Princess Ningguo (or Princess of the Ning State; 10 October 1364 – 7 September 1434) was a princess of the Ming dynasty, the second daughter of the Hongwu Emperor and his eldest by Empress Ma. In 1378, the Hongwu Emperor bestowed upon his daughter the title of Princess Ningguo and arranged her marriage to Mei Yin, nephew of Mei Sizu, the Marquis of Runan. She bore three sons. In 1405, her brother, the Yongle Emperor, elevated her rank to that of Grand Princess Ningguo, and by 1424, she was further honored as Grand Princess Imperial Ningguo.
| Princess Ningguo 寧國公主 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | 10 October 1364 | ||||||
| Died | 7 September 1434 (aged 69) | ||||||
| Spouse | Mei Yin | ||||||
| Issue | |||||||
| Father | Hongwu Emperor | ||||||
| Mother | Empress Ma | ||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 寧國公主 | ||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 宁国公主 | ||||||
| |||||||
Background and marriage
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Princess Ningguo was born on 10 October 1364,[2] as the second daughter of Zhu Yuanzhang. Her mother was Lady Ma, Zhu's primary consort.[3] At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang was based in Nanjing and had emerged as a leading commander of the Red Turban Rebellion, a movement directed against the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The rebellion sought to restore Han Chinese rule after nearly a century of foreign domination. By the 1360s, Zhu Yuanzhang consolidated his conquests, established the Ming dynasty, and proclaimed himself emperor.[4] He is commonly known by his era name as the Hongwu Emperor.[5]
In 1378, the Hongwu Emperor bestowed upon his second daughter the title of Princess Ningguo, and in that same year, arranged her marriage to Mei Yin, nephew of Mei Sizu, Marquis of Runan. Among the sixteen imperial sons-in-law, Mei was particularly esteemed by the Hongwu Emperor. At the time, Li Wenzhong, the Emperor's nephew, directed the Imperial Academy, while Mei was appointed Provincial Educational Commissioner of Shandong. The Emperor issued an edict commending Mei's command of the Confucian classics and historical learning, a recognition that won him considerable respect among court officials.[3][6] During the later years of the Hongwu Emperor's reign, as the princes grew increasingly influential, the Emperor entrusted Mei with supporting his designated heir, his grandson Zhu Yunwen. Upon the Hongwu Emperor’s death in 1398, Zhu Yunwen ascended the throne as the Jianwen Emperor. In December 1401, Mei was ordered to defend Huai'an, where he enforced strict military discipline and implemented rigorous defensive measures.[3]
Later life and death
editAfter his accession, the Jianwen Emperor implemented the policy of "reducing the feudatories" in an effort to curtail the power of the imperial princes. This provoked the August 1399 rebellion of his uncle Zhu Di, Prince of Yan—an elder brother of Princess Ningguo.[7] In April 1402, Zhu Di decisively defeated the Jianwen Emperor’s forces and captured prominent generals including Ping An, Ma Pu, and Xu Zhen. Seeking to advance southward, Zhu Di dispatched an envoy requesting passage through Huai'an, but Mei flatly refused. Enraged, Zhu Di had no choice but to bypass the city and march through Yangzhou on his way to Nanjing.[3][6]
In June 1402, Zhu Di seized Nanjing, after which the Jianwen Emperor disappeared. The following month, Zhu Di ascended the throne as the Yongle Emperor.[8] At that time, Mei remained in Huai'an. The new emperor compelled Princess Ningguo to compose a blood letter urging her husband to surrender.[3] Upon receiving the letter and learning of the Jianwen Emperor's presumed death, Mei wept bitterly, held a funeral in his honor, and then proceeded to Nanjing. The Yongle Emperor personally greeted him, but despite this show of favor, Mei harbored a profound resentment toward the new regime. He repeatedly voiced his displeasure through both words and demeanor. In response, the Yongle Emperor dispatched spies to infiltrate Mei's residence at night, an intrusion that only deepened Mei's anger and rendered their relationship irreconcilable.[9]
In 1404, Censor-in-Chief Chen Ying accused Mei of gathering loyal partisans and colluding with the female scholar Liu Shi to curse the Emperor.[10] As a result, the Yongle Emperor instructed the Ministry of Revenue to review the quotas of attendants and guards allocated to dukes, marquises, prince consorts, and barons.[6] He also ordered the Embroidered Uniform Guard to escort Mei's family members to Liaodong.[10]
In October 1405, while returning to the capital, Mei was ambushed while crossing Da Bridge in Nanjing. He was pushed into the river by Tan Shen, Assistant Commissioner-in-Chief of the Front Army, Zhao Xi, a commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and others, and drowned. Although two officers initially reported that Mei had taken his own life,[10][11] Vice Commissioner-in-Chief Xu Cheng later revealed the truth. The Yongle Emperor ordered the execution of Tan and Zhao, confiscated their families' properties, and dispatched officials to supervise Mei's funeral. He was posthumously named "Rongding".[11]
When Princess Ningguo learned of her husband’s death, she cried out, "The Emperor is responsible for his death!" She clutched the Yongle Emperor’s robes and wept bitterly. In response, the Emperor granted official appointments to Mei's two sons and wrote a letter to his sister: "Although the prince consort had his faults, as your elder brother, I chose to overlook them out of familial affection. Upon hearing of his drowning, I harbored doubts. Now that Vice Commissioner-in-Chief Xu Cheng has exposed the truth, I have rewarded him and punished those responsible. I wished to personally inform you of this".[12]
On 24 December 1405, Princess Ningguo was elevated to the rank of Grand Princess Ningguo. On 28 December 1417, the Yongle Emperor further honored her with gifts of 10,000 ingots of paper currency and 60 bolts of colored silk. Her title was re-designated as Grand Princess Imperial Ningguo (寧國大長公主) on 21 November 1424. She died on 7 September 1434.[13]
References
editCitations
edit- ^ a b c Veritable Records of Taizong, vol. 49.
- ^ Veritable Records of Taizong, vol. 23.
- ^ a b c d e Tsai (2002), p. 75.
- ^ Tsai (2002), pp. 20–21.
- ^ Chan, David B. "Hongwu". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 19 June 2011.
- ^ a b c History of Ming, vol. 121, p. 3663.
- ^ Chan (1988), p. 195.
- ^ Chan (1988), p. 201.
- ^ Mingshi jishi benmo, vol. 18.
- ^ a b c Tsai (2002), p. 76.
- ^ a b History of Ming, vol. 121, p. 3664.
- ^ Veritable Records of Taizong, vol. 47.
- ^ Veritable Records of Xuanzong, vol. 112.
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.
- Gu, Yingtai (1658). Mingshi jishi benmo 明史紀事本末 [Historical events from the Ming period in their entirety] (in Literary Chinese).
- History Office (1430). Taizong Shilu 太宗實錄 [Veritable Records of Taizong] (in Literary Chinese).
- History Office (1438). Xuanzong Shilu 宣宗實錄 [Veritable Records of Xuanzong] (in Literary Chinese).
- Tsai, Shih-Shan Henry (2002). Perpetual Happiness: The Ming Emperor Yongle. Seattle, Wash.; Chesham: University of Washington Press; Combined Academic. ISBN 0295981245.
- Zhang, Tingyu (1974) [1739]. Ming Shi 明史 [History of Ming] (in Literary Chinese). Beijing: Zhonghua Book. ISBN 7101003273.