Zhengde Emperor

The Zhengde Emperor (Chinese: 正德帝; pinyin: Zhèngdé Dì; 27 October 1491 – 20 April 1521) was the 11th Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1505 to 1521.

This article is about the Ming dynasty Emperor. For the Western Xia Emperor who also used an era name called Zhengde, see Emperor Chongzong of Western Xia. For the Liang dynasty prince who used Zhengde as his personal name, see Xiao Zhengde.

Zhengde Emperor
正德帝
11th Emperor of the Ming dynasty
Reign19 June 1505 – 20 April 1521
Coronation19 June 1505
PredecessorHongzhi Emperor
SuccessorJiajing Emperor
Born27 October 1491
Died20 April 1521 (aged 29)
Burial
Kangling, Ming tombs, Beijing
Consorts
Full name
Family name: Zhu (朱)
Given name: Houzhao (厚㷖)
Era name and dates
Zhengde (正德): 24 January 1506 – 27 January 1522
Posthumous name
Emperor Chengtian Dadao Yingsu Ruizhe Zhaode Xiangong Hongwen Sixiao Yi
承天達道英肅睿哲昭德顯功弘文思孝毅皇帝
Temple name
Ming Wuzong
明武宗
HouseHouse of Zhu
FatherHongzhi Emperor
MotherEmpress Xiaochengjing

Born Zhu Houzhao, he was the Hongzhi Emperor's eldest son. Zhu Houzhao took the throne at only 14 with the era name Zhengde meaning "Right virtue" or "Rectification of virtue". He was known for favoring eunuchs such as Liu Jin and became infamous for his childlike behavior. He eventually died at age 29 from an illness he contracted after drunkenly falling off a boat into the Yellow River. He left behind no sons and was succeeded by his first cousin Zhu Houcong.

Early years

Zhu Houzhao was made crown prince at a very early age and because his father did not take up any other concubines, Zhu did not have to contend with other princes for the throne. (His younger brother died in infancy.) The prince was thoroughly educated in Confucian literature and he excelled in his studies. Many of the Hongzhi Emperor's ministers expected that Zhu Houzhao would become a benevolent and brilliant emperor like his father.

Reign as emperor
Further information: Prince of Ning rebellion and Prince of Anhua rebellion

Zhu Houzhao ascended the throne as the Zhengde Emperor and was married to his Empress at the age of 14.[1] Unlike his father, the Zhengde Emperor was not interested in ruling or his Empress and disregarded most state affairs. His actions have been considered reckless, foolish or pointless.[2] There are many instances where he showed a lack of responsibility.

The Zhengde Emperor took up a luxurious and prodigal lifestyle and indulged himself in women. It was said that he liked to frequent brothels and even created palaces called "Bao Fang" (豹房; literally "The Leopards' Chamber") outside the Forbidden City in Beijing initially to house exotic animals such as tigers and leopards for his amusement and then later used to house beautiful women for his personal enjoyment.[3] He also met Wang Mantang, one of his favorite consorts at a Bao Fang. On one occasion he was badly mauled while hunting tigers, and could not appear in court audiences for a month.[2] On another occasion he burned down his palace by storing gunpowder in the courtyards during the lantern festival.[2] His harem was so overfilled that many of its women starved to death due to lack of supplies.[4]

Zhu Houzhao was noted by many sources as fairly efficient administrator, although indulging in an luxurious life style and refusing to attend most meetings, he showed himself to be competent in his decisions and governance. Under his rule, the economy continued to grow, and the people were generally prosperous.

Stele in memory of the renovation of the Temple of Yan in Qufu, 1509 (4th year of the Zhengde era)

For months at a time he would live outside the Forbidden City or travel around the country with heavy expenditures being paid from the Ming government's coffers. While being urged to return to the palace and attend to governmental matters, the Zhengde Emperor would refuse to receive all his ministers and ignored all their petitions. He also sanctioned the rise of eunuchs around him. One particular Liu Jin, leader of the Eight Tigers, was notorious for taking advantage of the young emperor and squandered immense amount of silver and valuables. The diverted funds were about 36 million pounds of gold and silver.[5] There was even rumor of a plot that Liu Jin had intended to murder the emperor and place his own grandnephew on the throne. Liu Jin's plot was ultimately discovered, and he was executed in 1510. However, the rise of corrupt enunchs continued throughout the Zhengde Emperor's reign. There was also an uprising led by the Prince of Anhua and another uprising led by the Prince of Ning. The Prince of Anhua was the Zhengde Emperor's great-granduncle, while the Prince of Ning was his granduncle.[6]

In time, the Zhengde Emperor became notorious for his childish behaviour as well as abusing his power as emperor. For instance, he set up a staged commercial district inside his palace and ordered all his ministers, eunuchs, soldiers and servants of the palace to dress up and act as merchants or street vendors while he walked through the scene pretending to be a commoner. Any unwilling participants, especially the ministers (who viewed it as degrading and an insult), would be punished or removed from their post.

Then in 1517, the Zhengde Emperor gave himself an alter ego named Zhu Shou (朱壽) so he could relinquish his imperial duties and send himself off on an expedition to the north to repel raiding expeditions several tens of thousands strong led by Dayan Khan.[7] He met the enemy outside the city of Yingzhou and defeated them in a major battle by surrounding them. For a long period of time after this battle, the Mongols did not launch a raiding expedition into Ming territory. Then again in 1519, the Zhengde Emperor led another expedition to Jiangxi province to the south to quell the Prince of Ning rebellion by a powerful prince known as Zhu Chenhao who had bribed many people in the emperor's cabinet. He arrived only to discover that the revolt had already been put down by Wang Yangming, a local administrative officer. Frustrated at not being able to lead his troops to victory, the Zhengde Emperor's advisor suggested they release the prince in order to capture him again. In January 1521, the Zhengde Emperor had the rebel Prince of Ning executed in Tongzhou,[8] an event that was recorded even by the Portuguese embassy to China.

Chinese Islamic bronze incense burner made during the reign of Zhengde. Adilnor Collection, Sweden.

Relations with Muslims
Chinese ablution basin with word Taharat (cleanliness) in Thuluth calligraphy, Zhengde period

The Zhengde Emperor was fascinated by foreigners and invited many Muslims to serve as advisors, eunuchs, and envoys at his court.[9] Works of art such as porcelain from his court contained Islamic inscriptions in Arabic or Persian.[10][11][12][13]

An edict against slaughtering pigs led to speculation that the Zhengde emperor adopted Islam due to his use of Muslim eunuchs who commissioned the production of porcelain with Persian and Arabic inscriptions in white and blue.[14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22] It is unknown who really was behind the anti-pig slaughter edict.[23]

The Zhengde Emperor preferred foreign Muslim women, having many relationships with them.[24][25]

According to Bret Hinsch in the book Passions of the cut sleeve: the male homosexual tradition in China, the Zhengde Emperor had an alleged homosexual relationship with a Muslim leader from Hami, named Sayyid Husain, who served as the overseer in Hami during the Ming-Turpan border wars, although no evidence supporting this claim exists in Chinese sources.[26][27][28]

Dark Affliction

Prior to the death of the Zhengde Emperor in early 1521, rumours about a mysterious group of creatures collectively called Dark Afflictions (Chinese: 黑眚; pinyin: Hēi Shěng) circulated the capital. Their attacks caused much unrest, because they randomly attacked people at night, causing wounds with their claws. The Minister for War asked the emperor to write an imperial edict proclaiming local security troops would arrest all those who frightened other people. The threat brought a sudden end to the spread of the stories.[29]

Contact with Europe

During the reign of Chingtih (Zhengde) (1506), foreigners from the west called Fah-lan-ki (or Franks), who said they had tribute, abruptly entered the Bogue, and by their tremendously loud guns shook the place far and near. This was reported at court, and an order returned to drive them away immediately, and stop the trade.

— The Middle Kingdom: A Survey of the Geography, Government, Education, Social Life, Arts, Religion, &c. of the Chinese Empire and Its Inhabitants, 2 vol. (Wiley & Putnam, 1848)., in Samuel Wells Williams
Afonso de Albuquerque, who commissioned the first direct European maritime ventures to China from Portuguese Malacca.

The first direct European contacts with China occurred during the reign of the Zhengde Emperor. In several initial missions commissioned by Afonso de Albuquerque of Portuguese Malacca, the Portuguese explorers Jorge Álvares and Rafael Perestrello landed in southern China and traded with the Chinese merchants of Tuen Mun and Guangzhou. In 1513 their king, Manuel I of Portugal sent Fernão Pires de Andrade and Tomé Pires to formally open relations between the main court at Beijing and Lisbon, capital of Portugal. Although the Zhengde Emperor gave the Portuguese ambassador his blessing while touring Nanjing in May 1520, he died soon after and the Portuguese (who were rumored to be troublemakers in Canton and apparently even cannibalized kidnapped Chinese children), were ejected by Chinese authorities under the new Grand Secretary Yang Tinghe. Although illegal trade continued thereafter, official relations between the Portuguese and the Ming court would not improve until the 1540s, culminating in the Ming court's consent in 1557 to Portugal establishing Macau as their trading base in China.

Sino-Malay alliance against Portugal

The Malay Malacca Sultanate was a tributary state and ally to Ming China. When Portugal conquered Malacca in 1511 and committed atrocities against the Malay Sultanate, the Chinese responded with violent force against Portugal.

The Ming government imprisoned and executed multiple Portuguese envoys after torturing them in Guangzhou. The Malaccans had informed the Chinese of the Portuguese seizure of Malacca, to which the Chinese responded with hostility toward the Portuguese. The Malaccans told the Chinese of the deception the Portuguese used, disguising plans for conquering territory as mere trading activities, and told of all the atrocities committed by the Portuguese.[30]

Due to the Malaccan Sultan lodging a complaint against the Portuguese invasion to the Zhengde Emperor, the Portuguese were greeted with hostility from the Chinese when they arrived in China.[31][32][33][34][35] The Malaccan Sultan, based in Bintan after fleeing Malacca, sent a message to the Chinese, which combined with Portuguese banditry and violent activity in China, led the Chinese authorities to execute 23 Portuguese and torture the rest of them in jails. After the Portuguese set up posts for trading in China and committed piratical activities and raids in China, the Chinese responded with the complete extermination of the Portuguese in Ningbo and Quanzhou[36] Pires, a Portuguese trade envoy, was among those who died in the Chinese dungeons.[37][38][39]

The Chinese defeated a Portuguese fleet in 1521 at the Battle of Tunmen , killing and capturing so many Portuguese that the Portuguese had to abandon their junks and retreat with only three ships, only escaping back to Malacca because a wind scattered the Chinese ships as the Chinese launched a final attack.[40]

The Chinese effectively held the Portuguese ambassador hostage, using them as a bargaining chip in demanding that the Portuguese restore the deposed Malaccan Sultan (King) to his throne.[41]

The Chinese proceeded to execute several Portuguese by beating and strangling them, and torturing the rest. The other Portuguese prisoners were put into iron chains and kept in prison.[42] The Chinese confiscated all of the Portuguese property and goods in the Pires embassy's possession.[43]

In 1522 Martim Afonso de Merlo Coutinho was appointed commander of another Portuguese fleet sent to establish diplomatic relations.[44] The Chinese defeated the Portuguese ships led by Coutinho at the Battle of Shancaowan. A large number of Portuguese were captured and ships destroyed during the battle. The Portuguese were forced to retreat to Malacca.[45][46]

The Chinese forced Pires to write letters for them, demanding that the Portuguese restore the deposed Malaccan Sultan back to his throne. The Malay ambassador to China was to deliver the letter.[47]

The Chinese sent a message to the deposed Sultan of Malacca concerning the fate of the Portuguese ambassador, which the Chinese held prisoner. When they received his reply, the Chinese officials then proceeded to execute the Portuguese ambassador, slicing their bodies into multiple pieces. Their genitalia were inserted into the oral cavity. The Portuguese were executed in public in multiple areas in Guangzhou, deliberately by the Chinese in order to show that the Portuguese were insignificant in the eyes of the Chinese.[48] When more Portuguese ships landed and were seized by the Chinese, the Chinese then executed them as well, cutting off the genitalia and beheading the bodies and forcing their fellow Portuguese to wear the body parts, while the Chinese celebrated with music. The genitalia and heads were displayed strung up for display in public, after which they were discarded.[49]

Death
Kangling, The tomb of The Zhengde Emperor —— early January 2020

The Zhengde Emperor died in 1521 at the age of 31. It was said that he was drunk while boating on a lake one day in the fall of 1520. He fell off his boat and almost drowned.[50] He died after contracting illnesses from the Grand Canal waters.[5] Since none of his several children had survived childhood, he was succeeded by his cousin Zhu Houcong, who became known as the Jiajing Emperor. His tomb is located at Kangling of the Ming tombs.

Legacy
Zhengde Emperor calligraphy plaque "Wonder of the World" on Pagoda of Fogong Temple

By the accounts of some historians, although bred to be a successful ruler, the Zhengde Emperor thoroughly neglected his duties, beginning a dangerous trend that would plague future Ming emperors. The abandonment of official duties to pursue personal gratification would slowly lead to the rise of powerful eunuchs that would dominate and eventually ruin the Ming dynasty. The Ming scholar Tan Qian argued that: "The Emperor was smart and playful... He also did not harm officials who argued against him. [He enjoyed] the support of the minister and the efficient works of the clerks. [He worked until] midnight to issue edicts that punished [the criminals] like Liu Jin and Qian Ning (Zhengde's own adoptive son)."

Some modern historians have come to view his reign in a new light and debate that his actions along with that of his successors such as the Wanli Emperor were a direct reaction to the bureaucratic gridlock that affected the Ming dynasty in its later half. The emperors were very limited in their policy decision and could not really implement any sort of lasting effective reforms despite the obvious need, while they were faced with constant pressure and were expected to be responsible for all the troubles the dynasty faced. As a result, the ministers became increasingly frustrated and disillusioned about their posts, and protested in different forms of what was essentially an imperial strike. Thus emperors such as the Zhengde Emperor sneaked out of the palace while emperors such as the Jiajing and Wanli emperors simply did not show up in the imperial court. Other authors[51] state that Zhengde was a ruler with a strong will, who dealt decisively with Liu Jin, Prince Ning, Prince Anhua and the Mongol threat, acted competently in crises caused by natural disasters and plagues and collected taxes in a benevolent manner. Although his reign's achievements were in large parts the contributions of his very talented officials, they also reflected on the capability of the ruler.

Family
  • Parents:
  • Consorts:
    • Empress Xiaojingyi, of the Xia clan (孝靜毅皇后 夏氏; 1492–1535)
    • Consort Shuhuide, of the Wu clan (淑惠德妃 吳氏; d. 1539)
    • Consort Rongshuxian, of the Shen clan (榮淑賢妃 沈氏; 1492–1542)
    • Wang Mantang (王满堂); 1471 – 1541)

Cultural references
  • In the 1959 film Kingdom and the Beauty (江山美人), the Zhengde Emperor disguises himself as a regular commoner among the people.[52][53]
  • Facets of Love, also known as Northern Ladies of China (北地胭脂), a 1973 film directed by Li Han-hsiang, tells three brothel-themed stories set in different time periods, one of them about Emperor Zhengde.
  • The Hong Kong film Chinese Odyssey 2002 (天下無雙) is loosely based on a story of one of the Zhengde Emperor's tours in Zhejiang province.
  • In the 2005 television show Zhengde Commentary (正德演義), the Zhengde Emperor was portrayed by television variety show host He Jiong.
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gollark: Is this Scaleway or something?
gollark: Not an exploit. You can run arbitrary code on them.
gollark: Give me an account and SSH access obviously.
gollark: Does the AST need to be easily modifiable/incrementally constructed?

See also

References
  1. Timothy Brook (2010). The Troubled Empire: China in the Yuan and Ming Dynasties. Harvard University Press. p. 98. ISBN 978-0-674-04602-3.
  2. Chase, Kenneth Warren. [2003] (2003). Firearms: A Global History to 1700. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-82274-2. p 159.
  3. 毛奇齡. 明武宗外紀
  4. Ellen Widmer; Kang-i Sun Chang (1997). Writing women in late imperial China. Stanford University Press. p. 239. ISBN 978-0-8047-2872-0.
  5. Wintle, Justin. Guides, Rough. [2002] (2002). China. ISBN 1-85828-764-2. p 244-245.
  6. 謝蕡. 後鑒錄
  7. 自封官职的明武宗(1) 历史密码Ⅱ金瓶梅是形象的历史 潘金莲原型是明宫女
  8. 刑部問寧王案
  9. Julia Ching (1993). Chinese religions. Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-333-53174-7.
  10. http://news.cang.com/infos/201007/109498.html
  11. "博宝艺术家网-艺术家一站式服务平台！艺术家官网+艺术展览+艺术电子画册".
  12. http://taoci.chnart.com/index.php?m=content&c=index&a=show&catid=64&id=2246%5B%5D
  13. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 22 February 2015. Retrieved 22 February 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  14. Jay A. Levenson; National Gallery of Art (U.S.) (1991). Circa 1492: Art in the Age of Exploration. Yale University Press. p. 477. ISBN 978-0-300-05167-4.
  15. Bernard O'Kane (15 December 2012). The Civilization of the Islamic World. The Rosen Publishing Group. p. 207. ISBN 978-1-4488-8509-1.
  16. http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/20024/lot/37/ Bonhams Auctioneers : A rare blue and white screen Zhengde six-character mark and of the period
  17. Oriental Blue and White, London, 1970, p.29.
  18. https://web.archive.org/web/20120321075936/http://www.fa.hku.hk/home/JenChianEssay.pdf
  19. Britannica Educational Publishing (2010). The Culture of China. Britannica Educational Publishing. pp. 176–. ISBN 978-1-61530-183-6.
  20. Kathleen Kuiper (2010). The Culture of China. The Rosen Publishing Group. p. 176. ISBN 978-1-61530-140-9.
  21. Britannica Educational Publishing (1 April 2010). The Culture of China. Britannica Educational Publishing. p. 176. ISBN 978-1-61530-183-6.
  22. Suzanne G. Valenstein (1988). A Handbook of Chinese Ceramics. Metropolitan Museum of Art. pp. 187–. ISBN 978-0-8109-1170-3.
  23. B. J. ter Haar (2006). Telling Stories: Witchcraft And Scapegoating in Chinese History. BRILL. p. 4. ISBN 978-90-04-14844-4.
  24. John W. Dardess (2012). Ming China, 1368-1644: A Concise History of a Resilient Empire. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 47–. ISBN 978-1-4422-0491-1.
  25. Frederick W. Mote (2003). Imperial China 900-1800. Harvard University Press. p. 657. ISBN 978-0-674-01212-7.
  26. Bret Hinsch (1992). Passions of the cut sleeve: the male homosexual tradition in China. University of California Press. p. 142. ISBN 978-0-520-07869-7.
  27. Société française des seiziémistes (1997). Nouvelle revue du XVIe siècle, Volumes 15–16. Droz. p. 14.
  28. "History of Homosexuality". china.org.cn. Archived from the original on 19 November 2003. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  29. B. J. ter Haar. Translated by Zakeri, Mohsen. [2005] (2005). Telling Stories: Witchcraft And Scapegoating in Chinese History. ISBN 90-04-13160-4.
  30. Nigel Cameron (1976). Barbarians and mandarins: thirteen centuries of Western travelers in China. Volume 681 of A phoenix book. University of Chicago Press. p. 143. ISBN 978-0-226-09229-4. envoy, had most effectively poured out his tale of woe, of deprivation at the hands of the Portuguese in Malacca; and he had backed up the tale with others concerning the reprehensible Portuguese methods in the Moluccas, making the case (quite truthfully) that European trading visits were no more than the prelude to annexation of territory. With the tiny sea power at this time available to the Chinese
  31. Ahmad Ibrahim; Sharon Siddique; Yasmin Hussain, eds. (1985). Readings on Islam in Southeast Asia. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. p. 11. ISBN 978-9971-988-08-1. in China was far from friendly; this, it seems, had something to do with the complaint which the ruler of Malacca, conquered by the Portuguese in 1511, had lodged with the Chinese emperor, his suzerain.
  32. Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde (Netherlands) (1968). Bijdragen tot de taal-, land- en volkenkunde, Part 124. M. Nijhoff. p. 446. The reception in China was far from friendly; this, it seems, had something to do with the complaint which the ruler of Malacca, conquered by the Portuguese in 1511, had lodged with the Chinese emperor, his suzerain.
  33. Bijdragen tot de taal-, land- en volkenkunde, Volume 124. 1968. p. 446. The reception in China was far from friendly; this, it seems, had something to do with the complaint which the ruler of Malacca, conquered by the Portuguese in 1511, had lodged with the Chinese emperor, his suzerain.
  34. Alijah Gordon, Malaysian Sociological Research Institute (2001). The propagation of Islam in the Indonesian-Malay archipelago. Malaysian Sociological Research Institute. p. 136. ISBN 978-983-99866-2-4. His reception in China was far from friendly; this, it seems, had something to do with the complaint which the ruler of Melaka, conquered by the Portuguese in 1511, had lodged with the Chinese emperor, his suzerain.
  35. Instituut voor Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde van Nederlandsch Indië, Hague (1968). Bijdragen tot de taal-, land- en volkenkunde van Nederlandsch-Indië, Volume 124. M. Nijhoff. p. 446. The reception in China was far from friendly; this, it seems, had something to do with the complaint which the ruler of Malacca, conquered by the Portuguese in 1511, had lodged with the Chinese emperor, his suzerain.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  36. Ernest S. Dodge (1976). Islands and Empires: Western Impact on the Pacific and East Asia. Volume 7 of Europe and the World in Age of Expansion. U of Minnesota Press. p. 226. ISBN 978-0-8166-0853-9. The inexcusable behavior of the Portuguese, combined with the ill-chosen language of the letters which Pires presented to the celestial emperor, supplemented by a warning from the Malay sultan of Bintan, persuaded the Chinese that Pires was indeed up to no good
  37. Kenneth Scott Latourette (1964). The Chinese, their history and culture, Volumes 1–2 (4, reprint ed.). Macmillan. p. 235. The Moslem ruler of Malacca, whom they had dispossessed, complained of them to the Chinese authorities. A Portuguese envoy, Pires, who reached Peking in 1520 was treated as a spy, was conveyed by imperial order to Canton(the University of Michigan)
  38. Kenneth Scott Latourette (1942). The Chinese, their history and culture, Volumes 1–2 (2 ed.). Macmillan. p. 313. The Moslem ruler of Malacca, whom they had dispossessed, complained of them to the Chinese authorities. A Portuguese envoy, Pires, who reached Peking in 1520 was treated as a spy, was conveyed by imperial order to Canton
  39. John William Parry (1969). Spices: The story of spices. The spices described. Volume 1 of Spices. Chemical Pub. Co. p. 102. Fernao Pires de Andrade reached Peking, China, in 1520, but unfortunately for that Portuguese envoy, he was treated as a spy and died in a Cantonese prison.
  40. Tomé Pires; Armando Cortesão; Francisco Rodrigues (1990). Armando Cortesão (ed.). The Suma oriental of Tome Pires: an account of the East, from the Red Sea to China, written in Malacca and India in 1512–1515 ; and, The book of Francisco Rodrigues : Pilot-Major of the armada that discovered Banda and the Moluccas : rutter of a voyage in the red sea, nautical rules, almanack ... Volume 1 of The Suma Oriental of Tome Pires: An Account of the East, from the Red Sea to Japan, Written in Malacca and India in 1512–1515, and The Book of Francisco Rodrigues, Rutter of a Voyage in the Red Sea, Nautical Rules, Almanack and Maps, Written and Drawn in the East Before 1515 (illustrated, reprint ed.). Asian Educational Services. p. xl. ISBN 978-81-206-0535-0. Retrieved 14 December 2011. In the meantime, after the departure of Simão de Andrade, the ship Madalena, which belonged to D. Nuno Manuel, coming from Lisbon under the command of Diogo Calvo, arrived at Tamão with some other vessels from Malacca, among them the junk of Jorge Álvares, which the year before could not sail with Simão de Andrade's fleet, because she had sprung a leak. .., the Chinese seized Vasco Calvo, a brother of Diogo Calvo, and other Portuguese who were in Canton trading ashore. On 27 June 1521 Duarte Coelho arrived with two junks at Tamão. Besides capturing some of the Portuguese vessels, the Chinese blockaded Diogo Calvo's ship and four other Portuguese vessels in Tamão with a large fleet of armed junks. A few weeks later Ambrósio do Rego arrived with two other ships. As many of the Portuguese crews had been killed in the fighting, slaughtered afterwards or taken prisoners, by this time there was not enough Portuguese for all the vessels, and thus Calvo, Coelho, and Rego resolved to abandon the junks in order the batteter to man the three ships. They set sail on 7 September and were attacked by the Chinese fleet, managing however to escape, thanks to a providential gale which scattered the enemy junks, and arrived at Malacca in October 1521. Vieira mentions other junks which arrived in China with Portuguese aboard; all were attacked, and the entire crews were killed fighting or were taken prisoners and slaughtered later.
  41. Tomé Pires; Armando Cortesão; Francisco Rodrigues (1990). Armando Cortesão (ed.). The Suma oriental of Tome Pires: an account of the East, from the Red Sea to China, written in Malacca and India in 1512–1515 ; and, The book of Francisco Rodrigues : Pilot-Major of the armada that discovered Banda and the Moluccas : rutter of a voyage in the red sea, nautical rules, almanack ... Volume 1 of The Suma Oriental of Tome Pires: An Account of the East, from the Red Sea to Japan, Written in Malacca and India in 1512–1515, and The Book of Francisco Rodrigues, Rutter of a Voyage in the Red Sea, Nautical Rules, Almanack and Maps, Written and Drawn in the East Before 1515 (illustrated, reprint ed.). Asian Educational Services. p. xl. ISBN 978-81-206-0535-0. Retrieved 14 December 2011. Finally Pires and his companions left Peking on 22 May and arrived in Canton on 22 September 1521. Francisco de Budoia died during the journey. From Peking instructions were sent to Canton that the ambassador and his suite should be kept in custody, and that only after the Portuguese had evacuated Malacca and returned it to its king, a vassal of the Emperor of China, would the members of the embassy be liberated.
  42. Tomé Pires; Armando Cortesão; Francisco Rodrigues (1990). Armando Cortesão (ed.). The Suma oriental of Tome Pires: an account of the East, from the Red Sea to China, written in Malacca and India in 1512–1515 ; and, The book of Francisco Rodrigues : Pilot-Major of the armada that discovered Banda and the Moluccas : rutter of a voyage in the red sea, nautical rules, almanack ... Volume 1 of The Suma Oriental of Tome Pires: An Account of the East, from the Red Sea to Japan, Written in Malacca and India in 1512–1515, and The Book of Francisco Rodrigues, Rutter of a Voyage in the Red Sea, Nautical Rules, Almanack and Maps, Written and Drawn in the East Before 1515 (illustrated, reprint ed.). Asian Educational Services. p. xli. ISBN 978-81-206-0535-0. Retrieved 14 December 2011. But many others died in prison, some of hunger, many strangled, 'after carrying boards stating that they should die as sea-robbers', one struck on the head with a mallet, and others beaten to death. Pires and his companions arrived at Canton a fortnight after the three Portuguese ships had escaped from Tamão, and they found themselves in a most difficult position... "Tomé Pires replied that he had not come for that purpose, nor was it meet for him to discuss such a matter; that it would be evident from the letter he had brought that he had no knowledge of anything else. . . . With these questions he kept us on our knees for four hours; and when he had tired himself out, he sent each one back to the prison in which he was kept. On 14 August 1522 the Pochanci put fetters on the hands of Tomé Pires, and on those of the company he put fetters, and irons on their feet
  43. Tomé Pires; Armando Cortesão; Francisco Rodrigues (1990). Armando Cortesão (ed.). The Suma oriental of Tome Pires: an account of the East, from the Red Sea to China, written in Malacca and India in 1512–1515 ; and, The book of Francisco Rodrigues : Pilot-Major of the armada that discovered Banda and the Moluccas : rutter of a voyage in the red sea, nautical rules, almanack ... Volume 1 of The Suma Oriental of Tome Pires: An Account of the East, from the Red Sea to Japan, Written in Malacca and India in 1512–1515, and The Book of Francisco Rodrigues, Rutter of a Voyage in the Red Sea, Nautical Rules, Almanack and Maps, Written and Drawn in the East Before 1515 (illustrated, reprint ed.). Asian Educational Services. p. xlii. ISBN 978-81-206-0535-0. Retrieved 14 December 2011. clerks who were present wrote down ten and stole three hundred . . . The goods that they took from us were twenty quintals of rhubarb, one thousand five hundred or six hundred rich pieces of silk, a matter of four thousand silk handkerchiefs which the Chinese call sheu-pa (xopas) of Nanking, and many fans, and also three arrobas of musk in powerder, one thousand three hundred pods of musk, four thousand odd taels of silver and seventy or eighty taels of gold and other pieces of silver, and all the cloths
  44. Tomé Pires; Armando Cortesão; Francisco Rodrigues (1990). Armando Cortesão (ed.). The Suma oriental of Tome Pires: an account of the East, from the Red Sea to China, written in Malacca and India in 1512–1515 ; and, The book of Francisco Rodrigues : Pilot-Major of the armada that discovered Banda and the Moluccas : rutter of a voyage in the red sea, nautical rules, almanack ... Volume 1 of The Suma Oriental of Tome Pires: An Account of the East, from the Red Sea to Japan, Written in Malacca and India in 1512–1515, and The Book of Francisco Rodrigues, Rutter of a Voyage in the Red Sea, Nautical Rules, Almanack and Maps, Written and Drawn in the East Before 1515 (illustrated, reprint ed.). Asian Educational Services. p. xlii. ISBN 978-81-206-0535-0. Retrieved 14 December 2011. Meanwhile from India, where the news of this state of affairs had not yet arrived, another fleet of four ships under the command of Martim Afonso de Merlo Coutinho sailed for China in April 1522. Countinho had left Lisbon just one year before, commissioned by Dom Manuel with a message of good-will to the Emperor of China, for which purpose he carried another ambassador with him.
  45. Tomé Pires; Armando Cortesão; Francisco Rodrigues (1990). Armando Cortesão (ed.). The Suma oriental of Tome Pires: an account of the East, from the Red Sea to China, written in Malacca and India in 1512–1515 ; and, The book of Francisco Rodrigues : Pilot-Major of the armada that discovered Banda and the Moluccas : rutter of a voyage in the red sea, nautical rules, almanack ... Volume 1 of The Suma Oriental of Tome Pires: An Account of the East, from the Red Sea to Japan, Written in Malacca and India in 1512–1515, and The Book of Francisco Rodrigues, Rutter of a Voyage in the Red Sea, Nautical Rules, Almanack and Maps, Written and Drawn in the East Before 1515 (illustrated, reprint ed.). Asian Educational Services. p. xliii. ISBN 978-81-206-0535-0. Retrieved 14 December 2011. Coutinho's fleet of six sail left Malacca on 10 July and arrived at Tamão in August 1522. They were soon attacked by the Chinese fleet. The Portuguese had many men killed and taken prisoners, two ships and the junk were lost, and after vain efforts to re-establish relations with the Cantonese authorities, Coutinho returned with the other ships to Malacca, where he arrived in the middle of October 1522. Though some chroniclers put the blame on the Chinese, Chang quotes Chinese sources which assert that the Portuguese should be held responsible for the outbreak of hostilities.
  46. Tomé Pires; Armando Cortesão; Francisco Rodrigues (1990). Armando Cortesão (ed.). The Suma oriental of Tome Pires: an account of the East, from the Red Sea to China, written in Malacca and India in 1512–1515 ; and, The book of Francisco Rodrigues : Pilot-Major of the armada that discovered Banda and the Moluccas : rutter of a voyage in the red sea, nautical rules, almanack ... Volume 1 of The Suma Oriental of Tome Pires: An Account of the East, from the Red Sea to Japan, Written in Malacca and India in 1512–1515, and The Book of Francisco Rodrigues, Rutter of a Voyage in the Red Sea, Nautical Rules, Almanack and Maps, Written and Drawn in the East Before 1515 (illustrated, reprint ed.). Asian Educational Services. p. xlvi. ISBN 978-81-206-0535-0. Retrieved 14 December 2011. On fol. 108v. it is stated that Martim Afonso de Melo Coutinho went from Malacca to China in 1521, but in fol. 121 it is correctly said that he arrived in 1522.
  47. Tomé Pires; Armando Cortesão; Francisco Rodrigues (1990). Armando Cortesão (ed.). The Suma oriental of Tome Pires: an account of the East, from the Red Sea to China, written in Malacca and India in 1512–1515 ; and, The book of Francisco Rodrigues : Pilot-Major of the armada that discovered Banda and the Moluccas : rutter of a voyage in the red sea, nautical rules, almanack ... Volume 1 of The Suma Oriental of Tome Pires: An Account of the East, from the Red Sea to Japan, Written in Malacca and India in 1512–1515, and The Book of Francisco Rodrigues, Rutter of a Voyage in the Red Sea, Nautical Rules, Almanack and Maps, Written and Drawn in the East Before 1515 (illustrated, reprint ed.). Asian Educational Services. p. xliii. ISBN 978-81-206-0535-0. Retrieved 14 December 2011. According to Vieira the mandarins again ordered that Pires should write a letter to the King of Portugal, which the ambassador of the ex-king of Malacca should take to Malacca, in order that his country and people might be returned to their former master; if a satisfactory reply did not come, the Portuguese ambassador would not return. A draft letter in Chinese was sent to the imprisoned Portuguese, from which they wrote three letters, for King Manuel, the Governor of India and the Captain of Malacca. These letters were delivered to the Cantonese authorities on 1 October 1522. The Malay ambassador was not anxious to be the courier, nor was it easy to find another. At last a junk with fifteen Malays and fifteen Chinese sailed from Canton on 31 May 1523 and reached Pattani.
  48. Tomé Pires; Armando Cortesão; Francisco Rodrigues (1990). Armando Cortesão (ed.). The Suma oriental of Tome Pires: an account of the East, from the Red Sea to China, written in Malacca and India in 1512–1515 ; and, The book of Francisco Rodrigues : Pilot-Major of the armada that discovered Banda and the Moluccas : rutter of a voyage in the red sea, nautical rules, almanack ... Volume 1 of The Suma Oriental of Tome Pires: An Account of the East, from the Red Sea to Japan, Written in Malacca and India in 1512–1515, and The Book of Francisco Rodrigues, Rutter of a Voyage in the Red Sea, Nautical Rules, Almanack and Maps, Written and Drawn in the East Before 1515 (illustrated, reprint ed.). Asian Educational Services. p. xliv. ISBN 978-81-206-0535-0. Retrieved 14 December 2011. A message came to the king of Bintang from his ambassador [in Canton], and the man who brought it soon returned. The report which the king of Bintang was spreading in the country is that the Chinese intended to come against Malacca. This is not very certain, though there are things that may happen The man who brought a message to the king of Bintang 'soon returned', says Jorge de Albuquerque. Vieira tells us that the junk 'returned with a message from the king of Malacca, and reached Canton on 5 September' (fol.110V.). . . 'On the day of St. Nicholas [6 Dec.] in the year 1522 they put boards on them [the Portuguese prisoners] with the sentence that they should die and be exposed in pillories as robbers. The sentences said: "Petty sea robbers sent by the great robber falsely; they come to spy out our country; let them die in pillories as robbers." a report was sent to the king according to the information of the mandarins, and the king confirmed the sentence. On 23 September 1523 these twenty-three persons were each one cut in pieces, to wit, heads, legs, arms, and their private members placed in their mouths, the trunk of the body being divided into two pieces around the belly. In the streets of Canton
  49. Tomé Pires; Armando Cortesão; Francisco Rodrigues (1990). Armando Cortesão (ed.). The Suma oriental of Tome Pires: an account of the East, from the Red Sea to China, written in Malacca and India in 1512–1515 ; and, The book of Francisco Rodrigues : Pilot-Major of the armada that discovered Banda and the Moluccas : rutter of a voyage in the red sea, nautical rules, almanack ... Volume 1 of The Suma Oriental of Tome Pires: An Account of the East, from the Red Sea to Japan, Written in Malacca and India in 1512–1515, and The Book of Francisco Rodrigues, Rutter of a Voyage in the Red Sea, Nautical Rules, Almanack and Maps, Written and Drawn in the East Before 1515 (illustrated, reprint ed.). Asian Educational Services. p. xlv. ISBN 978-81-206-0535-0. Retrieved 14 December 2011. both those of Canton and those of the environs, in order to give them to understand that they thought nothing of the Portuguese, so that the people might not talk about Portuguese. Thus our ships were captured through two captains not agreeing, and so all in the ships were taken, they were all killed, and their heads and private members were carried on the backs of the Portuguese in front of the Mandarin of Canton with the playing of musical instruments and rejoicing, were exhibited suspended in the streets, and were then thrown into the dunghills.
  50. Imperial China – 900–1800, F.W. Mote, Pages 658, First Harvard University Press, 2003.
  51. 周, 正偉. "「明史」課程大綱 – 第七講 議禮、修玄與威刑－嘉靖政局的演變" (PDF) (in Chinese).
  52. NYtimes. "NYtimes." The Kingdom and the Beauty (1959). Retrieved on 30 April 2008.
  53. Datamovie.xunlei. "Datamovie.xunlei Archived 24 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine." Kingdom and Beauty. Retrieved on 30 April 2008.
Zhengde Emperor
Born: 27 October 1491 Died: 20 April 1521
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Hongzhi Emperor		 Emperor of the Ming dynasty
Emperor of China
1505–1521		 Succeeded by
Jiajing Emperor
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