eunuchs, and the result of the Northern Expedition was the total annihilation of the army, and he himself was captured by Vala. When he became emperor for the second time, he was basically a Ming Emperor. Apart from killing Yu Qian, there was basically nothing bad. Abolish the martyrdom system, release the descendants of Emperor Jianwen, and strengthen control over the borders. Although there have been some re-emergence of traitors, the impact has not been great. Except for a few uprisings, the Ming Dynasty as a whole was still Guotai Min'an. There are still prodigal sons who turn back, and it is still very rare for the emperor to turn back. Most of the emperors were faint in the early and late Ming dynasties, and Zhu Qizhen was just reversed. Overall, Zhu Qizhen was not a Ming Jun, but he was not a Dim Jun. Seriously, although he favored Wang Zhen, Wang Zhen did not seriously harm the country and the people.
The seventh emperor was Emperor Zhu Qiyu of the Ming Dynasty.
Personally, I think that Zhu Qiyu is definitely a Ming Jun, and a rare Ming Jun in the Ming Dynasty, but his situation is very embarrassing. During the tumu fort, Zhu Qizhen was captured, and Zhu Qiyu was appointed emperor in danger. During his reign, he won the defense of Beijing and defeated the attack of Wallachia. Not only that, he also reused it in humble people, and the country's politics were clear. In addition, militarily, Zhu Qiyu established a unified command system and strengthened the role of the military generals of the Beijing Division in supervising the Shu army. After the Northern Expedition, the Mongols could no longer threaten the Ming Dynasty, but also reformed the army; economically, developed the economy, and controlled the floods; culturally, compiled the "Huanyu Tongzhi"; diplomatically, the countries that had not previously paid tribute to the Ming Dynasty began to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty, and the status of the Ming Dynasty's hegemon returned again.
In fact, Zhu Qiyu's biggest drawback is that he does not have a son. If he had a son, there would be no Nangong restoration, and Zhu Qizhen would not have been able to succeed in restoration so easily. However, this did not affect his merits, and he was ordered to prosper the rule of the Ming Dynasty, and finally because of the restoration of Zhu qi town, it was nailed to the pillar of historical shame. At this point, Zhu Qiyu was still very weak.
The eighth emperor, Zhu Jianshen.
Zhu Jianshen reigned for 23 years, and in general, half of the time was Ming Jun, and the other half was Duan Jun. In the first half of his reign, he rehabilitated Yu Qian, reused the wise men, and reduced taxes, which was basically what Ming Jun could do. In the second half of his reign, he appointed traitors and established the West Factory. In fact, although he reused traitors, he did not cause much harm, and the country did not have turmoil. Personally, I think his biggest mistake was to establish the West Factory, which marked the Ming monarch's increased control over his courtiers. But in general, he is also a Ming Jun. Like Tang Taizong, Ming Jun could make mistakes in the later stages, and the mistakes he made in the later period were not too serious.
The ninth throne is Zhu Youfan.
Zhu Youfan is definitely among the best among the monarchs of the Ming Dynasty, and it is not an exaggeration to say that he is a Ming Jun, and it can be said that there is basically no stain. He was generous and benevolent, reused the wise, diligent in government and loved the people, worked hard to govern, and so on, and he did everything that Ming Jun did. Not only that, he was not close to a woman, only one queen, no other concubines, which was not easy. His only stain was that he had also favored eunuchs, but not so long ago. It is not an exaggeration to say that he was an example of a Ming emperor. Personally, I think his biggest failure is that he did not educate his son well, and his son is completely the opposite of him.
The tenth emperor Zhu Houzhao.
Zhu Houzhao was completely different from his father, and he was not a kind of person at all. During his reign, he favored eunuchs, built a lot of construction, lived in luxury, and often pretended to be a general to play around. These are Zhu Houzhao's shortcomings, but these shortcomings seem to be serious, in fact, the problem is not too serious. Zhu Houzhao has a very good advantage that he is resolute and decisive in handling things, and he is never confused or procrastinating in major matters. Therefore, during his reign, the Ming Dynasty did not fight major external troubles, and although there were internal uprisings, they were not serious. Therefore, Zhu Houzhao is not a dimwitted jun, and can only be said to be a weakened version of Song Huizong, after all, what he did was not serious. Fortunately, during his reign, if it is too long, the problem will be solved.
The eleventh emperor, Zhu Houxi.
This emperor is very familiar to everyone, he was the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty not to go to the dynasty for decades, and his hobby was xiu xian. Although he was aware of the situation in the early days of his reign, rectified the Chao Gang, and changed the situation during Zhu Houzhao's time, he was definitely a Dark Lord, but only a very capable Emperor. In the later period of his reign, due to the heavy use of Yan Song and other traitors, there were civil uprisings within and uprisings continued. Externally, there were the invasion of the Mongol Qatha Khan and the invasion of the Wokou, which can be said to be a continuous internal and external problem. However, although he did not go to the dprk, he was able to firmly control the government, which was still admirable. But no matter what, he is a dimwitted.
The twelfth emperor, Zhu Zaikun.
Zhu Zaikun's contribution is still relatively large, and during his reign, he reused a large number of capable ministers to eradicate maladministration, negotiate peace with the Qada Khan, and open up the sea ban, which seems to be a very good social development. However, there was a big problem here, although Zhu Zaitu reused many capable subjects, he could not control them, which was completely different from his father Zhu Houxi. It is precisely for this reason that during Zhu Zai's reign, the struggle for power and profit in the cabinet was more serious. What is depressing is that Zhu Zaiquan finally died of excessive indulgence, which was the first of the Ming emperors. Personally, I feel that an emperor who cannot even control the ministers is not a Ming Jun, nor is he a Dark Jun, but can only be said to be a mediocre Jun. It should be known that because he could not control the cabinet, the power of the cabinet expanded rapidly, which had a great impact on the ming dynasty government.
The thirteenth emperor Zhu Yijun.
Personally, I think that Zhu Yijun is definitely a dimwitted jun, and he is one of the few dimwitted monarchs in the Ming Dynasty. In the early period of Zhu Yijun's reign, a series of reforms were implemented to save the Ming Dynasty from falling rivers and rivers, and the history is called Wanli Zhongxing. However, this was all carried out under the leadership of Zhang Juzheng, and zhu Yijun personally had little to do with it. After Zhang Juzheng died, Zhu Yijun began to release himself. For decades, he did not go to the court and completely ignored the government, resulting in the inability of the imperial court to operate normally. Moreover, he also sent eunuchs everywhere to loot the people's wealth, provoking a series of popular uprisings. Although the three major marches of the Wanli Calendar that he led were the biggest highlight of his reign. However, these three major conquests almost consumed the national strength of the Ming Dynasty, and in the face of the rise of the Jurchens, Wanli could not stop it, and lost a large number of elites. Since then, Jurchen has become a major problem for the Ming Dynasty. If it were not for Zhang Juzheng, Zhu Yijun would have been able to destroy the Ming Dynasty.
The fourteenth emperor Zhu Changluo.
Zhu Yijun and Zhu Zaiyuan are very similar, they have been princes for decades, and they are afraid. After sitting on the emperor, because no one restrained him, they were all addicted to wine, and Zhu Changluo could also be regarded as overindulging and died. The history books say that he appointed sages during his reign, eliminated maladministration, and actively reformed, but in fact, this does not mean that he was a Ming Emperor. It is considered to be an image established when he first took the throne. Moreover, he could indulge in excessive desire and die after more than twenty days of reign, and it is conceivable that if such a person had reigned for a long time, he would not have been strange.
The fifteenth emperor Zhu Youxiao.
During Zhu Youxue's reign, he indulged in being a carpenter. The history books record that he did a lot of faint things during his reign, such as favoring eunuchs, destroying the Donglin Party, and putting Liaodong in a difficult situation. The special political system of the Ming Dynasty made the status of eunuchs more and more important, and the emperor had to rely on eunuchs. Therefore, in the Ming Dynasty, many emperors favored eunuchs, and this problem was not serious. As for the Donglin Party, judging from the performance of the Donglin Party in ruling later, they have not done a good job. Liaodong is in a normal predicament, which is caused by the Wanli period and cannot be recovered at all. From this point of view, Zhu Youxiao is not a faint jun, but can only be said to be a mediocre jun.
Sixteenth Zhu Youjian.
Many people affirmed him as the king of the Ming Dynasty, but in fact this was not the case at all. During Zhu Youjian's reign, although the eunuch problem was gone, the problem of party strife was very serious, and the most prominent of these was the Donglin Party. Moreover, the problem in Eastern Liaoning is becoming more and more serious, and the domestic uprising is getting louder and louder. Although Zhu Youjian is very pro-government, this is worth affirming. But his ability was average, and he was simply unable to solve the problems faced by the Ming Dynasty. He was very responsible for the demise of the Ming Dynasty. It is a little inappropriate to say that he is a faint prince, after all, he is very pro-government. It is more appropriate to say that he is a mediocre.
This is the situation of the sixteen emperors of the Ming Dynasty. In fact, history has always been written by later generations. The history of the Ming Dynasty compiled by the Qing Dynasty people had great problems, and it was normal for them to often write about the Ming Emperor fainting. The real Ming Dynasty did not have so many emperors, most of them were just mediocre monarchs. This is similar to the Qing Dynasty, although the emperors of the Qing Dynasty are written in the history books to be diligent and love the people, but in the late Qing Dynasty, it is still worse than a day, and such a monarch is not a Ming Emperor even if he is diligent. After watching the situation of the Ming Dynasty monarch, did you find that it was a little different from what you saw before?
Resources:
History of the Ming Dynasty