Dynasties of ChinaMing dynastyMing dynasty lineage
Zhengtong · Tianshun · Reign 1435—1449 / 1457—1464
He became emperor at nine, was captured after the Tumu defeat, and spent seven years confined after returning home. The Gate-Seizing Coup restored him to the throne for a second reign.
Zhu Qizhen was Xuanzong's eldest son and became emperor at nine in 1435. Grand Empress Dowager Zhang and the three Yang ministers helped govern, bringing stability in the early Zhengtong era. After Zhang died in 1442 and the ministers aged or died, his childhood favorite, the eunuch Wang Zhen, gained control of the Directorate of Ceremonial. In 1449, Oirat leader Esen attacked the frontier. Urged on by Wang Zhen, the emperor hastily led a campaign and was captured when his army collapsed at Tumu. Zhang Fu, Duke of Ying, and dozens of accompanying ministers died.
His younger brother Zhu Qiyu, Prince of Cheng, took the throne and gave him the title of retired emperor. Released by the Oirats in 1450, he spent seven years confined in the Southern Palace. In the first month of 1457, Shi Heng, Xu Youzhen and Cao Jixiang restored him through the Gate-Seizing Coup; he adopted the Tianshun era name, while Yu Qian was unjustly executed. He later removed the overbearing Shi Heng and Cao Jixiang and relied on Li Xian to govern. Before his death in the first month of 1464, he ordered an end to the burial sacrifice of imperial consorts.
Yingzong reigned twice. In the early period, he favored Wang Zhen, which led to the Tumu Crisis, which wiped out the elite of Ming dynasty's capital camp and turned the country's power from prosperity to decline. After his restoration, he unjustly killed Yu Qian and was once again controlled by Shi Heng and Cao Jixiang. He often misjudged people and used things inappropriately. However, he appointed Li Xian in his later years, the political situation gradually stabilized, and he abolished the burial of concubines before his death, which was praised by later generations.
PoliticsAscending the throne at the age of nine
Xuanzong died in the first month of 1435, and nine-year-old Crown Prince Zhu Qizhen succeeded him. The following year began the Zhengtong era. Grand Empress Dowager Zhang declined to rule from behind a screen, entrusted affairs to Yang Shiqi, Yang Rong and Yang Pu, and restrained the eunuchs, continuing the stable government of the preceding reigns.
MilitaryThree expeditions to Luchuan
Si Renfa, the native ruler of Luchuan in western Yunnan, and his son rebelled against Ming authority. The court sent Minister of War Wang Ji and others on three major expeditions. They defeated the rebels' main forces, but mobilizing hundreds of thousands of troops and transporting supplies across several provinces was costly and weakened northern defenses.
PoliticsWang Zhen’s exclusive power
After Grand Empress Dowager Zhang died, Wang Zhen, the eunuch in charge of the Directorate of Ceremonial, faced fewer restraints. He built a faction, attacked opponents and attracted ministers to his side. The History of Ming records that he removed an iron sign at the palace gate, erected by Zhu Yuanzhang, forbidding palace servants from interfering in government.
CultureConstruction of Zhihua Temple
Wang Zhen built a family temple in eastern Beijing, which Yingzong named Bao'en Zhihua Temple. Its architecture preserves the official timber-building style of early Ming, and its monks developed a distinctive tradition of Buddhist music.
Lasting legacyZhihua Temple is one of Beijing's well-preserved Ming timber-building complexes. Its traditional Beijing Buddhist music was included in the first national list of intangible cultural heritage in 2006.
SocietyDeng Maoqi's Uprising
Deng Maoqi, a tenant farmer in Shaxian, Fujian, rose against landlords' additional demands. Calling himself the King Who Levels All, he captured several prefectures and counties. Miners led by Ye Zongliu also rebelled near the Zhejiang–Fujian–Jiangxi border. Both movements were suppressed around 1449.
MilitaryTumu Crisis
In the seventh month of 1449, Esen's Oirat forces attacked along several routes. Wang Zhen urged Yingzong to lead the army himself. After reaching Datong and hearing of defeats, the army retreated in haste. The Oirats caught it at Tumu on the fifteenth day of the eighth month. The Ming army collapsed, the emperor was captured, Wang Zhen died in the fighting, and Zhang Fu, Duke of Ying, and dozens of ministers were killed.
DiplomacyThe Emperor Returns to the South
Esen failed to capture Beijing and found that the Ming had installed a new emperor, reducing the value of his hostage. He sought peace. Yang Shan negotiated with the Oirats and brought Yingzong home in the eighth month. The Jingtai emperor placed him in the Southern Palace: a retired emperor in title, but a prisoner in practice.
PoliticsThe change of seizing the door
When the Jingtai emperor became gravely ill in the first month, Shi Heng, Xu Youzhen and Cao Jixiang led troops through the Southern Palace gate and restored Yingzong at Fengtian Hall. He adopted the Tianshun era name. Yu Qian and Wang Wen were executed on allegations that they intended to install a prince from another branch of the imperial family.
PoliticsCao Shi's Incident
After helping restore the emperor, Shi Heng and Cao Jixiang became increasingly overbearing. Li Xian and others persuaded Yingzong to distance himself from them. Shi Heng died in prison in 1460. In the seventh month of the next year, Cao Jixiang and his adopted son Cao Qin rebelled; Sun Tang and others suppressed them, and the Cao faction was executed.
SocietyAbolish the burial of palace concubines
Before dying in the first month of 1464, Yingzong ordered the end of the burial sacrifice of imperial consorts. Since Zhu Yuanzhang, consorts had often been killed to accompany deceased emperors and princes. This practice was then abolished at court; the History of Ming praised the decision as a virtue worthy of later rulers.
In his early years, he studied in the Neishu Hall and served Yingzong in the East Palace. During the Zhengtong period, he was in charge of the Supervisor of Ceremonies and had great power in both the government and the public. The princes, nobles and relatives called him "father". He encouraged Yingzong to conquer Oirat in person and died in Tumubao.
Grand Master Oirat, after unifying all the Mongolian tribes, repeatedly invaded Mingbian and captured Yingzong in the Battle of Tumu. In 1453, he proclaimed himself Khan. He was killed by his subordinate Alazhiyuan the following year, and Oirat subsequently declined.
As the censor of Youdu, he went to Oirat as an envoy and used his eloquence to persuade Esen to release Yingzong immediately without paying any price. After Yingzong was restored, he was granted the title of Xingji Bo.
He entered the cabinet as Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs and won Yingzong's trust. He persuaded him to distance himself from Shi Heng and Cao Jixiang, and presided over the compilation of "Unification of the Ming Dynasty". Most of the government affairs of Tianshun Dynasty were decided by him.