Among the 16 emperors of the Ming Dynasty, several emperors are still worth mentioning:
Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang: After more than ten years of fighting in the south and the north, he counterattacked from the grassroots to the founding emperor and established the Ming Dynasty.
Ming Chengzu Zhu Di: Although he took the throne of his nephew Zhu Yunwen, in fact, Zhu Di still did a lot of things worth mentioning during his 22-year reign, such as the compilation of the "Yongle Canon", such as Zheng He's six trips to the West.
Mingrenzong Zhu Gaochi: Although Zhu Gaochi only reigned for 10 months, his ability to be respected as "Renzong" is the world's greatest recognition of him
Ming Xuanzong Zhu Zhanji: Together with his father Zhu Gaochi, he created the "rule of Renxuan", which is comparable to the "rule of Wenjing" during the Han Dynasty.
Ming Yingzong Zhu Qizhen: Although Zhu Qizhen was captured because he listened to the words of the eunuch Wang Zhenzhi and personally conquered Wara, and led to the annihilation of the 200,000 army of the Ming Dynasty, he also has something to praise, such as he abolished the funeral system of the concubines of the Ming Dynasty, and treated the concubines very well, even if it was a relatively large number of concubines, or the queen who was sick and disabled, Zhu Qizhen treated them well, and allowed them not to be buried and spend the rest of their lives in peace.
Ming Xiaozong Zhu Youji: Zhu Youzhu has two points that are very commendable, although he is not in good health, but he is diligent in government and loves the people, and created "Hongzhi Zhongxing"; in addition, Zhu Youzhu is the only emperor who only marries one queen in his life among the emperors of all dynasties, adult and healthy, except for the queen, his harem has no other concubines.
Moreover, Zhu Youzhi pursues monogamy, and the queen is like an ordinary husband and wife, living at the same time every day. In Zhu Youji's imperial mausoleum, there were no other concubines to accompany the burial, only the filial piety of Empress Kangjing Zhang was buried together.
How virtuous is Empress Xiaokangjing, so that Xiaozong can be a beauty for the rest of his life?
Some people may want to say: Emperor Wen of Sui Yang Jian set up six palaces, and there was only one queen Dugu Jialuo, and promised to "never give birth to another child in his life". Yang Jian did not have children with other women, but after Dugu Jialuo died, Yang Jian was very fond of Mrs. Xuanhua and Mrs. Ronghua, and did not love Dugu Jialuo alone in his life.
And filial piety is different, there is only one person in his life, Empress Xiaokangjing, Zhang, and two sons and one daughter are also born to Empress Xiaokangjing.
However, Empress Xiaokangjing is not a virtuous queen like Empress Ma and Empress Xu, who are filial piety, and can be said to be "white and slightly flawed". But even so, Xiaozong still favored Empress Xiaokangjing, and even indulged his relatives for the sake of Empress Xiaokangjing.
Empress Xiaokangjing was happy for most of her life, but her later years were very bleak.
In this article, let's take a look: What kind of existence is Empress Zhang of Xiaokangjing?
01
Empress Xiaokangjing Zhang was a native of Hejian Prefecture in Zhili, born in the sixth year of Chenghua (1470), and was born in the same year as Xiaozong. Zhang's father, Zhang Luan, was a Xiucai and entered the Guozijian as a township tribute. Zhang Luan has a cousin named Zhang Qi, and both of them were taught by their uncle Zhang Jin when they were studying. Zhang Jin has been very smart since he was a child, Tianshun was promoted in the six-year examination, and Chenghua was admitted to the rank of Jinshi in the five-year examination, and finally achieved the position of the head of the household.
Yingzong Zhu Qizhen: Era name Tianshun (orthodox)
Xianzong Zhu Jianshen: The era name is Chenghua
Hyoshu Zhu Yu Zhao: Koji
Wuzong Zhu Houzhao: The era name is Zhengde
Sejong Zhu Houxi: The era name is Jiajing
Zhang's cousin Zhang Qi entered the court as an official after being admitted to the Jinshi examination, and achieved the position of the imperial history.
And Zhang's father, Zhang Luan, wanted to be on par with his cousin, but he failed repeatedly.
It can be seen that although the Zhang family is not from a noble family, it can be regarded as a beautiful lady and born in a scholarly family.
Affected by the family environment, Zhang is also full of talent, and he is not a problem with piano, chess, calligraphy and painting.
In February of the twenty-third year of Chenghua, Xianzong Zhu Jianshen selected the crown princess for the crown prince Zhu Youji, and Zhang was selected;
Seven months later, Xianzong died of illness, and was succeeded by the crown prince Zhu Youji, known as Ming Xiaozong in history.
After Xiaozong ascended the throne, he naturally respected his wife Zhang as the queen.
Xiaozong doted on his queen very much, and did not appoint other concubines, and the two got along like ordinary couples.
Xiaozong was 18 years old when he ascended the throne, and it was not until the fourth year of Hongzhi, that is, when Xiaozong was 22 years old, that he gave birth to his first son, Zhu Houzhao. As the king of a country, it is normal for the harem to have "three thousand beauties", not to mention that after Xiaozong ascended the throne, Empress Zhang's stomach has not moved;
However, no matter how the ministers persuaded him, Xiaozong still did not agree to choose a concubine.
In the fourth year of Hongzhi, Empress Zhang gave birth to the emperor's eldest son, Zhu Houzhao. In this way, whether it is the ministers, Xiaozong or Empress Zhang, they can breathe a sigh of relief, after all, the throne needs an heir. And in December of the seventh year of Hongzhi, Empress Zhang gave birth to a son, but unfortunately the second son Zhu Houwei died at the age of 3 and was posthumously named King Wei.
Prior to this, the princes who died in the Ming Dynasty were not posthumously sealed.
Xiaozong posthumously crowned the second son, also because he favored Empress Zhang.
In addition to the two princes, Empress Zhang also gave birth to a princess, Princess Taikang, for Xiaozong. Princess Taikang is the only daughter of Xiaozong, born in the first month of the seventh year of Hongzhi, that is to say, soon after Princess Taikang was born, Empress Zhang became pregnant again, and gave birth to the second son of the emperor at the end of this year.
It's a pity that Princess Taikang died in the eleventh year of Hongzhi at the age of 5.
In this way, the children of Xiaozong and Empress Zhang were only the emperor's eldest son, Zhu Houzhao.
But even so, Xiaozong still has no intention of enriching the harem, and still loves Empress Zhang.
To what extent?
According to the record of "Excerpts from Pujiatang's Miscellaneous Works":
Empress Zhang once suffered from mouth sores, and Xiaozong not only personally guarded the sickbed, but also personally took care of and served Empress Zhang to rinse her mouth. is even worried that his coughing will make Empress Zhang rest.
As the king of a country, it is very rare to be able to visit the queen when she is sick and stay at the sickbed, and Xiaozong personally takes care of it, so affectionate is indeed touching.
Empress Zhang is so favored, the degree of favor is comparable to Zhu Di's Queen Xu, Queen Xu is virtuous, for Zhu Di is a veritable "virtuous helper", a virtuous queen of the world. So, Empress Zhang is also as virtuous as Empress Xu, so is Xiaozong so devoted to Empress Zhang?
Not really!
02
Empress Zhang has a lively personality, is familiar with scriptures and history, and is not a problem in piano, chess, calligraphy and painting. He often reads books and paints together, listens to the piano and watches dances, and even talks about the past and the present, staying together from morning to night, living together.
In the point of "living together", Empress Zhang and Xiaozong are very similar to (Heavenly Grandmother, Heavenly Grandfather) Empress Xu and Taizong Zhu Di: after Zhu Di ascended the throne, he often did not delay lunch because of his hard work in the government, and Empress Xu waited for Zhu Di to starve together;
When Zhu Di reviewed the recital, Queen Xu quietly accompanied Zhu Di. Zhu Di couldn't bear to make his wife so tired, so he persuaded her to rest.
Empress Xu and Zhu Di often live together and discuss court politics, it can be said that Zhu Di can create a prosperous era of Yongle, which is inseparable from Queen Xu, a "virtuous helper". Zhu Di's deep affection for Empress Xu is recognized by history, and after Empress Xu's death, Zhu Di's temperament changed greatly, becoming very willful and restless.
It can be seen how much influence Queen Xu, a good wife, has on Zhu Di.
Although Empress Zhang is the love of Xiaozong's life, she is still far from Empress Xian, at least in terms of treating her own family, she cannot be compared with Empress Xu.
Empress Xu was born in a meritorious family, and her father was Xu Da, the founder of the country and the Duke of Wei, and Xu Da had four sons (three sons died young).
The eldest son, Xu Huizu, inherited the title of Duke of Wei, and Xu Huizu was both civil and military, and established a lot of military exploits.
The youngest son, Xu Zengshou, was killed by Emperor Jianwen because he helped Zhu Di in the Battle of Jingjing, and was awarded the title of Duke of Dingguo by Zhu Di, which can be hereditary
The second son, Xu Yingxu, sat in the position of the governor of the Chinese army
Although Empress Xu was able to assist Zhu Di in governing the government and raising her children, she never indulged her family because she was the queen. Even when Zhu Di wanted to reward his mother's family, he dissuaded him. It can be said that the reason why Queen Xu's mother's family can have a hereditary title and be a supreme minister is because of their own ability and meritorious service.
And Empress Zhang is different:
When Empress Zhang ascended the throne, his father Zhang Luan had died of illness, and Xiaozong posthumously named him the Duke of Changguo;
Empress Zhang's two younger brothers, one was named a marquis and the other was made an earl, both of which were "fruitless".
Not only that, Xiaozong also built a very magnificent family temple for Empress Zhang.
As the queen of the world, it is reasonable for the mother's family to be like this, after all, it is a relative, and she is also a relative of the queen of the main palace. Xiaozong created "Hongzhi Zhongxing", although it cannot be compared with the "Yongle Shengshi" of Tianzu Zhu Di, but he is also an emperor who has made achievements. However, there is one point of filial piety that is far inferior to Tianzu Zhu Di: because of his love for the queen, he is very indulgent to his relatives.
Even if Empress Zhang and her mother's family did illegal things, Xiaozong Aiwu and Wu can let it go. If it is not possible to achieve "the prince who violates the law and the common people are guilty of the same crime", how can he convince the public?
There was a dinner party in the palace, and Empress Zhang's two younger brothers, one was a marquis and the other was an earl, so they would naturally be invited. Unexpectedly, the two of them took advantage of Xiaozong's going to the toilet and put the crown on Xiaozong's head on their heads. Doing so is tantamount to rebellion.
The eunuch He Ding hurriedly stepped forward to stop him, and offended the two uncles.
In the eleventh year of Hongzhi, Empress Zhang's two younger brothers entered the palace again, and this time the two went too far and directly raped the two palace maids.
He Ding was very angry when he saw it, so he picked up the golden gourd (weapon) in his hand and wanted to directly execute the two Zhang brothers. But he was stopped by another eunuch, Li Guang, who was favored and respected by Xiaozong.
He Ding saw that he could not kill the two directly, so he sued the two Zhang brothers in front of Xiaozong, and asked Xiaozong to punish the two Zhang. Unexpectedly, for the sake of Empress Zhang, Xiaozong not only did not punish the Zhang brothers, but let Jinyiwei arrest He Ding and put him directly in prison.
After that, Empress Zhang was still dissatisfied, so she asked Li Guang to kill He Ding directly.
As the king of a country, it is really chilling to be so indiscriminate, and to wronged those who are loyal to him because he loves the queen. And Empress Zhang not only did not restrain her mother's family and persuaded Xiaozong to punish the two younger brothers, but instead killed He Ding's cane, which was far from the "virtuous queen".
Empress Zhang indulged her mother's family so much, and naturally indulged and doted on her only adult son. So much so that the Ming Dynasty produced such a promiscuous emperor, and the Ming Dynasty was broken off in the heir to the throne.
03
Xiaozong's biological mother, Ji, was originally a palace maid's daughter, and was appreciated by Xianzong (Xiaozong's father Zhu Jianshen) because of her talent, and favored Ji, but Wan Guifei (Xianzong's favorite concubine) was jealous and did not allow the harem concubines to give birth to a prince. Although Ji finally gave birth to Xiaozong with the help of the palace maid, Concubine Wan couldn't tolerate the child, so she let the eunuch Zhang Min drown him. Fortunately, Zhang Min was soft-hearted and secretly raised Xiaozong in Ximen, and it was not until Xiaozong was five or six years old that Xianzong learned of the existence of this son.
It was precisely because of Xiaozong's difficult living environment since he was a child, his weak health, and his diligence in government that he died of illness at the age of 38.
When Xiaozong died of illness, his only prince, Zhu Houzhao, was only 15 years old.
And Zhu Houzhao is very playful under the favor of his biological mother, Queen Zhang.
In fact, Zhu Houzhao has been very smart since he was a child, and he is good at riding and shooting, if he is well-educated, he can still become a successful emperor like his father Xiaozong, at least he will not be so extravagant. Before he died, Xiaozong sighed: If I am given a few more years, the prince will mature, but it's a pity!
After the death of Xiaozong, Zhu Houzhao succeeded to the throne, known as Ming Wuzong in history, and the era name Zhengde.
After Wuzong succeeded to the throne, he honored his biological mother Zhang as the empress dowager;
In the fifth year of Zhengde, the Empress Dowager Zhang was named "Empress Dowager Cishou".
(hereinafter referred to as Zhang's Empress Dowager Zhang)
During his 16-year reign, Wu Zong did a lot of ridiculous things. There are only three officially canonized concubines in his harem: one queen and two concubines, even so, Wu Zong is not interested in one queen and two concubines, and there are only four or five days a month before he will be fortunate to be in the harem concubines and queens.
Wu Zong is more interested in folk women, and many of them are women who have already married women, and there are even women who are already pregnant and sent to Wu Zong. In addition, Wu Zong also searched for male favorites in various ways, and selected handsome people from the eunuchs in the palace to serve by his side. Although there are countless beauties around Wu Zong, no one can give birth to a son and a half daughter. And the concubines and queens in the harem have very few chances to be favored, so how can they give birth to a prince and princess?
In this way, in the sixteenth year of Zhengde, when Wuzong died of illness, there was not even a prince who inherited the throne.
had to follow the "brother to brother" in "Emperor Ming Ancestral Training", and choose one of his brothers to inherit the throne.
Among the close branches, the closest to Wuzong's blood relationship is Zhu Houxi, the second son of Xingwang Zhu Youqi. Zhu Youqi is Xiaozong's half-brother and Wuzong's own uncle. Moreover, Zhu Houxi was 15 years old at this time, and he could be in power after succeeding to the throne.
Empress Dowager Zhang originally thought that she could let her nephew Zhu Houyu listen to her, but she didn't expect that after Zhu Houxi succeeded to the throne, Empress Dowager Zhang's good days would come to an end.
Zhu Houxi succeeded to the throne, known as Ming Shizong in history, and the year name was Jiajing.
Sejong not only honored his own grandmother Shao as the empress dowager (when Xiaozong was alive, the highest position was the concubine), his biological mother Jiang was honored as the empress dowager, and his father was the emperor Xingxian, and he deserved to enjoy the temple. As for the Empress Dowager Zhang, although she was honored as the Queen Mother of Mary and was honored as the "Empress Dowager of Zhaosheng Cishou", the Empress Dowager Zhang was at odds with Sejong's biological mother, Empress Dowager Jiang, so that Sejong was very dissatisfied with Empress Dowager Zhang.
Even when some courtiers played, they also condemned Empress Dowager Zhang.
Later, Sejong not only did not call Zhang the empress dowager, but was his aunt.
Empress Dowager Zhang, as the wife of Xiaozong and the biological mother of Wuzong, even if Sejong ascended the throne and became emperor, she was also a legitimate empress dowager, and her status was higher than that of Sejong's biological mother, Empress Dowager Jiang;
Once, Empress Dowager Zhang's younger brother did something illegal, and Empress Dowager Zhang interceded with Sejong, and even knelt down for Sejong as an elder, but Sejong did not agree to let go of the Zhang brothers. Seeing that she couldn't save her younger brother, Empress Dowager Zhang fell ill directly.
The king of a country is not his own son, and he has not received the emperor's favor and courtesy, not to mention that there is an emperor's biological mother in the harem, the Empress Dowager Jiang, who is at odds with him. One can imagine how bleak Empress Dowager Zhang's old age was.
In loneliness and desolation, Empress Dowager Zhang spent another twenty years.
Jiajing died of illness in 20 years at the age of 72.
After the death of Empress Dowager Zhang, she was posthumously named "Empress Xiaokangjing" and was buried with Xiaozong.
After Empress Dowager Zhang's death, her two younger brothers were executed by Sejong.
epilogue
The life of Empress Xiaokangjing Zhang can be divided into three periods:
The first paragraph: As the wife of Xiaozong, the queen of the mother's world, not only has a powerful position, but also has the favor of her husband; it is worth mentioning that there are no harem concubines competing for favor with herself, and she can be said to be the happiest woman.
The second paragraph: After Xiaozong died of illness, although his son succeeded to the throne, after all, he did not have a husband who doted on him, and he would inevitably be lonely; not to mention that Zhang's only son did not live in the palace in most cases, and without his son by his side, he would take care of himself for a long time, and Zhang's life would naturally be more boring. The son did not give birth to a son and a half daughter, and the Zhang family did not enjoy the life of teasing his grandson.
The third paragraph: The only son died of illness, and there was no child to inherit the throne, and his nephew Zhu Houxi succeeded to the throne, and Zhang began his truly bleak old age. And such days, Zhang has lived for 20 years.
Zhang's is indeed enviable, after all, his husband is not only the king of a country, but also pursues "monogamy", Zhang and Xiaozong live an ordinary husband and wife life, very sweet. However, the rest of her life was not only unhappy, but strictly bleak and lonely.