Jingtai Emperor

Zhu Qiyu
was Emperor of China of the Ming Dynasty from 1449 to 1457 as the Jingtai Emperor.

Biography

He ascended the throne in 1449 after his older brother tried but failed to lead an army to fight against the Mongols of and was captured and held captive for a year.

His brother was eventually released in 1450 after the Mongols learned that the Ming government had already installed Jingtai as the new emperor.
After that, Jingtai continued to rule on as emperor while his brother was granted a technical title of "grand-emperor" and lived in obscurity.

During Jingtai's reign, aided by a prominent minister Yu Qian, he paid particular attention to matters affecting his country. He repaired the as well as the system of dykes along the Yellow River. As a result of his administration, the economy prospered and the dynasty was further strengthened.

He reigned for 8 years but on the eve of his death in 1457, he refused to name an heir, particularly because his own son died mysteriously -- perhaps poisoned. The discarded Zhengtong saw an opportunity to regain the throne and declared himself the successor. Zhengtong, now emperor again, renamed his era name as Tianshun. Jingtai died a month later. Rumour has it that Jingtai was murdered by eunuchs on the order of the Tianshun emperor.

After Jingtai's death, the Emperor Tianshun denied Jingtai's rightful honour to be buried in the 13 Ming tombs located north of Beijing. He was instead buried away from that locale west of Beijing and was buried as a prince rather than an emperor. His posthumous name was also shortened to five characters instead of the normal seventeen to reflect his demoted status.