The Hongzhi Emperor — Ming Xiaozong
弘治帝 · 明孝宗
“The one Chinese emperor who was faithful to one wife”
Hidden and raised in secret as a child because Consort Wan was killing the emperor's other sons, he grew into the most conscientious Ming ruler: the eunuchs cleared out, competent ministers appointed, the law code revised, and the flood control on the Yellow River rebuilt. He kept no concubines at all, which is unique among Chinese emperors.
The Hongzhi reign is the Ming's brief return to good government, and it lasted eighteen years.
Empress Zhang was the only woman in his life, and the indulgence he showed her brothers is the one thing the histories hold against him.
The empresses of this reign
Painted on silk in gemstone mineral pigments by Xiang Li.
About this page
Written for this site to place Hongzhi's reign around the paintings. For the full biography, the dynastic histories and the scholarship behind them, start at Wikipedia.
Every Ming emperor
| Reign | Emperor | Painted empresses |
|---|---|---|
| 1368 – 1398 | Hongwu 洪武帝 · 明太祖 Zhu Yuanzhang 朱元璋 | |
| 1398 – 1402 | Jianwen 建文帝 Zhu Yunwen 朱允炆 | |
| 1402 – 1424 | Yongle 永樂帝 · 明成祖 / 永乐帝 · 明成祖 Zhu Di 朱棣 | |
| 1424 – 1425 | Hongxi 洪熙帝 · 明仁宗 Zhu Gaochi 朱高熾 / 朱高炽 | |
| 1425 – 1435 | Xuande 宣德帝 · 明宣宗 Zhu Zhanji 朱瞻基 | |
| 1435 – 1449, 1457 – 1464 | Yingzong 正統帝 · 天順帝 / 正统帝 · 天顺帝 Zhu Qizhen 朱祁鎮 / 朱祁镇 | |
| 1449 – 1457 | Jingtai 景泰帝 · 明代宗 Zhu Qiyu 朱祁鈺 / 朱祁钰 | |
| 1464 – 1487 | Chenghua 成化帝 · 明憲宗 / 成化帝 · 明宪宗 Zhu Jianshen 朱見深 / 朱见深 | |
| 1487 – 1505 | Hongzhi 弘治帝 · 明孝宗 Zhu Youtang 朱祐樘 | |
| 1505 – 1521 | Zhengde 正德帝 · 明武宗 Zhu Houzhao 朱厚照 | |
| 1521 – 1567 | Jiajing 嘉靖帝 · 明世宗 Zhu Houcong 朱厚熜 | |
| 1567 – 1572 | Longqing 隆慶帝 · 明穆宗 / 隆庆帝 · 明穆宗 Zhu Zaiji 朱載坖 / 朱载坖 | |
| 1572 – 1620 | Wanli 萬曆帝 · 明神宗 / 万历帝 · 明神宗 Zhu Yijun 朱翊鈞 / 朱翊钧 | |
| 1620, 29 days | Taichang 泰昌帝 · 明光宗 Zhu Changluo 朱常洛 | |
| 1620 – 1627 | Tianqi 天啟帝 · 明熹宗 / 天启帝 · 明熹宗 Zhu Youjiao 朱由校 | |
| 1627 – 1644 | Chongzhen 崇禎帝 · 明思宗 / 崇祯帝 · 明思宗 Zhu Youjian 朱由檢 / 朱由检 |