Chongzhen Emperor

Chongzhen Emperor 明思宗
Emperor of the Ming Dynasty
Reign	2 October 1627–25 April 1644 (&1000000000000001600000016 years, &10000000000000206000000206 days)
Predecessor	Tianqi Emperor
Successor	Hongguang Emperor
Emperor of China
Reign	2 October 1627–25 April 1644 (&1000000000000001600000016 years, &10000000000000206000000206 days)
Predecessor	Tianqi Emperor
Successor	Shunzhi Emperor
Spouse	Empress Zhuang Lie Min Noble Consort Gong Shu, concubine Noble Consort Yuan concubine Consort Shun, concubine Consort Shen, concubine Consort Wang, concubine[1] Consort Wang, concubine[2] Consort Liu, concubine Consort Fang, concubine
Issue
Zhu Cilang, Crown Prince Xianmin Zhu Cixuan, Prince Yin of Huai Zhu Cijiong, Prince Ai of Ding Zhu Cizhao, Prince Dao of Yong Zhu Cihuan, Prince Ling of Ding Zhu Cican, Prince Huai of Dao Prince Liang of Dao Princess Kunyi Zhu Meicuo, Princess Changping Princess Zhaoren
Full name
Family name: Zhu (朱) Given name:Youjian (由檢)
Era name and dates
Chongzhen (崇禎): 5 February 1628–25 April 1644
Posthumous name
Emperor Zhuang Lie Min 莊烈愍皇帝
Temple name
Ming Sizong[3] 明思宗
House	House of Zhu
Father	Taichang Emperor
Mother	Empress Dowager Xiao Chun
Born	6 January 1611(1611-01-06)
Died	25 April 1644(1644-04-25) (aged 33) Jingshan Hill, Beijing
Burial	Ming Dynasty Tombs, Beijing

The Chongzhen Emperor (simplified Chinese: 崇祯; traditional Chinese: 崇禎; pinyin: Chóngzhēn; Wade-Giles: Ch'ung-chen/old spelling: Ch'ung-cheng) (February 6, 1611 - April 25, 1644) was the 16th and last emperor of the Ming Dynasty in China. He reigned from 1627 to 1644, under an era name that means "honorable and auspicious".

Early years

Born Zhu Youjian (朱由檢), Chongzhen was the fifth son of Zhu Changluo, the Taichang Emperor. His mother Lady Liu was a humble concubine of the Taichang Emperor. When he was four years old, she was killed by Zhu Changluo in his anger and anxiety, reason kept unknown. She was buried secretly, and Zhu Youjian was adopted by Consort Kang, some years later transferred to Consort Zhuang, as Consort Kang gave birth to another princess and adopted Zhu Youxiao as well.

As such, he grew up in a relatively lonely but quiet environment, since most of the younger sons were left out of the power struggle that their elder brother the Tianqi Emperor had to endure. Chongzhen succeeded his brother to the throne at age 17^{[clarification needed]} and immediately eliminated the eunuch Wei Zhongxian and Madame Ke, who had become de facto rulers of the empire.

Chongzhen tried to rule by himself and did his best to salvage the dynasty. However, years of internal corruption and an empty treasury made it almost impossible to find capable ministers to fill important government posts. Chongzhen also tended to be suspicious of the few skilled subordinates he did have, executing the famous general Yuan Chonghuan, who had almost single-handedly maintained the northern frontier against the Manchus, in 1630.

Fall of the Ming Dynasty

The Chongzhen Emperor killing his daughter, before hanging himself. (Drawing by a European artist for Martino Martini's De bello tartarico)

The collapse of the Ming intensified during Chongzhen's reign. Popular uprisings broke out throughout China, including those of Zhang Xianzhong and the more important Li Zicheng. These could not be put down by the already hard-pressed Ming armies, who had to contend with the Manchu threat to the north.

In April 1644, Li prepared to take the Ming capital of Beijing. Rather than face capture and probable execution at the hands of the newly-proclaimed Shun Dynasty, Chongzhen arranged a feast and gathered all members of the imperial household aside from his sons. Using his sword, he killed all of them there. All died except his second daughter, Princess Chang Ping, whose attempt to resist the sword blow resulted in her left arm being severed by her father.^[4] Then, still wearing his imperial attire, Chongzhen fled to Jingshan Hill and committed suicide when he hanged himself from a tree. Li Zicheng ordered to bury him and his wife together into his concubine Consort Tian's tomb, which later was called Siling of the Ming Dynasty Tombs.

Guilty Scholar tree - Replica of the tree Chongzhen hung himself in April 1644

The Shun Dynasty lasted less than a year until Li's defeat at the Battle of Shanhai Pass, with the victorious Manchus establishing the Shunzhi Emperor of the Qing Dynasty as ruler of all China.

After Chongzhen's death, loyalist forces had proclaimed a Southern Ming Dynasty in Nanjing, naming Zhu Yousong, Prince of Fu as the Hongguang Emperor. However, in 1645 Qing armies started to move against the remnants of the Ming, and Nanjing surrendered on June 8, 1645. Zhu was captured on June 15 and brought to Beijing, where he died the following year. The dwindling Ming were continually pushed farther south, and the last Emperor of the Southern Ming, Zhu Youlang, Prince of Gui, was finally executed in Burma in 1662 by Qing general Wu Sangui.

Legacy and personality

While Chongzhen was not especially incompetent by the standards of the later Ming – most direct blame for the dynasty's fall being laid at the feet of the Wanli Emperor – and was generally credited as hard working, he has been criticized for his paranoia and inflexibility. Chongzhen's attempts at reform did not take into account the considerable decline of Ming power, which was already far advanced at the time of his accession. His betrayal of Yuan Chonghuan, in particular, has greatly damaged his contemporary reputation.

Personal information

• Father
  • Taichang Emperor
• Mother
  • Liu Shunu (淑女劉氏) (d. 1615), concubine of the Taichang Emperor, daughter of Liu Yingyuan, Duke of Ying (瀛國公劉應元) and Lady Xu (徐媪), posthumously honored as Empress Dowager Xiao Chun (孝純太后)

Consorts

Formal Title	Maiden Name	Born	Died	Father	Mother	Issue	Notes
Empress Xiao Jie 孝节皇后	Family name: Zhou (周)	Suzhou, Jiangsu Province	18 March 1644	Zhou Kui 嘉定侯周奎	-	Zhu Cilang, Crown Prince Xianmin Princess Kunyi Zhu Cixuan, Prince Yin of Huai Zhu Cijiong, Prince Ai of Ding
Noble Consort Yuan 袁貴妃	Family name: Yuan (袁)	-	1644	Yuan You (袁祐)	-	Princess Zhaoren
Noble Consort Gong Shu 恭淑貴妃	Family name: Tian (田) Given name: Xiuying (秀英)	Shaanxi Province	1642	Tian Hongyu 田弘遇	-	Zhu Cizhao, Prince Dao of Yong Zhu Cihuan, Prince Ling of Dao Zhu Cican, Prince Huai of Dao Prince Liang of Dao
Consort Shun 順妃	Family name: Wang (王)	-	1629	-	-	Zhu Meicuo, Princess Pingchang
Consort Shen 沈妃	Family name: Shen (沈)	-	-	-	-	-
Consort Wang 王妃	Family name: Wang (王)	-	-	-	-	-	Different from the below
Consort Wang 王妃	Family name: Wang (王)	-	-	-	-	-	Different from the above
Consort Liu 劉妃	Family name: Liu (劉)	-	-	-	-	-
Consort Fang 方妃	Family name: Fang (方)	-	-	-	-	-

Sons

Number	Name	Formal Title	Born	Died	Mother	Spouse	Issue	Notes
1	Zhu Cilang 朱慈烺	Crown Prince Xianmin 獻愍太子	26 February 1629	1644 Ning Jia Wan, Shaanxi Province	Empress Zhuang Lie Min	Lady Ning (daughter of Ning Hong (寧浤))	none	Created Crown Prince in 1630
2	Zhu Cixuan 朱慈烜	Prince Yin of Huai 懷隱王	15 January 1630	15 March 1630	Empress Zhuang Lie Min	none	none	Created Prince of Huai
3	Zhu Cijiong 朱慈炯	Prince Ai of Ding 定哀王	1631	unknown	Empress Zhuang Lie Min	-	-	Created Prince Ding in 1643; posthumously demoted to Duke An of Ding (定安公) under the Shun Dynasty; title of Prince of Ding restored under the Southern Ming Dynasty
4	Zhu Cizhao 朱慈炤	Prince Dao of Yong 永悼王	unknown	unknown	Consort Gong Shu	-	-	Created Prince of Yong in April 1642; Granted the posthumous name "Dao" (悼) under the Southern Ming Dynasty
5	Zhu Cihuan 朱慈煥	Prince Ling of Dao 悼靈王	1633	1708	Consort Gong Shu	Lady Hu 胡氏	Zhu Heshen (朱和兟)[5] son Zhu Heren (朱和壬) Zhu Hezai (朱和在) Zhu Hekun (朱和堃) three daughters
6	Zhu Cican 朱慈燦	Prince Huai of Dao 悼懷王	1637	5 May 1639	Consort Gong Shu	none	none
7	none	Prince Liang of Dao 悼良王	unknown	unknown	Consort Gong Shu	none	none	Died at the age of three

Daughters

Number	Title	Name	Born	Died	Date Married	Spouse	Issue	Mother	Notes
1	Princess Kunyi 坤儀公主	Family name: Zhu (朱) (personal name unknown)	1630	unknown	none	none	none	Empress Zhuang Lie Min	Died young
2	Princess Changping 長平公主	Family name: Zhu (朱) Given name: Meicuo (朱媺娖)	1629	26 September 1646	1645	Zhou Xian 周顯	-	Consort Shun
3	Princess Zhaoren 昭仁公主	Family name: Zhu (朱) (personal name unknown)	1639	1644	none	none	none	Consort Yuan[6]	Was killed by her father along with other members of the imperial household when Li Zicheng invaded the Ming capital of Beijing

Ancestry

Notes

•  This article incorporates text from China and the Manchus, by Herbert Allen Giles, a publication from 1912 now in the public domain in the United States.

1. ^ Different from the below
2. ^ DIfferent from the above
3. ^ Temple name given in 1644 by the prince of Fu (福王), the new self-proclaimed emperor of the Southern Ming. This is the temple name most often found in history books, despite the fact that the Southern Ming soon changed the temple name into Yizong (毅宗), and later Weizong (威宗). The new rulers of the Qing Dynasty conferred upon Chongzhen the temple name Huaizong (懷宗), probably in an effort to win over their recently conquered subjects.
4. ^ Herbert Allen Giles (1912). China and the Manchus. Cambridge: The University press. p. 24. http://books.google.com/books?id=jmRxAAAAMAAJ&q=cutting+an+arm#v=snippet&q=cutting%20an%20arm&f=false. Retrieved 2011-7-06. (Original from the University of Michigan)
5. ^ Father of Zhu Cengyu (朱曾裕)
6. ^ Although historical records do not explicitly state that Princess Zhaoren was Consort Yuan's daughter, it is known for certain that Consort Yuan bore one of the Chongzhen Emperor's daughters. As the mothers of Chongzhen's other two daughters are known, we can assume that Consort Yuan's daughter was Princess Zhaoren.

References

• Chao, Zhongchen (2000). Chongzhen zhuan (崇禎傳) ISBN 957-05-1612-7

Chongzhen Emperor House of Zhu Born: 6 February 1611 Died: 25 April 1644
Regnal titles
Preceded by The Tianqi Emperor	Emperor of the Ming Dynasty 1627-1644	Succeeded by The Hongguang Emperor
	Emperor of China 1627-1644	Succeeded by The Shunzhi Emperor

Persondata
Name	Emperor, Chongzhen
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	6 February 1611
Place of birth
Date of death	25 April 1644
Place of death	Jingshan Hill, Beijing