Preface
Should the emperor's mother be his mother-in-law or his biological mother? This question was debated endlessly in the government and the opposition in ancient times. There is no doubt that the mother-in-law gave birth to and raised, but the biological mother is connected by blood, and it is really difficult to distinguish which is more important.
In the Ming Dynasty, there were four times when the queen mothers of the two palaces were respected together, and what will be the relationship between these queen mothers? Will they be able to get along in harmony, or will they be incompatible? Let us interpret it in detail today!
1. Jingtai Dynasty: The tragedy of mother and son against their goals
Yingzong Zhu Qizhen, the eighth emperor of the Ming Dynasty, had a bumpy and extraordinary life. His mother, Sun, is the granddaughter of Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang, and her status is naturally extraordinary. However, Yingzong's biological mother, Wu, although she was only a palace maid, has Yingzong's wholehearted love. This kind of dispute between the descendants and concubines was not uncommon in the Ming Dynasty.
In the early years of the Jingtai Dynasty, Yingzong favored the Empress Dowager Wu, which made the Empress Dowager Sun very dissatisfied. The contradiction between the two queen mothers brewed. Empress Dowager Sun was a woman with a strong personality and never tolerated anyone sharing Yingzong's favor with her.
Although Empress Dowager Wu came from a humble background, she also has the ambition and skill to be inferior to Empress Dowager Sun. The secret fight between the two can be described as-for-tat. Until the tenth year of Jingtai, Yingzong was captured by the Warat people during the imperial expedition, and the government and the opposition were in chaos. In order to stabilize the dynasty, Empress Dowager Sun had to first support Yingzong's concubine Zhu Qiyu to ascend the throne. This move was undoubtedly a major blow to the Empress Dowager Wu.
Empress Dowager Sun had completely controlled the power of the court at this time, and she was bound to completely suppress the position of Empress Dowager Wu. After Zhu Qiyu ascended the throne, the first thing he did was to respect the Wu family as the empress dowager and sit on an equal footing with the empress dowager Sun. This is undoubtedly a major provocation to Empress Dowager Sun.
Since then, the contradictions between the two queen mothers have become public, and water and fire are incompatible. Empress Dowager Sun was eager to abolish Empress Dowager Wu immediately, and Empress Dowager Wu was unwilling to be subordinate. The contradiction between the two not only affected the government and government, but also made Yingzong suffer in prison.
Zhu Qiyu's reign did not last long, and in the eighth year of Jingtai, with the help of Empress Dowager Sun, Yingzong regained the throne. This time, Empress Dowager Sun took revenge fiercely, revoked all the honorific titles of Empress Dowager Wu, and re-called her "Xuanmiao Virtuous Concubine". It can be seen that the grievances between mother and son are difficult to bridge. Although Yingzong returned to power, his heart must be full of guilt and pain. This scene of the tragedy of the mother and son of the Thai Dynasty left a deep shadow on the royal family of the Ming Dynasty.
2. Chenghua Dynasty: The dispute between the concubines
After Yingzong's death, his eldest son Zhu Jianshen succeeded to the throne as Xianzong. This is the first time in the Ming Dynasty that the eldest son succeeded to the throne. Xianzong's mother-in-law Qian and biological mother Zhou are still alive, and the government and the opposition are arguing endlessly about how to honor the two queen mothers.
Zhou Guifei, by virtue of her son's identity as the emperor, has repeatedly said that she wants to suppress Empress Qian. She believes that since her son has ascended the throne, she deserves a higher status as a biological mother. However, cabinet scholars Li Xian, Peng Shi and others resolutely opposed it, believing that whether it was out of ancestral family law or human ethics, the status of the mother-in-law should be higher than that of the biological mother.
In the end, Xianzong decreed that the Qian family was honored as the "Empress Dowager Ciyi" and the Zhou family as the "Empress Dowager", and the concubines were distinguished by their emblems. This is also a major blow to the Empress Dowager Zhou. It can be seen that even the emperor is difficult to be completely partial in the face of the dispute between the concubines and concubines.
However, the Empress Dowager Zhou did not stop there. After the death of her son Xianzong, she tried her best to exclude Empress Dowager Qian from Yingzong's Yuling Mausoleum and dominate the cemetery alone. This is another humiliation of Empress Dowager Qian. Fortunately, the obstruction of the civilian clique prevented further escalation of the conflict.
It can be said that the dispute between the two empress dowagers of the Chenghua Dynasty fully reflects the complexity of the dispute between the concubines in the Ming Dynasty. Even the emperor could hardly treat the two empress dowagers completely fairly. The root of this contradiction lies in the disparity in the status of the descendants in ancient society. The biological mother can often overpower the status of the mother-in-law by virtue of her son's status as the emperor, which will also cause a strong backlash from the government and the opposition.
3. Jiajing Dynasty: Mother and son broke up
When Sejong Joo succeeded to the throne, the situation became complicated again. His mother-in-law, Zhang, was Empress Xiaozong, and his biological mother, Jiang, was Wuzong's concubine. It stands to reason that Empress Dowager Zhang's status should be higher, but Empress Dowager Jiang has more real power in the court by virtue of her son's status as emperor.
The contradictions between the two queen mothers were soon exposed. Empress Dowager Zhang's younger brother, Zhang Yanling, Marquis of Jianchang, was imprisoned and prepared to be beheaded for being falsely accused. Empress Dowager Zhang took off the hairpin for this, but she still couldn't change her son's decision. It can be seen that the influence of Empress Dowager Jiang in the court has completely overwhelmed Empress Dowager Zhang.
Empress Dowager Chiang's domineering and domineering made Sejong more and more disgusted with her. After reigning for many years, Sejong not only suppressed the number of Empress Dowager Chiang's emblems below Empress Dowager Zhang, but even her nickname was deliberately simplified. This is undoubtedly a humiliation for the Empress Dowager Chiang. It can be said that the relationship between mother and son has long been broken.
This mother-son break in the Jiajing Dynasty can be described as the most tragic scene of the Ming Dynasty royal family. Empress Dowager Zhang, as her mother-in-law, should have enjoyed a higher status, but under the conspiracy of Empress Dowager Chiang and the favoritism of Sejong, she was reduced to a poor person with no power and no power. This kind of dispute between the concubines not only hurt the relationship between mother and son, but also brought serious turmoil to the government.
It can be said that the dispute between the two palaces of the Jiajing Dynasty was the most fierce in the history of the Ming Dynasty. It not only reflects the complexity of the dispute between the concubines and concubines, but also exposes the emperor's powerlessness in the midst of this contradiction. This tragedy left an irreparable wound on the Ming Dynasty.
Fourth, Wanli Dynasty: live in harmony
In the Wanli Dynasty, the relationship between the queen mothers of the two palaces finally eased. Shenzong Zhu Yijun's mother-in-law Chen and biological mother Li are relatively gentle and humble in personality and do not attack each other. This is in stark contrast to the tension between the two empress dowagers of previous dynasties.
Shenzong was extremely filial to the two queen mothers, and would greet each other every day. After ascending the throne, he not only added emblems to the two queen mothers at the same time, but also had the same number of words, which shows his respect for them. This practice is undoubtedly a reflection and repair of the contradiction between the two empress dowagers of the previous dynasty.
Once, Shenzong wanted to add two more characters to the Empress Dowager Li, but was dissuaded by the scholar Zhang Siwei and others in time. This shows that even the emperor cannot exceed the rules in front of the ancestral family law. Although Shenzong has a preference for his biological mother, he can still objectively look at the status of his mother.
The harmony between the two empress dowagers of the Wanli Dynasty is inseparable from the filial piety of Shenzong. "History of the Ming Dynasty" also spoke highly of this, praising Shenzong for "filial piety and two palaces". This kind of filial piety not only won the favor of the two queen mothers, but also brought rare stability to the political situation of the Ming Dynasty.
It can be said that the harmony between the two empress dowagers of the Wanli Dynasty is a special case in the history of the royal family of the Ming Dynasty. It not only reflects the wisdom of the Divine Sect, but also demonstrates the power of the ancestral family law. In this harmonious atmosphere, the political situation of the Ming Dynasty was also relatively stable, laying the groundwork for the later turmoil.
epilogue
Through the above-mentioned stories of the empress dowager of the four dynasties and two palaces, we can see that in the ancient emperor's family, the contradiction between the mother-in-law and the biological mother has a long history. Despite the ancestral family law, the human factor often disrupts these rules.
By virtue of her son's status as emperor, the biological mother can often obtain greater real power, thus overpowering the position of the mother-in-law. This situation was reflected in the Jingtai, Chenghua, and Jiajing dynasties.
It was only in the Wanli Dynasty that the relationship between the two queen mothers was eased. This is mainly due to the filial piety of Shenzong, he was able to treat the two queen mothers equally, and avoided all kinds of disputes in the previous dynasty. This kind of dispute between the concubines not only affected the harmony within the imperial family, but also brought serious turmoil to the political situation of the entire dynasty.
It reflects the deep-rooted concept of hierarchy in ancient societies and the impact of human factors on the system. This historical lesson still has important enlightenment significance for us to build a harmonious society today.