Reign

After the death of the Jiajing Emperor, the Longqing Emperor inherited a country in disarray after years of mismanagement and corruption. Realizing the depth of chaos his father's long reign had caused, the Longqing Emperor set about reforming the government by re-employing talented officials previously banished by his father, such as Hai Rui. He also purged the government of corrupt officials namely Daoist priests whom the Jiajing Emperor had favoured in the hope of improving the situation in the empire. Furthermore, the Longqing Emperor restarted trade with other empires in Europe, Africa and other parts of Asia. Territorial security was reinforced through the appointment of several generals to patrol both land and sea borders. This included the fortification of seaports along the Zhejiang and Fujian coast to deter pirates, a constant nuisance during the Jiajing Emperor's reign. The Longqing Emperor also repulsed the Mongol army of Altan Khan, who had penetrated the Great Wall and reached as far as Beijing. A peace treaty to trade horses for silk was signed with the Mongols shortly thereafter.

The Longqing Emperor's reign, which was not unlike that of any previous Ming emperor, saw a heavy reliance on court eunuchs. One particular eunuch, Meng Cong, who was introduced by the Longqing Emperor's chancellor Gao Gong, came to dominate the inner court towards the end of the emperor's reign. Meng Cong gained favours by introducing Nu Er Huahua, a female dancer of ethnic Turkish origin, to the Longqing Emperor, whose beauty was said to have captured the ruler's full attention. Despite initial hopeful beginnings, the Longqing Emperor quickly abandoned his duties as a ruler and set about pursuing personal enjoyment. The emperor also made contradictory decisions by re-employing Daoist priests that he himself had banned at the start of his reign.

In October 1567, Xu Jie firmly told the Emperor to stop eunuchs supervising the capital training divisions. Enraged, Longqing said "I ordered eunuchs to sit with the training divisions, and the speaking officials objected, and you all objected too. What's the idea? Explain your disobedience." Xu Jie explained that the Jiajing Emperor had abolished eunuch-run divisions and that the founder never set up eunuchs to run divisions. Longqing backed down for now.

Death

The Longqing Emperor died in 1572 and was only 35. Unfortunately, the country was still in decline due to corruption in the ruling class. Before the Longqing Emperor died, he had instructed minister Zhang Juzheng to oversee affairs of state and become the dedicated advisor to the Wanli Emperor who was only 10.

Legacy

The Longqing Emperor's reign lasted a mere six years and was succeeded by his son. It was said that the emperor also suffered from speech impairment which caused him to stutter and stammer when speaking in public. He is generally considered one of the more liberal and open-minded emperors of the Ming dynasty, even though he lacked the talent keenly needed for rulership and he eventually became more interested in pursuing personal gratification rather than ruling itself.

The Longqing Emperor was buried in Zhaoling (昭陵) of the Ming tombs.

Family

Consorts and Issue:

• Empress Xiaoyizhuang, of the Li clan (孝懿莊皇后 李氏; d. 1558)

　• Zhu Yiyi, Crown Prince Xianhuai (憲懷皇太子 朱翊釴; 15 October 1555 – 11 May 1559), first son

　• Zhu Yiling, Prince Jingdao (靖悼王 朱翊鈴), second son

　• Princess Penglai (蓬萊公主; 1557), first daughter

• Empress Xiao'an, of the Chen clan (孝安皇后 陳氏; d. 1596)

　• Princess Taihe (太和公主; d. 1560), second daughter

• Empress Dowager Xiaoding, of the Li clan (孝定皇太后 李氏; 19 November 1546 – 9 February 1614)

　• Zhu Yijun, the Wanli Emperor (神宗 朱翊鈞; 4 September 1563 – 18 August 1620), third son

　• Princess Shouyang (壽陽公主; 1565–1590), personal name Yao'e (堯娥), third daughter

　　• Married Hou Gongchen (侯拱辰) in 1581

　• Princess Yongning (永寧公主; 11 March 1567 – 22 July 1594), personal name Yaoying (堯媖), fourth daughter

　　• Married Liang Bangrui (梁邦瑞; d. 9 May 1582) in 1582

　• Zhu Yiliu, Prince Lujian (潞簡王 朱翊鏐; 3 March 1568 – 4 July 1614), fourth son

　• Princess Rui'an (瑞安公主; 1569–1629), personal name Yaoyuan (堯媛)

　　• Married Wan Wei (萬煒; d. 1644) in 1585, and had issue (one son)

• Consort Duanjingshu, of the Qin clan (端靜淑妃 秦氏)

　• Princess Qixia (棲霞公主; 1571–1572), personal name Yaolu (堯𡞱), seventh daughter

• Consort Gonghuizhuang, of the Liu clan (恭惠莊妃 劉氏; d. 1582)

• Consort Zhuangxirong, of the Wang clan (莊僖榮妃 王氏; d. 1580)

• Unknown

　• Princess Yanqing (延慶公主; b. 1570), personal name Yaoji (堯姬), sixth daughter

　　• Married Wang Bing (王昺) in 1587

Ancestry

生平經歷

早年

明穆宗是明世宗第三子，嘉靖十六年（1537）生，母親是康妃杜氏。嘉靖十八年（1539）二月，明世宗冊立次子朱載壡為太子、三子朱載坖為裕王、四子朱載圳為景王。嘉靖二十八年（1549）三月，太子朱載壡薨逝，裕王朱載坖以次序當為太子，但明世宗遲遲未予冊立。時景王朱載圳年少，服色與裕王朱載坖無別，引起朝野議論。嘉靖四十年（1561）二月，明世宗命景王朱載圳出居封國，以杜絕其覬覦之心和朝野議論。嘉靖四十四年（1565）正月，景王朱載圳薨，明世宗對內閣首輔建極殿大學士徐階說：「此子素謀奪嫡，今死矣。」

登基

嘉靖四十五年十二月（公元1567年1月），明世宗駕崩，裕王朱載坖即位，改元隆慶，是為明穆宗。明穆宗立即糾正其父的弊政，之前以言獲罪的諸臣全部召用，已死之臣撫恤並錄用其後，方士交付有司論罪，以前的道教儀式全部停止，免除次年一半田賦及嘉靖四十三年以前的所有欠賦；又停止明世宗為博孝名強行施行的明睿宗（即明世宗本生父興獻王）明堂配享之禮（即秋季祭天，要以在位皇帝之父合祭，為此導致明太宗廟號被改為明成祖）。

解決北虜南倭

隆慶帝重用徐階、李春芳、高拱等內閣輔臣，致力于解決困擾朝局多年的「北虜南倭」問題，隆慶元年(1567年)，採納內閣大學士高拱、張居正的建議，與蒙古俺答議和，結束與蒙古長達二百年的戰爭，並有俺答封貢。同年宣布廢除海禁，允許民間私人遠販東西二洋，史稱隆慶開關。隆慶新政是明穆宗統治時期所出現的承平時期。

明穆宗力行節儉，信用內閣輔臣，並不加以掣肘，但也不能制止內閣輔臣之間的傾軋，這也與其本人仁厚而平庸的性格有關，即位後，首先宣告天下，將廢除明世宗時期的所有弊政，一時間朝廷內外都希望新君能有所作為。但是，革弊施新取得實效沒多久，他開始寵信太監膝祥等人，揮霍無度，縱情聲色，荒廢朝政。即位後不久，很快就將權力交給了以高拱為首的內閣，以後只召見過兩次閣臣，而他自己就在後宮享樂，廣修宮苑，犬馬歌舞。

坊間傳聞明穆宗特別好色，整天在後宮裡忙來忙去，被人比做後宮中辛勤的蜜蜂。他長期服用春藥，每天要數名美女陪伴。宮中的用品，小到茶杯，大到龍床，全部都有男歡女愛的雕刻和彩繪。對此，很多大臣都曾上書進諫，竭力勸阻，但他總是很溫和地說：「國事有先生我就放心了，家事就不勞先生費心了」。

去世

明昭陵，2019年拍攝

由于明穆宗貪于女色，縱情聲色，加上長期服食春藥，他的身體每況日下，難以支撐，萬曆野獲編稱其「陽物晝夜不僕，遂不能視朝」。

隆慶六年（1572年）閏三月，宮中傳出了明穆宗病危的消息。在休養了兩個月之後，他又上朝視事，卻又突然頭暈目眩，支持不住而回宮。他自知病情不輕，急召高拱、張居正及高儀三人接受顧命，吩咐由太子繼位，後崩于乾清宮，被謚為莊皇帝，廟號穆宗，葬于北京昌平明昭陵。

遺言

遺詔

歷史評價

• 《明穆宗實錄》：「上即位，承之以寬厚，躬修玄默，不降階序而運天下，務在屬任大臣，引大體，不煩苛，無為自化，好靜自正，故六年之間，海內翕然，稱太平天子云。」

• 《明史》：「穆宗在位六載，端拱寡營，躬行儉約，尚食歲省巨萬。許俺答封貢，減賦息民，邊陲寧謐。繼體守文，可稱令主矣。第柄臣相軋，門戶漸開，而帝未能振肅乾綱，矯除積習，蓋亦寬恕有餘，而剛明不足者歟！」

• 《國榷》：「跡帝之終始，寬大如仁廟，而精勤不若也。安豫如憲朝，而控縱不若也」

• 《名山藏》：「上端凝靜密，不殺自威，不察自智，優崇輔弼，假借臣僚用能守祖宗之法以致中國乂寧，外夷向風之盛，蓋清靜合軌漢帝寬仁，比跡宋宗矣。上在潛邸時，食驢腸而甘，及即位間問左右，左右請詔光祿，上不忍曰「若爾，則光祿日宰一驢矣。」歲時游吳行幸，諸供膳光祿先期請上旨為豐約，上常裁取最約者焉。」

任用官員

首輔

• 徐階

• 李春芳

• 高拱

權宦

• 陳洪：御馬監掌印太監，後為司禮監掌印太監。

• 孟衝：尚膳監掌印太監，後為司禮監掌印太監。

• 馮保：司禮監秉筆太監，提督東廠兼掌御馬監事。

家庭成員

后妃

• 孝懿莊皇后李氏：嘉靖三十二年二月（1553年），封為裕王妃。 生憲懷太子， 靖悼王， 蓬萊公主。 嘉靖三十七年（1558）四月卒。明穆宗即位，追謚「孝懿皇后」；明神宗即位，加謚「孝懿貞惠順哲恭仁儷天襄聖莊皇后」。

• 孝安皇后陳氏：明世宗嘉靖三十七年（1558）九月選為裕王繼妃，明穆宗隆慶元年（1567）冊為皇后。明神宗即位，尊為「仁聖皇太后」，萬曆二十四年（1596）七月崩，謚「孝安貞懿恭純溫惠佐天弘聖皇后」。

• 貴妃李氏：明穆宗隆慶元年（1567）封貴妃。明神宗即位，尊為「慈聖皇太后」，萬曆四十二年（1614）二月崩，謚「孝定貞純欽仁端肅弼天祚聖皇太后」。

• 秦淑妃，棲霞公主母。

• 王榮妃

• 李德妃

• 劉莊妃

• 董端妃

• 馬惠妃

• 趙和妃

• 楊安妃

• 韓容妃

• 莊敬妃

• 李恭妃

• 于懿妃

• 葉奇妃

• 江賢妃

• 吳恭妃

• 齊敬妃

• 許英妃

• 錢安妃

子女

子

• 憲懷太子朱翊釴（1555－1559，4歲）：母裕王妃李氏，早殤，贈裕世子。明穆宗隆慶元年（1567），追封謚「憲懷太子」。

• 靖悼王朱翊鈴：未滿周歲殤，贈藍田王。明穆宗隆慶元年（1567），追封謚「靖悼王」。

• 明神宗朱翊鈞（1563－1620，57歲）：母李貴妃，明穆宗隆慶二年（1568）冊為太子。

• 潞簡王朱翊鏐（1568－1614，46歲）：母李貴妃，明穆宗隆慶六年（1572）封「潞王」，明神宗萬曆四十二年（1614）薨，謚「簡」。

女

• 蓬萊公主：早薨，明穆宗隆慶元年（1567）追封。

• 太和公主：早薨，明穆宗隆慶元年（1567）追封。

• 壽陽公主：朱堯娥明神宗萬曆九年（1581），下嫁侯拱辰。

• 永寧公主：朱堯媖：明神宗萬曆十年（1582），下嫁梁邦瑞。

• 瑞安公主：朱堯媛：明神宗萬曆十三年（1585）下嫁萬煒。

• 延慶公主：朱堯姬：明神宗萬曆十五年（1587）下嫁王昺。

• 棲霞公主：朱堯㜢，母秦淑妃，明穆宗隆慶六年（1572）九月早薨。

藝術形象

• 1986年中國大陸電視連續劇《海瑞傳奇》劉崇德飾演明穆宗。

• 1999年中國大陸電視連續劇《海瑞斗嚴嵩》 。

• 2006年中國大陸電視連續劇《大明王朝1566》郭廣平飾演明穆宗。

• 2009年中國大陸電視連續劇《大明醫聖李時珍》馬文龍飾演明穆宗。

• 2010年電視劇《萬曆首輔張居正》巫剛飾演明穆宗。