Emperor Yingzong of Ming (29 November 1427 – 23 February 1464), personal name Zhu Qizhen, was the sixth and eighth emperor of the Ming dynasty of China. He ruled as the Zhengtong Emperor from 1435 to 1449, and as the Tianshun Emperor from 1457 to 1464.
Emperor Yingzong was the eldest son and successor of the Xuande Emperor. After ascending the throne, he adopted the era name Zhengtong, which means "right governance". During his first reign, the empire was at its height of prosperity and power. As the first child emperor of the Ming dynasty, his rule was heavily influenced by high dignitaries at court. Initially, his grandmother, Grand Empress Dowager Zhang, along with the "Three Yangs" (Yang Shiqi, Yang Rong, and Yang Pu), held the highest positions of power. However, after his grandmother died in 1442, the Emperor began to listen more to the eunuch Wang Zhen.
In 1449, at Wang Zhen's suggestion, Emperor Yingzong personally led the army against the Mongol army of Esen Taishi, but at the Battle of Tumu Fortress, Esen's army defeated the Ming army and captured the Emperor. This event shocked the government and the country, leading the court to elevate Emperor Yingzong's brother, Zhu Qiyu, to the throne as the Jingtai Emperor. During his captivity, Emperor Yingzong established good relations with Esen and was eventually released in 1450.
After Emperor Yingzong returned to his homeland, the Jingtai Emperor felt threatened and ordered him to stay in the Southern Palace within the Forbidden City. He also restricted Emperor Yingzong's contact with the outside world. After the Jingtai Emperor fell ill in early 1457, Emperor Yingzong regained power after dethroning his brother in a palace coup. The era name of his second reign was Tianshun, which means "obedience to Heaven". The following month, the Jingtai Emperor died. Emperor Yingzong ruled for another seven years before his death in 1464. His eldest son, the Chenghua Emperor, then ascended to the imperial throne.
Zhu Qizhen, the future Emperor Yingzong, was born on 29 November 1427 as the elder of the two sons of the Xuande Emperor, the fifth emperor of China's Ming dynasty. The Emperor was overjoyed by his son's birth and showed him love and affection. Zhu Qizhen's mother, Lady Sun, was one of the Emperor's concubines. The Xuande Emperor designated him heir to the throne on 20 February 1428, and promoted Lady Sun to empress in March of the same year. He also ensured that Zhu Qizhen received proper military training. In 1433, the Ministry of War assembled a detachment of 7,112 physically fit 11–12-year-old youths, as ordered by the Emperor, and the prince was appointed as their commander. According to historian Fang Chao-ying, Zhu Qizhen began his education with his teacher, who was likely the court eunuch and former pedagogue Wang Zhen.
The Xuande Emperor died on 31 January 1435 after a brief illness. Zhu Qizhen was only eight years old, prompting a proposal to place his father's younger brother Zhu Zhanshan, Prince of Xiang, on the throne. The 17th-century Chinese historian Mao Qiling claims that the late emperor's mother, Empress Dowager Zhang, supported Zhu Zhanshan. Empress Sun quickly intervened and prevented Zhu Zhanshan's ascension, resulting in Zhu Qizhen being crowned as the new emperor. Despite this, Lady Zhang still held significant influence in the government.
In contrast, the editors of the History of Ming, the official history of the Ming dynasty completed in 1739, portrayed Empress Dowager Zhang as a supporter of Zhu Qizhen's rights. According to their version, she summoned the grand secretaries—Yang Shiqi, Yang Rong, and Yang Pu, known as the "Three Yangs"—and emphasized that Zhu Qizhen was now emperor. Thereupon, the grand secretaries expressed their allegiance to the young prince, followed by the entire court.
Regency of Grand Empress Dowager Zhang
Emperor Yingzong's ascension to the throne was in accordance with the rules of the Ming dynasty, as he was the eldest son of the deceased emperor. However, the laws established by the founder of the dynasty, the Hongwu Emperor, enshrined a system of government in which a strong and decisive monarch was expected to make decisions independently, with the advice of ministers. This system did not account for the scenario of a child ruler, leaving no provisions or precedents for how to handle the situation. At court, the most respected and highest-ranking individual was Grand Empress Dowager Zhang, who effectively became the regent. Empress Dowager Sun was also occasionally consulted, but she held a lower status than her mother-in-law.
Lady Zhang was the leader of the council, which consisted of the three grand secretaries and three eunuchs. The Three Yangs had served as grand secretaries for many years, with Yang Pu serving since 1424 and the other two since 1402. They were highly skilled, influential, and respected. The eunuchs, Wang Jin, Fan Hong, and Jin Ying, were in charge of the Directorate of Ceremonial, the most powerful office in the Imperial Palace. They had all held their positions under the previous reign. The Grand Empress Dowager acted as a mediator between the grand secretaries and the head eunuchs. The Emperor's exclusion from decision-making was considered illegal, but it allowed for the successful rule of experienced statesmen, particularly the Three Yangs. This period of political stability was later seen as a golden age by future generations.
Wang Zhen served as the teacher, tutor, and confidant of the Emperor. He was from the northern Chinese province of Shanxi, like Lady Zhang, and was significantly younger than the other members of the Imperial Council, being in his thirties. It soon became clear that the Emperor had full confidence in him, which led to a rise in his influence and compelled the grand secretaries to take his views into account. Lady Zhang viewed Wang Zhen's influence on the Emperor as dangerous and attempted to restrict him, even going so far as to order him to commit suicide in 1437. However, the Emperor, with the support of some officials, managed to prevent the order from being carried out.
The political landscape underwent significant changes in the early 1440s. In 1440, Grand Secretary Yang Rong died at the age of sixty-nine. On 8 June 1442, the Emperor married Lady Qian, and on 18 November 1442, just eleven days before his fifteenth birthday, he assumed control of the government. Two days later, Grand Empress Dowager Zhang died.
Wang Zhen's time had finally arrived. He possessed great talent, was direct, attentive, and charismatic, but over time, he became conceited. His power primarily stemmed from his personal influence over the Emperor, who held his teacher in the highest regard. Wang Zhen was also a skilled politician. He formed alliances with Xu Xi (徐晞), who was later promoted to minister of war, as well as Imperial Guard commander Ma Shun and his deputy and nephew Wang Shan, and Left Vice Minister of War Wang Ji, who previously organized the "youth-guards" (幼軍) of the young emperor, later also appointed as minister of war. Wang Zhen also had control over the Imperial Guard, which he did not hesitate to use against his opponents, and he had influence among the ministers. With these advantages, Wang Zhen easily gained the upper hand in politics. He began to push the grand secretaries, who were now in their seventies, out of active politics. Yang Shiqi died in 1444, and two years later, Yang Pu also died. After their deaths, only Cao Nai (曹鼐) remained a strong figure among the grand secretaries. His colleague Ma Yu (馬愉) only handled routine work, and the new grand secretaries appointed in the late 1440s—Gao Gu (高穀), Chen Xun (陳循), and Miao Zhong (苗衷)—did not have a significant impact on politics.
The system of grand coordinators (xunfu), who managed the "three provincial offices" (civil, military, and surveillance), had taken a definitive form in the provinces. They operated in all provinces except Fujian and in six of the nine border garrisons on the northern border. The immediate consequence of the introduction of grand coordinators was the transfer of command over the troops in the provinces to civilian hands. According to Fang Chao-ying, this change was likely due to the decline in the quality of hereditary officers.