In ancient feudal times, emperors were responsible for governing the country and inheriting the throne, so they not only needed capable officials to assist them, but also had a flourishing harem. In order to reproduce offspring, emperors recruited concubines and ensured that there were successors to the country. Therefore, an emperor with fewer concubines is more likely to spark discussions in later generations. In the Ming Dynasty, there was an emperor who had only one woman in his harem, and all of his children were born to one mother. This emperor is Zhu Youzhu, the Emperor Xiaozong of the Ming Dynasty, and the only favored woman is Empress Xiaokang Jing Zhang. Now let’s talk about the story of Xiaokang’s respect for Empress Zhang.
Zhang comes from an ordinary scholarly family, with his father being a scholar who entered the Imperial Academy as a tribute from his hometown. Zhang has been well influenced by culture since childhood and has a good family background. Due to living a folk life since childhood, she is more lively and dynamic than ordinary ladies from wealthy families. At the age of seventeen, Zhang entered the palace and was selected as the Crown Princess. In the same year, Zhu Youzhong succeeded to the throne as Emperor Xiaozong of the Ming Dynasty, and Zhang’s identity changed from Crown Princess to Empress.
After the new emperor ascends the throne, there is usually a selection process to enrich the harem. But perhaps influenced by the tragic experience of his birth mother, no matter how much the courtiers advised him, Emperor Xiaozong of Ming had no plans to expand the harem and only devoted himself wholeheartedly to guarding Empress Zhang. The two of them are extremely affectionate, living together like a folk couple, supporting and accompanying each other.
In ancient times, it was normal for a male to have three wives and four concubines, let alone an emperor who was the ruler of China. It can be seen from this that in the era when the emperor could have three palaces and six courtyards, Empress Zhang, who enjoyed the monogamous system ahead of time, was so lucky.
During the reign of Emperor Xiaozong of Ming Dynasty, Empress Zhang gave birth to two sons and one daughter for him. The eldest son was named Zhu Houzhao, who later became Emperor Wuzong of Ming Dynasty. His youngest son and daughter both died young.
Emperor Xiaozong not only favored Empress Zhang, but also gave preferential treatment to her family. Not only did he confer titles on Empress Zhang’s father and brother, but he also spent several years building a magnificent family temple for the Zhang family.
With the early death of Emperor Xiaozong of the Ming Dynasty, these happy days of being showered with love have all become memories. After the death of Emperor Xiaozong of the Ming Dynasty, his eldest son Zhu Houzhao succeeded to the throne as Emperor Wuzong of the Ming Dynasty, and Zhang was revered as the Empress Dowager. However, Zhu Houzhao was a nonsensical and absurd emperor with a very bad reputation in history, which made the Empress Dowager Zhang uncomfortable. What’s even more heartbreaking is that Zhu Houzhao, who was only 30 years old, passed away at a young age without leaving any offspring, which made the life of Zhang, who lost his husband at the age of 35 and his son at the age of 51, even more unsatisfactory.
After the death of Zhu Houzhao, the Zhang family and the Grand Secretary Yang Tinghe jointly planned to enthrone Zhu Houzhao, the cousin of Emperor Wu Zong, as Emperor Ming Shizong. Zhang was revered as the Empress Dowager of the Holy Mother. After Zhu Houzhao succeeded to the throne, he deliberately suppressed the Zhang family and constantly elevated the status of his birth mother, Jiang, due to the discord between the Zhang family and his biological mother. He became increasingly disrespectful to the Zhang family. With Zhang’s downfall, her two younger brothers lost their support, and Zhu Houzhao seized the opportunity to imprison them in the imperial prison.
After experiencing the pain of losing her husband, son, and younger brother, Zhu Houzhao treated her coldly, and Zhang’s later life was very desolate. In August of the 20th year of the Jiajing reign, Zhang passed away in grief and anger at the age of 71, with the posthumous title of Xiaokang Jingsu Zhuang Cizheyi Yitian Zan Shengjing Empress.
Empress Zhang was lucky to meet Emperor Mingxiao, who loved only her for a lifetime. Empress Zhang was also unfortunate, as her husband and son passed away one after another, leaving her alone to face the coldness of the new emperor, ultimately leading to a tragic ending in her later years.
