Hongzhi Emperor

Hongzhi弘治(* July 30, 1470, † June 8, 1505 ), birth name: Zhu Youtang朱 佑 樘, Temple name: Xiaozong孝宗, was the ninth Chinese emperors of the Ming Dynasty. He reigned from 1487 to 1505 over China.

Emperor Hongzhi had a dramatic childhood, born in 1470 followed as the concubine Wan all children of the Chenghua Emperor with deadly jealousy. The young prince Zhu Youtang survived only because the Empress hid him and his mother. It was not until five years of its existence was the Emperor reveals who then appointed him his heir. The Crown Prince showed ambitious and was taught by the best teachers. With great pride his father could talk about his high intelligence.

After Hongzhi in 1487 the dragon robe docked and succeeded his father on the throne, his reign became a virtuous role model. His government was based strictly on the ideal of Confucianism, he was an able and industrious emperor. Hongzhi worked closely with his ministers and officials together, he reduced the tax burden, saved in government spending and made ​​a good choice in the appointment of his advisors. The emperor demanded of his staff complete openness and criticism of his person and office, this led to a very well-functioning government and a strengthening of the Ming reign internally and externally. Furthermore, he banished the corrupt court eunuchs, finished their influence on the state and put down a further 3,000 who had dared available for purchase from the concubine Wan state offices. In the manufacturing industry, he continued the path of his father. The luxury industry grew steadily, a trend which began already under Chenghua. The numbers of city inhabitants increased more and more. As a result, increasingly developed a rich Chinese middle class, which should reach a first peak in the 16th century. The Hongzhi Emperor will always be compared because of its successful and exemplary government with the Emperors Hongwu and Yongle and stylized his time as the Silver Age of the Ming.

Unlike its predecessors, Hongzhi lived strictly monogamous and only had an empress, with whom he had his only children. He is a family man, who abhorred all kinds of intrigues at court and put a stop to these strictly. He died in 1505, leaving an only son, the Prince Zhu Houzhao, who succeeded him as emperor.