Chinese Emperor: the Zhengde Emperor Quiz

Answer: Zhu Houzhao

Zhu Houzhao was born in Shuntian Prefecture, which was a province of China during the Ming and Qing dynasties, the area of which is now modern-day Beijing. The baby born as Zhu Houzhao would later become the Zhengde Emperor, reigning between 1505-1521. The Ming Dynasty was active from 1368-1644.

Answer: Empress Xiaochengjing

Also known as Empress Zhang Hongzhi, Empress Xiaochengjing (1471-1541) was consort of the Hongzhi Emperor. She was of the Zhang clan and was born in what is now Hebei Province. She married Prince Youcheng in 1487, who would become the Hongzhi Emperor three years later.

Empress Xiaochengjing was made empress dowager when her son became the Zhengde Emperor in 1505.

Answer: His father had no concubines and was loyal to his wife

The Hongzhi Emperor is the only emperor known to be monogamous throughout all of Chinese imperial history, with his wife Empress Xiaochengjing remaining the only Chinese empress whose husband did not seek the company of concubines. The couple had a younger son after the Zhengde Emperor, however he died young.

Although it was not the reason that he ascended the throne, the boy who later became the Zhengde Emperor was proficient in his studies, and was particularly adept at Confucianism. He also had a talent for learning different languages, mastering Sanskrit and Portuguese because of his own genuine interest. His success in education mislead advisors of his father to believe that he would become a wise and effective leader like him. This was not the case.

Answer: 14

With no other siblings to object or challenge his impending ascent to the throne, the Zhengde Emperor was immediately made emperor upon his father's death when he was 14. By 1506 he was married to Empress Xiaojingyi (1492-1535) who was from Sang-yuan District (which is now modern-day Nanking).

She was a lady during the time of her future father in law, the Hongzhi Emperor, going by the name "Lady Xia." Her father was the wealthy Xia Ru. However, the Zhengde Emperor was not particularly interested in his wife.

The couple had no children.

Answer: Liu Jin

Liu Jin (1451-510) was born with the surname "Tan," a fairly common Chinese surname, but he became Liu Jin whilst under the tuition of a eunuch called Liu. At the time of the Jingtai reign, he was castrated (possibly by his own family) to facilitate his entry into the imperial court. He began his employment at the palace during the 1480s.

Thanks to the Zhengde Emperor's disinterest in politics, a power vacuum was created which Liu Jin gladly filled. The emperor loved to play and avoid politics, and Liu Jin encouraged him to do just that, as opposed to the advisors his father had appointed to him before his death, who the Zhengde Emperor saw as bothersome nags who would get in the way of him having fun. He did not trust his advisors, but trusted the eunuchs. Liu Jin would actively assist the emperor in his pursuits of leisure outside the palace, while the devious eunuch was secretly focusing on gaining his own power inside the palace.

The Eight Tigers were a group of eunuchs who gained considerable political strength once the Zhengde Emperor was in power. Eunuchs in Chinese history before the Ming Dynasty were no strangers to political prowess. Emperor Hongwu (1328-1398), the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty, was concerned regarding the power that eunuchs wielded and could possibly wield. However, the first emperor of this dynasty would not be listened to. The Ming Dynasty is regarded as the dynasty where eunuchs held the most power, with around 10,000 of them having positions of power within the Imperial Court by the 15th century.

Answer: Mauling by a big cat

The Zhengde Emperor was keen on hunting, taking weeks away from his regal duties with some of these reasons including hunting tigers. One mishap during a hunting expedition led to him being mauled by a tiger so badly he was unable to attend court. However, with the Eight Tigers being eager to use the power given to them by the irresponsible emperor, one must question if he used the injury caused by an actual tiger as an excuse to avoid being in court.

Answer: Zoo

In stark contrast with his lack of interest in politics and ruling the Ming Dynasty, the Zhengde Emperor was highly interested in women. His harem of women became so sizeable, that some of the women included in it starved to death due to the lack of food to cater for them all. The "Bao Fang" ("The Leopard's Chamber") was used to house exotic animals before the Zhengde Emperor came to power, who thought it was a fantastic idea to turn the zoo into a zoo-cum-brothel. This was not the only brothel the Zhengde Emperor was known to frequent, however.

While the Zhengde Emperor shirked his responsibilities to enjoy himself with prostitutes, the eunuchs quietly took more and more control.

Answer: Gunpowder stored at the palace during a lantern festival

The Zhengde Emperor was never known for his high levels of responsibility. A lantern festival took place during his reign, and he did not think it would be a problem to have barrels of gunpowder stored in the palace courtyard. The barrels caught fire and exploded during the festival, resulting in the palace being completely burned to the ground.

Answer: Merchants

In a bizarre mixture of a childish penchant for make-believe and an abuse of power humiliating to those subjected to it, the Zhengde Emperor instructed his eunuchs and advisors to dress up and play the part of market merchants, whilst he played a commoner shopping in the faux marketplace.

Many of the unwilling participants in this spectacle would have their jobs taken away, or punished in some other form if they dared to object.

Answer: Prince of Anhua

A member of the Imperial House of Zhou, Prince of Anhua (born Zhu Zhifan) had thought of himself to be an ideal person to rule the Ming Dynasty for a long time. He surrounded himself with followers who also asserted this claim. He and his followers used the unpopular taxes imposed by Liu Jin to galvanize citizens against the Zhengde Emperor.

On May 12 1510, the members of Prince Anhua's conspiracy massacred tax collectors carrying out their duties under the orders of the Zhengde Emperor. This was the catalyst for the rebellion. The Prince of Anhua requested reinforcements for the army, but too many of them were loyal to (or too frightened of the wrath of) Liu Jin.

The Prince of Anhua was eventually captured by forces operating under the Zhengde Emperor. In 1511, the Prince was granted the ability to commit suicide rather than face an execution. His sons lost their titles and all the privileges that came with them. These posts were reallocated to anyone who had assisted the Zhengde Emperor in quashing the revolt.

Answer: Portugal

In 1513, a Portuguese man named Jorge Álvares became the first European to visit China, starting in the Pearl River. After he arrived he was informed that nobody was allowed to enter China with the Zhengde Emperor's permission. Rafael Perestrello, also from Portugal, would arrive here a year later. Foreign trade was permitted but only in specific locations, such as an island at the mouth of the Pearl River. The Portuguese explorers were happy to do this, and sold spices and wine to the Chinese with the Zhengde Emperor's approval.

While the original Portuguese traders in China were respectful and weary of the Chinese, afraid of Portugal becoming embroiled in a war with the formidable Ming Dynasty, some Portuguese explorers were less cautious, such as Simao de Andrade, a captain who set up forts, assaulted a Chinese official and did not pay any Chinese taxes. This changed the view of the Portuguese as amicable traders into belligerent potential invaders. Relations between Portugal and China were businesslike and friendly for six years after Jorge Álvares landed in the area, until Simao de Andrade's aggressive and antagonizing behaviour ruined it. It took decades for China and Portugal to have amicable trade relations again.

Answer: Liu Jin

As the Zhengde Emperor pursued leisure and women, Liu Jin was amassing a great amount of wealth while the emperor was distracted. Liu Jin was controlling the Ming Dynasty and was emperor in everything except in name. Liu Jin created several new laws and imposed heavy taxes that led to rebellions. The other eunuchs were becoming tired of his power-hungry actions and reported to the Zhengde Emperor that he was corrupt and plotting to overthrow him.

The Zhengde Emperor did not believe this at first. Liu Jin was his most trusted eunuch, and had endeared himself to the emperor by encouraging to do whatever he wanted. However, when the eunuchs insisted that Liu Jin's house be searched, a huge stash of gold, silver and precious gems was uncovered as well as some false seals and a lot of weapons. It became clear to the Zhengde Emperor how corrupt Liu Jin had become, and he sentenced him to death by a thousand cuts.

Answer: Zhu Chenhao

Zhu Chenhao was the Prince of Ning, a descendant of both Zhu Quan, the first Prince of Ning, and the Hongwu Emperor of the Ming Dynansty. Zhu Chenhao wanted to take power from the Zhengde Emperor, getting land back which was once Ning that was moved by the Yongle Emperor.

Zhu Chenhao offered money to Liu Jin in 1507 to assist him in overthrowing the Zhengde Emperor, and although Liu Jin is said to have agreed, he was executed before he could assist in the rebellion. He also bribed other members of the Zhengde Emperor's government. In 1519, Zhu Chenhao asserted that the Zhengde Emperor was nothing more than a usurper who had no right to rule, before marching to Anqing and failing to occupy it.

After over 10 years of planning, it took just over 40 days of battle for Zhu Chenhao's army to be beaten by the Zhengde Emperor's forces. Zhu Chenhao was sentenced to death by a thousand cuts but he committed suicide before this could take place.

Answer: Falling out of a boat

The Zhengde Emperor was 29 when he died. Although it was a disease that killed him, it was not sexually transmitted. He was sailing a boat after drinking a large amount of alcohol, fell out of the boat, nearly drowned but had been infected with illness from the waters of the Jing-Hang Grand Canal. He was buried within the Ming Tombs in Kangling, in Huan County, Qingyang, China.

Answer: Jiajing Emperor

Born Zhu Houcong, the Jiajing Emperor (1507-1567) was the son of the Prince of Xing, Zhu Youyuan, who was one of the Ming Dynasty's Chenghua Emperor's sons. The Zhengde Emperor has no children that survived into adulthood (that he knew of - he was very fond of women) and therefore Zhu Houcong, who was not raised to become the emperor one day, and ironically was much more efficient, responsible and scrupulous regarding his duties as emperor, although he was also known for his ruthlessness and cruelty.

He reigned for 45 years, the second-longest reign of any Ming Dynasty ruler. He was, however, comparable to the Zhengde Emperor in terms of sexual promiscuity.