Selected lectures by the vassal kings of the Ming Dynasty: Xingwang Zhu Youqing
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Ming Xianzong is his father, Ming Xiaozong is his elder brother, Ming Wuzong is his nephew, and Ming Shizong is his son; But there's more to his identity than that. After inheriting the throne, his son posthumously crowned him as the emperor and put him in the Taimiao, and at the same time invited Emperor Renzong in the Taimiao, which went through twists and turns.
Although he never expected to be treated with such a courtesy during his lifetime, he enjoyed it after his death. The account of him in the history books is almost flawless, but whether it is really true is what it seems, you need to think about it.
So, have you already guessed the protagonist of the day? He is the fourth son of Ming Xianzong, Xingwang Zhu Youqing.
The site of the Xingwang Mansion in Zhongxiang City was vacant for six years, until Chenghua Emperor Zhu Jianshen welcomed his fourth son. The child, named Zhu Youqi, was born in 1476 AD, when Zhu Jianshen was already 29 years old.
In the six years before Zhu Youqi was born, Emperor Chenghua had no heirs, and his eldest and second sons died young, and only the third son, Zhu Youji, was protected. However, Zhu Youzhen's birth brought good luck to Zhu Jianshen, and he began a crazy eleven years, from 1476 to 1487, Zhu Jianshen got a total of 11 sons, and even half a year before his death, a son was born.
All of this is considered a negation of historical nihilism, because Wan Guifei did not poison Zhu Jianshen's sons, and if she had not died, Zhu Jianshen might have been able to continue to expand her genetic sequence.
Zhu Youqing's mother, Shao Shi, is legendary, and her birth year is unknown, but we know that she was elected to the palace in 1460, when Tianshun was in the fourth year, when Yingzong was in power and Zhu Jianshen was the crown prince.
It is speculated that she is about the same age as Zhu Jianshen, the emperor of Chenghua, who was born in 1447. Shao's father is called Shao Lin, a native of Changhua County, Hangzhou Prefecture, and her family is very poor, but she was very smart when she was young, knew poetry and literature, and was a very special woman at that time.
It is said that she had been married seven times when she was 14 years old, each time to a military attaché, but each time she died on the wedding day. It is said that at her last wedding, a military attache insisted on marrying her, but when she got on her horse to greet her, she fell off her horse and died.
Surprisingly, her father eventually sold her to a eunuch in Hangzhou, whose physical defects prevented her from becoming the mistress of Ansheng's family, but she was actually elected to the palace and became Zhu Jianshen's maid, but her experience and how she became Zhu Jianshen's maid are not recorded.
Zhu Youqing's mother, Shao Shi, was born in a poor family, but when she was in her 70s, she was canonized as Concubine Chen and became the emperor's concubine. She gave birth to three sons, and Zhu Youqi is the eldest of them.
After the death of Zhu Youqing's mother, she was revered as the Empress Dowager and Empress Dowager, and her death made future generations appreciate her contributions. Zhu was born in 1447 and was about 75 years old when his mother died.
He was crowned King Xing in 1487 and his fief was in Anlu County, De'an Prefecture, Hubei, which is now the county-level city of Anlu City, which is now under the administration of Xiaogan City, Hubei Province. Zhu's fiefdom was later moved to Changshou County, Anlu Prefecture, which is now the county-level city of Zhongxiang City, which is under the administration of Jingmen City in Hubei Province.
In 1494, his elder brother Zhu Youzhu asked him to take his family to Luzhou, Guang'an, and live in the Xingwang Mansion on the site of the former Liang Palace. Zhu Youqi was a very accomplished vassal king, he organized people to compile and select good prescriptions, and also compiled five medical books with local famous doctors, and personally reviewed them.
He is also a man of literature and art, and likes to write poems.
A corner of the former site of Xingwangfu records Zhu Youqi's life. However, his account seems to be so perfect that it may even be untrue for us posterity to read it.
Although we have no evidence, logical speculation exists. After all, Zhu Youqi's second son, Zhu Houxi, later ascended the throne according to the ancestral teachings and became Emperor Jiajing, so there is a theoretical possibility that Emperor Jiajing used exaggerated rhetoric in recognition of his father.
However, in any case, I think this is understandable behavior. Zhu's eldest son died five days after birth, while his second son had just been born. In the thirteenth year of Hongzhi, that is, on July 7, 1500, Zhu Youqing's princess Jiang finally ushered in her first birth after eight years in Xingwangfu.
However, five days later, on July 12, the child also died, without a name and without a knighthood. In 1501 and 1503, Zhu Youqi had two daughters successively, and it seems that the direction of the story is that "the vassal king of Changshou County has no heirs".
However, since Zhu Youqi, the princess and the concubine are still young, this may also be related to Zhu Youqi's extensive good karma. Finally, on September 16, 1507, the princess Jiang gave birth again and gave birth to a boy, who was named Zhu Houxi, and Zhu Youqi was 30 years old that year.
At the same time, after Zhu Houxi was born, Zhu Youqi had no other children, and Zhu Houyu also became Zhu Youqi's only heir, and eventually became the son of King Xing, waiting to inherit the throne in the future.
When Zhu Youqi was 43 years old, he died in Xingwangfu, Changshou County, and his nephew Zhu Houzhao gave him the nickname "Xian", so he was called "Xingxian King" by history.
The tomb of King Xingxian is located in the north of Zhongxiang City, Hubei Province5 km of Jundeok Mountain. If you are lucky enough to visit there, this place is now not called the tomb of King Xingxian, but "Ming Ming Mausoleum".
In 1521, Zhu Houzhao died, no children and no brothers, Zhu Houxi's only son at that time was still in the period of filial piety, so he first inherited the throne of King Xing, and then ascended to the throne and became Emperor Jiajing.
Then, Emperor Jiajing argued for many years with his ministers over how to address his uncle Zhu Youzhu and his father Zhu Youqi, which became known as the "Great Rites Controversy". In the end, Emperor Jiajing posthumously crowned his biological father Zhu Youqi as the emperor, the temple name "Ruizong", and let him worship the temple.
If you want to know more about the "Great Rites Controversy", please refer to the chapter "Provincial Foolish Emperor - Ming Shizong Zhu Houxi" linked below, where it is discussed in detail.