Ming Dynasty Emperor Zhu Houzhao was an underestimated emperor and also a lifelong incompetent emperor who was criticized

Today, the History Encyclopedia editor brings you an article by Ming Dynasty Emperor Zhu Houzhao, hoping to be helpful to everyone.
In ancient poetry, it is mentioned that the rolling Yangtze River flows eastward, and the waves wash away heroes. This popular poem is not actually a representative of Tang Dynasty poetry, but comes from Yang Shen’s “The Immortal of Langjiang” during the Ming Dynasty. Modern people may have a deep misunderstanding of the history of the Ming Dynasty, as they believe that a large part of the humiliating history of the late Qing Dynasty was due to the influence of the isolationist policy, which was first implemented during the Ming Dynasty.
So many people despise the Ming Dynasty because of this clue. But in fact, the sunset period of the Qing Dynasty was mainly due to social issues, which cannot be killed with one stick. It is believed that the policy of isolationism was the only reason that dragged down the entire process of modern China. In addition to the policy of isolationism that easily tarnished the political reputation of the Ming Dynasty, many descendants were very disgusted with the ruling emperors of the mid to late Ming Dynasty, including Zhu Youjian, Zhu Youxiao, and others.
I feel that as the emperors of the late Ming Dynasty, they not only failed to protect the country’s territory, but also failed to safeguard the political unity situation that Zhu Yuanzhang had established. But during the Ming Dynasty, there was also an underestimated emperor. Many people, when learning about the history of the Ming Dynasty, thought that this emperor was an incompetent ruler who had played and been criticized for his entire life. However, in fact, this emperor also had his own advantages, and his methods were terrifying.
This emperor is Zhu Houzhao, the 10th emperor of the Ming Dynasty. He was born in October 1491 and reigned during the Zhengde period. Zhu Houzhao’s birth mother was Empress Zhang, and the story left by Empress Zhang and her father Emperor Xiaodi to future generations mainly revolves around love. Empress Zhang and Emperor Xiaodi remained faithful to their love, but as the emperor, Emperor Xiaodi, although he had countless beauties in the harem, gave up this right and only favored Empress Zhang throughout his life.
But after the couple got married, they had a lot of regrets about having children. Empress Zhang only gave birth to two sons in her lifetime, Zhu Houzhao and her youngest son Zhu Houwei. However, as her youngest son passed away due to illness shortly after birth, Zhu Houzhao, as Empress Zhang’s only son, was naturally particularly favored by the couple from a young age.
Zhu Houzhao lived up to his expectations and appeared exceptionally talented and intelligent from a young age. Not only does he show great talent in horseback riding, archery, reading comprehension, and other aspects, but his speech is also very pleasant to listen to, so he naturally gained the love of Emperor Xiaodi and his wife. Emperor Xiaodi of Ming Dynasty also arranged many excellent teachers for Zhu Houzhao. So from this perspective, Zhu Houzhao’s academic performance is at least not bad. If he were placed in modern society, he would be considered a high achieving graduate from a university.
However, the historical accounts of Zhu Houzhao are not very friendly either. In the “History of Ming Dynasty”, it is directly recorded that if Zhu Houzhao was trained according to his early level, he had every reason to become a good emperor during the Ming Dynasty. However, his intelligence was misled by his intelligence. After ascending to the throne, Zhu Houzhao gradually began to favor the eunuchs around him, but was eventually destroyed by these eunuchs.
In 1505 AD, Zhu Houzhao ascended the throne and became emperor. However, after ascending the throne, Zhu Houzhao gradually established a strong political power in the Eastern Palace. The main representatives of the Eastern Palace are eight eunuchs, with Liu Jin as their leader. In the “History of Ming Dynasty”, it is recorded that these eight eunuchs were the Eight Tigers. They took advantage of Zhu Houzhao’s favor towards the Eastern Palace, acted arrogantly, and even engaged in corruption and bribery, using the opportunity to sell and buy officials, and established their own power in the court.
So this phenomenon naturally endangered the stability of Zhu Houzhao’s centralized system, laying the groundwork for future hidden dangers. In 1506 AD, the first year of the Zhengde era, Zhu Houzhao, who was only 16 years old at the time, had just ascended to the throne. However, due to his young age, Zhu Houzhao began to believe in some eunuchs around him.
However, under the arrangement of the eunuchs, Zhu Houzhao gradually indulged in alcohol and sex, and withdrew more of his attention from governing the court order, adopting many favored concubines. So from this perspective, it seems that Zhu Houzhao, as recorded in the Ming History, was indeed a foolish emperor. But Zhu Houzhao also seems to be an underestimated Ming dynasty emperor. Playing around, playing around, playing around, not joking about politics. Every imperial memorial that Zhu Houzhao needs to correct since his registration has gone through his hands.
This is equivalent to saying that many people work overtime during the day and go to bars when they finish work. Although going to a bar has left a bad impression on many elders, it’s good that you’ve done your job. This principle also applies to Zhu Houzhao. As an emperor, Zhu Houzhao’s duty was to correct memorials, but he never overlooked the importance of reviewing memorials, so it can be considered as fulfilling his responsibility.
Criticizing memorials does not mean being able to govern beyond the scope, so Zhu Houzhao often visits privately to show concern for the quality of life of the people. However, after some oppressed people have their own demands, Zhu Houzhao will also attach importance to their suggestions. For example, if taxes are too heavy, Zhu Houzhao will order changes to tax laws and make reasonable adjustments to the situation in some regions.
Moreover, during Zhu Houzhao’s reign, he attached great importance to agricultural development, repeatedly revised some provisions of the law regarding agricultural taxation, and actively encouraged the people to value agricultural culture. So from the perspective of ideological unity, Zhu Houzhao is indeed not so foolish.? Some people say that as an emperor, Zhu Houzhao did not tightly grasp the centralized system in his hands, but instead placed more of his favor on the Eastern Palace, cultivating the eight favored ministers of the Ming Dynasty, which is not right.
This is wrong again. During the Ming Dynasty, there were four famous organizations, namely Dongchang, Xichang, Jinyiwei, and Liumen. These four organizations are an even number, used to balance the balance of the institutions that serve the emperor. The four organizations fight against each other, and in the end, the emperor benefits from it. Although Zhu Houzhao placed more favor on the eunuchs in the Eastern Palace during his reign, it does not mean that Zhu Houzhao will slowly feed them up and let them go.
In 1510 AD, Liu Jin, who was then known as the leader of the Eight Tigers of the Ming Dynasty, gradually gained more power in his hands. He not only engaged in corruption within the court, but also established his own political power. At this moment, Zhu Houzhao did not ignore it, but directly led people to capture Liu Jin and executed him by Lingchi. You should know that Liu Jin’s identity is the leader of the Eight Tigers, so executing him is equivalent to killing one as a warning to others. From this technique, is Zhu Houzhao really just an incompetent emperor addicted to wine and sex? The answer lies in the hearts of the people.