In China's feudal society, the hereditary system of emperors led to the emergence of many emperors who were not in good health. Despite their illness, once they ascended the throne, they were regarded as true dragon emperors, and their wisdom and decision-making skills were not greatly affected by this. The following is an inventory of ten famous sick and weak emperors in history.
The first place: Zhao Gou, Gaozong of the Southern Song Dynasty, who attracted much attention because of his physical defects.
Zhao Gou was brave and fearless in his early years, and he did not hesitate to sacrifice himself for the country's society. However, the trick of fate made him a concubine in the eyes of the people of Jinguo, so he was released. His younger brother, Qinzong, originally hoped to preserve his position in this way, but he never imagined that in the end, the fate of the two would be reversed, and he himself would be imprisoned in the northern kingdom, while his younger brother would be emperor in the south. After experiencing the upheaval of the country's ruin, Zhao Gou deeply realized that in the troubled times, low-key and cautious is the best strategy to protect himself. This transformation may have been profoundly influenced by the Miao Fu Rebellion, in which he lost his son and was deeply affected by the turmoil. Fortunately, he found a filial "son" and was able to live out his old age in peace.
Second: Emperor Wanli, who was known for his laziness.
If laziness is also a disease, then this emperor is undoubtedly the best of them. For thirty years, he pretended to be ill and avoided ministers, but his throne remained as secure as ever. Emperor Wanli lived in the palace for a long time, neither in the early court, nor in the reception of ministers, let alone in the sacrificial ceremony. Despite repeated requests and even scolding, he remained unmoved. He was very fond of Concubine Zheng and even wanted to make her queen, but was opposed by the ministers. Similarly, he wanted to make Zhu Changxun, the blessed king born to Concubine Zheng Guifei, the crown prince, but he was also blocked by the ministers. Although Emperor Wanli made concessions on these matters, he compensated King Fu by looting the world's wealth, and ended up leaving a mess to the crown prince whom he disliked. It is worth mentioning that the crown prince Mingguangzong, who fought on reason, died of taking aphrodisiacs only one month after ascending the throne. The two subsequent emperors, one was the Emperor of the Apocalypse, who favored the eunuch Wei Zhongxian, and the other was the Chongzhen Emperor assisted by a group of so-called "ministers of the dead country". And the Fu Wang family was not lucky, Fu Wang was too fat and was cooked as venison by Li Zicheng and others, and his son You Song later became the emperor of the Southern Ming Dynasty, that is, the Hongguang Emperor, but his reign did not last long.
Third place: Li Yu, the crown prince of the Tang Dezong period, he was unable to speak due to a stroke.
However, after his accession to the throne, his confidant Wang Shuwen took charge of the reforms, but was opposed by a coalition of eunuchs and courtiers. Eventually, Li Yu was forced to abdicate as Emperor Taishang, and his son Li Chun ascended the throne as Xianzong, opening the prelude to Yuan and Zhongxing. Wang Shuwen was degraded to death for the failure of the reforms, and the reformers were also persecuted, an event known in the history of literature as the "Two Kings and Eight Simas" incident. Although Yoo Woo-seok and Yoo Jong-won suffered political misfortunes, it also contributed to their literary excellence.
Fourth: Song Guangzong, who suffers from heart disease.
As the grandson of Song Gaozong and the son of Song Xiaozong, his life was full of bitterness. His wife, Empress Li, had a brutal personality, which made him torment between his father and wife. He feared both his wife's jealousy and his father's seizure of power. He had longed to ascend to the throne and make a big difference, but the reality had disappointed him. When Empress Li killed his beloved imperial concubine, there was nothing he could do but fall ill. Later, Song Xiaozong died, the people were panicked, and the ministers could not tolerate Guangzong, who was controlled by the empress, so they united to support Guangzong's son as Ningzong and forced Guangzong to abdicate and become the emperor. Although Neizen saved the Southern Song Dynasty, it completely destroyed the spirit of Guangzong. Unable to accept this reality, he refused to meet the new emperor, and spent his days drinking to kill his sorrows. Later, Empress Li fell ill and had no one to take care of her, and eventually fell seriously ill and died. Her corpse smelled because it was untended, and legend has it that some people scattered and fled while mistaking it for the Kozong sect.
Fifth place: Emperor Gao Yang, who suffers from neuropathy.
When he was a child, he was ugly and cowardly, and was often regarded as a fool. However, when his brother was assassinated, he was unexpectedly propelled to the pinnacle of power. After becoming emperor, he showed a very different side, establishing a new dynasty and governing the country in good order. He was extremely clever and stern, so that all officials did not dare to be corrupt and pervert the law. However, he behaves very strangely, likes to run naked and enjoys the sight of others watching him running naked, no matter how bad the weather. He also enjoys climbing high places to overlook the crowd and is passionate about playing with SM art. The most important thing is that he has a strong desire to kill, and it is difficult to sleep and eat if he does not kill for a day, and this hobby even caused the executioners of Northern Qi to lose their jobs. Because the prime ministers would send the prisoners to the palace to satisfy the emperor's desire to kill, so that he would not kill innocently.
Sixth: The emperor is the Tongzhi Emperor, and he suffers from flower willow disease.
Emperor Tongzhi was addicted to prostitution and frequently frequented Fengyue places, but due to the lack of protective measures, he eventually contracted the disease and died.
The seventh emperor who was famous for his headaches was Cao Cao, Emperor Wu of Wei.
Although Cao Cao himself was not the emperor, his position in the north was more prominent than that of the emperor, and the title of emperor was later posthumously recognized by his son Cao Pi. Cao Cao's head wind disease is quite severe, and its characteristic is that he needs to be scolded to relieve the pain when it is unbearable. During the Battle of Guandu, when the battle situation was tense and the head wind was severe, Chen Lin delivered a letter written for Yuan Shao, in which Cao Cao was viciously insulted. Surprisingly, this stinking scolding miraculously alleviated Cao Cao's head wind symptoms immediately. However, scolding can only temporarily relieve the pain, not cure it. Later, Cao Cao invited the divine doctor Hua Tuo for treatment, and the treatment effect was remarkable at first, but for some reason Hua Tuo was killed by Cao Cao in the end.
Eighth place: stammering, Gao Wei suffers from stuttering, which makes him feel inferior, except for talking to the inner servants, he hardly has contact with the outside world, and he is even more reluctant to meet the ministers of the DPRK and China.
Now, the country is facing an existential crisis, Hu Lu Xiaoqing specially prepared a speech for Gao Wei, hoping that he could cry in front of the soldiers of the army and deliver an impassioned speech, so as to stimulate the fighting spirit of the soldiers, jointly resist foreign enemies, and save the country in danger. However, Gao Wei grew up in a harem since he was a child, surrounded by female attendants, and lived a life of singing and dancing, where would he know how to deal with those strong and menacing Xianbei warriors? When he stood in front of the army, his stuttering became more and more serious, and he couldn't even say a word. Perhaps to resolve the embarrassment, Cushman & Wakefield couldn't help laughing. In fact, there is another famous person in history who stutters, and that is Cao Rui, Cao Cao's grandson.
In ninth place, poor excretion. Speaking of which, I have to mention Jin Jinggong.
Although he is not an emperor, as a monarch, his position is also very important. Regarding the cause of Jin Jinggong's death, the history books record it quite briefly, only saying that he "fell to his death" when he went to the toilet. It is said that a fortune teller once predicted that he would not be able to eat new wheat, but Jin Jinggong believed that he would build a country with science and did not believe in evil, and insisted on eating new wheat, so as to prove the fortune teller's fallacy. However, just as he picked up his chopsticks and was about to taste the new wheat, he suddenly had unbearable pain in his stomach and rushed to the toilet, only to pass away.
The tenth, the One-Eyed King. mentioning Xiao Yi and his wife Xu Zhaopei can't help but remind people of that legendary past.
When Xiao Yi went to his wife's room, he found that Xu Zhaopei only wore half of his makeup, and this novel way of makeup was undoubtedly a mockery of his one-eyed. Xiao Yi was furious and left angrily. This story later became an allusion to "Concubine Xu's half-face makeup", and Xu Zhaopei was nicknamed "half-old" by later generations.