Wanli Emperor

Wanli Emperor
Emperor of China
Reign 19 July 1572 – 18 August 1620
Predecessor Longqing Emperor
Successor Taichang Emperor
Regent Gao Gong, Gao Yi (1572)
Zhang Juzheng (1572–1582)
Spouse Empress Xiaoduanxian
Empress Xiaojing
Issue Taichang Emperor
Full name
Family name: Zhū (朱)
Given name: Yijun (翊鈞)
Era name and dates
Wanli (萬曆): 2 February 1573 – 27 August 1620[1]
Posthumous name
Emperor Fantian Hedao Zhesu Dunjian Guangwen Zhangwu Anren Zhixiao Xian
範天合道哲肅敦簡光文章武安仁止孝顯皇帝
Temple name
Míng Shénzōng
明神宗
Father Longqing Emperor
Mother Empress Dowager Xiaoding
Born 4 September 1563
Died 18 August 1620 (aged 56)
Burial Ming Dynasty Tombs, Beijing

The Wanli Emperor (Chinese: 萬曆; pinyin: Wànlì; 4 September 1563 – 18 August 1620) was the thirteenth emperor of the Ming Dynasty in China. His era name means "Ten thousand calendars". Born Zhu Yijun, he was the Longqing Emperor's third son. His rule of forty-eight years (1572-1620) was the longest in the Ming dynasty and it witnessed the steady decline of the dynasty.

Early reign (1572–1582)

Wanli ascended the throne at the age of 9. For the first ten years of his reign, the young emperor was aided by a notable statesman, Zhang Juzheng (張居正). Zhang Juzheng was a capable administrator who governed the country well in the name of the young Emperor. During this period Wanli deeply respected Zhang as a mentor and a valued minister. However, as Wanli's reign progressed, several factions within the government began to openly oppose Zhang's policies as well as to resent his powerful position in government, and tried to influence Wanli to dismiss Zhang. By 1582, Wanli was a young man of 19 and was tired of the strict routine of Confucian duties that Zhang still imposed on the emperor even though he was past childhood.[2] Wanli became willing to dismiss Zhang, but Zhang died in 1582 before Wanli was able to act. During the first ten years of Wanli's reign, the Ming Dynasty's economy and military power prospered in a way not seen since the Yongle Emperor and the "Ren Xuan Rule" from 1402 to 1435. After Zhang's death, Wanli felt free to act independently, and reversed many of Zhang's administrative improvements. In 1584, Wanli issued an edict confiscating all of Zhang's personal wealth and purging his family members.

Middle reign (1582–1600)

A painting of a Ming Army unit in the Wanli era

After Zhang Juzheng died, Wanli decided to take complete personal control of the government. During this early part of his rule he showed himself to be a competent and diligent emperor. Overall, the economy continued to prosper and the country remained powerful. Unlike the 20 years at the end of his rule, Wanli at this time would attend every morning meeting and discuss affairs of state.

The first eighteen years of Wanli's reign would be dominated by three wars that he dealt with successfully:

After the last of these three wars were concluded, Wanli withdrew from active participation in morning meetings, a practice which he continued throughout the rest of his reign.

Late reign (1600–1620)

Golden crown (replica) excavated from Dingling tomb

During the later years of Wanli's reign, he became thoroughly alienated from his imperial role and, in effect, went on strike. He refused to attend morning meetings, see his ministers or act upon memoranda. He also refused to make necessary personnel appointments, and as a result the whole top echelon of the Ming administration became understaffed. (He did, however, pay close attention to the construction of his own tomb, a magnificent structure which took decades to complete.)

There are several reasons why he deliberately neglected his duties as Emperor. One is that he became disenchanted with the moralistic attacks and counterattacks of officials, rooted in an abstract Confucian orthodoxy. [2] A more important reason, though, was a dispute about the imperial succession. Wanli's favorite consort was Lady Zheng, and throughout the 1580s and 1590s Wanli very much wanted to promote his son by her (Zhu Changxun) as crown prince, even though he was only Wanli's third son and not favored for the succession. Many of his powerful ministers were opposed, and this led to a clash between sovereign and ministers that lasted more than 15 years. In October 1601 Emperor Wanli finally gave in and promoted Zhu changluo - later Emperor Taichang - as crown prince. Although the ministers seem to have triumphed, Wanli adopted a policy of passive resistance, refusing to play his part in allowing the government to function adequately, leading to serious problems both within China itself and on the borders. [3]

At this time began the growth of what would become the Manchurian threat. The Jurchen area was gradually conquered by Nurhaci. Nurhaci would go on to create the Later Jin Empire which would now become an immediate threat. By this time, after 20 years of imperial dysfunction, the Ming Dynasty army was in steep decline. While the Jurchens were fewer in number, they were fiercer and better fighters. For instance, in the grand battle of Nun Er Chu in 1619, the Ming Dynasty sent out a force of 200,000 against the Later Jin Empire of 60,000, with Nurhaci controlling 6 banners and 45,000 as the central attack while Dai Shan and Hong Taiji each controlled 7,500 troops and one banner attacked from the sides. After 5 days of battle, the Ming Dynasty had casualties of over 100,000, with 70% of their food supply stolen.

Palace Assault

In 1615 the court was hit by yet another scandal. A man by the name of Zhang Chai (Zh: 张差), armed with no more than a wooden staff, managed to chase off eunuchs guarding the gates and broke into Ci-Qing palace (慈庆宫), then the Crown Prince’s living quarters. Zhang Chai was eventually subdued and thrown into prison. Initial investigation found him to be a lunatic, but upon further investigation by a magistrate named Wang Zhicai (王之寀) the man confessed to being party to a plot instigated by two eunuchs working under Lady Zheng. According to Zhang Chai’s confession, the two had promised him rewards for assaulting the Crown Prince, thus implicating the Emperor’s favorite concubine in an assassination plot. Presented with the incriminating evidence and the gravity of the accusations, Emperor Wanli, in an attempt to spare Lady Zheng, personally presided over the case. He laid the full blame on the two implicated eunuchs who were executed along with the would-be assassin. Although the case was quickly hushed up, it did not quash public discussion and eventually became known as the "Case of the Palace Assault" (梃擊案), one of three notorious 'mysteries' of the Late Ming Dynasty.

Family

Consorts

Empress Dowager Xiaojing, who was titled Imperial Noble Consort Wensu in her husband's lifetime.

Concubines

Sons

The Wanli emperor fathered eight male children. The elder became the Taichang emperor, and another three died at a very young age. Others were executed during the first years of the Manchu rule.

Daughters

The Wanli emperor fathered ten daughters, but only the first two survived childhood.

Legacy and death

Many scholars of Chinese history believe that Wanli's reign was a significant factor contributing to the decline of the Ming dynasty. He refused to play the emperor's role in government, and delegated many responsibilities to eunuchs, who made up their own faction. The official administration was so dissatisfied that a group of scholars and political activists loyal to Zhu Xi and against Wang Yangming, created the Donglin Movement, a political group who believed in upright morals and tried to influence the government according to strict Neo-Confucian principles. His reign also experienced heavy fiscal and military pressures, especially since during the closing years of Wanli's reign the Manchu began to conduct raids on the northern border of the Ming Empire. Their depredations ultimately led to the overthrow of the Ming dynasty in 1644. It has been said that the fall of the Ming dynasty was not a result of the Chongzhen Emperor's rule but instead due to Wanli's gross neglect of his duties as Emperor.

The Wanli Emperor died in 1620 and was buried in Dingling (定陵) located in the Ming Dynasty tomb complex on the outskirts of Beijing. His tomb is one of the biggest in the vicinity and one of only two that are open to the public. In 1969 Red Guards stormed the Dingling museum, and dragged the remains of Wanli and his two empresses to the front of the tomb, where they were posthumously "denounced" and burned after photographs were taken of their skulls. Thousands of other artifacts were also destroyed.

In 1997 China's Ministry of Public Security published a book on the history of drug abuse. It stated that the Wanli emperor's remains had been examined in 1958 and found to contain morphine residues at levels which indicate that he had been a heavy and habitual user of opium.[4] According to Dikötter's Narcotic Culture: A History of Drugs in China, Madak was introduced in China by the Dutch traders between 1624 and 1660. [5] Before that, Chinese only used opium in medicinal purposes,so therefore the Wanli emperor could not have been addicted in smoking opium.[6]

On a positive note, Emperor Wanli's contribution to the defense of the Chosun Dynasty in Korea against the Japanese invasion has endeared him to Koreans over the centuries. In the late 1990s, Koreans still paid respect to Wanli.

In many ways, he was similar to other Chinese emperors who were initially successful but later deteriorated, contributing to their dynasty's eventual overthrow, such as Emperor Gaozong and Emperor Xuanzong of Tang and the Qianlong Emperor of the Qing Dynasty.

Notes

  1. ↑ Following the death of the emperor, the Wanli era was normally due to end on 21 January 1621. However, the new emperor Taichang died within a month, before 22 January 1621, which should have been the start of the Taichang era. The new emperor Tianqi decided that the Wanli era would be considered ended since 27 August 1620, the last day of the seventh month in the Chinese calendar, to enable the Taichang era to be applied for the five months remaining in that year (see Taichang article).
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Huang, Ray(1981) 1587, a Year of No Significance: The Ming Dynasty in Decline. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-02518-1
  3. ↑ Goodrich, Carrington L. & Fang, Chaoying, eds. (1976). Dictionary of Ming Biography. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-03801-1.
  4. ↑ Zheng Yangwen (2005). The Social Life of Opium in China. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 18–19. ISBN 0-521-84608-0.
  5. ↑ Frank Dikötter, Lars Peter Laamann, Zhou Xun (2004). Narcotic Culture: A History of Drugs in China. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, C. Hurst & Co. Publishers. p. 32. ISBN 1-85065-725-4.
  6. ↑ Frank Dikötter, Lars Peter Laamann, Zhou Xun (2004). Narcotic Culture: A History of Drugs in China. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, C. Hurst & Co. Publishers. pp. 24 – 31. ISBN 1-85065-725-4.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wanli Emperor.
Wanli Emperor
House of Zhu
Born: 4 September 1563 Died: 18 August 1620
Regnal titles
Preceded by
The Longqing Emperor		 Emperor of China
1572–1620 		Succeeded by
The Taichang Emperor