Only 4 of the 16 emperors of the Ming Dynasty lived over 50 years old. Why did the emperors of the Ming Dynasty generally live shorter than the Qing Dynasty?

Only 4 of the 16 emperors of the Ming Dynasty lived over 50 years old. Why did the emperors of the Ming Dynasty generally live shorter than the Qing Dynasty?

There were a total of sixteen emperors in the Ming Dynasty. Among them, Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang lived 71 years old, Huizong Zhu Yunxi disappeared, Chengzu Zhu Di lived 65 years old, Renzong Zhu Gaochi lived 48 years old, Xuanzong Zhu Zhanji lived 38 years old Years old, Yingzong Zhu Qizhen lived 38 years old, Daizong Zhu Qiyu lived 30 years old, Xianzong Zhu Jianshen lived 41 years old, Xiaozong Zhu Youzhen lived 36 years old, Wu Zong Zhu Houshao lived 31 years old, Sejong Zhu Houzhen lived 60 years old, Mu Zong Zhu Zaixi lived 36 years old, Shenzong Zhu Yijun lived 58 years old, Guangzong Zhu Changluo lived 39 years old, Xizong Zhu Youxiao lived 23 years old, and Sizong Zhu Youqian lived 34 years old. It can be seen that most of the emperors of the Ming Dynasty only lived to 30 or 40 years old. Only the Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang, Ming Chengzu Zhu Di, Jiajing Emperor Zhu Houxuan and Wanli Emperor Zhu Yijun were over 50 years old. Excluding the missing Zhu Yunxuan, the remaining 15 emperors belonged to them. The average life expectancy is 43.2 years. If Zhu Yunqi died in the fire, his life expectancy is only 26 years, and the average life expectancy of the Ming emperor is only 42.1 years.

Next, let’s take a look at the life of the Qing emperor.

Taizu Nurhachi lived 68 years old, Taizong Huangtaiji lived 52 years old, Shizufu Lin lived 24 years old, Shengzu Xuanye lived 69 years old, Sejong Yinzhen lived 58 years old, Gaozong Hongli lived 89 years old, Renzong Yongzhen lived 61 years old, Xuan Zong Mining lived 69 years old, Wen Zong Yiqin lived 31 years old, Mu Zongzai Chun Zaichun lived 19 years old, Dezong Zaiyu lived 38 years old, Pu Yi lived 61 years old year old. It can be seen that with the exception of Shunzhi Emperor Fulin, Xianfeng Emperor Yiqin, Tongzhi Emperor Zaichun, and Guangxu Emperor Zaihua who did not live to 40 years old, the other eight emperors were over 50 years old, and the average life span of the twelve emperors reached 53.25. year old.

Let’s take a look at the average life expectancy of other orthodox emperors, including 37 years old in the Qin Dynasty, 39 years old in the Western Han Dynasty, 29 years old in the Eastern Han Dynasty, 37 years old in the Western Jin Dynasty, and 43 years old in the Sui Dynasty (including Emperor Gong Yang You), 44 years old in the Tang Dynasty, 47 years old in the Northern Song Dynasty, 47 years old in the Southern Song Dynasty, and 33 years old in the Yuan Dynasty. Among them, except for the Sui Dynasty, which has only experienced three emperors, the average life expectancy exceeds that of the Ming Dynasty. Two Songs, it can be seen that the average life span of the Ming Dynasty emperor is not short, but compared with the Qing Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty emperor is relatively short-lived, and the 53-year-old average life span of the Qing Emperor is also the longest in the ancient feudal orthodox dynasty.

Then why did the Ming emperor live so short? We must first understand the cause of the Ming emperor’s death, Zhu Yuanzhang’s old death, Zhu Yunqi’s disappearance, Zhu Di’s relapsed death, Zhu Gaochi’s death, Zhu Zhanji’s death, Zhu Qizhen’s death, Zhu Qiyu’s death, Zhu Jianshen’s death, Zhu Youzhan’s death, Zhu Houzhao’s death after falling into the water It caused the death of pneumonia, Zhu Houxuan died of taking pills, Zhu Zaiyi died of excessive indulgence, Zhu Yijun died of excessive drinking, Zhu Changluo died of poisoning after taking red pills, Zhu Youxiao died of taking immortal medicine, Zhu Youjian committed suicide. It can be seen that from the beginning of Ming Renzong Zhu Gaochi, later emperors either died of illness, died of an accident, or died by themselves. It just so happens that Zhu Gaochi is a big fat man who likes to be static and disgusted, is obese, and has inconvenient mobility. Therefore, his body is weak, and it is very likely that some genetic diseases will be passed on to future generations, leading to the early death of many descendants of emperors.

Secondly, the struggle between the monarchs and the ministers in the Ming Dynasty was very fierce, and the civil official group was very powerful. Therefore, Ming Xuanzong intended to support the eunuchs against the civil official group, and too many disputes over the court would also cause The pressure of the emperor against the civil official group increased and the life span decreased. Ming Wuzong Zhu Houzhao even fled Beijing to get rid of the control of this gang of civil servants. On the contrary, Emperor Jiajing, who didn't go to court for 20 years, and Emperor Wanli, who didn't go to court for 28 years, lived the longest. Maybe it was because they didn't have to face the disputes between the officials every day, so they could feel better. As for the emperor who died taking aphrodisiac or pill, it was purely dead. The most pity is that Emperor Chongzhen, the king of the subjugated country, had a heart to save the country, but his own ability was insufficient, and his ministers were also a group of incompetent people. In the end, he could only commit himself to defend his dignity as Emperor Ming.

Then, as the successor, the Qing Dynasty will definitely analyze the problems that occurred in the previous dynasty and analyze the cause of the death of the former emperor very thoroughly. Therefore, the emperor of the Qing Dynasty generally did not take pill except for Emperor Yongzheng who was obsessed with pill.medicine. The Qing Dynasty also considered the issue of the emperor’s excessive indulgence, and gave the courtroom a great power, that is, when the emperor was fortunate his concubine, the eunuch in the courtroom was looking at the time outside, usually around half an hour. To remind the emperor, if the emperor does not come out, he will continue to shout "time is up" outside the door, so the emperor will not be easy to indulge in female sex and not entertain. The respect room is "the person who specializes in the emperor's intercourse."

The problem of taking medicine is solved, and the problem of indulging in female sex is solved. The rest is the problem of the emperor’s own genetic disease, and the ruler of Manchu is a Manchu, which is fishing and hunting. Nationality, physical fitness is better, and the emperors of the Qing Dynasty have the habit of hunting around every year, and their bodies are relatively tough. Therefore, it can be seen that the former emperors of the Qing Dynasty have lived longer than fifty years old except for the Shunzhi Emperor who died of smallpox. Moreover, Emperor Qianlong, the old birthday star, lived to be 89 years old, and was the longest-lived emperor of the unified dynasty in history. As for the following emperors with short lives, it was because the Qing Dynasty encountered "changes that have not been seen in three thousand years." Emperor Xianfeng was frail and sickly, and it coincided with the second Opium War launched by the British and French forces outside the Qing Dynasty. There was the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom movement inside, and his heart was haggard. Can only be pinned on opium, and eventually die early. The deaths of both Emperors Tongzhi and Guangxu were related to the Empress Dowager Cixi. Emperor Tongzhi was depressed and sick because the Empress Dowager Cixi did not return to power for a long time. According to the folks, it was because he loved to visit the kiln and eventually contracted Hualiu disease and died. The official version is He died of smallpox. Emperor Guangxu was even more tragic. He was poisoned to death the day before Cixi died. Although it is impossible to verify who poisoned him, under the circumstances at that time, no one except Empress Dowager Cixi had the courage to poison the emperor.

There is another saying that because the Forbidden City was newly built during the Ming Dynasty, the red walls are all cinnabar red, and the main ingredient of cinnabar is toxic mercury sulfide. The emperor of the Ming Dynasty lived in this way every day The environment is not conducive to health, and the Forbidden City in the Qing Dynasty has been built for hundreds of years, and there is no harm to the human body.

Another reason for the emperor’s longevity in the Qing Dynasty is that they have regular schedules. Their schedules are strictly required. They usually get up at five o’clock in the morning to freshen up, and then go to send greetings to the queen mother, toffee, and concubine, and then read "Training"; you start to have breakfast at seven o'clock; work time starts at 9:30, and you need to deal with political affairs; after 11 o'clock, the emperor will leave individual ministers to conduct in-depth exchanges on political affairs, then have dinner and have a lunch break; Began to continue to deal with political affairs; after five o'clock, she will eat some snacks, and then worship the Buddha and recite scriptures; go to bed at nine o'clock. Of course, a workaholic like Emperor Yongzheng who only sleeps four hours a day certainly did not work like this, so he died of overwork in the end.

The emperors of the Ming Dynasty did not have such a regular work and rest schedule. Their work and rest were set according to their own preferences. There are workaholics like Zhu Yuanzhang, and Jiajing and Wanli who are unwilling to go to court. Lazy people, but the ridiculous thing is that these three have a long life.

Generally speaking, the Qing Dynasty summarized the reasons for the short-lived emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and used it as a lesson, avoiding the pits stepped on by the predecessor to have such a high average life expectancy of the emperor. The regularity of work and rest is also very important. worth to learn from.