Zhu Wenkui
| Zhu Wenkui 朱文奎 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crown Prince of the Ming dynasty | |||||||
| Heir to the Ming throne | |||||||
| Tenure | 1399–1402 | ||||||
| Predecessor | Zhu Yunwen | ||||||
| Successor | Zhu Gaochi | ||||||
| Born | 30 November 1396 | ||||||
| Died | 13 July 1402 (aged 5) | ||||||
| |||||||
| House | Zhu | ||||||
| Father | Jianwen Emperor | ||||||
| Mother | Empress Ma | ||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||
| Chinese | 朱文奎 | ||||||
| |||||||
Zhu Wenkui (30 November 1396 – 13 July 1402) was a prince of the Ming dynasty of China. He was the eldest son of the Jianwen Emperor and Empress Ma. Born in 1396, Zhu Wenkui was designated heir to the throne in 1399. He disappeared during the fall of Nanjing in 1402, when his father was overthrown by his uncle Zhu Di, Prince of Yan, who subsequently ascended the throne as the Yongle Emperor. It was later claimed that Zhu Wenkui perished in the palace fire alongside his mother, Empress Ma.
Biography
[edit]Zhu Wenkui was born on 30 November 1396 to Zhu Yunwen and Lady Ma. Zhu Yunwen was the grandson and heir apparent of the Hongwu Emperor, the founder of China's Ming dynasty.[1] As Zhu Wenkui was born on the last day of the month, the Emperor ordered the imperial household not to celebrate the occasion.[2] Zhu Wenkui's grandfather was Zhu Biao,[3] the Hongwu Emperor's eldest son and designated heir, who died in 1392. Zhu Wenkui's father, Zhu Yunwen, was appointed as his successor in the same year.[4]
Following the Hongwu Emperor's death in 1398, Zhu Yunwen ascended the throne as the Jianwen Emperor. In 1399, the Jianwen Emperor appointed Lady Ma as empress and Zhu Wenkui as his heir.[5][1] Two years later, Zhu Wenkui's younger brother, Zhu Wengui, was born.[6][1]
After ascending the throne, the Jianwen Emperor introduced measures to curtail the power of the imperial princes, who were his uncles and sons of the Hongwu Emperor.[a] These measures prompted his uncle Zhu Di, Prince of Yan, to launch a rebellion in August 1399.[8] On 13 July 1402, Zhu Di captured Nanjing, ascending the throne as the Yongle Emperor four days later.[9] During the fall of Nanjing, the imperial palace burned down, and Empress Ma died in the fire.[9][10]
The Jianwen Emperor and Zhu Wenkui disappeared during the fall of Nanjing but were later declared to have died alongside Empress Ma in the palace fire.[9][11] Zhu Wengui, survived and the Yongle Emperor had him confined in Fengyang, where he remained until the Yongle Emperor's great-grandson, Emperor Yingzong, released him in 1457. After more than five decades in confinement, he was reportedly unable even to distinguish cattle from horses. He died of illness shortly afterward. In July 1644, the Hongguang Emperor of the Southern Ming dynasty conferred on Zhu Wenkui the posthumous name Crown Prince Gongmin (恭愍皇太子).[11] Later, the Longwu Emperor conferred on him the posthumous name Crown Prince Hejian (和簡皇太子).[12]
Notes
[edit]References
[edit]Citations
[edit]- 1 2 3 Goodrich & Fang (1976), p. 403.
- ↑ Veritable Records of Taizu, vol. 247, p. 3592.
- ↑ Goodrich & Fang (1976), p. 397.
- ↑ Tsai (2002), pp. 49–50, 59.
- ↑ Liu & Ai (2017), p. 169.
- ↑ Liu (1997), p. 70.
- ↑ Chan (1988), p. 191.
- ↑ Chan (1988), p. 195.
- 1 2 3 Chan (1988), p. 201.
- ↑ Zhao (2013), p. 115.
- 1 2 Liu (1997), pp. 69–70.
- ↑ Qian (2016), vol. 7.
Works cited
[edit]- Chan, Hok-lam (1988). "The Chien-wen, Yung-lo, Hung-hsi, and Hsüan-te reigns". In Mote, Frederick W.; Twitchett, Denis C (eds.). The Cambridge History of China Volume 7: The Ming Dynasty, 1368–1644, Part 1. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 184–304. ISBN 0521243327.
- Goodrich, L. Carington; Fang, Chaoying (1976). Dictionary of Ming Biography, 1368-1644. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-03801-1.
- History Office (1418). Taizu Shilu 太祖實錄 [Veritable Records of Taizu] (in Literary Chinese).
- Liu, Yi (1997). 明清皇室 [The Imperial Families of the Ming and Qing Dynasties] (in Chinese). Beijing: Palace Museum Press. ISBN 9787800472268.
- Qian, Haiyue (2016). Nan Ming Shi 南明史 [History of the Southern Ming] (in Chinese). Beijing: Zhonghua Book. ISBN 9787101044294.
- Tsai, Shih-Shan Henry (2002). Perpetual Happiness: The Ming Emperor Yongle. University of Washington Press. ISBN 0-295-98124-5.
- Liu, Liu; Ai, Changqing, eds. (2017). 中国后妃传 [Biographies of Chinese Empresses and Consorts] (in Chinese). Wanjuan Publishing House. ISBN 9787547045022.
- Zhao, Wangxiao (2013). 闲聊大明三帝 [Casual Conversations About Three Ming Emperors] (in Chinese). Nanjing: Nanjing Publishing House. ISBN 978-7-5533-0263-8.