THE FIRST REIGN OF YING-TSUNG, 1435–1449

The centers of power

The death of the Hsüan-te emperor at the early age of thirty-seven sui in January 1435 and his succession by a boy emperor Chu Ch'i-chen (posthumous title Ying-tsung, 1427–64) only eight years old brought into the open many problems implicit in the political institutions established in early Ming. Although the succession was a perfectly regular one and Chu Ch'i-chen, the elder of the Hsüan-te emperor's two sons, had been designated heir apparent, the succession to the Ming throne had already caused problems. There had been one successful usurpation by Chu Ti, and another attempt at a usurpation by Chu Kao-hsü, the uncle of the Hsüan-te emperor, had failed in 1426.

The accession to the throne of a child emperor produced new problems and stresses, for under the system established by the Ming founder, all authority was vested in the emperor, who had himself to decide state affairs with the aid of secretaries and ministers. No formal provisions had been made for the succession of a minor. A child emperor left the absolute monarchy without a head, and although nobody could formally become regent, a de facto regency had to be set up to conduct state affairs. Such a situation, and it was to recur later in the dynasty, could easily lead to the establishment of illegitimate dictatorial powers and inevitably undermined the stability of the central leadership.

The Hsüan-te emperor had died unexpectedly after a short illness, and the de facto regency was led by Lady Chang, the grand empress dowager (t'ai huang t'ai-hou).