Foreword: On the sixteenth day of the first month of the eighth year of Tianshun (1464 AD), Zhu Qizhen, who was already dying, summoned the crown prince Zhu Jianshen to his deathbed before he was ill, and he was to dictate the will. Emperor Yingzong tried his best to warn his son to respect his mother-in-law, treat his brothers well, and be deposed and buried, and he would be buried with him.
Self-defeating, up-and-coming. Summoning the crown prince and the eunuchs Niu Yu, Fu Gong, Pei Dang, Huang Shun, and Zhou Shan to the bedside, he said: Since ancient times, there will be death in life, and now the illness is deep. There is no secret about the rumors, the Eastern Palace quickly chose an auspicious day, that is, the emperor's throne, and over 100% of them were married. Empress Qian, the name of the Prime, should be filial piety to live all day long. The king of Virtue and other kings are all in the kingdom of good land. Martyrdom is not an ancient ceremony, the benevolent cannot bear it, and the concubines should not be martyred. When the coffin is clean, it must be bathed and clean, and the inside of the coffin is tied with a robe and a ring around the waist. The Empress and the Eastern Palace choose to carry a leather shovel, and it is easy to use the tassel. Clothes don't need to be much, even if they are too much, they are useless. Choose a good place to build a mausoleum. The queen died in his life and should be buried together. Concubine Hui must also be moved, and the concubines will be buried in the next order. This is a good thing to do! —Ming Yingzong Records Volume 361
As the saying goes, when a man dies, his words are good. In this last words, Yingzong mentioned empress Qian many times, was it that he already had a premonition that there would be a terrible wave after his death, so he gave a preventive injection in advance? It turned out that Emperor Yingzong's premonition was very accurate, and after his death, crown prince Zhu Jianshen succeeded to the throne. Immediately, a fierce conflict broke out between the new emperor's biological mother, Zhou Guifei, and his mother-in-law, Empress Qian. Today, I will talk about this two-palace dispute that lasted from the Xianzong Chenghua Dynasty to the Xiaozong Hongzhi Dynasty.
Ming Yingzong stills
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > Xianzong monologue: In fact, I have no deep feelings for my birth mother and mother-in-law</h1>
Empress Yingzong Qian, a native of Haizhou(present-day Lianyungang, Jiangsu Province), was the daughter of Tongzhi Qiangui, the governor of the Chinese military capital, and was married on May 19, the seventh year of the reign (1442 AD). As the first empress to be crowned after the emperor ascended the throne since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, Qian Shi could be described as a beautiful scene for a while. But as empress, Qian always had a heart disease: no heirs. Consort Zhou guifei was the daughter of Zhou Neng, a native of Changping (present-day Changping, Beijing), and although she bore a son and a daughter to Emperor Yingzong before the Tumubao Rebellion (the eldest daughter, Princess Chongqing, and the eldest son, Emperor Xianzong, Zhu Jianshen), she did not have any name in the palace.
The turning point came on August 15, the fourteenth year of orthodoxy (1449 AD). On this day, the town of Zhu Qi, who had been marching in person, was captured by the Wala people at Tumu Fort, and the heavy ministers and hundreds of thousands of troops were almost lost. In order to unite people's hearts, Empress Sun, the mother of Zhu Qizhen, hastily established her two-year-old grandson Zhu Jianshen as crown prince and ordered Emperor Yingzong's younger brother Zhu Qiyu to oversee the country. Because Zhu Qizhen had no backbone, he was arranged by the Valar people to wander around in daming territory in an attempt to deceive the city by virtue of his status as emperor. In order to never have any troubles, Empress Sun ordered Zhu Qizhen to be the Emperor taishang and Zhu Qiyu the Prince of Qi as emperor. In order to highlight the status of the crown prince, his birth mother Zhou Shi was crowned a noble concubine by his younger uncle Zhu Qiyu, which sounded ironic.
A year later, Yingzong was released back to Beijing by the Wallachians. The new emperor Zhu Qiyu, who had already tasted the taste of power, naturally would not give way, and he put the Emperor Taishang under house arrest in the Nangong Palace outside the Forbidden City. As for Concubine Zhou, she left her son to live with Emperor Taishang. In the third year of Jingtai (1452 AD), Zhu Qiyu demoted his nephew Zhu Jianshen to the title of Prince of Yi, and made his son Zhu Jianji crown prince. King Yi grew up under the patronage of Empress Sun and Lady Wan, and his birth mother, Zhou, gave birth to a son, Zhu Jianze, the King of Chongzong, in the sixth year of Jingtai (1455 CE).
Stills of Empress Qian and Yingzong
On the seventeenth day of the first month of the eighth year of Jingtai (1457 AD), Shi Heng, Xu Youzhen and others, with the acquiescence of Empress Sun, joined forces with Emperor Yingzong to launch the "Change of The Gate", and Jiangshan returned to zhu Qizhen. In order to completely draw a clear line with his brother, Zhu Qizhen changed the eighth year of Jingtai to the first year of Tianshun, and Zhu Jianshen, the prince of Yi, was re-crowned as the crown prince. In addition, considering that the noble concubine of the Zhou clan was sealed by his younger brother, Emperor Yingzong re-crowned the Zhou clan as a noble concubine after the restoration, ranking above the concubines.
Bing Wu, the noble concubine Zhou Shi and the concubines. He sent Zhang Hui, the Marquis of Taiping, as the main envoy, and Xu Youzhen, the martial artist, as the deputy envoy. —Ming Yingzong Records Volume 277
To tell the truth, Zhu Jianshen actually had no feelings for his father Yingzong and his old mother Zhou Guifei, because there was too little time spent with each other. During the time when he grew from a young child to a teenager, his parents were not around, and the only people who could accompany him were his grandmother, Empress Sun, and the palace maid Wan Zhen'er. Her grandmother was Empress Xuanzong of the Former Emperor, but she was still ostracized by Zhu Qiyu's biological mother, Concubine Wu Xian, and moved from Renshou Palace in the west of the palace to Qingning Palace in the east. As for himself, the wasted prince, all the people avoided it, and only the Lady of wangong was willing to open her arms to block in front of his weak and helpless body.
Empress Qian, the mother-in-law, was too sad to cry during the capture of Zhu Qizhen and broke her eyes, and she knelt for a long time to pray for blessings, causing her leg disability. The birth mother, Consort Zhou, thought that her son was the crown prince and planned to learn from her mother-in-law, Empress Sun, and replace her with the empress. All this Zhu saw deeply in his eyes, but never participated. As long as the grandmother and the lady of the palace are all right, that is enough. On the fourth day of the first month of September in the sixth year of Tianshun (1462 AD), The Empress Dowager Cishou of the Holy Spirit collapsed. After Empress Sun's death, Emperor Yingzong even had the idea of changing the crown prince. Who is this person who has torn between the feelings between the emperor and the prince? It won't be Zhou Guifei anyway. The "Xian" in the following refers to Li Xian, the first assistant to the Cabinet.
Emperor Bu Yu, Wo Wen Hua Hall. There will be a time when the Eastern Palace is in the emperor, and the emperor is quite confused and secretly informs the sage. Xiandun bowed his head and said, "May Your Majesty think twice about this important matter." The emperor said, "Then it will pass on the throne to the crown prince?" Xianyou paused and said, "The clan is very fortunate." "The emperor rises, and summons the crown prince to." Prince Xianfu ordered Xie. Prince Xie, hugging the emperor's feet and weeping, the emperor also wept, but it was not okay. —Ming History Vol. 176 Liechuan No. 64
The Mandarin Hall of the Forbidden City
In fact, combined with Emperor Yingzong's nagging to Zhu Jianshen before he died, the person who caused him to almost lose the position of prince again can almost be called out. Since Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang, the emperors of the Ming Dynasty died, and the harem concubines would be buried, so why did Emperor Yingzong abolish it? In the era of Taizu and Taizong, because the empress had long since died, almost all the concubines were martyred. During the reign of Emperor Renzong, five concubines were chosen, and Empress Zhang specially arranged for her most hated concubine, Guo Shi. Guo Guifei had three sons, and after Xun Gui, referring to the suffering of the daughter of the British Gong Zhang Fu, it was reasonable not to be martyred. In the Xuanzong era, except for the Empress Sun, the deposed Hu clan, and the Xianfei Wu clan, none of them could run. So after Yingzong's death, if martyrdom is not abolished, who should decide this list? Will there be a farce in which the noble concubine forces the queen to die? The author believes that Emperor Yingzong abolished martyrdom, mainly for the sake of his own reputation behind him.
< h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > round 1: the dispute over the status of the two empresses</h1>
Although Emperor Yingzong's will protected Empress Qian, the new emperor was after all the son of Concubine Zhou Guifei, and she had the courage to challenge the prestige of the main palace. When the new emperor ascended the throne, the original harem concubines naturally had to be promoted one level. Empress Qian and Concubine Zhou should have both been promoted to empress, but what about the high and low status between the two empresses?
Princess Zhou Guifei sent a message through the eunuch Xia Shi, saying that Empress Qian was ill for a long time and that she should not be called empress dowager, and that the emperor's birth mother should be honored alone. The cabinet was obviously prepared for this, and the response of the first assistant Li Xian was very clear: "The will has been decided, and there are many things to say." At this time, the ministers should all admire the foresight of the former emperor, and Zhou Guifei really began to be a demon. In the summer, this guy saw the wind and made the rudder, and even praised "Li Gongyan is also". But the wind soon returned to the palace, and Zhou Guifei was indomitable and sent a eunuch out again to speak. This time, the content was so explosive that even Li Xian was surprised.
In the future, the lieutenant official repeated the concubine's decree: "The son is the emperor, and the mother should be the empress, is there any one who has no children and is called the empress dowager?" There is a story between Xuande and De. —Ming Shi Vol. 176 Liechuan No. 64
Stills of the Hu clan after the abolition of the Xuande Dynasty
The so-called Xuandejian story refers to the fact that Empress Hu, the original consort of Xuanzong, was forced to abdicate because she had no sons, and gave up the empress's position to Sun Guifei, who gave birth to Zhu Qizhen. After Emperor Xuanzong's death, Empress Sun was promoted to Empress Sun, and after Hu was deposed, she became a Jing ci immortal. Now Zhou Guifei's meaning is naturally to force Empress Qian to abdicate and become a monk.
At this time, another university scholar, Peng Shi, stood up to speak for Empress Qian, pointing out that Empress Hu had abdicated the throne when Emperor Xuanzong was alive, which was different from the current situation. Moreover, after the restoration, the former emperor also restored her status as empress. Today's events are not comparable to the story of Xuande.
The eunuch adhered to The meaning of Zhou Guifei and forced the question, "If so, why not make a table in the grass"? It means that it is too late to write now! Seeing that no, if Emperor Yingzong had not abolished martyrdom, Consort Zhou would have forced her to die after Empress Qian abdicated. Peng Shi said that when Emperor Xian was alive, he was not deposed, and now who dares to do this? If our cabinet does not stand up today, it is a "sinner of all ages."
Zhou Guifei stills
Li Xian and Peng Shi argued on the basis of reason and resolutely did not make concessions. Since Emperor Xianzong had just succeeded to the throne after all, Concubine Zhou Guifei did not dare to be too willful, and eventually let Empress Qian escape the disaster. Peng Shi hit the iron while it was hot, pointing out that they were all empresses, and empress Qian should add two words in front of them to facilitate the difference. On the first day of March in the eighth year of Tianshun (1464 AD), Empress Qian was honored as Empress Dowager Ciyi, and Consort Zhou was honored as Empress Dowager.
Jia Yinshuo, empress dowager empress dowager, empress dowager, empress dowager, empress dowager, empress dowager, empress dowager. It was early in the morning, and Sun Jizong, the Marquis of Huichang, sent a message to heaven and earth. Marquis Sun of Huaining sued the Taimiao Temple. Crown Prince Shaofu and Marquis Liu An of Guangning sued Sheji. Emperor Yingzongrui was informed of several feasts. He was enshrined in the Palace of the Empress Dowager of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and was honored with the title of Empress Dowager Ciyi. ... The Second Lady of the Noble Concubine Palace, Gong Shang was honored as the Empress Dowager. - Records of emperor Ming Xianzong, Vol. 3
Due to the insistence of the cabinet, this round Zhou Guifei was defeated. Not only did she fail to force Empress Qian to abdicate, but she fell behind in the honorific title. Fortunately, the days are still long, and soon the opportunity for revenge will come.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > the second round: the secret battle between the deposed empress and the empress dowager</h1>
In Emperor Yingzong's will, special attention was also paid to his son's marriage, asking him to complete the marriage after a hundred days of his own death without delay. But what people did not expect was that this marriage, which was highly valued by the former emperor, ended after only one month. What's the secret in that?
When Zhu Qizhen was alive, he had actually selected three candidates for his son: Wu, Wang and Bai. Among the three, Emperor Yingzong himself preferred the Wu clan, so in April of the eighth year of Tianshun, wu was elected empress. Of course, this will was not issued by Empress Dowager Ciyi, but in the name of Empress Dowager Zhou.
Peng Shen, empress dowager' edict: "Now the eldest daughter of the governor Tongzhi Wu Jun is chosen as empress." There is a period of marriage, and the etiquette is practiced together, and the Ministry of Etiquette will agree with the Hanlin Yuan to hear it. —Records of emperor Ming Xianzong, vol. 4
On July 21, Sun Jizong, the Marquis of Taibao and Huichang, was appointed as the main envoy, Shaobao and The Official Shangshu and Li Xian, a scholar of the Huagaidian University, and Yao Kui, the Rebbe Shangshu, was appointed as the deputy envoy. Holding the festival of the treasure of the book of honor, the book of Wu as the empress. Of course, the text of the book exaggerates the Wu family into a flower: "Zhi'er Wu, Yu Xiuxunmen, pure quality." There is the virtue of modesty and tranquility, and there is the benevolence of gentleness and kindness. ”
Among the several canonized envoys, Sun Jizong was the elder brother of Emperor Xianzong's grandmother Empress Xiaogongzhang, empress dowager, and the emperor's great-uncle. Li Xian was the first assistant of the cabinet, and Yao Kui was the supreme leader of the Ceremonial Department, which could be said to have given the empress family face. However, only a month later, on August 22, Empress Wu, who had just passed her honeymoon, was suddenly deposed. As soon as the news came out, the world was shocked. As for why Empress Wu was deposed, Zhu Jianshen's son Emperor Mingxiaozong Zhu Youfan, in order to avoid secrecy when he was revising the Records of Emperor Mingxianzong, only vaguely mentioned that it was because he beat the harem's favorite concubine.
Hou Li was abolished before the end of the month, when it was rumored or said that there were people in the harem who were first favored by the hou staff. However, the palace forbidden affairs are secret, and they are detailed. —Records of emperor Ming Xianzong, vol. VIII
Stills of Wan Guifei
After the fall of the Ming Dynasty, qing historians only bluntly pointed out when revising the History of Ming that Empress Wu was deposed because she reprimanded Wan Guifei. Not only did he beat Wan Guifei, but he also deliberately "picked it up", that is, deliberately looking for stubble. Perhaps in the heart of the young and beautiful Empress Wu, this 35-year-old aunt should have rolled away from the emperor long ago.
Due to his experience in his youth, Ming Xianzong actually attached great importance to family affection. But Empress Wu's actions have clearly trampled on his bottom line. Taking this opportunity, Zhu Jianshen also planned to knock on the cabinet that had previously made him suffer continuously. Just a week after Emperor Xianzong ascended the throne, his close associate Wang Lun of the Imperial Palace Dianxi Bureau was joined by the eunuch forces led by Niu Yu and the cabinet forces led by Li Xian and Chen Wen. Like the Imperial Palace, the Eastern Palace also had eunuchs to serve, and their governing body was called the Eastern Palace Six Bureaus, of which the Canon seal bureau had the highest status. The evaluation of Wang Lun in the Records of Emperor Mingxianzong is that "things are in the Eastern Palace, and things are more specialized", which shows how favored he is. In the dispute over the title of empress dowager, Xianzong's mother and son lost in the confrontation with the cabinet, and this field always had to come back.
At that time, after Zhu Jianshen expressed his idea of abolishing the empress dowager to the empress dowager of the two palaces, Empress Dowager Ciyi was greatly surprised and urged that it should not be done. As for Empress Zhou, she firmly sided with her son. This time, the mother and son were in the same heart, and threw the pot on the head of the eunuch Niu Yu, the superintendent of ceremonies, saying that he accepted bribes from Wu Jun, the father of the Wu clan, and persuaded Empress Dowager Ciyi to change the empress candidate to wu, but in fact, the preferred candidate of the former emperor should be the Wang clan. As a result, Hu Niuyu fell and was sent to Nanjing Xiaoling to plant vegetables. His in-laws, sun bo, the chief officer of the three thousand battalions and the Marquis of Huaiyuan, were idle, and his nephew Taichang Temple Shaoqing and attendant Niu Lun and nephew Yang Chun, a member of the official department, were all dismissed from office.
On October 12 of that year, Emperor Xian made Wang shi empress. This time, the battle between the two palaces ended with Empress Zhou's great victory. Emperor Xianzong took this opportunity to maintain the authority of Wan Guifei, suppressed the groups in the inner court who were proud of their old qualifications, and by the way, shocked the cabinet, which can be described as killing birds with one stone.
Stills of Ming Xianzong
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > round three: who can enjoy the Temple of the Two Palaces</h1>
As mentioned above, Emperor Yingzong had the idea of changing the crown prince in his later years, and this person who blew the wind was most likely Empress Dowager Ciyi. Therefore, after Emperor Xianzong himself ascended the throne, he still had obvious bias towards his mother-in-law and his birth mother, and the most direct evidence was the birthday of the empress dowager of the two palaces.
Empress Dowager Ciyi's birthday was June 29, and Empress Zhou's birthday was October 14. Tianshun was still in the eighth year of the great funeral, and the birthday feast was not easy to do. However, in the first year of Chenghua (1465 AD) of the following year, the gap was revealed. On Empress Dowager Ciyi's birthday, "The Lady of Liberty was given a pilgrimage", and on the occasion of Empress Zhou's birthday, not only did the Wenwu courtiers order the women to pay tribute to the interior, but the Emperor also gave a banquet to the Wenwu Hundred Officials at noon.
Fortunately, this humiliating day did not last long, and on June 26, the fourth year of Chenghua (1468 AD), Empress Dowager Ciyi collapsed. Although Qian Himself is a hundred, a larger-scale dispute between the two houses is brewing.
Two days later, Emperor Xianzong suddenly summoned his courtiers and said that he would choose a place for Empress Dowager Ciyi's mausoleum. At this time, the group of courtiers was in an uproar, and the original emperor's will and testament made it clear: "The empress will die in the end of his life, and it is appropriate to be buried together." Even more frightening than this is the status of the Qian clan, once she cannot be buried with Emperor Yingzong, Empress Zhou's next move must be to not let the Qian clan enjoy the Taimiao Temple, which is equivalent to deposing the status of the empress of the Qian clan.jpg. At this time, Li Xian had died, and Peng Shi, who was a hard-faced Zhou Guifei, was promoted to the position of first assistant.
Ming Yingzong YuLing
As an elite who had experienced the eunuch sea for many years, Peng Shi certainly knew what Empress Zhou's worries were. So he proposed a compromise plan, that is, if Empress Zhou did not hide it in the future, she could also be buried with Emperor Yingzong and have the same temple as Empress Qian.
After thousands of years, the current empress dowager and empress dowager Ciyi were in the mausoleum temple, and they did not interfere. And the more it is enough to see the second empress dowager's survival of the day and the infinity, the eternal and endless beauty. Recorded in the annals of history, to increase the light of our emperor's light, to show the filial piety of my emperor, this minister and others are deeply willing. - Records of emperor Ming Xianzong, vol. 55
In order to reassure Empress Zhou, on the first day of July, The Rebbe Shangshu Yao Kui further pointed out that "it is appropriate to enjoy the Ying Temple, and it is also appropriate to enjoy the ceremony, which is the best of heaven and human feelings." However, believing in the mouths of the civil officials is not as good as believing that there are ghosts in this world, Empress Zhou disagreed, and insisted that Empress Qian be "buried in an auspicious place around Yuling."
This is the first time in the history of the Ming Dynasty that the emperor's mother-in-law has died and the birth mother is still alive, and how to deal with it will obviously become a model for future emperors. For the ministers, Empress Dowager Ciyi was a concubine, and Empress Zhou was a concubine, and the concubines were clearly distinguished, and the etiquette system should not be disturbed.
On the third day of the first month of July, in front of the Wenhua Gate on the east side of the Forbidden City, the black pressure was full of countless high-ranking civil and military officials. Including Xu Li, duke of Wei, Shangshu Yao Kui of the Ministry of Rites, Ke Quan, a young zhan shi of zhan shifu and a scholar of the Hanlin Academy, Wei Yuan, and Yu Shi KangYongshao, the governor of Henan and other provinces, hou, horse, bo, dudu, and Jinyiwei, as well as the officials in charge of the six departments, the Duchayuan, the General Administration, and the Dali Temple. The focus of these people's complaints is that "the fate of the mother and queen is fixed, and the fa of the ancestors is particularly important."
The Mandarin Gate of the Forbidden City
The Wenhua Gate is next to the Wenhua Hall, which was the place where the Chenghua Emperor Zhu Jianshen was the crown prince. However, after succeeding to the throne, after the emperor retired from the dynasty, he often summoned the cabinet and the civil and military ministers to hold small meetings. Now not only did the civilian-official clique share the same hatred, but even the emperor's relative Xun Gui stood up to support Empress Dowager Ciyi, which undoubtedly made Emperor Xianzong's mother and son feel great pressure. In the end, Empress Dowager Zhou reluctantly agreed to let Empress Dowager Ciyi and Emperor Xian bury Yuling together.
When the Wenwu courtiers played the song, they knelt down in front of the Wenhua Gate and waited, and they would surely come after them. On the recitation of its music, fu pleaded with the empress dowager, from Mi to Shen, a little from the following. So he played several songs, and replied with the same words: "What Qing Qing and others said is in line with the meaning of the year, and the funeral ceremony is allowed to be done." So the Wen and Wu courtiers all shouted long live and retreated. - Records of emperor Ming Xianzong, vol. 56
On July 19, Emperor Xianzong personally honored Empress Dowager Ciyi with the title of "Empress Xiaozhuang Xianmu Honghui Xianren Gong Tianqin Shengrui", referred to as Empress Xiaozhuangrui for short. On September 4, Empress Xiaozhuangrui was buried in Yuling. On September 15, Empress Xiaozhuangrui was blessed at the Taimiao Temple. In this battle for fame, Empress Zhou finally lost.
Conclusion: In August of the twenty-third year of Chenghua (1487 AD), Emperor Xianzong Zhu Jianshen died and was succeeded by crown prince Zhu Youfan. In April before his death, Emperor Xianzong gave Empress Dowager Zhou the title of Empress Dowager ShengciRenshou. In September of that year, Emperor Xiaozong gave his grandmother the title of Empress Dowager Shengci Renshou. On the first day of March in the seventeenth year of Hongzhi (1504 AD), Empress Dowager Shengci Renshou collapsed. On March 12, the Ministry of Rites gave the Zhou clan the title of "Empress Xiaosu Zhenshun Kang Yi Guanglie Auxiliary Heavenly Chengsheng Rui", and everything seemed to be proceeding in an orderly manner as planned by Empress Xiao Surui.
But by March 16, everything had reversed. When Emperor Xiaozong examined the drawings of Yuling, he found an important hidden plot: the tunnel between Yingzong and Qian's tomb was not opened, but the tunnel reserved for Zhou was open, which was obviously the hand and foot of the year. The civil officials who had previously said this also changed their tone, and the cabinet scholars Liu Jian, Li Dongyang, and Xie Qian proposed that although the empress dowager was buried with Emperor Yingzong, it should not be allowed to go to the temple, and the emperor (that is, the Rui character of Emperor Rui of emperor Ming Yingzong' title should be removed), and still called empress dowager, and should not be enshrined in the Palace Fengci Hall (located on the west side of the Fengxian Hall).
Taimiao
On March 21, Zhou's previous title of Empress Xiaosurui was revoked and she was renamed Empress Xiaosu Zhenshun Kang Yiguang Liefu Tianchengsheng. This is really lamentable, Zhou Clan fought for a lifetime of fame, and finally was rejected by her grandson who was raised with hard work and hard work. At that time, Wan Guifei covered the sky with one hand in the palace, and it was precisely by relying on the protection of her grandmother that Emperor Xiaozong could grow up peacefully. The decision of the Zhou Dynasty Temple was made by Emperor Xianzong and the cabinet in that year, and Emperor Xiaozong could have pushed it on the head of Emperor Xian. Was the reason why he did this because his birth mother, Empress Xiaomu, could not go to the temple?
Therefore, the pro-approval meeting was said: "Enjoy important things, and be careful and cautious." The Qing dynasty and other auditors have already understood the classical and ancestral temple system, and they are all approved. A specially built temple is dedicated, still called the empress dowager, in order to extend the meaning of honor. Future generations will observe the worship and will always be customized. —Ming Xiaozong Records Volume 29
It was not until after Emperor Mingzong Zhu Houxi ascended the throne that he gave his great-grandmother the status of empress dowager, changing his title to "Empress Xiaosu Zhenshun Kang Yi Guanglie Auxiliary Heavenly Chengsheng", and removing a "Rui" character compared with the original. Of course, Sejong's move was to pave the way for his own grandmother Empress Shao to take the title of "Empress Xiaohui Kangsu Wen Ren Yi Shun Shun Tianyou Sheng". If the Zhou clan collapsed when Emperor Xianzong was alive, I am afraid that he would enjoy the Taimiao Temple as he wished. It was a pity that she lived too long to survive her son, and as for the grandson, she really didn't see his affection for his grandmother.