意涵

「宣」，宣扬；「德」，才德、美德。

寓意宣扬美德，以德治国。

大事记

• 创办太监学堂，使太监能受到教育

• 宣德五年，郑和第七次下西洋

艺术

此时期风格的特色为强调线条以及整体外观对称设计的青花瓷。厚重的蓝色颜料呈现出深度及紧密度，表面釉料则有造成而不平整的效果。

公元纪年对照

参看

• 中国年号索引

• 同期存在的其他政权年号

　• 应永（1394年七月五日—1428年四月二十七日）：日本—后小松天皇、称光天皇之年号

　• 正长（1428年四月二十七日—1429年九月五日）：日本—称光天皇、后花园天皇之年号

　• 永享（1429年九月五日—1441年二月十七日）：日本—后花园天皇之年号

　• 天庆（1426年—1428年）：交趾省—陈暠之年号

　• 顺天（1428年—1434年）：后黎朝—太祖黎利之年号

　• 绍平（1434年—1440年）：后黎朝—太宗黎元龙之年号

Life

Zhu Zhanji was the eldest son of the Hongxi Emperor and Empress Chengxiaozhao. He was described as a crown prince who was endowed with the quality of an excellent monarch in a section of his biography surrounded by superstition. His grandfather, the Yongle Emperor, had high hopes that he might play an important part to assist his father.

He was fond of poetry and literature. Although he continued to refer to Beijing as the secondary capital on all official documents, he maintained it as his residence and continued to rule there in the style of his grandfather, the Yongle Emperor. He permitted Zheng He to lead the seventh and last of his maritime expeditions.

The Xuande Emperor's uncle, Zhu Gaoxu, Prince of Han had been a favorite of the Yongle Emperor for his military successes, but he disobeyed imperial instructions and in 1417 had been exiled to the small fief of Le'an in Shandong. When Zhu Gaoxu revolted, the Xuande Emperor took 20,000 soldiers and attacked him at Le'an. Zhu Gaoxu surrendered soon afterward, was reduced to the status of a commoner. Six hundred rebelling officials were executed, and 2,200 were banished. The emperor did not wish to execute his uncle at the start, but later events angered the emperor so much that Zhu Gaoxu was executed through fire torture. All his sons were executed as well. It is very likely that Zhu Gaoxu's arrogance, well detailed in many historic texts, offended the emperor. A theory states that when the emperor went to visit his uncle, Zhu Gaoxu intentionally tripped him.

In 1428, the Xuande Emperor granted King Hashi of Chūzan the family name Shang (尚, Shō in Japanese), gave him the title of Liuqiu Wang (琉球王, Ryūkyū-Ō in Japanese, lit. 'King of Ryūkyū'), and gifted him a red lacquered tablet with Chung Shan (中山, Chūzan in Japanese) inscribed in gold, which was then placed on the Chūzonmon gate near Shuri Castle.

The Xuande Emperor wanted to withdraw his troops from Việt Nam, but some of his advisors disagreed. After Ming garrisons suffered heavy casualties, the emperor sent Liu Sheng with an army. These were badly defeated by the Vietnamese. The Ming forces withdrew and the Xuande Emperor eventually recognized the independence of Việt Nam. In the north, the Xuande Emperor was inspecting the border with 3,000 cavalry troops in 1428 and was able to retaliate against a raid by the Mongols of the Northern Yuan. The Ming government let Arughtai's Eastern Mongols battle with Toghon's Oirat tribes of the west. The Ming imperial court received horses annually from Arughtai, but he was defeated by the Oirats in 1431 and was killed in 1434 when Toghon took over eastern Mongolia. The Ming government then maintained friendly relations with the Oirats. China's diplomatic relations with Japan improved in 1432. Relations with Korea were generally good with the exception of the Koreans resenting having to send virgins occasionally to the Xuande Emperor's imperial harem.

A privy council of eunuchs strengthened centralized power by controlling the Jinyiwei (secret police), and their influence continued to grow. In 1428, the notorious censor Liu Guan was sentenced to penal servitude and was replaced by the incorruptible Gu Zuo (d. 1446), who dismissed 43 members of the Beijing and Nanjing censorates for incompetence. Some censors were demoted, imprisoned, and banished, but none were executed. Replacements were put on probation as the censorate investigated the entire Ming administration including the military. The same year the emperor reformed the rules governing military conscription and the treatment of deserters. Yet the hereditary military continued to be inefficient and to suffer from poor morale. Huge inequalities in tax burdens had caused many farmers in some areas to leave their farms in the past forty years. In 1430, the Xuande Emperor ordered tax reductions on all imperial lands and sent out "touring pacifiers" to coordinate provincial administration, exercising civilian control over the military. They attempted to eliminate the irregularities and the corruption of the revenue collectors. The emperor often ordered retrials that allowed thousands of innocent people to be released.

The Xuande Emperor died of illness in 1435 after ruling for ten years. He ruled over a remarkably peaceful period with no significant external or internal problems. Later historians have considered his reign to be the height of the Ming dynasty's golden age.

The emperor as an artist

The Xuande Emperor was known as an accomplished painter, particularly skilled at painting animals. Some of his art work is preserved in the National Palace Museum, Taipei and Arthur M. Sackler Museum (a division of Harvard Art Museum) in Cambridge. Robert D. Mowry, the curator of Chinese art at the Arthur M. Sackler Museum, described him as "the only Ming emperor who displayed genuine artistic talent and interest."

Also, the Xuande mark and period (1426–35) is often considered one of the most sophisticated periods in the history of Chinese Blue and White porcelain crafts.

File:Zhu-Zhanji-Gibbons-at-Play.jpg|"Gibbons at play", painting by the Xuande Emperor (1427)

File:Zhu Zhanji-Mouse and Stone.jpg|"Mouse and Stone", painting by the Xuande Emperor (1427)

File:Xuande-salukis-092x0507 01lg.jpg|"Two Saluki Hounds", painting by the Xuande Emperor (1427)

File:明 朱瞻基 三阳开泰轴.jpg|"Three Yang Goats, an Auspicious Start (to the New Year)", painting by the Xuande Emperor (1429)

File:明 朱瞻基 御临黄筌花鸟卷.jpg|

File:Xuande-Hunting.jpg|"Emperor Xuanzong Hunting"

File:Ming dynasty Xuande mark and period (1426–35) imperial blue and white vase, from The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 明宣德 景德镇窑青花贯耳瓶, 纽约大都博物馆 .jpg|Ming dynasty Xuande mark and period (1426–35) imperial blue and white vase. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Family

Parents:

• Zhu Gaochi, the Hongxi Emperor (洪熙帝 朱高炽; 16 August 1378 – 29 May 1425)

• Empress Chengxiaozhao, of the Zhang clan (诚孝昭皇后 张氏; 1379 – 20 November 1442)

Consorts and Issue:

• Empress Gongrangzhang, of the Hu clan (恭让章皇后 胡氏; 20 May 1402 – 5 December 1443), personal name Shanxiang (善祥)

　• Princess Shunde (顺德公主; 1420–1443), first daughter

　　• Married Shi Jing (石璟; 9 January 1420 – 17 October 1479) in 1437

　• Princess Yongqing (永清公主; d. 1433), second daughter

• Empress Xiaogongzhang, of the Sun clan (孝恭章皇后 孙氏; 1399–1462)

　• Princess Changde (常德公主; 1424–1470), third daughter

　　• Married Xue Huan (薛桓) in 1440

　• Zhu Qizhen, Emperor Yingzong (英宗 朱祁镇; 29 November 1427 – 23 February 1464), first son

• Consort Rongsixian, of the Wu clan (荣思贤妃 吴氏; 1397 – 16 January 1462)

　• Zhu Qiyu, the Jingtai Emperor (景泰帝 朱祁钰; 21 September 1428 – 14 March 1457), second son

• Noble Consort Duanjing, of the He clan (端静贵妃 何氏; d. 1435)

• Consort Chunjingxian, of the Zhao clan (纯静贤妃 赵氏; d. 1435)

• Consort Zhenshunhui, of the Wu clan (贞顺惠妃 吴氏; d. 1435)

• Consort Zhuangjingshu, of the Jiao clan (庄静淑妃 焦氏; d. 1435)

• Consort Zhuangshunjing, of the Cao clan (庄顺敬妃 曹氏; d. 1435)

• Consort Zhenhuishun, of the Xu clan (贞惠顺妃 徐氏; d. 1435)

• Consort Gongdingli, of the Yuan clan (恭定丽妃 袁氏; d. 1435)

• Consort Zhenjinggong, of the Zhu clan (贞静恭妃 诸氏; d. 1435)

• Consort Gongshunchong, of the Li clan (恭顺充妃 李氏; d. 1435)

• Consort Suxicheng, of the He clan (肃僖成妃 何氏; d. 1435)

• Consort Shu, of the Liu clan (淑妃 刘氏)

• Concubine Zhenaiguo, of the Guo clan (贞哀国嫔 郭氏; d. 1435), personal name Ai (爱)

• Lady Gongshen, of the Korean Cheongju Han clan (恭慎夫人 清州韩氏; 1410–1483), personal name Gye-ran (桂兰). She was younger sister of the Yongle Emperor's concubine, Consort Han.

Ancestry