The change of heirs apparent of 1452 was a major political event during the Ming dynasty. It refers to the attempt by the Jingtai Emperor to depose his brother's son, Zhu Jianshen, as crown prince and install his own son, Zhu Jianji, as the heir. This took place after the Tumu Crisis of 1449, during which the Jingtai Emperor ascended the throne following the capture of his brother, Emperor Yingzong, by Mongol forces. To achieve his goal, the emperor resorted to various means, including widespread bribery of high-ranking officials and the use of force against those who opposed him. An emperor using such methods to secure the succession for his son was a rare and notable occurrence in Chinese history.
Zhu Qiyu, the Jingtai Emperor, was the second son of the Xuande Emperor and the younger brother of Emperor Yingzong.[1] Prior to his accession, he held the title of Prince of Cheng. In August 1449, Emperor Yingzong personally campaigned against the Oirat Mongols, leaving the Prince of Cheng as regent. This campaign led to the Tumu Crisis, during which Emperor Yingzong was captured on 1 September. The Oirats then aggressively advanced, attacking Beijing and causing a tense atmosphere throughout the capital. On 4 September, the Prince of Cheng assumed control of the government with the approval of Empress Dowager Sun, the mother of Emperor Yingzong.[2] At the time, Emperor Yingzong's eldest son, Zhu Jianshen, was only two years old;[3] therefore, on 15 September, high-ranking civil and military officials, led by Yu Qian, persuaded the empress dowager to support the prince's enthronement to avoid the instability of a child ruler.[2] On 22 September 1449, the Prince of Cheng was enthroned as the Jingtai Emperor, beginning the Jingtai era. Emperor Yingzong was granted the title of Emperor Emeritus. However, Empress Dowager Sun stipulated that the Ming dynasty still belonged to Emperor Yingzong and that the Jingtai Emperor would merely act as a regent. She also officially appointed Zhu Jianshen as the crown prince.[4]
The Jingtai Emperor worked to strengthen the country, successfully repelling the invasion of the Oirat Mongols and restoring stability to the nation. Additionally, he implemented reforms and adjustments across the political, economic, and military spheres, which contributed to a gradual revival of Ming society.[5] In 1450, after Emperor Yingzong was released and returned to Beijing, he was placed under house arrest in the Southern Palace by the Jingtai Emperor. Although his hold on the throne was gradually solidifying, the Jingtai Emperor sought to secure his lineage by making his son, Zhu Jianji, the legitimate heir. To this end, he began a series of political maneuvers, including orchestrating a plan to bribe court officials to gain their support for replacing Crown Prince Zhu Jianshen.[6] To achieve this, he orchestrated a farce of bribing court officials.[7]
Change
Crown Prince Zhu Jianshen, who later became the Chenghua Emperor, was demoted from crown prince to Prince of Yi (沂王) by his uncle, the Jingtai Emperor.
The appointment of Zhu Jianshen as crown prince by the empress dowager placed the Jingtai Emperor in a difficult position, necessitating a cautious approach. He first tested the experienced eunuch Jin Ying, saying "Early the seventh month, on the second day, it will be the heir apparent's birthday". Jin Ying immediately replied, "The heir apparent's birthday is on the second of the eleventh month". This was the birthday of the crown prince Zhu Jianshen, while the date mentioned by the Jingtai Emperor was that of his son, Zhu Jianji (朱見濟). Displeased with Jin Ying's reply, the emperor ended the conversation in frustration.[8]
In his persistent efforts to change the succession, the Jingtai Emperor followed a suggestion from the eunuch Xing An to bribe court officials to gain their support. Soon after, the emperor summoned the members of the Grand Secretariat, including Senior Grand Secretary Chen Xun (陳循) and Secondary Grand Secretary Gao Gu (高穀), along with four others. After a brief and seemingly unimportant discussion, the meeting was abruptly adjourned. Subsequently, eunuchs sent by Xing An separately approached the officials and presented them with pre-prepared silver.[9] Chen Xun and Gao Gu received 100 liang each, while the other four members each received 50 liang.[10] Understanding the emperor's intentions, all six officials accepted the bribes and remained silent on the matter afterward.[9]
Following his successful efforts to gain support from the Grand Secretariat, the emperor secured the backing of other ministers. Despite the relatively small sums of silver involved, the officials understood the political implications of the gesture and unanimously agreed to the proposal to change the crown prince.[9]Empress Wang, however, remained steadfast in her opposition to the emperor's actions. Despite her open arguments, she was ultimately deposed by her husband and sent to the cold palace. On 20 May 1452, the Jingtai Emperor used the excuse of "when a father holds the empire, he must bequeath it to his son" to depose the crown prince Zhu Jianshen, son of Emperor Yingzong, and demote him to the Prince of Yi.[11] He then appointed his own son, Zhu Jianji, as the new crown prince, and Zhu Jianji's mother, Lady Hang, was made empress due to her son's status. Zhu Jianji died in 1454, leaving the Jingtai Emperor without any other heirs.[12] According to Ming law, the deposed crown prince, Zhu Jianshen, was the emperor's closest blood relative, and officials urged for his reinstatement. However, the Jingtai Emperor, who had deposed Zhu Jianshen, was hesitant to reinstate him, fearing future repercussions. Despite repeated pleas from court officials, the emperor rejected their requests to re-establish Zhu Jianshen as the crown prince. In response, some ministers who advocated for this were imprisoned and subjected to brutal treatment, with several being flogged to death.[13] Among these was Zhong Tong (鍾同), an Investigating Censor of Guizhou Circuit, who openly criticized the emperor, stating, "The death of the heir apparent is enough to show that the Mandate of Heaven is still present".[14] He also pointed out numerous flaws in the emperor's policies. The Jingtai Emperor, upon hearing this, became furious and had Zhong imprisoned and beaten to death.[7]
Aftermath
In early 1457, the Jingtai Emperor suddenly fell gravely ill, which sparked a discussion among officials about the succession of the throne. On 10 February, news from the inner court indicated that the emperor had recovered, prompting the ministers to plan a discussion about the crown prince during the next day's court session. This plan was disrupted by a palace coup orchestrated by supporters of Emperor Yingzong that same night. During the coup, Emperor Yingzong was restored to the throne, while the Jingtai Emperor was deposed and died a month later.[15]
de Heer, Ph. (1986). The Care-taker Emperor: Aspects of the Imperial Institution in Fifteenth-century China as Reflected in the Political History of the Reign of Chu Chʾi-yü. Leiden: Brill. ISBN9004078983.
Twitchett, Denis C; Grimm, Tilemann (1988). "The Cheng-t'ung, Ching-t'ai, and T'ien-shun reigns, 1436—1464". In Mote, Frederick W.; Twitchett, Denis C (eds.). The Cambridge History of China Volume 7: The Ming Dynasty, 1368–1644, Part 1. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN0521243327.
Zhang, Tingyu (1974) [1739]. Ming Shi明史[History of Ming] (in Literary Chinese). Beijing: Zhonghua Book. ISBN7101003273.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
