The Hongzhi Emperor (30 July 1470 – 8 June 1505) was emperor

Emperor

An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife or a woman who rules in her own right...

 of the Ming dynasty

Ming Dynasty

The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...

 in China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 between 1487 and 1505. Born Zhu Youcheng (often mispronounced as "Zhu Youtang" since 樘 has two pronunciations, and according to records it is pronounced as "cheng", meaning "foundation"), he was the son of the Chenghua Emperor

Chenghua Emperor

The Chenghua Emperor was Emperor of the Ming dynasty in China, between 1464 and 1487. His era name means "Accomplished change".-Childhood:Born Zhu Jianshen, he was the Zhengtong Emperor's son. He was only 2 years old when his father, the Zhengtong emperor, was captured by the Oirat Mongols and...

 and his reign as emperor of China is called the Hongzhi Silver Age. His era name means "Great government". He was a wise and peace-loving ruler. Hongzhi also had only one empress and no concubines, and holds the distinction of being the sole perpetually-monogamous emperor in Chinese history.

Early years

Hongzhi was born in an era where Lady Wan and her associates were on the lookout to eliminate any child born to the emperor Chenghua. It was through a stroke of luck that young Hongzhi was hidden away by the former empress of Chenghua that Hongzhi escaped the fate of death. Hongzhi was only then reunited with his father at the age of 5, in 1475 and was created crown prince. Hongzhi had been a brilliant child early on and he received the best education offered at that time. Hongzhi was immersed in Confucian schooling and he excelled in his studies.

Reign as emperor

After Hongzhi ascended the throne in 1487, his administration was modelled after Confucian ideology and he became a hardworking and diligent emperor. He closely supervised all affairs of state, lowered taxes, reduced government spending and made wise decisions when employing ministers to government post. Individuals such as Liu Jian, Xie Qian and Wang Shu worked hand in hand with Hongzhi thus creating a seldom-witnessed atmosphere of cooperation within the government. In addition, Emperor Hongzhi also encouraged his ministers to be up front about all issues, even acknowledging criticisms directed towards the Emperor himself. This created a more transparent government and introduced fresh energy into the Ming dynasty. As a result the populace once again prospered under his rule. It was said that individual eunuchs' power was curtailed and palace intrigues, prevalent in previous reigns, was absent during his reign. Hongzhi has been compared to his predecessors Emperor Hongwu and Emperor Yongle as one of the most brilliant emperors of the Ming dynasty.

In the spring of 1488, the shipwrecked Korea

Korea

Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...

n crew of the Jeju-do

Jeju-do

Jeju-do is the only special autonomous province of South Korea, situated on and coterminous with the country's largest island. Jeju-do lies in the Korea Strait, southwest of Jeollanam-do Province, of which it was a part before it became a separate province in 1946...

 official Choe Bu

Choe Bu

Choe Bu was a Korean official during the early Joseon Dynasty . He is most well known for the account of his shipwrecked travels in China from February to July 1488, during the Ming Dynasty . He was eventually banished from the Joseon court in 1498 and executed in 1504 during two political purges...

 (1454–1454) were traveling up the Grand Canal of China

Grand Canal of China

The Grand Canal in China, also known as the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal is the longest canal or artificial river in the world. Starting at Beijing, it passes through Tianjin and the provinces of Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the city of Hangzhou...

 while escorted by the Ming courier

Courier

A courier is a person or a company who delivers messages, packages, and mail. Couriers are distinguished from ordinary mail services by features such as speed, security, tracking, signature, specialization and individualization of express services, and swift delivery times, which are optional for...

 service en route back to Korea. Choe observed ferry ships passing by holding officials who were from the Ministries of War, Punishment, and Personnel

Three Departments and Six Ministries

The Three Departments and Six Ministries system was the main central administrative system adopted in ancient China. The system first took shape after the Western Han Dynasty , was officially instituted in Sui Dynasty , and matured during Tang Dynasty...

. When he asked what was going on, it was explained to him that the new Emperor Hongzhi was ridding his government of corrupt and incompetent officials, and this was a final gesture of good will by the emperor by providing them with a comfortable passage back home by ship.

Succession crisis

Unlike almost all of his predecessors who took up many concubines which bore many children to the Emperor, Hongzhi had only one Empress during his lifetime. Coupled with the fact that the Empress Zhang had only 2 sons (one of which died in infancy), Hongzhi was left with only one nominee to succeed him. After Emperor Hongzhi died in 1505 he was succeeded by his son, the Zhengde Emperor

Zhengde Emperor

The Zhengde Emperor was emperor of China between 1505-1521. Born Zhu Houzhao, he was the Hongzhi Emperor's eldest son...

. Unfortunately, Zhengde died childless in 1521 and the throne had to be passed to a cousin from Hubei

Jiajing Emperor

The Jiajing Emperor was the 11th Ming Dynasty Emperor of China who ruled from 1521 to 1567. Born Zhu Houcong, he was the former Zhengde Emperor's cousin...

, effectively ending Hongzhi's own line of succession.

Consort

Formal Title	Maiden Name	Born	Died	Father	Mother	Issue	Notes
Empress Xiao Cheng Jing Empress Xiao Cheng Jing Empress Xiao Cheng Jing was a Chinese Empress consort of the Ming Dynasty, married to the Hongzhi Emperor.-Biography:Married then-Crown Prince Youcheng as his wife and crown princess in 1487; was created empress when he succeeded to the throne later that year; remains the only empress to an adult... 孝成敬皇后	Family name Chinese surname Chinese family names have been historically used by Han Chinese and Sinicized Chinese ethnic groups in mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and among overseas Chinese communities. In ancient times two types of surnames, family names and clan names , existed.The colloquial expressions laobaixing... : Zhang (張)	Xingji Qing County Qing County is a county of Hebei, China. It is under the administration of Cangzhou prefecture-level city.-Administrative Divisions:Towns:*Qingzhou , Jinniu , Xinxing , Liuhe , Mumendian , Machang Townships:... , Hebei Province Hebei ' is a province of the People's Republic of China in the North China region. Its one-character abbreviation is "" , named after Ji Province, a Han Dynasty province that included what is now southern Hebei...	1541	Zhang Luan 張巒	Lady Jin 金氏	Zhu Houzhao, Zhengde Emperor Zhengde Emperor The Zhengde Emperor was emperor of China between 1505-1521. Born Zhu Houzhao, he was the Hongzhi Emperor's eldest son... Zhu Houwei, Prince Dao of Wei Zhu Xiurong, Princess Taikang	Married then-Crown Prince Youcheng as his wife and crown princess in 1487; was created empress when he succeeded to the throne later that year; remains the only empress to an adult emperor who had no concubines in Chinese history

Sons

Number	Name	Formal Title	Born	Died	Spouse	Issue	Notes
1	Zhu Houzhao 朱厚照	The Zhengde Emperor Zhengde Emperor The Zhengde Emperor was emperor of China between 1505-1521. Born Zhu Houzhao, he was the Hongzhi Emperor's eldest son...	26 October 1491	20 April 1521	Lady Xia, Empress Xiao Jing Yi Empress Xiao Jing Yi Empress Xiao Jie Su was a Chinese Empress consort of the Ming Dynasty, married to the Zhengde Emperor.- Sources :... six concubines	none	Created Crown Prince in 1493; succeeded his father at the age of fourteen
2	Zhu Houwei 朱厚煒	Prince Dao of Wei 蔚悼王	1 January 1495	9 March 1496	none	none

Daughter

Number	Title	Name	Born	Died	Date Married	Spouse	Issue	Notes
1	Princess Taikang 太康公主	Family name Chinese surname Chinese family names have been historically used by Han Chinese and Sinicized Chinese ethnic groups in mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and among overseas Chinese communities. In ancient times two types of surnames, family names and clan names , existed.The colloquial expressions laobaixing... : Zhu (朱) Given name Chinese given name Chinese given names are generally made up of one or two characters, and are written after the family name, therefore "John-Paul Smith" as a Chinese name would be read "Smith John-Paul". Chinese names can consist of any character and contain almost any meaning... : Xiurong (秀榮)	15 February 1497	1 October 1498	none	none	none

Ancestry