Jiajing Emperor
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| Image:Jiajing.jpg | |
| Jiajing Emperor | |
|---|---|
| Birth and death: | 16 September, 1507–23 January, 1567 |
| Family name: | Zhu (朱) |
| Given name: | Houcong (厚熜) |
| Dates of reign: | May 27, 1521–23 January, 1567 |
| Era name: | Jiajing (嘉靖) |
| Era dates: | 28 January, 1522–8 February, 1567 |
| Temple name: | Shizong (世宗) |
| Posthumous name: | Emperor Su (肅皇帝) |
| Posthumous name: <center>(full) | Emperor Qintian Lüdao Yingyi Shengshen Xuanwen Guangwu Hongren Daxiao Su 欽天履道英毅聖神宣文廣武洪仁 大孝肅皇帝 |
| General note: Dates given here are in the Julian calendar. They are not in the proleptic Gregorian calendar. | |
The Jiajing Emperor (September 16, 1507–January 23, 1567) was the 11th emperor of China (Ming dynasty) between 1521-1567. Born Zhu Houcong, he was the Zhengde Emperor's cousin.
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Early Years
Jiaqing was never brought up to expect to succeed the throne but was rather the nephew of the Hongzhi Emperor. The sudden death of Emperor Zhengde in 1521 created a temporary vacancy for the throne and the 14 year old Jiaqing was ultimately chosen to become emperor and relocated from his father's fief to Beijing.
Reign as Emperor
Ever since the beginning of Jiaqing's reign, he became infatuated with young women and Taoist pursuit. He was known to be a cruel and self aggrandizing emperor and he also chose to reside outside of the Forbidden city in Beijing where he could live in isolation while ignoring state affairs. Employing incapable individuals such as Zhang Cong and Yan Gao, Jiaqing thorougly relied on them to handle affairs of state. He eventually abandoned seeing his ministers from 1539 onwards and for a period of almost 25 years he refused to give official audience but chose instead to relay his wishes through eunuchs and officials. This eventually led to corruptions at all level of the Ming government. Jiaqing's ruthlessness also led to an internal plot by his concubines to assassinate him in 1542 by strangling him while he slept. The plot was ultimately foiled and all of the concubines involved were summarily executed.
Taoist Pursuits
Particularly during his later years, Jiajing was known for spending a great deal of time on Taoist pursuits in hopes of finding medicines to prolong his life. He would forcibly recruit young girls in their early teens and engaged in sexual activities in hopes of empowering himself along with potent elixirs he had consumed. He employed Taoist priests to collect rare minerals from all over the country to create all sorts of elixir including adding mercury which would pose inevitable health problems at high doses. Over the years, Jiaqing's mad devotion to Taoism would be a heavy financial burden for the empire and create dissent across the country.
Legacy and Death
After 45 years on the throne (the second longest reign in the Ming dynasty), Emperor Jiajing died in 1567–possibly due to mercury overdose–and was succeeded by his son. Though his long rule gave the dynasty an era of stability, Jiajing neglected his official duties which resulted in the decline of the dynasty at the end of the 16th century. His style of governing or for that matter the lack thereof would be emulated by his grandson later in the century.
| Preceded by: Zhengde Emperor | Emperor of China (Ming Dynasty) 1521–1567 | Succeeded by: Longqing Emperor |
