> He was an excellent study of Confucian literature, and most of the ministers thought he would grow into a fine and benevolent emperor. Boy, were they wrong!
> Despite all his good Confucian teaching, and all the best intentions of all his advisers and ministers, The Zhengde Emperor had very little interest in actually ruling. What he was interested in, however, was women. At one time, his personal harem was so large that many of the women starved to death from lack of supplies. And, what began as a zoo outside the Forbidden City in Beijing, called “Bao Fang”, or “The Leapord’s Chamber”, which used to house a lot of exotic animals, was converted to house women for the Emperor’s own amusement. And as if all of that didn’t sate his ridiculous appetite, he frequented brothels in the city as well.
> … Beyond that, one time, he thought it a good idea to store gunpowder in his palace during the lantern festival. What you would expect to happen most definitely did. He caught his palace on fire, and burned it to the ground. …
> On top of all that, Houzhao also fancied himself a general. In 1517, he led an army, several thousand strong, to fight off raiding expeditions. **He even created an alter-ego to do it, so he could completely relinquish his imperial duties and not be bothered by his divine right, or something like that. Because, you know, being Emperor is such a bother. He fought off the Mongols in that year, defeating them in major battle. … **
> It must be said for the Zengde Emperor, that even in spite of all that, he somehow managed to be a good administrator for a short amount of time. When he was in court, he made competent decisions. Under his rule, China’s economy grew and the people, generally, prospered.
carlsagerson on
Everytime I learn a new fact about Chinese History. The more it seems that its history looks less like history and more like a fantasy novel.
Chinese History is weird.
Anakin-hates-sand on
Chinese history try not to be batshit insane challenge (Impossible).
3 Comments
https://historythings.com/historys-nutcases-the-zhengde-emperor/
> His name was Zhu Houzhao. He was the Ming Dynasty Emperor from 1505 to 1521, right around the time that the Renaissance was starting to bloom in Europe…
> He was an excellent study of Confucian literature, and most of the ministers thought he would grow into a fine and benevolent emperor. Boy, were they wrong!
> Despite all his good Confucian teaching, and all the best intentions of all his advisers and ministers, The Zhengde Emperor had very little interest in actually ruling. What he was interested in, however, was women. At one time, his personal harem was so large that many of the women starved to death from lack of supplies. And, what began as a zoo outside the Forbidden City in Beijing, called “Bao Fang”, or “The Leapord’s Chamber”, which used to house a lot of exotic animals, was converted to house women for the Emperor’s own amusement. And as if all of that didn’t sate his ridiculous appetite, he frequented brothels in the city as well.
> … Beyond that, one time, he thought it a good idea to store gunpowder in his palace during the lantern festival. What you would expect to happen most definitely did. He caught his palace on fire, and burned it to the ground. …
> On top of all that, Houzhao also fancied himself a general. In 1517, he led an army, several thousand strong, to fight off raiding expeditions. **He even created an alter-ego to do it, so he could completely relinquish his imperial duties and not be bothered by his divine right, or something like that. Because, you know, being Emperor is such a bother. He fought off the Mongols in that year, defeating them in major battle. … **
> It must be said for the Zengde Emperor, that even in spite of all that, he somehow managed to be a good administrator for a short amount of time. When he was in court, he made competent decisions. Under his rule, China’s economy grew and the people, generally, prospered.
Everytime I learn a new fact about Chinese History. The more it seems that its history looks less like history and more like a fantasy novel.
Chinese History is weird.
Chinese history try not to be batshit insane challenge (Impossible).