A Teenager in Charge of an Empire
The authorities are supposed to protect us from crime, but what happens when the authorities turn criminal? Many medieval Chinese had to deal with that in the reign of the Zhengde Emperor (1491 – 1521), who ascended the Ming Dynasty throne at age fourteen in 1505, and reigned until 1521. The teenager was uninterested in his empire’s governance, and disregarded state affairs. Instead, he abandoned himself to an extravagant and profligate lifestyle, marked by lavish spending, bizarre behavior, and poor – sometimes outright criminal – choices.
The teenager’s irresponsible behavior set the stage for the Ming Dynasty’s downfall. As soon as he ascended the throne, the fourteen-year-old old emperor handed governance to trusted eunuchs and devoted himself to the pursuit of pleasure – both innocent, and outright criminal. With governance left entirely in their hands, palace eunuchs became China’s most powerful class. Without checks or oversight, corruption spread, and public offices were openly bought and sold. At the same time, taxes soared to pay for the emperor’s pleasures and to line the pockets of courtiers and officials.
