Jianwen Emperor

The Jianwen Emperor (5 December 1377 – ?), personal name Zhu Yunwen (朱允炆), was the second emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1398 to 1402.

This article is about the Ming dynasty emperor. For the Jin dynasty (266–420) emperor, see Emperor Jianwen of Jin. For the Liang dynasty emperor, see Emperor Jianwen of Liang.

Jianwen Emperor
建文帝
Posthumous illustration of the Jianwen Emperor, Qing dynasty
Emperor of the Ming dynasty
Reign30 June 1398 – 13 July 1402
Enthronement30 June 1398
PredecessorHongwu Emperor
SuccessorYongle Emperor
Imperial Grandson-heir of the Ming dynasty
Tenure1392–1398
SuccessorImperial Grandson-heir Zhu Zhanji
Born5 December 1377
Hongwu 10, 5th day of the 11th month
(洪武十年十一月初五日)
Yingtian Prefecture, Ming dynasty (present-day Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China)
DiedUnknown[lower-alpha 1]
Consorts
​
​
(m. 1395; died 1402)​
Issue
  • Zhu Wenkui, Crown Prince Hejian
  • Zhu Wengui, Prince of Runhuai
Names
Zhu Yunwen (朱允炆)
Era name and dates
Jiànwén (建文): 6 February 1399 – 17 July 1402[lower-alpha 2]
Posthumous name
Emperor Xiàomǐn[lower-alpha 3] (孝愍皇帝)
Emperor Sìtiān Zhāngdào Chéngyì Yuāngōng Guānwén Yángwǔ Kèrén Dǔxiào Ràng[lower-alpha 4] (嗣天章道誠懿淵功觀文揚武克仁篤孝讓皇帝)
Emperor Gōngmǐn Huì[lower-alpha 5] (恭閔惠皇帝)
Temple name
Shenzong[lower-alpha 6] (神宗)
Huizong[lower-alpha 7] (惠宗)
HouseZhu
DynastyMing
FatherZhu Biao
MotherLady Lü
Jianwen Emperor
Chinese建文帝
Literal meaning“Establishing Civility” (era name) Emperor

The era name of his reign, "Jianwen", means "establishing civility" and represented a sharp change in tone from "Hongwu" ("vastly martial"), the era name of the reign of his grandfather and predecessor, the Hongwu Emperor.[1] His reign did not last long: an attempt to restrain his uncles led to the Jingnan rebellion. The Jianwen Emperor was eventually overthrown by one of his uncles, Zhu Di, who was then enthroned as the Yongle Emperor. Although the Yongle Emperor presented a charred body as Zhu Yunwen's, rumours circulated for decades that the Jianwen Emperor had disguised himself as a Buddhist monk and escaped from the palace when it was set on fire by Zhu Di's forces. The History of Ming mentioned that one of the reasons behind why the Yongle Emperor sponsored the admiral Zheng He on his treasure voyages in the early 15th century was for Zheng He to search for the Jianwen Emperor, who was believed to have survived and fled to Southeast Asia.[2][3]

Early life

Zhu Yunwen's father, Zhu Biao, was the eldest son of Zhu Yuanzhang. He was made crown prince in 1368 after Zhu Yuanzhang founded the Ming dynasty and became known as the Hongwu Emperor. After Zhu Biao died in 1392, the Hongwu Emperor initially considered choosing a successor from among his other sons, who wielded considerable influence in their respective princedoms throughout the Ming Empire. However, after several months of careful deliberation and discussion with his subjects, he decided to uphold the strict rules of primogeniture laid out in his imperial ancestral instructions, and designated Zhu Biao's son, Zhu Yunwen, as the new crown prince.

Reign
See also: Jingnan campaign

Zhu Yunwen succeeded his grandfather upon the latter's death in 1398, and was enthroned as the Jianwen Emperor. One of the first things he did after taking over the reins of power was to rehabilitate and set free the victims (and their families) of the Hongwu Emperor's purges, particularly those who had contributed to the founding the Ming dynasty. Upon the advice of the Confucian scholar-bureaucrats in his government, he continued his grandfather's policy of restraining the court eunuchs and began taking back territory and power from his uncles. Within the year 1399, he demoted or arrested several of his uncles and even caused one of them to commit suicide.

In response to the Jianwen Emperor's crackdown on the influence of imperial princes, Zhu Di (the Prince of Yan and fourth son of the Hongwu Emperor) captured and coöpted the princedom of his 17th brother, Zhu Quan (the Prince of Ning), thereby putting himself in control of the bulk of the Ming army in northern China. He also won the support of several Mongol tribes when he burnt down Daning (present-day Ningcheng County, Inner Mongolia), the capital of Zhu Quan's princedom, and evacuated Ming forces from the princedom. Later, Zhu Di feigned illness and madness to convince the Jianwen Emperor to release three of his sons, who were being kept as hostages in Nanjing to prevent Zhu Di from rebelling against the emperor. However, the Jianwen Emperor became wary of Zhu Di and tried to arrest him later but failed. Zhu Di then launched the Jingnan campaign against the Jianwen Emperor.

Fall from power

Aided by eunuch spies and turncoat generals, Zhu Di succeeded in capturing the Ming army's Yangtze fleet and entered the capital Nanjing through an opened gate in 1402. Through propaganda, Zhu Di tried to portray himself as someone like the Duke of Zhou, who supported his nephew, King Cheng of the Zhou dynasty, and waged war against the king's evil advisors. Zhu Di's entrance into Nanjing was almost immediately followed by the burning of the imperial palace and the presentation of three charred bodies identified as the Jianwen Emperor, his consort and his crown prince. The Jianwen era was then declared void and historical records about this era were systematically altered or destroyed. Zhu Di ascended the throne as the Yongle Emperor and established the new imperial capital in Beijing, formerly the capital of his princedom. Thousands of scholars and their families who opposed the Yongle Emperor were executed – the most famous were Fang Xiaoru and three others remembered as the Four Martyrs.

There were rumours that the Jianwen Emperor managed to escape from Nanjing by disguising himself as a Buddhist monk. Some records reported that one year after he became emperor, the Yongle Emperor sent Zheng He and Hu Ying (胡濙) to search for the Jianwen Emperor. In 1423, Hu returned and reported to the Yongle Emperor about his findings in a private conversation. The Yongle Emperor subsequently promoted Hu.

Some parts of the historical text History of Ming, the authoritative history of the Ming dynasty, mentioned that one of the reasons behind why the Yongle Emperor sponsored the admiral Zheng He's treasure voyages in the early 15th century was that the emperor wanted Zheng He to help him search for the Jianwen Emperor, who was believed to have survived and fled to Southeast Asia. Other records relate that decades later, the Jianwen Emperor returned to the imperial palace and lived the rest of his life in obscure retirement.[4]

The three charred bodies presented to the Yongle Emperor were not given a full burial and there is no known tomb of the Jianwen Emperor.[5] He was initially denied a temple name and left unhonoured in imperial shrines. The Prince of Fu, a self-proclaimed emperor of the Southern Ming, granted the Jianwen Emperor the temple name Huizong (惠宗) in 1644, but this name is not generally remembered or accepted in official Chinese histories. The Yongle Emperor changed many history records about the Jianwen Emperor, but the people still remembered the Jianwen Emperor's kindness during his four-year reign.[6]

Government

Shortly after the Jianwen Emperor ascended the throne, he re-elected the officials of the six ministries, many of whom had died in the Jingnan campaign; had died in battle, refused to cooperate with the Prince of Yan Zhu Di and committed suicide or died unyielding, including Minister of Rites Chen Di (陳廸), Ministers of War Qi Tai and Tie Xuan, Ministers of Justice Bao Zhao (暴昭) and Hou Tai (侯泰), Left Censor-in-Chief Jing Qing (景清), Right Censor-in-Chief Lian Zining (練子寧), Fang Xiaoru of the Hanlin Academy, etc.

Jianwen's Ministers (1399–1402)
NameIn officeNotes
PERSONNEL
Zhang Dan (張紞)(1399–1402[7])
REVENUE
Yu Xin (郁新)(1399–1402[8])
Wang Dun (王鈍)(1399–1402[9])
RITES
Chen Di (陳迪)(1399–1402[10])
WAR
Qi Tai(1399, 1401[11]–1402[12])
Ru Chang (茹瑺)(1399[13]–1402[14])
Tie Xuan(1400[15]–1402[16])
JUSTICE
Hou Tai (侯泰)(1399–1402[12])
Bao Zhao (暴昭)(1399[17]–1402[18])
WORKS
Zheng Ci (鄭賜)(1399–1402[19])
Yan Zhenzhi (嚴震直)(1399–1402[20])
CENSOR-IN-CHIEF
Jing Qing (景清)(1399[21]–1402[22])(as Left Censor-in-Chief)
Lian Zining (練子寧)(1399[23]–1402[24])(as Right Censor-in-Chief)

Family

Consorts and Issue:

  • Empress Xiaominrang, of the Ma clan (孝愍讓皇后 馬氏; 1378–1402)
    • Zhu Wenkui, Crown Prince Hejian (和簡皇太子 朱文奎; 30 November 1396 – 1402), first son
    • Zhu Wengui, Prince of Runhuai (潤懷王 朱文圭; 1401–1457), second son

Ancestry
Zhu Chuyi
Zhu Shizhen (1281–1344)
Empress Yu
Hongwu Emperor (1328–1398)
Lord Chen (1235–1334)
Empress Chun (1286–1344)
Zhu Biao (1355–1392)
Empress Xiaocigao (1332–1382)
Lady Zheng
Jianwen Emperor (b. 1377)
Lü Ben (d. 1382)
Crown Princess Yiwen (1359–1412)

See also

Notes
  1. The Jianwen Emperor disappeared on 13 July 1402, the date Imperial Palace was burned, and Jianwen Emperor's supposed death date proposed by the Yongle Emperor. However, it is widely believed that he survived and lived undercover for many more years as a Buddhist monk.
  2. On 18 July 1402 the Jianwen era was officially abolished by the Yongle Emperor, and the former Hongwu era was reestablished until the beginning of Chinese New Year Guǐ-Wèi (Yin Water Goat) in 1403 when the Yongle era officially started.
  3. This posthumous name was conferred by Mei Yin
  4. This posthumous name was conferred by the Hongguang Emperor in 1644
  5. This posthumous name was conferred by the Qianlong Emperor in 1736
  6. This temple name was conferred by Mei Yin
  7. This temple name was conferred by the Hongguang Emperor in 1644

References
  1. Dardess, John. Ming China, 1368–1644: A Concise History of a Resilient Empire. Rowman & Littlefield, 2011. ISBN 1442204915, ISBN 9781442204911. Accessed 14 October 2012.
  2. "Ming Emperor overseas?". Chinatownology.
  3. 壹、前言貳、史仲彬與《致身錄》- 淡江大學
  4. 壹、前言貳、史仲彬與《致身錄》- 淡江大學
  5. The Ming Ancestor Tomb
  6. Fengtian Jingnan Ji (奉天靖難記)
  7. History of Ming (Volume 111): "紞七月自經死。"
  8. History of Ming (Volume 111): "新六月歸附，仍任。"
  9. History of Ming (Volume 111): "鈍六月歸附。七月致仕。"
  10. History of Ming (Volume 111): "迪六月殉難。"
  11. History of Ming (Volume 111): "齊泰正月復，閏三月又謫。"
  12. History of Ming (Volume 111): "泰六月殉難。"
  13. History of Ming (Volume 111): "茹瑺十一月復任。"
  14. History of Ming (Volume 111): "瑺六月迎降。九月封忠誠伯，仍任。"
  15. History of Ming (Volume 111); "十二月任督軍。"
  16. History of Ming (Volume 111): "鉉八月死難。"
  17. History of Ming (Volume 111): "昭七月出掌平燕布政司事。"
  18. History of Ming (Volume 111): "昭六月殉難。"
  19. History of Ming (Volume 111): "賜六月歸附。七月改刑部。"
  20. History of Ming (Volume 111): "震直六月歸附。七月同致仕戶部尚書王鈍巡視中原。九月卒。"
  21. History of Ming (Volume 111): "景清二月任左。"
  22. History of Ming (Volume 111): "清六月殉難。"
  23. History of Ming (Volume 111): "練子寧二月任右。"
  24. History of Ming (Volume 111): "子寧六月殉難。"
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