In ancient times, when there were no cameras, most of the time if you wanted to know what the emperors looked like, you could only look at the portraits of painters and the records in the history books. But according to the portraits of the emperors that have been handed down so far, we can find a more interesting fact. That is, in history, most of the emperors of the Ming Dynasty were very fat, and their weight can be said to be much fatter than that of modern people according to the records and portraits in the history books. Most of the emperors of the Qing Dynasty were thin and about the same size as ordinary people. So what are the reasons for this?
During the Ming Dynasty, the obese emperor who could rank first, it was Mingrenzong. Ming Renzong has records of his appearance and posture in the "History of the Ming Dynasty" and "The Records of Ming Renzong", which both said that Zhu Gaochi hated exercise, so that he was obese and had difficulty moving, and even needed the support of two eunuchs to move. In the eyes of his father Zhu Di, this son is very good everywhere, but it is this figure that makes him feel annoying. Therefore, he often took his second son Zhu Gaoxi to go on expeditions, which made Mingrenzong's status precarious, which shows that his obesity level can be described as unique. And his obesity brought him early death. According to the "History of the Ming Dynasty", less than a year after Zhu Gaochi ascended the throne, he "died suddenly without illness", and in the book "Political History of the Early Ming Dynasty", there is a record that after Zhu Gaochi's death, the great eunuch of the dynasty wrote a diary to prove that Zhu Gaochi died of a heart attack. 
In addition to Zhu Gaochi, there were many obese emperors in the Ming Dynasty. The second famous one is Zhu Changxun, the blessed king in the late Ming Dynasty. The prince was known throughout history for his greed and obesity, and after Li Zicheng set off an uprising, he was eventually captured by the peasant army. After that, according to the "History of the Ming Dynasty", Li Zicheng killed King Fu, cooked it with venison, and distributed it to the local hungry people and soldiers, called it "Fulu Banquet", which shows that the degree of obesity is simply beyond imagination. 
But the emperors of the Qing Dynasty, judging from the portraits, were actually very thin, or had a more normal figure. Among the dozens of emperors of the Qing Dynasty, there is only one Jiaqing Emperor who can be called fat. According to today's standards, the other emperors are considered burly and sturdy, except for the few who founded the country, and most of the later emperors are mainly thin and weak. Especially Emperor Daoguang, according to the ** handed down at the time, Daoguang's cheeks were sunken, and he couldn't tell that this was the emperor of the current dynasty at all. So why is there such a big difference between the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties?
1. The culture of the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties is different, except for Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di, the emperors of the Ming Dynasty have fought hard at the bottom when they are alive, and the other enjoys prestige in the army. Most of the other emperors were the crown princes step by step, and then when their father abdicated, they could ascend the throne themselves. In the Ming Dynasty, Cheng Zhu's ideas were deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Among them, the most serious is naturally the ministers within the imperial court, who are influenced by the science of science. If the emperor of the Ming Dynasty wanted to leave the name of a Ming monarch, the best way was not to go out in the palace, but to sit on the dragon chair to deal with government affairs. So much so that it is recorded in the "History of the Ming Dynasty" that just if the Wanli Emperor wanted to ride a horse in the palace, it would cause the ministers of the court to play, thinking that this was really not done by the Ming monarch. 
But the Qing emperors were different. The Qing Dynasty was originally from the nomads from the north, and those who could become royal families were naturally the nobles who had not entered the customs. So, how did the nobility of the steppe come to be in the first place?See who is stronger, who has the best riding and archery skills, and who has made the most contributions. This made it so that under the subtle influence, the emperors of the Qing Dynasty needed to practice martial arts from an early age. What's more, it is recorded in the "History of the Qing Dynasty" that in order to maintain their traditional customs and never forget the teachings of their ancestors, the emperors of the Qing Dynasty specially held a hunting activity called "Mulan Qiuqiu" every year. The protagonist is naturally the emperor of the Qing Dynasty. And frequent hunting will naturally keep the Qing emperors' figure at a lean level. 
Second, the system of selecting princes in the Ming and Qing dynasties is different, and the second biggest impact is that the atmosphere of the selection of princes in the Ming and Qing dynasties is actually very different. As a traditional regime, the Ming Dynasty has always followed the primogeniture system in its treatment of the crown prince. In other words, as long as you are the eldest son, and there are no major mistakes and crimes, and you have not encountered any accidents, then your position as the crown prince can be said to be very stable. For example, Zhu Gaochi mentioned above, he had to be supported by two people to walk, and he was also disliked by his father Zhu Di, but in the end he succeeded in sitting on the throne. 
But the selection of princes in the Qing Dynasty was different. The "Qing Historical Manuscript" records that after Kangxi, Kangxi abolished the primogeniture system. Who can become the emperor in the future depends on the children's own efforts. And in order to obtain the crown prince, all the children who wish to win the favor of the emperor must master what all nobles should learn. Under the continuation of this pressure and competition, it is natural that their bodies are thin or average.