12 replies to this topic

[asiaconqueror]

Who founded the Ming dynasty and what was its history behind the Ming?

I heard that the Ming used lots of cannon in warfare, was it true?

[TongShanThaiHiung]

Zhu-yuanzhang was the founder of the ming dynasty.

[jiangji]

The Ming Dynasty was the last native Chinese dynasty to rule the empire. Spanning almost three centuries between the fall of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty (1271 - 1368) and the rise of the Manchu Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911), the Ming reunited what is now called China proper after almost 400 years of foreign incursion and occupation.

In the closing years of the Ming, due to the long wars with the Mongols, repeated attacks on Korea by the Japanese, and even Japanese attacks on Chinese coastal cities greatly hurt the economy of the Ming. Worse still, owing to their inability to meet the high tax demands, many peasants abandoned their lands. This led to an economic crisis for the dynasty. Unfortunately, the situation was worsened by a peasant uprising in 1627.

In 1644, troops led by Li Zicheng, the most prominent rebel leader, captured Beijing. While he was negotiating terms of a military surrender with Wu Sangui, commander of the last of the Ming army, Wu cast in his lot with the invading Manchu army leader, Dorgon. These people from the north succeeded in defeating the rebels. This then left the way clear for the Manchu to complete their invasion of China.They use cannon during the war with the Qing.

The Ming Dynasty lasted for 276 years with 16 emperors occupying the throne. After it collapsed, the Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911), another ethnic group regime, began its reign in China.

[General_Zhaoyun]

I'll narrate the founding history of Ming dynasty.

Founding and consolidation of the Ming Dynasty

Zhu Yuanzhang 朱元璋 (1328 - 1398), the Emperor who founded the Ming dynasty, was a native of Anhui Province. As his family was in dire strait financially, he had been to a private school for a few months only and worked for landlords by taking their cattle and goats out to graze since childhood. Xu Da (徐达), Tang He (汤和), Zhou Dexing (周德兴) and others who later became state-founding ministers were his boyhood friends who also herded cattle and goats.

The masses lived in dire poverty because of the Yuan Dynasty's corrupt rule. In 1344. Huaibei was struck by drought, a plague of locusts and pestilence. As a result , countless people died . Zhu's parents and elder brothers died one after another. Left alone, 17-year old Yuanzhang joined Huangjue Temple (皇觉寺)and becme a monk.

Though there was a large tract of land around the temple, nevertheless tenant farmers were unable to pay land rent, resulting in insufficient food to go around. So the abbot sent all the monks out to beg for alms as a means of livelihood. After joining the temple for only 50 days, Zhu went out with a hollow wooden drum and an earthen pot to beg for alms. His destination was Huaixi. He did not come back until 1347.

In the latter part of the Yuan dynasty, peasant uprisings in various places were rolling on with full force. One day in 1352, Tang He, an officer in Guo Zixing (郭子兴)'s uprising troops, sent a letter to Zhu inviting him to join the army. Zhu hesitated. His roommate told him: "someone has come to know about Tang He's letter and he's going to inform the authority about it." Whereupon Zhu made up his mind and joined the Red Scarf Army (RSA) [or Red Turban Army (红巾军)].

Zhu was resourceful and brave in battle and could read fairly well. On account of this, he was soon promoted to the rank of an army officer. Noting that Zhu was a talented man with courage and resourcefulness, Commander Guo Zixing of Haozhou had his adopted daughter(surnamed Ma) married to him. Later, this lady ebcame Zhu's capable assistant.

After the Yuan Army (YA) was defeated in its attack against Haozhou, the Uprising Army (UA) of Haozhou needed replenishment of its rank and file. For this purpose, Zhu went home to recruit soldiers. Without much effort, he recruited over 700 men. Xu Da, Zhou Dexing and others all came to join the army. Upon his return to Haozhou, he seceded from Guo. Together with Xu Da, Tang He and others, he attacked and captured Dingyuan in the south.

Confucian scholars Feng Guoyong (冯国用) and his brother and Li Shanchang (李善长) [all from Dingyuan] sought refuge under Zhu. Zhu asked them to offer him a plan to capture the whole of China. Feng suggested that Jinling (Nanjing) be captured to stabilise the entire country. Li, however, advised Zhu to learn from Emperor Gaozu of the Han dynasty, who knew his subordinates well enough to assign them jobs commensurate with their abilities and who abhorred killed. Agreeing with them fully, Zhu retained them as military counsellors.

He strengthened his exuberant great ambition to win the support of the people and to seize all China. To this end, he strengthened the military discipline first. After capturing Hezhou (presently He County in Anhui), a fairly large number of soldiers took away people's wives and daughters by force. Zhu ordered that all the plundered women in the camp be released. As soon as they were set free, they waited outside the camp to be reunited with their loved ones, creating a scene of joy mingled with sadness.

From then on, Zhu would, after capturing a city, strictly emphasise on discipline, had it written in the form of a notice and had it pasted everywhere. He also assigned law-enforcement troops to patrol the streets.

At that time, there was a shortage of provisions in the army and alcohol was prohibited. General Hu Dahai (胡大海)'s son violated the prohibition order. Zhu wanted to take action against him according to military law. Someone reminded him: "Hu Dahai is engaged in a battle at the frontline. I'm afraid it's inappropriate to kill his son." Flying into a rage, Zhu announced, "I would rather Hu Dahai rebels against me than breaking my military law!" He then killed Hu's son.

Guo Zixing died of illness in 1355. All of his former troops came under Zhu's command. Prince Xiaoming 小明 (Han Lin-er 韩林儿) appointed Zhu as vice-marshal. Zhu attacked and seized Jiqing in the spring of 1356. After being defeated, Chief Commander Chen Zhaoxian (陈兆先) of the Yuan Army (YA) led 36,000 men to surrender to the victor.

These surrendered soldiers felt uneasy because they were afraid Zhu might kill them. Upon learning of this, Zhu picked 500 brave warriors from among them, brought them to his tent and let them sleep there that night. No guards were posted to protect himself. He took off his battle outfit and armour and slept till daybreak. All the surrendered men were grateful to him for trusting them. They vowed to serve him at the risk of their lives.

Zhu Yuanzhang's General Deng Yu (邓愈) and General Hu Dahai attacked and captured Huizhou (presently She county, Xiuning, Qimen and other places in Anhui) in 1357. Zhu summoned Zhu Sheng (朱升), a Yuan dynasty scholr and a native of Anhui, to see him. Zhu Sheng presented 3 strategies: build high walls, store large quantities of provisions. Proclaim yourself King at a later date. Zhu Yuanzhang, overwelmed with appreciation, retained him and let him work in the army.

Zhu Yuanzhang attacked and seized Zhedong in April 1360. After that, he assigne one of his men with valuable presents and letters to invite reputable scholars Liu Ji (刘基), Ye Chen (叶琛), Zhang Yi (张溢) and Song Lian (宋濂) to Jiankang. Moved by Zhu's sincerity, these 4 men acceped the invitaion . Zhu specially built a lodge for them to stay. He complied with etiquette in every possible way.

Zhu became more and more powerful as the days went by. This caused acute contradictions between him and other separatists powers day by day. Cheng Youliang (陈友谅) killed Chief Commander Xu Shouhui (徐寿辉) in 1360. Using Wutong Temple at Caishi as a temporary palace, he ascended throne hurriedly amidst trials and hardships. He changed the name of the dynasty to Han.

After proclaiming himself Emperor, Chen liased with Zhang Shicheng (张士诚) and launched an attack against Zhu. He led over 100 battleships and advanced towards Yingtian (now Nanjing, Jiangsu), presenting a spectacle great in strength and impetus. Zhu assigned some of his men to fake capitulation and at the same time, deployed his generals to be ready in full battle array. Chen was drawn into a trap and was defeated. On the crest of victory, Zhu's army recovered Taiping and captured Anqing. Hu Dahai attacked and seized Xinhou (present day Shangrao, Jiangxi) and other places.

At this time, the situation north of Yangtze took a sudden turn and then developed rapidly. The Northern Expeditionary Forces (NEF) dispatched by Liu Futong (刘福通) on 3 separate routes were, one after another, defeated. The YA mounted a counter-attack. Zhu led an army to rescue Anfeng (south of Shou County in Anhui today) in 1363. Capitalising on the opportunity, Chen launched a counter-attack on Hongdu (today's Nanchang in Jiangxi).

Zhu led an army to rescue Hongdu. It was engaged in a battle with Chen's troops on Poyang lake. Chen's numerous battleships, each with a banner, were incomparably huge. They were joined together with chains. Zhu assigned a suicide squad with 7 ships loaded with explosives and reeds. These ships dashed into the enemy vessels, setting them ablaze. In a flash, smoke billowed skywards. Countless men in Chen's army were killed or wounded.

Left with no choice, Chen, leading his troops, broke through the encirclement. Unexpectedly, as soon as they came to the mouth of the lake, they met Zhu's men in ambush. When Chen put his head out of the cabin to take a look, suddenly an arrow 'flew' towards him and hit his eyes, killing him instantly. His remaining troops fled to Wuchang under cover of darkness. In February 1364. Zhu led an expedition against Wuchang and wiped out Chen's remnant troops, thus exterminating the Han dynasty.

Zhu proclaimed himself King of Wu in January 1364. To unify the south, he led an army to the east and launched an attack against Zhang Shicheng, the separatist power that had surrendered to the Yuan dynasty and was entrenched in Zhejiang. In 1367, Zhu's army attacked and took Pingjiang (Suzhou) and captured Zhang alive. Zhang refused to surrender and was beaten to death with clubs.

Amid victory songs in January 1368, Zhu Yuanzhang prayed to heaven and earth in the southern suburb of Yingtian. Facing south, he proclaimed himself Emperor wth Ming as the name of his dynasty and Hongwu (洪武) as the name of his first reign. He pronounced Zhu Biao (朱标) as the crown prince and appointed Li Shanchang (李善长) and Xu Da (徐达) as First and Second Premier respectively. The founding of the Ming dynasty was then officially declared.

[General_Zhaoyun]

Capture of Dadu and Extermination of Yuan dynasty

At the end of July ( a leap month) 1368, the Ming army (MA) launched a northern expedition and pressed on towards Dadu (大都)[capital: Beijing] of the Yuan dynasty. Emperor Shun fled to Shangdu with the empress, his concubines and the Crown Prince. The NEF, under the command of General Xu Da, filled up trenches and scaled the city wall. With the momentum of an avalanche, they attacked and captured the capital of the Yuan dynasty in one fell swoop. This saw the extermination of the Yuan dynasty.

In the crush of victory, the MA launched a western expedition. Along the way, they swept away all obstacles. The remnant Yuan troops retreated back to the north of the Great Wall. Xu Da, Li Wenzhong (李文忠) and other generals returned triumphantly in 1370. Emperor Taizu of the Ming dynasty (Zhu Yuanzhang) led all the officials to welcome them back and threw a feast to entertain them.

In January 1371, Emperor Taizu issued a decree to launch an attack against the Shu Kingdom and crushing the Xia separatist regime that was entrenched there. Tang He was appointed as General Western Expedition. He was ordered to lead a fleet of battleships and advance from Qutang Gorge.The ships followed ec hother closely and sailed upstream. A cavalry, led by Vanguard General Fu Youde (傅友德), proceeded towards Chengdu from Qinlong.

Upon learning of the attack from land and the river, Prime Minister Dai Shou (戴寿) of Shu ordered that entrance to Qutang Gorge be blocked by chains. This stopped Tang He's fleet from proceeding. General Fu, however, scored one victory after another on land. Dai Shou fled to Chengdu after being defeated.

After coming out of the gorge, Tang's battleships fought all the way and entered Tongluo Gorge. Chongqing was shocked by this manoeurve. Mingsheng (明升), the young king of Xia, hurriedly dispatched a letter of surrender to the victor. When Tang's troops arrived in Chongqing, Mingsheng, who tied up himself, led all his officials to welcome Tang. Meanwhile, Fu had captured Chengdu, thus quelling the unrest in the entire Shu Kingdom.

In the autumn of 1381, Fu Youde (傅友德), Lan Yu (蓝玉) and Mu Ying (沐英, leading a 300,000 strong infantry and cavalry, launched an expedition against Yunan. They were engaged in a battle with YA at baishijiang. Mu's men charged at Dalima, a top-ranking official of King Liang of Yuan. Dalima was caught when he fell from his horse. Over 20,000 Yuan soldiers were taken prisoners. Corpses were strewn along a stretch of land more than 10 li long.

On hearing of Dalima's defeat, King Liang did not want to defend the city anymore. He fled to Mount Luozuo, where he took off his imperial gown and burnt it. He then pushed his wife and children into the Yunan lake andh ad them drowned in it. After that, he bowed to the north with his two premiers and committed suicide by slitting this throat.

The northern remnant forces of the Yuan Dynasty posed a threat to the Ming regime. To wipe them out, Feng Shen (冯胜) , Fu Youde and Lanyu, leading a 200,000 man army, launched an attack against Commander Nahachu of the YA in 1387. Nahachu surrendered to Lan Yu with a few hundred cavalrymen. Lan threw a feast to entertain him.

After suppressing the unrest in Liaodong, an army under the command Lan went out to capture the Emperor Shun of the Yuan dynasty. In its pursuit, the army came to a desert where a strong wind was blowing. There, Lan ordered his men to march on to Puyuerhai. Immeasurably frightened, Emperor Shun fled on his horse. He was killed by his subordinates the following year. As of now, China was unified under the Ming dynasty and the political situation was stable.

[tcgim]

Just wondering, as far as me ming dynasty knowldge goes, there were only two good and smart emperor in Ming dynastry "ming tai zhu" and "Ming Cheng zhu". Can anyone tell me otherwise? thanks

[Yun]

You're saying that Zhu Yuanzhang (Hongwu/Taizu) and Zhu Di (Yongle/Chengzu) were the only good emperors the Ming had? Possibly, because none of the other emperors took such an active role in government. Bai Yang refers to the later Ming emperors as a headless government, because they would stay in the palace and ignore all state affairs, leaving politics to the eunuchs and/or ministers. Perhaps the notable exceptions are Yingzong (Zhu Qizhen), who was persuaded to lead the disastrous campaign against the Oirat, and the last emperor Chongzhen, who took an activist role but made some bad decisions like executing Yuan Chonghuan. Anyone have other examples? My Ming history isn't that strong either, I'm afraid.

[snowybeagle]

Just wondering, as far as me ming dynasty knowldge goes, there were only two good and smart emperor in Ming dynastry "ming tai zhu" and "Ming Cheng zhu". Can anyone tell me otherwise? thanks

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I believe no other Ming emperor had as much control as well as the ability to use their power as TaiZu and ChengZu, because only those two were pioneers who established the empire. Those who inherited the thrones later came from upbringing with limited perspective, even more limited exposure to the realities outside their priviliged backgrounds.

However, one candidate who could be considered as having done well if not compared to TaiZu & ChengZu was Emperor XiaoZong (孝宗), Zhū YòuTáng (朱祐樘) whose reign use the name HóngZhì (弘治).

Unlike most imperial male offsprings, his background was rather tragic and upbringing far from carefree priviliged pampering. His mother, Ji (纪) was a war captive who caught the eye of the Emperor XiànZōng (憲宗) and became pregnant after a one night stand. Hounded by the favourite concubine Wan (万贵妃), his mother gave birth clandestinely in the Cold Palace (冷宫) and brought up in secret by a loyal eunuch Zhang Min (张敏) and Empress Wu (吴皇后) who had been deposed by the mechanism of Concubine Wan. The poor child grew up malnourished for the first six years of his life, which might explain why he died at a young age of 35.

Zhang Min seized the opportunity to reveal the truth when the Emperor XiànZōng was lamenting his lack of sons one day. The Emperor accepted the son whom he had never seen, and at the time of their first meeting, the son was frail and had not even undergone the customary tonsure of his infant hair.

Though the son was proclaimed as Crown Prince, his mother Ji and loyal eunuch Zhang subsequently died, suspected to be the doing of Concubine Wan. It was only through personal upbringing by the Emperor's mother Dowager Zhou (周太后) that Zhū YòuTáng was kept safe from harm and survived to adulthood to succeed the throne at the age of 17.

What his father left him was actually a big mess. The new emperor instituted many reforms, sacking unqualified or inept officials etc, and brought back loyal officials who had been persecuted under the previous reign.

The emperor initiated many projects for water controls and agricultural development.

Despite his fraility, the emperor worked hard and explored with his officials ways to improve the country. Under his reign, the country experienced a revival of prosperity, orderly administration, the influences of eunuchs suppressed, prudent budgetting etc.

He was also a rare emperor who did not have any concubines and lived a harmonious married life with one wife, Empress Zhang.

One blot in his career was his trying to improve his health through buddhism, which provided an opening for charlattans into the Court. He discovered his error eventually and repented.

http://library.think.../hongzhi_cs.htm

明孝宗朱祐樘是明宪宗第三子，生于成化六年（1470年），死于弘治十八年（1505年），在位18年。

弘治皇帝是一位比较贤明的皇帝。他在位时除小人，任贤能，听直言，整边防，使明朝衰败国势有所逆转。在《明史》中有这样一段话："太祖、成祖而外，可称者仁宗、孝宗而已。"。他统治的时期被称为"弘治中兴"。

http://www.chinage.n...t.asp?artid=438
[帝王]09 朱祐樘--明孝宗弘治皇帝
　 2004-11-15
　明孝宗朱祐樘（公元1470－1505年），宪宗朱见深第三子，宪宗病死后继位，在位18年，病死，终年35岁。葬于泰陵（今北京十三陵）。
　　孝宗朱祐樘的童年非常坎坷不幸。他的生母纪氏是广西纪姓土司的女儿，纪姓叛乱平息后，少女纪氏被俘入宫中，派充到内廷书室看护藏书。一次宪宗偶尔经过，见纪氏美貌聪敏，就留宿了一夜。事后，纪氏怀孕。宠冠后宫的万贵纪知道后，命令一宫女为纪氏堕胎。该宫女心生恻隐，不忍下毒手，便谎报说纪氏是“病痞”，并未怀孕。万贵妃仍不放心，下令将纪氏贬居冷宫。纪氏是在万贵妃的阴影下，于冷宫中偷偷生下了朱祐樘，万贵妃得知后又派门监张敏去溺死新皇子，但张敏却冒着性命危险，帮助纪氏将婴儿秘密藏起来，每日用米粉哺养。被万贵妃排挤废掉的吴皇后也帮助哺养婴儿。万贵妃曾数次搜查，都未找到。就这样朱祐樘一直被偷偷地养到六岁。

　　一天，张敏为宪宗梳头时，宪宗叹息说：“我眼看就要老了，还没有儿子。”张敏连忙伏地说：“万岁已经有儿子了。”宪宗大吃一惊，忙追问究竟，张敏才说出了真情。宪宗听了大喜，立即命令去接皇子。当宪宗第一次见到自已那因为长期幽禁，胎发尚未剪、拖至地面的瘦弱的儿子。不禁泪流满面。当天召集众臣，说出真相。次日，颁诏天下，立朱祐樘为太子，并封纪氏为淑妃。但随之纪氏却在宫中暴亡，门监张敏也吞金自杀。显然，纪妃与张敏之死皆与万贵妃的迫害有直接关系。宪宗的母亲周太后担心万贵妃会对太子下毒手，就亲自将孙子抱养在自己的仁寿官内，才使太子安全地生活在宫中。

　　有一次，万贵妃请太子去吃饭，周太后叮嘱道：“你去之后，千万不要吃东西！币虼颂痈把缡惫徊徽慈魏问称罚怀谱约阂丫チ恕５惫伺跎咸栏保暧椎奶铀担骸拔一骋纱酥杏卸尽！蓖蚬箦染遗Ｈ碌溃骸罢夂⒉偶杆昃腿绱耍毡丶雍τ谖遥　贝撕螅桓亩韵茏诤蠊畹目刂疲茏谠阱芍凶叨辉偈芟拗疲擅怯性幸材芩忱錾首咏ソザ嗥鹄础Ｍ蚬箦胍源艘实哿砹⒋⒕系艋侍拥牡匚弧Ｏ茏诙酝蚬箦幌蜓蕴拼樱阌辛烁惶又猓兄诔技Ψ炊浴６耸碧┥揭淮蝗怀鱿值卣穑疾氛咧傅卣鸬脑蚴巧咸炀救绺牧⑻樱亟鸲遥茏谛闹锌志澹谑窍铝畈蛔荚僖榉咸又隆?/P>

　　成化二十三年(1487)春，万贵妃病死，宪宗也因悲伤过度于八月去世。太子朱祐樘于九月壬寅日继位。第二年改年号为“弘治”，是为明孝宗。

　 事实上，宪宗留给儿子孝宗的，不仅是一个紊乱的朝政，而且是一个千疮百孔的国家。对于这些情况，孝宗在宫中为太子时已经是有所了解的。他即位之初，就着手改革弊政。起初他的精力主要放在了朝廷要员的人事安排上，待到这些问题基本解决之后，他便开始注重于对内忧外患的治理。

　　由于成化时期，宪宗皇帝宠信佛道，致使许多佞幸小人混入朝中，李孜省就是其中的代表人物，他以方术、房中术进献皇帝得到宠幸，然后与太监梁芳狼狈为奸祸乱朝政，打击忠臣，扶植朋党，是当时朝廷中的第一大害。孝宗即位之后立即逮捕了两人，使文武百官弹冠相庆。接着，孝宗皇帝开始整顿吏制，将成化朝通过贿赂，溜须拍马发迹的官员一律撤换，改革首先从内阁开始，罢免了以外戚万安为首的“纸糊三阁老”。同时，孝宗大量起用正直贤能之士。象王恕、怀恩、马文升等在成化朝由于直言被贬的官吏；徐溥、刘健、谢迁、李东阳等贤臣。为于谦建旌功祠，使得无论是朝中还是宫中都为之一新，时称朝序清宁。

　　在万安的被逐罢之前，人们并不十分了解孝宗其人。只知道他是一个出生于冷宫的一个身份卑贱的宫人之子，后来虽得到宪宗承认，但一直受嫉于万贵妃，甚至到成化末年，还有废立之危。因此，当这个十七岁的青年登极为帝的时候，除去得到一些正直大臣们的拥护之外，恐怕多少还有些同情，他的皇子生活实在太坎坷了。但是人们很快就不得不对这位年轻皇帝刮目相看，斥佞用贤的弘治初政，给成化后期混乱的朝廷打了一针兴奋剂，使明朝有了中兴的希望。

　　而这位皇帝又出奇地宽和善良，即使对当初迫害其生母的万贵妃家人，也表现了极大的宽容。对万贵妃本人，也没有听从臣下的建议对她削溢议罪。这一切都出于一个孝字，孝敬父皇，维持传统，以宽仁忠孝为主，他死后被定庙号为孝宗，也正因为此。

　　孝宗在内政治道上最主要的措施是大力兴修水利，发展农业，繁荣经济。弘治二年（1489年）五月，开封黄河决口，孝宗命户部左侍郎白昂领5万人修治。弘治五年（1492年），苏松河道淤塞，泛滥成灾。孝宗命工部侍郎徐贯主持治理，历时近三年方告完成。从此，苏松消除了水患，再度成为鱼米之乡。

　　由于幼年生活的坎坷，孝宗一直身弱多病。但孝宗却勤于政事，不仅早朝每天必到，而且重开了午朝，使得大臣有更多的机会协助皇帝办理政务。同时，他又重开了经筵侍讲，向群臣咨询治国知道。孝宗还开辟了文华殿议政，其作用是在早朝与午朝之余的时间，与内阁共同切磋治国之道，商议政事。孝宗皇帝的勤政终于得到了回报，弘治朝吏治清明，任贤使能，抑制官宦，勤于务政，倡导节约，与民休息，是明代历史上少有的经济繁荣、人民安居乐业的和平时期。被史家称为“弘治中兴”。

　　孝宗是中国历史上一位罕见的对女色一生淡泊的皇帝，他不仅没有宠妃，而且没有册立过一个妃嫔，只是与皇后张氏过着民间恩爱夫妻式的生活。

　　孝宗统治的后期，他对佛道产生了极大的兴趣。由于孝宗多难的童年使得他的身体一直不好，他希望通过佛道之术能改变自己的身体状况。因此一些奸佞之辈再次混入宫中，再次祸乱朝政。宦官李广就是其中之一，深得孝宗的庞信。后来李广畏罪自杀，孝宗以为李广家中有天书，命人搜寻，却搜出了李广贪污、受贿的帐本，孝宗这才醒悟。李广事件唤醒了那个沉睡多年的励精图治的孝宗皇帝，他开始了生命中第二个，也是最后一个勤政时期。重新远佞臣而重用刘大夏、戴珊等贤臣。

　　弘治十八年（1505年）五月初七，三十六岁的孝宗与世长辞。他在弥留之际召刘健、李东阳、谢迁等入乾清宫接受顾命，命传位于太子朱厚照，并叮嘱诸卿说：“太子人很聪明，但是年龄还小，又好逸乐，诸卿要好好辅佐他，使他担当起大任，朕死也瞑目了。最后给太子朱厚照的最后嘱咐是“任用贤臣”。

　　后世史家给予明孝宗给很高的评价，认为他力挽危局，清宁朝序，恭俭有制，勤政爱民，为中兴明主，其功绩不亚于太祖、成祖。在个人品德方面，更胜于太成。

原作者：铜雀夕照
来 源：铜雀夕照

[highlander]

I believe no other Ming emperor had as much control as well as the ability to use their power as TaiZu and ChengZu, because only those two were pioneers who established the empire.  Those who inherited the thrones later came from upbringing with limited perspective, even more limited exposure to the realities outside their priviliged backgrounds.

However, one candidate who could be considered as having done well if not compared to TaiZu & ChengZu was Emperor XiaoZong (孝宗), Zhū YòuTáng (朱祐樘) whose reign use the name HóngZhì (弘治).

Great post! Pity that Xiaozong ruled only 18years and notably his son Wuzong is considered one of the worst emperors of the Ming Dynasty, if only he had spent more time to groom his son..........

[snowybeagle]

Pity that Xiaozong ruled only 18years and notably his son Wuzong is considered one of the worst emperors of the Ming Dynasty, if only he had spent more time to groom his son..........

It was not as easy it sounded.

Emperor ZhèngDé (正德) [or WuZōng (武宗)] was only 14-15 years old when he ascended the throne, and grew up in a secured and inevitably pampered environment when compared to Emperor KangXi whose position was rather tenuous since young (until KangXi got rid of Oboi).

Emperor HóngZhì (弘治) [or XiàoZōng (孝宗)] was malnourished since birth and continued to be weak in health. But as a responsible emperor, he worked very hard to correct many of the defects of the government. As he was not blessed with finding a good suitable tutor for his son, it probably would have taxed him to death earlier if he had to spent time and energy to groom his son as well, who by nature, was rather ... frivolous.

The saying that good help is hard to find nowadays is not true.
Good help is hard to find since ancient times.

[highlander]

It was not as easy it sounded.

Yes its not as easy as it sounds, i'm simply trying to point out the stark contrast between the 2 emperors (Xiaozong & Wuzong), whereby the son was totally the opposite of his father in every aspect of character. If my understanding is correct, Wuzong behaved like a "hooligan" and some of the literature i've read wrote about his extortions of individual households when he travelled to Nanjing!

[Wu Zetian]

It's a funny thing, when I first went onto this site http://www.cn-classi...qian-diwang.htm (link given from another thread), my first thought was that Wuzong was the ugliest emperor. What a coincidence that many people think he is also the worst!

BTW, can anyone give me more info about what Wuzong did during his reign? My Ming history is not good at all....

[Yue Fei]

I heard that the Ming used lots of cannon in warfare, was it true?

Yes, true indeed.
Geez... if only I could remember the book or was it a TV documentary or maybe it was the tour guide(?) that provided me with the information.

Even before Zhu Yuanzhang managed to unite the whole of China, canons were used. That was around 1300s. It was also used to quell uprisings and rather successfully because in those days, that was the cutting edge of technology.
I'm not even sure if canon was available in Europe at that time but definitely the "creme de la technology" (if I can coin such a term).

It was after the Ming (not sure if it was 1st or 2nd emperor) successfully united China, quelled rebellion and brought a measure of stability within the kingdom, the canon was "locked up" and put away from the troops and all blueprints for that canon was stowed away.

In essence, the Chinese canon retired and the technological know-how of producing it was lost. This was due to the fact that being insecure (or maybe obsolete since there was relative stability during that period), the ruler (it may not have been Hongwu by then) feared that reproduction of such weapons of mass desctructrion would bring along threat to the incumbant dynasty; the same way it brought the end to the previous and ensured its own survival in the early years.

Well, given the mentality of the Chinese (I'm a Chinese myself so I'm qualified to criticise my own) to be looking towards one's own interest ... or for that matter, anyone from any race are selfish too... ... as I was saying, given the mentality of the Chinese to protect their security, it is understandable that such a move would be in lined with what one may expect. It resulted in not only the lost of the know-how to produce and use the canon, to the extent that decades later, it was nearly forgotten that the canon even existed in China (that's how well guarded it was).

If only the Chinese mind or rather the then emperor was open minded about technology and encouraged their own scientists to develop the technology further, down through the years, the advancement would definitely supercede all counterparts... if not ensure it's own survival against the next conqueror. However that was not the case and what was then the leading and most advance technology at that time was reduced to scrap and Europe soon overtake China in the advancement of military arms. And if I'm not mistaken, the latter rulers of Ming even bought canons from the west.

The irony of it all. Pretty much like how the Americans are buying the Walkman from the Japanese.