We know that in ancient China, polygamy was allowed, especially the emperor, and due to the honor of the emperor's status, there could be dozens or even hundreds of concubines in the three palaces and six courtyards. For more than two thousand years in feudal society, there was only one emperor who insisted on monogamy, that is, Emperor Xiaozong of Ming.
Ming Xiaozong was the ninth emperor of the Ming Dynasty and was a rather accomplished figure among the Ming emperors. He reigned for 18 years and created the famous "Hongzhi Zhongxing" in the history of the Ming Dynasty, but unfortunately Ming Xiaozong died at the age of 36, otherwise the Ming Dynasty might have been able to achieve greater development. In addition to his achievements in managing the country, Ming Xiaozong was also a very dedicated emperor, and he married Empress Zhang in his lifetime.
In ancient royalty, if an emperor only married one person, it was not conducive to the royal family's branches and leaves, but Ming Xiaozong was so unique. His relationship with Empress Zhang was very stable, and Empress Zhang bore him three children, two of whom were princes, a princess, and the eldest son was the Zhengde Emperor Zhu Houzhao.
The reason why Ming Xiaozong only married one person in his lifetime is that many people think that this has a lot to do with his experience as a child.
Ming Xiaozong's mother, Ji Shi, was actually the daughter of a toastmaster in Guangxi, and after the Ming Dynasty put an end to the chaos in Guangxi, she was taken to the imperial palace and gave birth to a son for Ming Xianzong, that is, Zhu Youfan. But at that time, the harem was completely controlled by Wan Guifei alone, and as long as anyone gave birth to a prince, she was eliminated. Later, Ji Shi went through various methods to secretly give birth to a son, and by the late Ming Xianzong period, he realized that he already had such a big son outside. Later, Zhu Youfan was taken to the palace to be raised by the empress, but his mother Ji Shi died suddenly.
Therefore, from an early age, Emperor Ming Xiaozong was very repulsive to the battle in the harem. If you only marry an empress, there will not be so many things in the harem, and you can handle the government more comfortably. Empress Zhang was the crown princess when Ming Xiaozong was still the crown prince, and she endured hardships with him and cultivated deep feelings. The ministers several times asked Ming Xiaozong to accept concubines in the name of royal branches and leaves, but Ming Xiaozong directly refused.
What do you think of Emperor Ming, who married only one empress in his lifetime?