26 Facts About Jingtai Emperor

The Jingtai Emperor, known by his temple name as the Emperor Daizong of Ming and by his posthumous name as the Emperor Jing of Ming, personal name Zhu Qiyu, was the seventh emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1449 to 1457.

Jingtai Emperor succeeded his elder brother, Emperor Yingzong, who had been captured by the Mongols.

Jingtai Emperor was instead placed under house arrest in the Southern Palace of the Forbidden City.

Jingtai Emperor had not designated an heir, as his son and crown prince had died in the fourth year of his reign under unclear circumstances, possibly due to poisoning.

Jingtai Emperor was the second son of the Xuande Emperor, who ruled the Ming dynasty from 1425 to 1435.

Jingtai Emperor was naturally shy, weak, indecisive and had no desire for power.

Jingtai Emperor Yingzong decided to lead personally the campaign against the Mongols, with the support of his trusted advisor Wang Zhen.

Jingtai Emperor was accompanied by aides who represented the most influential power groups.

Jingtai Emperor declared his brother as Taishang Huang, a title that was higher in rank but only honorary.

The Jingtai Emperor's government refused all of Esen's attempts to pay for the release of the captured emperor and insisted on his unconditional return.

The Jingtai Emperor confined his brother to the Southern Palace and cut off all contact with government officials.

One notable characteristic of the Jingtai Emperor's reign was the remarkable stability within his core group of ministers.

Jingtai Emperor handpicked 100,000 soldiers from the remaining troops in the Beijing area and divided them into five training divisions.

Jingtai Emperor restructured the command system of the capital garrison.

Jingtai Emperor removed the eunuchs from their supervisory role, resulting in a unified command and a greater involvement of the capital generals in managing the training camps.

One ongoing political issue during the Jingtai Emperor's reign was the situation of Emperor Yingzong and the matter of who would succeed him.

Typically, the emperor's adversaries would have been forced to resign, but the Jingtai Emperor was hesitant to address these issues and allowed them to remain in their positions.

However, the Jingtai Emperor eventually decided to reserve the throne for his own descendants.

Jingtai Emperor Yingzong wasted no time in making changes to the government, promoting the conspirators and dismissing officials from the previous regime.

Some supporters of the Jingtai Emperor regime, including Yu Qian, Wang Wen, and three high-ranking eunuchs, were executed.

The Jingtai Emperor was demoted to the Prince of Cheng and never fully recovered from his illness.

Jingtai Emperor was given the posthumous name Li and was buried outside the imperial mausoleums at Yuchuanshan.

Some officials suggested abolishing his era name, similar to the abolishment of the Jianwen era, but Jingtai Emperor Yingzong did not agree.

In 1475, the Chenghua Jingtai Emperor restored his imperial title and changed the posthumous name to Jingtai Emperor Gongren Kangding Jing, which was shorter than the names given to other emperors.

The Jingtai Emperor had a daughter, Princess Gu'an, who was born in 1469.

Jingtai Emperor was married to Wang Xian, a great-grandson of Wang Zhi.