Emperor Wanli

The 14th Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, China (reigned 1572-1620). His given name was Zhu Yijun. His posthumous name was Emperor Xian. His temple name was Shenzong. He was the third son of the 13th Emperor Longqing. His mother was Consort Li (later Empress Dowager Xiaoding). He became the crown prince in 1568, and after Emperor Longqing's sudden death, he ascended to the throne at the age of just 10. To this end, he was entrusted by the previous Emperor with the appointment of University Scholar Zhang Juzheng as his chief assistant, and was responsible for all government affairs. The Emperor only listened to his subjects' petitions in the temple on the mornings of the 3rd, 6th, and 9th of every 10 days, a total of 9 days a month, and on the rest of the day he studied with Zhang Juzheng as his teacher. Zhang Juzheng was skilled in internal affairs, such as policing discipline, cleaning up redundant officials, and flood control in the lower reaches of the Yellow River. He also dispatched Qi Jiguang and Li Chengliang from Manchuria and Liaodong to the Mongolian plateau to strengthen border defenses, which almost put an end to the invasions of the Northern Luo. He also focused on coastal defenses in Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong, and blocked the movements of the Southern Wa. In 1580, Zhang Juzheng began a nationwide land censorship campaign to expose hidden fields and prevent tax evasion, but he died before it was completed. Zhang Juzheng was a man of upright character, and was a great prime minister who represented the Ming Dynasty in terms of his policy-making skills. However, for the Wanli Emperor, he was a frightening teacher, and after his death (1582), the emperor became completely free, abandoned government affairs, and indulged in extravagance. He dispatched eunuchs throughout the country, opened up silver mines, and increased commercial taxes. This is known as the disaster of mining taxes. As a result, civil uprisings occurred one after another in Suzhou and Linqing in Shandong. Prior to this, Bobai of Ordos rebelled in 92, and Yang Yinglong, a local official in Guizhou and Banzhou, rebelled in 97. Around the time of these two rebellions, Toyotomi Hideyoshi invaded Korea (the Imjin War), and the Wanli Emperor sent a relief force to the Koreans. These events are known as the Three Great Wanli Expeditions, but to raise military funds they had to impose temporary tax increases, and intensified factional strife between the Donglin faction and the non-Donglin faction over issues such as mining taxes and the issue of making the crown prince the crown prince, creating a political vacuum and sending Ming society into a sudden decline. This is why it is said that "the fall of the Ming dynasty is actually the fall of Emperor Shenzong." The tomb is the designated mausoleum among the so-called "Thirteen Tombs of the Ming Dynasty," and was excavated in 1956-57. It is known as the Underground Palace.

[Mamoru Kawakatsu]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

中国、明(みん)の第14代皇帝（在位1572～1620）。姓名は朱翊鈞(しゅよくきん)。諡(おくりな)は顕(けん)皇帝。廟号(びょうごう)は神宗。13代皇帝の隆慶(りゅうけい)帝の第3子。母は貴妃李(り)氏（のちに孝定皇太后）。1568年皇太子となり、隆慶帝の急死のあと、わずか10歳で即位。そのために先帝の付託を受けて大学士張居正が首輔(しゅほ)となり、政務全般を執り行った。帝が廟堂で臣下の奏言を聞いたのは10日のうち3・6・9の平日の午前、ひと月でも計9日にすぎず、余日はすべて張居正を先生として勉学に励んだ。張居正は、内治では綱紀の粛正、冗官の整理、黄河下流の治水などに敏腕を振るい、外には戚継光(せきけいこう)、李成梁(りせいりょう)を満州・遼東(りょうとう)からモンゴル高原に派遣して、辺防の強化に力を傾けさせ、そのために北虜の侵入はほぼ終止符を打った。また浙江(せっこう)、福建、広東(カントン)の海防にも意を注ぎ、南倭(なんわ)の動きも封じた。張居正は1580年より隠田の摘発や脱税防止を目的として、全国的な土地丈量に着手したが、その完成を待たず死亡した。張居正は性格が剛直で、政策手腕も明を代表する名宰相であったが、万暦帝にとってはこわい教師的存在で、その死（1582）によって帝はすっかり自由になり、政務をほうり出し、奢侈(しゃし)にふけった。宦官(かんがん)を全国に派遣し、銀山などを開き、あるいは商税を増徴させた。いわゆる鉱税の禍とよばれるものである。その結果、蘇州(そしゅう)や山東の臨清などに民変が相次いだ。またこれより先、92年にはオルドスのボバイが反し、97年には貴州・播州(ばんしゅう)の土官楊応竜が反した。この二つの反乱に前後して、豊臣(とよとみ)秀吉の朝鮮侵略（壬辰倭乱(じんしんわらん)）があり、それに救援軍を派遣した。これらを万暦三大征というが、その軍費調達には臨時の増税を行わざるをえず、しかも鉱税問題や皇太子冊立(さくりつ)問題などで東林派対非東林派の党争が激化し、政治は空白となって、明の社会は一気に衰運に向かった。「明の亡(ほろ)ぶは、実は神宗に亡ぶ」といわれるゆえんである。陵墓は、いわゆる「明の十三陵」のなかの定陵で、1956～57年にかけて発掘され、地下宮殿として知られている。

［川勝　守］

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