In "Daming Fenghua": Hu Shanxiang is the second daughter of Yushi Yushi Jingqing, that is, Sun Ruowei's sister; It is precisely because of the influence of the living environment that Hu Shanxiang has developed a very complex personality.
Hu Shanxiang was ambitious and didn't want to be just a palace maid for the rest of his life, so he tried all kinds of ways to become the princess. And because of this, he had a connection with Zhu Gaoxu, the king of the Han Dynasty, and Zhu Gaoxu decided to recommend Hu Shanxiang to his father Zhu Di and let him be the concubine of his nephew Zhu Zhanji, but he spoiled Hu Shanxiang before that.
Under the recommendation of King Han, Hu Shanxiang achieved the position of the princess as he wished, and her sister Sun Ruowei was named the concubine of the grandson.
Soon after Zhu Zhanji ascended the throne, he abolished Hu Shanxiang's position as queen and promoted Sun Ruowei as queen;
Hu Shanxiang's son Zhu Qiyu also lived in the cold palace with his mother since he was a child, while Sun Ruowei's son Zhu Qizhen was named the crown prince and sat on the throne after Zhu Zhanji died of illness. However, Zhu Qizhen was captured by the Warat people during the imperial expedition, Zhu Qiyu was put on the throne, and Hu Shanxiang was able to see the light of day again. But Hu Shanxiang's nature is difficult to change, and he forced his daughter-in-law and grandson to death, and Zhu Qiyu has no queen, and he has become crazy since then.
Of course, this is only Hu Shanxiang in the play, in fact, in real history, Hu Shanxiang is not an orphan of Jingnan, but the third daughter of Guangluqing Hu Rong, Hu Shanxiang has an older sister Hu Shanwei who is a female official in the palace. The reason why Hu Shanxiang was able to become the princess was because she was quite virtuous and her manners were very dignified, and in the fifteenth year of Yongle, Zhu Di personally elected Hu Shanxiang into the palace to become the grandson of the imperial grandson Zhu Zhanji, that is, the future princess, and even the future queen.
After Xuanzong succeeded to the throne, Hu Shanxiang was naturally a well-deserved queen.
Although Hu Shanxiang is the queen of the world, she is kind and loyal, and she will not take the initiative to compete for favor, so Emperor Xuande does not favor her. Hu Shanxiang did not give birth to a prince for Emperor Xuande, but gave birth to two princesses: Princess Shunde and Princess Yongqing.
Emperor Xuande favored the concubine Sun, and after Sun gave birth to the prince Zhu Qizhen, he abolished Hu Shanxiang's position as queen for a very far-fetched reason: Empress Hu was childless and sick. And let Hu Shanxiang take the initiative to resign from his position as queen, and since then Hu Shanxiang has lived in Chang'an Palace as a Taoist aunt.
Empress Dowager Zhang (Empress Cheng Xiaozhao) was very sympathetic to Hu Shanxiang, and would let Hu Shanxiang often live in Qingning Palace with her, and if there was a banquet in the palace, Empress Dowager Zhang would also let Hu Shanxiang sit in front of Sun. Under the protection of Zhang's family, Hu Shanxiang's life was quite comfortable. In 1443, only one year after the death of Empress Zhang of Chengxiao Zhao, Hu Shanxiang also died of illness.
Although Zhu Qizhen posthumously called him "Queen Gong Rang Zhang", he did not deserve to enjoy the Taimiao.
And the two princesses born to Hu Shanxiang:
Princess Shunde, married to Shi Jing, died of illness at the age of 24.
Princess Yongqing died early and was buried next to her biological mother's mausoleum after the death of her biological mother Hu Shanxiang.
In addition to Hu Shanxiang, the queen of Gongrangzhang, Zhu Zhanji also has one queen and twelve concubines, but among the twelve concubines, only one and two concubines gave birth to a prince and princess for Zhu Zhanji, and only two princes were born in Zhu Zhanji's life.
In this article, let's take a look: What kind of existence are Zhu Zhanji's harem concubines and what is the ending?
Zhu Qiyu's biological mother is Concubine Wu Xian
Concubine Wu was born in the thirtieth year of Hongwu, and when Yongle was 16 years old in the tenth year, she was elected to serve in the inner court and served by the side of the emperor's grandson Zhu Zhanji. Xuande gave birth to Zhu Zhanji's second son Zhu Qiyu in the third year, and Wu's mother was named a virtuous concubine by virtue of her son. However, Wu and his son Zhu Qiyu did not live in the palace, but were hidden outside the palace by Zhu Zhanji for a long time, and it was not until Xuanzong died of illness that Wu and his son Zhu Qiyu were admitted to the palace and handed over to his biological mother Zhang for protection.
Soon after the Wu family entered the palace, Zhu Zhanji died of illness, and with the entrustment of his son, the Zhang family treated the Wu mother and son well, named Zhu Qiyu as the king of servants, and built a palace for the Wu mother and son to live. If the Wu family and his son spend the rest of their lives in peace like this, it can be regarded as a blessing. However, the fourteen-year change of Tumubao completely changed the fate of Wu's mother and son.
In the fourteenth year of orthodoxy (1449), the Zhang family had already died for many years, and the harem was respected by Empress Dowager Sun (Zhu Qizhen's biological mother). Zhu Qizhen was instigated by the eunuch Wang Zhen to conquer Wara, but the 200,000 army was annihilated and Zhu Qizhen was captured.
For a time, the Ming Dynasty was ownerless.
Zhu Qizhen's eldest son, Zhu Jianshen, is only two years old, so he naturally can't handle court affairs. In this way, Zhu Qiyu was put on the throne and was known as the Ming Dynasty Sect.
Even if his brother Zhu Qizhen returned to the capital, Zhu Qiyu had no intention of giving way, but imprisoned his brother in Nangong.
His own son became the emperor, and the status of the Wu family naturally improved, and he was respected as the empress dowager, and the empress dowager Sun (Xuanzong's favorite Empress Sun, Zhu Qizhen's biological mother) was respected. It should be said that the reign of his son was the pinnacle of Wu's life, and Wu's younger brother Wu An was named An Pingbo.
However, Wu's good days did not last long, Jingtai was reinstated in Zhu Qizhen, who had been imprisoned in Nangong for many years, and sat on the throne again, demoted his younger brother Zhu Qiyu to the king of Yu, and was imprisoned in Xiyuan, and Zhu Qiyu died not long after.
The son's throne is gone, and the identity of the Wu family naturally changes, and he was demoted to the concubine of Xuanmiao.
In the fifth year of Tianshun (1462, the name of the year after Zhu Qizhen's restoration), Wu died of illness, ending her life of ups and downs.
There is also a theory about Wu's life experience: Wu was originally a palace member of Zhu Gaochu's Han Palace, and Han King Zhu Gaochu rebelled and was captured, so naturally all the palace maids of the Han Palace were enslaved in the harem. But Zhu Zhanji took a fancy to the Wu family and settled the Wu family in the eunuch Chen Fu's house.
After Wu was favored by Zhu Zhanji, he gave birth to his second son Zhu Qiyu in the third year of Xuande.
Indeed, as the daughter of a criminal minister, the Wu family is indeed not suitable to enter the palace and become the emperor's concubine, which shows that this statement is not groundless
Guo Ai, a national concubine from the Guixun family
Guo Ai is a famous talented woman in the Ming Dynasty, and her background is still very noble:
Her grandfather was Guo Ying, the Marquis of Wuding, the founder of the Ming Dynasty
Her grandmother was Concubine Guo Ning, the concubine of Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang
Her uncle is Zhu Yuanzhang's son-in-law and Princess Yongjia's concubine Guo Zhen
Her second uncle Guo Ming was posthumously named Marquis of Wuding, and Guo Ming's son Guo Xuan, that is, Guo Ai's cousin, inherited the title of Marquis of Wuding and was the second Marquis of Wuding of the Ming Dynasty.
Her third uncle, Guo Yong, achieved the position of the right governor of the Chinese Military Governor's Office
Her third aunt married Zhu Yuanzhang's son, Zhu Zhi, the king of Liao, as the princess of Liao
Her fifth aunt married Zhu Yuanzhang's son Zhu Dong, the king of Ying, as the princess of Ying
And her cousin, the daughter of her second uncle Guo Ming, is the Gongsu concubine of Mingrenzong Zhu Gaochi
As for Guo Ai's father, Guo Yu is the eighth son of his grandfather Guo Ying
Those who know the history of the Ming Dynasty should know that Zhu Gaochi of Mingrenzong is very fond of Concubine Gongsu, and Aiwu and Wu naturally attach great importance to the Guo family. Guo Ai's brother Guo Wu was already outstanding in learning, and he was the cousin of Concubine Gongsu, so Renzong was very important to Guo Wu, so he summoned all Guo Wu's family to live in the capital. And Guo Ai followed his parents and brother to the capital.
In the third year of Xuande, Guo Ai was elected by Xuanzong to the palace as a concubine.
But after only 20 days in the palace, Guo Ai died of illness.
Many people think that Guo Ai was buried in Xuande Emperor Zhu Zhanji, after all, Guo Ai wrote "Jingdi Sick Revolution and Self-Mourning" shortly before his death, isn't it because he feels about his own funeral?
But in fact, this is not the case, Guo Ai was already seriously ill before entering the palace, and he knew that his time was short, so he wrote "Jingdi Sick Revolution and Self-Mourning". Sure enough, as Guo Ai expected, Guo Ai died of illness only twenty days after entering the palace. Emperor Xuande posthumously crowned the talented woman Guo Ai as a national concubine and was buried with Jingling.
Xuande Emperor Zhu Zhanji's favorite Empress Sun
Sun's background is actually not high, and his father Sun Zhong is the chief secretary of Yonghui County. Although the harem concubines of the Ming Dynasty did not pay much attention to their background, it was difficult for the Sun family to enter the palace if no one recommended them.
In the eighth year of Yongle, Zhu Zhanji has reached the age of majority, and he has reached the age where he can choose the concubine.
Coincidentally, the biological mother of Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi's wife, Crown Princess Zhang, was also from Yonghui, and learned that Sun Zhong's daughter Sun was quite virtuous, so she recommended Sun to her daughter when she entered the palace.
Crown Princess Zhang recommended Sun to Zhu Di, and Zhu Di ordered Sun to be summoned into the palace to stay in the palace of the crown princess and be raised by the crown princess, in fact, Sun was only 10 years old this year.
Later, the imperial grandson Zhu Zhanji got married, and Sun was not named the concubine, but the concubine, because Zhu Di personally selected a dignified and virtuous woman for the grandson, and this person was Hu Shanxiang.
Sun was not named the princess, and Princess Zhang's biological mother was quite dissatisfied, so she nagged her daughter. However, Princess Zhang has always been virtuous and has no complaints because of this matter.
In 1426, Renzong Zhu Gaochi died of illness, and Zhu Zhanji ascended the throne as the crown prince.
The Sun family was directly canonized as a concubine because of her favor, and her status in the harem was second only to that of Empress Hu Shanxiang.
And Zhu Zhanji also gave Sun a favor: according to the ancestral system, when Hu Shanxiang was canonized as the queen, he was rewarded with a gold book and a golden treasure, and the concubine and the concubines below the noble concubine had a book but no treasure. However, Zhu Zhanji favored the Sun family, so after asking his biological mother, the Empress Dowager Zhang, he gave the Sun family a treasure.
In fact, at this time, the Sun family already had the title of "Imperial Concubine", but it was not officially canonized.
After all, shortly after Sun gave birth to the prince Zhu Qizhen in November of the second year of Xuande, Zhu Zhanji forced the empress Hu Shanxiang to resign from his position as empress;
Although Hu Shanxiang was abolished, Empress Dowager Zhang took pity on her and was abolished without fault and took good care of her. If it was a banquet in the inner court, Empress Dowager Zhang would let Hu Shanxiang be placed in front of Sun, which made Sun quite dissatisfied. But after all, Empress Dowager Zhang is the emperor's biological mother, and the Sun family is helpless.
Ten years after Xuande, Zhu Zhanji died of illness.
Empress Dowager Zhang is revered as Empress Dowager Zhang
The Sun family is revered as the Empress Dowager Sun
Zhu Zhanji's only son-in-law, Zhu Qizhen, ascended the throne, and because he was too young to govern himself, the court was assisted by three Yangs (Yang Rong, Yang Shiqi, Yang Pu) to handle the government affairs, but they needed to ask Empress Dowager Zhang and Empress Dowager Sun before they could be implemented.
The important affairs of the state are all carried out by the White Empress Dowager (Empress Cheng Xiao Zhang) and Empress (Empress Xiao Gong Sun), and then implemented
In the fourteenth year of orthodoxy, Zhu Qizhen personally drove to conquer Wara, and the Sun family let Zhu Qizhen's only younger brother Zhu Qiyu supervise the country. However, Zhu Qizhen was defeated and captured by the Warat people, and Sun and his daughter-in-law Empress Qian immediately raised a lot of property as a ransom, hoping that the Warat people could release Zhu Qizhen back.
In August of this year, Empress Dowager Sun ordered Zhu Qiyu to supervise the country, and Yu Qian was the secretary of the military department, taking on the important task of preparing for war against the enemy.
Zhu Qizhen took away the elite troops of the Ming Dynasty during the imperial expedition, and most of the people who stayed in the capital were old and weak. In the face of the invasion of the Warat army, most of the ministers of the court and China suggested moving south to Nanjing, but Sun eventually abandoned this idea and put Zhu Qizhen's only younger brother Zhu Qiyu on the throne.
Although Zhu Qiyu repeatedly pushed back, Emperor Xuande only had these two sons, and Zhu Qiyu, as Zhu Qizhen's brother, had to take on the heavy responsibility and become the emperor. In December of the same year, Sun's title was "The Holy Empress Dowager". At the same time, the Sun family made their own grandson Zhu Jianshen the crown prince.
Warat was far away in Mobei, and Sun was worried about his son, so he sent warm clothes many times.
However, his son finally returned to the capital, but he was imprisoned by Zhu Qiyu, who had already sat firmly on the throne, and was not allowed to be free. Immediately afterwards, Zhu Jianshen, the crown prince who was canonized by the Sun family, was abolished by Zhu Qiyu and replaced by his son Zhu Jianji as the crown prince.
During the reign of Zhu Qiyu, the Sun family carefully protected his son Zhu Qizhen, who was not free, and the young abolished prince Zhu Jianshen waited for the coming day.
In the eighth year of Jingtai, Zhu Qiyu was seriously ill, but he still insisted on refusing to reinstate Zhu Jianshen as the crown prince (Zhu Jianji had died of illness before, and Zhu Qiyu had no other sons). Before Shi Heng helped Zhu Qizhen launch a rebellion to seize the door, he first consulted the Sun family, and the Sun family clearly supported Shi Heng and others, so Zhu Qizhen sat on the throne again.
After Zhu Qizhen was reinstated, he gave his biological mother Sun the emblem of "Holy Martyr Cishou Empress Dowager". Since the beginning of the Sun family, the harem of the Ming Dynasty has officially had a emblem. In 1462, in the sixth year of Zhu Qizhen's reinstatement, Sun died of illness and was buried with Emperor Xuande in Jingling, and was promoted to the Taimiao.
In addition to Yingzong Zhu Qizhen, Sun also gave birth to a princess, Princess Changde, for Emperor Xuande. In the fifth year of orthodoxy, Princess Changde was named the eldest princess of Changde by her younger brother Yingzong Zhu Qizhen, and married Xue Huan, the son of Xue Lu, the prince of Zhongwu. After Zhu Qizhen died of illness, his eldest son Zhu Jianshen ascended the throne and named his aunt Princess Changde as the eldest princess of Changde, and Princess Changde died of illness in the seventh year of Chenghua (1470) at the age of 47.
Ten concubines who were martyred
In the early days of the Ming Dynasty, the emperor died and needed to be buried alive, to put it bluntly, the concubines that the emperor served during his lifetime. Of course, not all concubines will be buried, and the buried concubines are basically concubines who have nothing to do, and their status is not high, and they do not have honorific titles.
In addition to Hu Shanxiang, Empress Sun, and Concubine Wu Xian, the living concubines in Emperor Xuande's harem, a total of ten were all martyred:
He was posthumously named Duanjing Guifei
Zhao was posthumously named Concubine Chunjing
Wu was posthumously named Concubine Zhenshun
Jiao was posthumously named Concubine Zhuang Jingshu
Cao was posthumously named Concubine Zhuang Shun
Xu was posthumously named Concubine Zhenhui
Yuan was posthumously named Concubine Gongdingli
The Zhu family was posthumously named Concubine Zhenjing
Li was posthumously named Gongshun as a concubine
He was posthumously named Concubine Su
epilogue
Among all Zhu Zhanji's concubines, the saddest one is the deposed queen Hu Shanxiang. Hu Shanxiang was selected by Zhu Di as the grandson concubine because of his dignified and virtuous virtues, and after being named the queen, he still kept to himself and was dignified;
In the end, it ended up being abolished, Hu Shanxiang was abolished without mistake, which aroused the pity of the world.
In fact, Zhu Zhanji later regretted the abolition of the queen, saying that he was young and impulsive to abolish Hu Shanxiang's position as queen.
Fortunately, Hu Shanxiang had already given birth to two princesses for Emperor Xuande before this, and he had no regrets.
But no matter what, now that Hu Shanxiang has been deposed, it is impossible to reinstate himself as the queen. What's more, on the throne of the queen is already sitting on the throne of Zhu Zhanji's life's love Sun, Sun gave birth to a son and a daughter for Zhu Zhanji, and his mother was named the queen by virtue of her son.
Although Sun "robbed" Hu Shanxiang of the queen's position, she is still a legendary woman:
Her son was captured by the Warat people, and in the face of Warat's pressing step by step, she did not compromise and retreat, but focused on the government and put Zhu Qiyu, who was not a parent, on the throne;
This alone is admirable, and later when Zhu Qiyu had no children and refused to crown his own grandson Zhu Jianshen as the crown prince, Sun agreed with Shi Heng and others to launch the Nangong Rebellion, so that his son could return to freedom and sit on the throne again.
And Zhu Qiyu's biological mother, Concubine Wu Xian, although her son was the emperor for a short time, but most of her life was unknown, even if she gave birth to a son, she was not admitted to the palace, and it was not recognized until Emperor Xuande died of illness. After his son Zhu Qiyu was demoted to Queen Yu, the good days of the Wu family came to an end.
For Concubine Wu Xian, her dream of being the queen mother was like a mirror, and it soon disappeared.
As for the famous and talented woman Guo Ai, for Zhu Zhanji, she is more like a passerby. died of illness just 20 days after entering the palace, perhaps for Zhu Zhanji, letting Guo Ai, who was already seriously ill, into the palace was just a strategy to tie up the Guo family, and it had nothing to do with love.
And Zhu Zhanji's other concubines were not favored, and they did not have a name during their lifetime, so they naturally could not escape the fate of martyrdom after the death of Emperor Xuande. However, in addition to the three princesses born to Hu Shanxiang and the Sun family, Zhu Zhanji also has a princess, who was born to a Jurchen concubine. However, there are no detailed historical records about the princess and the Jurchen concubine, and the Jurchen concubine is probably not favored compared to this Jurchen concubine.