The mystery of Emperor Wanli’s absence from court for 30 years in the Ming Dynasty

What was the reason why Emperor Wanli did not go to court for a long time? On the Internet and in books, many friends have discussed the reasons why "Emperor Wanli did not go to court for 30 years", and different opinions have their own opinions. As a lover of Ming history, I also want to share my views.

We know that Emperor Wanli was very diligent at the beginning of his reign. He did many things step by step. Even later, he cannot be said to be mediocre. After all, he personally arranged and completed the three major campaigns of Wanli during his reign.

When did Emperor Wanli fail in court? It is reported that after fourteen years of Wanli, Zongshen began to stay out of the court. After 16 years of Wanli, Chang Chao often did not see Shenzong. After New Year's Day in 2017, Zongshen was exempted from paying tribute to New Year's Day on the grounds of a solar eclipse. From then on, Zongshen never celebrated the New Year again. Zong Shen stayed in the palace all day long and did not care about politics. After all, he was the longest reigning emperor in Ming Dynasty history (48 years), and he immersed himself in a life of luxury. Not only is there a beauty pageant every year, but construction is also carried out frequently. He started building his own cemetery when he was 21 years old.

Summarizing the different opinions that have caused uproar in the past dynasties, and summarizing the various turbulent comments at home and abroad in ancient and modern times, there are only three main reasons why Emperor Wanli did not go to court. In fact, the author believes that the reasons that led to Emperor Wanli's long-term absence from court are multifaceted and comprehensive. They cannot be simply attributed to one category, but are the result of the interaction of multiple factors.

First, Emperor Wanli’s refusal to go to court was a form of revenge against the civil servant group.

In Zongshen's view, since the emperor wants to govern personally, ministers should do nothing; since the emperor should do nothing, ministers should show humility and obedience. But as time went by, the emperor, the authority above ten thousand people, became more and more a tragedy of the feudal system and even the feudal era. And Emperor Wanli was born in the last days, and it was even more difficult to escape the stranglehold of this system, which added to its tragic color. The emperor at that time was no longer the holder of the highest power in feudal society as people once thought, but was checked and balanced by many factors, especially the checks and balances of the civil servant group.

In general, the political system and balance of power of the Ming Dynasty were very different from those of the previous dynasties. Since the Qin Dynasty, the contradiction between imperial power and relative power has basically ended in the Ming Dynasty, but the civil service system has become increasingly mature, power has become increasingly stable, and it has become more conservative. Therefore, the power struggle in the central government has changed from a battle between the emperor and the prime minister to a battle between the emperor and a huge civil servant group.

From the game between Emperor Wanli and the civil servant group, it is not difficult to see that although there is only one person in Wanli, he is the emperor and has great power; although the number of civil servants is large, their personal power is not great and they may not be united. consistent. But when they are fighting against the emperor, in order to safeguard the vital interests of the group and themselves, they can temporarily become one and work together.

Such a political environment made Emperor Wanli helpless. Especially during his reign, through the two major events of the struggle between the Lin Dong Party and the national capital, he found that if the monarch wanted to do something, he would be blocked by civilian officials. Therefore, he had to develop the pessimism that "the monarch has to be at the mercy of others whether he wants to do it or not", and gradually lost the enthusiasm for governing the country and the concern for the country when he was young. As a result, after constantly fighting against civil servants but often to no avail, I simply chose the method of "silent protest", that is, no longer litigating.

Secondly, Emperor Wanli's failure to go to court was an evasion of the current situation.

Huang Renyu concluded at the end of "Essay "The Fifteenth Year of Wanli": "1587, the fifteenth year of Wanli and the second year of Dinghai. On the surface, it seems that the whole world is peaceful, and there is nothing It is worth recalling. In fact, our Ming Dynasty has reached the end of its development. At this time, the emperor’s efforts or Yan’an’s indulgence, Kuaiji’s dictatorship or reconciliation, senior generals’ creations or habits, civil servants’ integrity or corruption, and thinkers’ Extreme progress or absolute conservatism will result in no distinction between good and evil, and in fact it will be impossible to achieve meaningful development, so our story has to end in tragedy here. "Wandinghai Yearbook" is a total record of failure in history."

From this passage, it is not difficult for us to see the current situation at that time, that is, the society of the Ming Dynasty was in chaos at the moment, civilian officials were greedy, and military generals were afraid of death.

The so-called "Seven Gentlemen Lin Dong" is actually a corrupt scholar who harmed the country. Just imagine, as a humble emperor, the Nine-Fifth Emperor may seem noble and powerful, but he can't do it, he can't do it, he can't do it, he doesn't even have a confidant, and he has become a real "widow". How could it be? If you are the enemy of the world's literati, the divine religion is not only spiritually deficient, but also incompetent. Only by "out of sight, out of mind" and choosing the way of escape can you still have a calmer life.

Thirdly, Emperor Wanli’s refusal to go to court was a form of resistance to the official system.

The Ming Dynasty can be said to be a feudal dynasty in Chinese history, with quite free speech. The Ming Dynasty implemented the speaking official system, and ministers could express their opinions freely, ranging from major national affairs to trivial matters in the harem. As long as you have an idea, just say it and don't be afraid of offending the emperor. No matter how cruel the monarch of the Ming Dynasty was, he was so angry that he did not want to bear the reputation of a "foolish king" and "killer of admonishers". At best he is a "litigious man" who kicks the ass of the person who speaks.

For this reason, the general style of officials in the Ming Dynasty was that they did not dare to speak in extreme ways and exaggerated. They often tried their best to arouse people's emotions by making false accusations and gossiping. What we care about is not whether what we say is true or false, but whether we can make a sensation and become famous with our sincere words. By scolding the emperor and his ministers to prove the value of his existence, he can gain political capital. Therefore, at that time, not only the emperor was often scolded, but also famous officials of the Ming Dynasty, such as Hai Rui, Yang Lian, Zuo Guangdou, Zhang Cong, Xia Yan, Xu Jie, Gao Gong, Zhang, etc., were also deeply criticized. Suffer from it. In fact, those officials who like to curse will also be scolded non-stop. In an era where "scolding" people is an honor and being "scolded" is normal, people only talk with each other and don't do real things. There is a tragedy hidden in this.

Fourth, Emperor Wanli did not go to court because he was addicted to luxurious life.

According to historical records, Zongshen was indeed a dissolute emperor. Good wine, he said. When he was 17 years old, he was almost deposed by the Empress Dowager Cixi for scolding Bao Feng's adopted son with a stick while drunk. He is lustful. In March of the tenth year of Wanli, he followed the example of his grandfather Shizong and married "nine wives" in one day in the civil election. Not only that, he even performed homosexual activities, that is, while playing with women, he also acted as a little eunuch. There were 10 eunuchs in the palace at that time, all of whom were handsome. They are dedicated to "serving the command or lying with their superiors" and are called the "Ten Commanders".

Excessive debauchery made Zongshen extremely weak. In the 14th year of Wanli, the 24-year-old Zongshen told the cabinet that he was "temporarily dizzy, his eyes were black, and his body was weak." Lu Hongchun, the Minister of Rites, went to the hospital for this reason and pointed out that "liver deficiency will cause dizziness, and kidney deficiency will cause low back pain and ejaculation." On the first day of the first lunar month of the eighteenth year of Wanli, Zongshen claimed to have "low back pain, soft feet, and difficulty walking." In the 30th year of Wanli's reign, due to his worsening condition, the concubine Jishen entered the cabinet and asked for his funeral. Judging from these phenomena, Zongshen's physical condition is actually deteriorating. Therefore, during God's reign, he rarely went to court.

What is even more surprising is that Emperor Wanli may still be taking drugs. At that time, opium was originally a medicine in China. Starting from the Tang Dynasty, poppies were grown in Sichuan to produce opium, known as afurong. Until the early Ming Dynasty, opium was still just an expensive drug. But by the middle of the Ming Dynasty, opium changed from a medicine to an aphrodisiac. I think some emperors in the middle and late Ming Dynasty often took pleasure in promiscuity. Once they discovered that opium had an aphrodisiac effect, how could they let it go so easily? Someone once said, "Hundreds of years later, in 1958, Dingling was excavated. When scientists examined the body of Emperor Wanli, they found that his bones contained morphine. This was ironclad evidence that Emperor Wanli had eaten opium." No historical data could be found. I can only say it is possible.

So some scholars pointed out that Emperor Wanli did not go to court for 30 years because he was dizzy. In fact, the main reason is too much sex, combined with opiate addiction. Although I don't completely agree, I think there is some truth to this statement.

To sum up, through our analysis from four aspects, we can draw a conclusive point: Emperor Wanli’s failure to go to court for thirty years was not the result of an independent factor, but a combination of factors The result of the interaction is just that each factor plays a different role.