In the twenty-second year of Yongle, Ming Chengzu Zhu Di led an army to launch the Fifth Northern Expedition, but he fell seriously ill during the return of Banshi and died in Yumuchuan. Later, Zhu Di's eldest son, Zhu Gaozi, succeeded to the throne, namely Akihito. At this time, there were still more than a dozen beautiful women in Zhu Di's harem, not too old, in their twenties to around thirty. So how would Akihito treat them?
Let's first understand the situation in Zhu Di's harem. Zhu Di claimed the title of empress dowager, and Li yuan made Xu empress, but Empress Xu died in Yongle for five years. After that, although Zhu Di did not make another empress, he began to expand his harem. To this end, Zhu Di even sent the eunuch Huang Yu to Korea to ask for "tribute women" to fill the court.
According to North Korean historical records, the selection process is quite strict. Whenever the King of Joseon received his will, he would order that "marriage between Foreign and foreign countries be forbidden" and then send people to "choose from the cities and prefectures, counties, and counties of the country." After careful selection, the eunuchs of the Ming Dynasty also had to visit the home of the "tribute girl" with the king of Joseon before they could leave for the Ming Dynasty.
During Zhu Di's reign, he seemed to have a special love for the beautiful women of North Korea, and sent people to North Korea three times to "page for beauty.". In the sixth year of Yongle, 18-year-old Quan Shi, 17-year-old Ren Shi, 17-year-old Li Shi, 16-year-old Lü Shi, and 14-year-old Cui Shi were selected to enter the Ming Harem and marry Zhu Di, who was already 48 years old. In the seventh year of Yongle, Zhu Di promulgated a decree, "The Zhang clan is made a noble concubine, the Quan clan is a concubine, the Ren clan is a Shun concubine, the Wang clan is Zhaorong, the Li clan is Zhaoyi, the Lü clan is a concubine, and the Cui clan is a beauty." ”
That is to say, except for the Jang and Wang clans, all the others are from North Korea. Among them, the Kwon clan is the most beautiful, "white in color and complex in quality". At that time, his father did not want his daughter to marry a foreign country, and the Ming Dynasty eunuch Huang Yu was furious, "If Xu Weiguan is not yet able to control, the giant family room, although there is beauty, how can you be surprised?" The King of Joseon heard the news and hurriedly sent Kwon's father to prison, which sacrificed Kwon.
The Quan clan was favored by Zhu Di, but was later killed, which caused a storm, known in history as the "Yulu Rebellion". In October of the eighth year of Yongle, the Ming envoys arrived in Korea again, and finally chose the 18-year-old Zheng shi as the "tribute girl". In the fifteenth year of Yongle, the 17-year-old Huang and Han were selected to enter the harem of the Ming Dynasty, of which Han was given the title of Concubine Li and was favored by Zhu Di.
In addition, there were some Han Chinese, Mongols, and even Jurchens in Zhu Di's harem. The age of these people is relatively large with Zhu Di, and the average age is about 20-30 years old. Before Zhu Di died, he left a holy will, which determined the fate of these harem beauties! The testament says, "Pass on the throne to the crown prince, mourn the ceremony, and follow the legacy of the taizu."
In other words, Zhu Di demanded that his funeral be followed by the old system of Zhu Yuanzhang, the Ming Emperor. As we all know, Zhu Yuanzhang restored the burial system, and before his death, he ordered "the martyrdom of the concubines", and as a result, all thirty-eight people in the harem were martyred. Although Akihito was more benevolent, he also had to follow his father's wishes. As a result, the sixteen concubines of Zhu Di's harem, as well as some palace women, a total of about thirty people, all hanged themselves and were buried with death.
North Korean historical records the burials in detail. Before the burial, these people eat a meal, and after eating, they gather in the hall, which has a small wooden bed, and when they climb it, they can commit suicide. At that time, "the cry shook the palace", and no one wanted to die like this. Princess Han from North Korea said to her nursing mother, Kim Hae, "Niangwu go, Niangwu go!" Before he could finish speaking, the eunuch removed the small wooden bed at his feet.
In this way, more than a dozen concubines in Zhu Di's harem, as well as more than a dozen palace women who had served him, were all martyred. These concubines were buried on both sides of the Changling Tomb, eight on each side, called the East and West Two Wells. As for those buried palace women, it is very likely that they will be buried in the left and right ear chambers of the Changling Underground Palace, which still needs to be verified by archaeology. The burial system of the Ming Dynasty was not abolished until the time of Emperor Yingzong of the Ming Dynasty.
References: 1. Records of Emperor Taizong of Ming Dynasty, 2. Records of Li Dynasty, 3. Compilation of Wanliye