Zhu Youyuan


Zhu Youyuan, was a prince of the Ming dynasty of China. He was the fourth son of the Chenghua Emperor and father of the Jiajing Emperor.
Although Zhu Youyuan never reigned as emperor during his lifetime, the Jiajing Emperor posthumously elevated his father to imperial status after ascending the throne, despite opposition from several court officials. The dispute became known as the Great Rites Controversy. In 1538, the Jiajing Emperor granted his father the temple name Ruizong and the posthumous name Emperor Xian.

Biography

Zhu Youyuan was born on 21 July 1476 as the fourth son of the Chenghua Emperor, the ninth emperor of the Chinese Ming dynasty, and one of his concubines, Lady Shao. The Emperor's two eldest sons died early, and his third son Zhu Youcheng succeeded him as the Hongzhi Emperor. When the Hongzhi Emperor ascended the throne in 1487, he gave Zhu Youyuan the title Prince of Xing. In 1492, Zhu Youyuan married Lady Jiang, the daughter of an officer of the imperial guard. From 1494, he resided in his estate in Anlu near Zhongxiang, which is now part of Jingmen in Hubei Province. He was a learned and cultured man.
Zhu Youyuan died on 13 July 1519 and was succeeded by his younger son, Zhu Houcong. He was given the posthumous name of Prince Xian of Xing, and buried in the Songlin Mountain, Zhongxiang.

Controversy

In 1521, the Zhengde Emperor, son and successor of the Hongzhi Emperor, died without an heir. Zhu Houcong, as the late emperor's closest male relative, ascended the throne as the Jiajing Emperor. Soon thereafter a major political dispute, known as the Great Rites Controversy, arose between the new emperor and the court officials, led by Grand Secretary Yang Tinghe. For three years, the central contention lay in the matter of posthumous honors for Zhu Youyuan. In defiance of persistent ministerial opposition, the Jiajing Emperor maintained his resolve to elevate his father to imperial rank.
In 1522, the Emperor first conferred upon his father the title of "Emperor Xingxian". In 1524, he further ennobled his father with the honorific "Emperor Bensheng Huangkao Gongmu Xian", erected the Guande Hall for his worship, and accorded him sacrificial rites equal to those of the Imperial Ancestral Temple, while his tomb was renamed the Xian Mausoleum. In 1528, his posthumous dignity was again enlarged to "Emperor Gongrui Yuanren Kuanmu Chuansheng Xian". The culminating act came in 1538, when the Jiajing Emperor bestowed upon him the august title "Emperor Zhitian Shoudao Hongde Yuanren Kuanmu Chunsheng Gongjian Jinwen Xian", granted him the temple name Ruizong, and placed his spirit tablet in the Imperial Ancestral Temple above that of the Zhengde Emperor.
During the reigns of the Wanli and Tianqi emperors, officials on multiple occasions petitioned to have Zhu Youyuan's tablet removed from the main ancestral temple and relegated to the lesser sacrificial hall, but these entreaties were consistently refused.

Family

  • Empress Cixiaoxian of the Jiang clan
  • * Zhu Houxi, Prince Huai of Yue, first son
  • * Princess Changning, first daughter
  • * Zhu Houcong, the Jiajing Emperor, second son
  • * Princess Yongchun, fourth daughter. According to Wanli yehuo bian and Veritable Records of Shizong, she was the daughter of Prince Xian of Xing, but the History of Ming mistakenly recorded her as the daughter of the Hongzhi Emperor. Married in 1527 to Xie Zhao.
  • Consort Wenjingshu of the Wang clan
  • * Princess Shanhua, second daughter
  • Unknown
  • * Princess Yongfu, third daughter. According to Wanli yehuo bian and Veritable Records of Shizong, she was the daughter of Prince Xian of Xing, but the History of Ming mistakenly recorded her as the daughter of the Hongzhi Emperor. Married in 1523 to Wu Jinghe.

Works cited

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