Zhu Gaoxu

Zhu Gaoxu (Chinese: 朱高煦; 30 December 1380 – 6 October 1426) was the second son of the Yongle Emperor and Empress Renxiaowen. During the Jingnan campaign, which brought his father to the throne, he proved himself to be a capable military leader. In 1426, he revolted against his nephew, the Xuande Emperor, but was quickly defeated and executed.

Zhu Gaoxu
朱高煦
Prince of Han
Tenure1404–1426
Prince of Gaoyang
Tenure1395–1404
Born30 December 1380
Hongwu 13, 4th day of the 12th month
(洪武十三年十二月初四日)
Died6 October 1426(1426-10-06) (aged 45)
Xuande 1, 6th day of the 9th month
(宣德元年九月初六日)
Names
Zhu Gaoxu (朱高煦)
FatherYongle Emperor
MotherEmpress Renxiaowen

Biography

Zhu Gaoxu was born in 1380 as the second son of Zhu Di, who was then the Prince of Yan. Zhu Di was the fourth son of the Hongwu Emperor, the founder of the Ming dynasty. In 1395, he was made the Prince of Gaoyang (高陽王). In 1399, Zhu Di rose up against his nephew, the Jianwen Emperor, and the subsequent civil war ended in 1402 with Zhu Di's victory, who then ascended the throne. Physically fit and energetic, but also arrogant, Zhu Gaoxu proved himself to be a capable military leader in battle.[1][2]

In 1404, he became the Prince of Han (漢王) and was given control of Yunnan. However, he refused to go to a distant province, so the emperor relented and kept him at court.[3] After this, Zhu Gaoxu participated successfully in many battles with the Mongols on the northern frontier and won his father's recognition for his military achievements. He also interfered in court intrigues, attempting to undermine the position of the heir to the throne, Zhu Gaochi (the future Hongxi Emperor and his elder brother), and the ministers supporting him. In 1407, he succeeded in having minister Xie Jin dismissed.[3] In 1414, his hostility was met with the imprisonment of the Grand Secretaries Huang Huai for the next ten years and Yang Shiji, who was able to justify himself and return to office.[4]

In 1416, he was given a new fief in the small county of Le'an in Qingzhou Prefecture in Shandong. However, he refused to leave and was reprimanded. The illegal construction of a private army and the murder of an officer earned him a demotion to an ordinary subject, followed by imprisonment. After a year, he was deported to Shandong.[4]

In May 1425, his elder brother died after reigning for one year. The young son of the deceased emperor, the Xuande Emperor, Zhu Gaoxu's nephew, assumed the imperial throne. Zhu Gaoxu considered himself to have been wrongfully neglected and decided, like his father, Zhu Di, to claim the throne. He did not see a serious obstacle in the young emperor.[2] He began organizing an army with which he planned to march to the capital and seize the throne. However, unlike his father, he was in a much weaker position. In addition, he underestimated the decisiveness of the government, led by an experienced official[2] (the dangerous prince was pointed out mainly by the Grand Secretary Yang Yong),[4] and the emperor's abilities. In September 1426, when Zhu Gaoxu openly rebelled, the emperor personally led 20,000 soldiers, headed by General Xue Lu (1358–1430),[5] to Le'an and defeated the rebels.[2] Zhu Gaoxu was imprisoned, and 600 of his followers were executed, while 2,200 were exiled.[5]

During the subsequent investigation, it was revealed that Zhu Gaosui, Yongle's third son, and several other princes were involved in the rebellion. For the sake of the stability of the state, they were not punished.[5] At first, the emperor did not even wish for his uncle's death, but when he was angered by the captive's arrogance, he ordered him and his sons to be executed.[6]

Family

Consorts and Issue:

Ancestry
Zhu Chuyi
Zhu Shizhen (1281–1344)
Empress Yu
Hongwu Emperor (1328–1398)
Lord Chen (1235–1334)
Empress Chun (1286–1344)
Yongle Emperor (1360–1424)
Empress Xiaocigao (1332–1382)
Lady Zheng
Zhu Gaoxu (1380–1426)
Xu Siqi
Xu Liusi
Lady Zhou
Xu Da (1332–1385)
Lady Cai
Empress Renxiaowen (1362–1407)
Xie Zaixing
Lady Xie

Notes
  1. She was made Princess consort of Han (漢王妃) in 1404.
  2. He had no issue.
  3. He was originally made Hereditary Prince (世子) in 1421, later demoted to commoner rank and forced into house arrest in Fengyang in 1425.
  4. He was executed along with his father in 1426.
  5. He was made Hereditary Prince (世子) in 1424.
  6. Her eldest sister was Noble Consort Guo, a concubine of the Hongxi Emperor.
  7. He was made Prince of Jiyang in 1424.
  8. He was made Prince of Linzi in 1424.
  9. He was made Prince of Zichuan in 1424.
  10. He was made Prince of Changle in 1424.
  11. He was made Prince of Qidong in 1424.
  12. He was made Prince of Rencheng in 1424.
  13. He was made Prince of Haifeng in 1424.
  14. He was made Prince of Xintai in 1424.

References
  1. Tsai, Shih-Shan Henry (2002). Perpetual Happiness: The Ming Emperor Yongle. University of Washington Press. p. 98. ISBN 0-295-98124-5.
  2. Mote, Frederick W (2003). Imperial China 900-1800. Harvard University Press. p. 623. ISBN 0-674-01212-7.
  3. Tsai, p. 99.
  4. Tsai, p. 100.
  5. Chan, Hok-lam (1988). "Military origins of Ming China". In Twitchett, Frederick W.; Mote, Denis C (eds.). The Cambridge History of China Volume 7: The Ming Dynasty, 1368–1644, Part 1. Cambridge University Press. p. 289. ISBN 0521243327.
  6. Ming, Jiao Hong, Guochao Xianzhenglu, Volume 2. 明·焦竑《国朝献征录》卷二·宗室二：“初庶人被执，锁絷逍遥城。一日上欲往视，左右止之，不听。及至，熟视久之。庶人出不意，伸一足，勾上仆地。左右亟扶起。亟命壮士舁铜缸覆之。缸约重三百斤，庶人有力，项负之，辄动。积炭缸上如山，然炭逾时，火炽铜镕，庶人死。诸子并死。”
  • "Early Ming China" by Edward Dreyer (1982).
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.