Chongzhen Emperor
|
|
Template:Chinese Emperor 4 Chongzhen Emperor (WG: Ch'ung-chen) (1611 - 1644) was the 16th and last emperor of Ming dynasty in China between 1627 and 1644. Born Zhu Youjian, he was emperor Taichang's son.
In the beginning of his reign, the Ming dynasty was fading. Popular uprisings and attacks from the Manchus in northeast China were becoming constant. Unlike his brother, Tianqi, Chongzhen tried to rule by himself and did his best to prolong the dynasty.
Chongzhen became emperor at a young age and worked really, really hard. He was far more responsible than any Ming emperor since Hongzhi. He tried to reform the collapsing Ming bureaucratic system and limit government spending. But the great famine broke out in the same year that he became emperor, and the rebellions began. He also made big mistakes like:
1.restoring the power of the eunuchs after he had earlier eliminated them, because he didn't trust anyone else
2.executing Yuan Chonghuan
3.executing the generals and officials of every city and prefecture that fell to the rebels
4.refusing to accept that the rebels were reacting to their hunger and the corruption of the government
In 1644, the popular army led by Li Zicheng occupied Beijing. Chongzhen, still wearing his imperial attire, fled to the nearby Jingshan Park, where it is believed that his finals words to princess Chang (長平公主) were "吾非亡国之君，汝皆亡国之臣。吾待士亦不薄，今日至此，群臣何无一人相从？"，which roughly translates as "I am not the emperor of an ill-fated kingdom, but you, my officials, remain its servants. That during my reign I have given you decency, yet on this day, wherefore remains none at my side?" He then hanged himself on the Guilty Chinese Scholartree, putting an end to 276 years of the Ming dynasty.
He was buried in Siling (思陵).
| Preceded by: Tianqi Emperor | Emperor of China (Ming Dynasty) 1627–1644 | Succeeded by: Shunzhi Emperor |