Wanli Emperor

The Wanli Emperor (4 September 1563 – 18 August 1620), personal name Zhu Yijun, was the 14th emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1572 to 1620. He succeeded his father, the Longqing Emperor. His reign of 48 years was the longest of the Ming dynasty.

The Wanli Emperor ascended the throne at the age of nine. During the first ten years of his reign, Grand Secretary Zhang Juzheng effectively led the government, while the Emperor's mother, Lady Li, and the eunuch Feng Bao also played significant roles. The country experienced economic and military prosperity, reaching a level of power not seen since the early 15th century. The Emperor held great respect and appreciation for Zhang Juzheng, but as time passed, various factions within the government openly opposed Zhang, and the Emperor started to consider his influential position a burden. In 1582, Zhang died and within months, the Emperor dismissed Feng Bao and made significant changes to Zhang's administrative arrangements.

The Wanli era saw a significant boom in industry, particularly in the production of silk, cotton, and porcelain, and agriculture and trade also experienced growth. Increased trade had the strongest impact in Jiangnan, where cities such as Suzhou, Songjiang, Jiaxing, and Nanjing flourished. Despite the economic growth of the empire, state finances remained in a dire state, and while wealthy merchants and the gentry enjoyed lavish lifestyles, the majority of peasants and day laborers lived in poverty.

Ming China saw three major campaigns in the last decade of the 16th century. A Ming force of 40,000 soldiers had quelled a large rebellion in Ningxia by October 1592, allowing the Ming to shift their focus to Korea. Concurrently, Japan invaded Korea, leading to a joint Korean-Chinese force, including 40,000 Ming soldiers, pushing the Japanese out of most of Korea and forcing them to retreat to the southeast coast by 1593. In 1597, a second Japanese invasion was thwarted, and the suppression of the Yang Yinglong rebellion in southwest China concluded in a few months from 1599 due to Ming forces concentrating there amidst the ongoing war with Japan. In the final years of the Wanli era, the Jurchens grew stronger on the northeastern frontiers and posed a significant threat. In 1619, they defeated the Ming armies in the Battle of Sarhu and captured part of Liaodong.

Over time, the Emperor grew increasingly disillusioned with the constant demoralizing attacks and counterattacks from officials, causing him to become increasingly isolated. In the 1580s and 1590s, he attempted to promote his third son, Zhu Changxun, as crown prince, but faced strong opposition from officials. This led to ongoing conflicts between the Emperor and his ministers for over fifteen years. Eventually, the Emperor gave in and appointed his eldest son, Zhu Changluo, as crown prince in 1601, and Zhu Changluo later succeeded his father as the Taichang Emperor. In 1596, the Wanli Emperor attempted to establish a parallel administration composed of eunuchs, separate from the officials who had traditionally governed the empire, but this effort was abandoned in 1606. As a result, the governance of the country remained in the hands of Confucian intellectuals, who were often embroiled in disputes with each other. The opposition Donglin movement continued to criticize the Emperor and his followers, while pro-government officials were divided based on their regional origins.

Zhu Yijun, the future Wanli Emperor, was born on 4 September 1563 to Zhu Zaiji, the third son and heir apparent of the Jiajing Emperor (r. 1521–1567), and his concubine, Lady Li. He had two older brothers, both of whom died in early childhood before 1563, and a younger brother, Zhu Yiliu (朱翊鏐; 1568–1614), who was created Prince of Lu in 1571. Zhu Zaiji ascended the throne as the Longqing Emperor in 1567. On 5 July 1572, the Longqing Emperor died at the age of 35, and Zhu Yijun succeeded his father two weeks later on 19 July 1572. He adopted the era name Wanli, which means "ten thousand calendars".

The Wanli Emperor was known for his restless and energetic nature during his youth. He was a quick learner, intelligent, and perceptive, always staying well-informed about occurrences in the empire. Grand Secretary Zhang Juzheng assigned eight teachers to educate the Wanli Emperor in Confucianism, history, and calligraphy. The history lessons focused on teaching him about good and bad examples of governance, and Zhang personally compiled a collection of historical stories for the young emperor to learn from. The Emperor's fascination with calligraphy concerned Zhang, who feared that this "empty pastime" would distract him from his duties as a ruler. As a result, Zhang gradually stopped the Emperor's calligraphy lessons. From 1583 to 1588, the Wanli Emperor visited several mausoleums near Beijing and paid attention to the training of the palace guard. His officials were worried that he would become a ruler similar to the Zhengde Emperor (r. 1505–1521), and discouraged him from traveling outside the Forbidden City and pursuing his interests in the military, horse riding, and archery. Under their pressure, the Wanli Emperor stopped leaving Beijing after 1588 and stopped participating in public sacrifices after 1591. He also canceled the morning court audiences (held before dawn) and the evening study of Confucianism with his tutors (after sunset). In his youth, the Emperor was obedient to his mother and showed respect towards eunuchs and the grand secretaries, but as he aged, he became cynical and skeptical towards rituals and bureaucrats. His opposition to ritualized royal duties linked him to his grandfather the Jiajing Emperor, but he lacked his grandfather's decisiveness and flamboyance. While the Jiajing Emperor was a devoted Taoist, the Wanli Emperor leaned towards Buddhism.

In the first period of his rule, the Wanli Emperor displayed a strong commitment to the well-being of his people, actively combating corruption and striving to improve border defense. His mother, a devout Buddhist, had a significant influence on him, leading him to rarely impose the death penalty, but one punished official claimed that his leniency was sometimes excessive. He was known for being both vulnerable and vengeful, but also generous, and was not afraid to use violence against offending officials, although he did not make it a regular practice. From the mid-1580s, he began to gain weight and his health deteriorated. By 1589, he cited long-term dizziness, accompanied by fevers, heatstroke, eczema, diarrhea, and general weakness as reasons for his absence from audiences. This condition was linked to his regular use of opium.