Zhu Jianshen (Ming Xiaozong) was the eighth emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and he was a controversial emperor in Chinese history. Objectively speaking, Zhu Jianshen can be regarded as a relatively mediocre emperor. Although he cannot be called a wise emperor, it is unfair to call him a foolish emperor. The most appropriate evaluation should be that he is a pitiful emperor. So, why is that?

The pitifulness of Zhu Jianshen can be traced back to his childhood.

The experiences in his childhood became a nightmare that Zhu Jianshen could not forget. These experiences made his personality extremely sensitive and fragile, and also extremely dependent on the palace women who cared for him.

After ascending the throne, Zhu Jianshen's primary task was to quell the contention in the court.

Secondly, he made the palace woman Wan his queen. Zhu Jianshen had a special sense of dependence on Wan, who had taken care of him for many years. Although Wan was eighteen years older than him and almost could be his mother, the experiences in his childhood made Zhu Jianshen's dependence on Wan transcend the boundaries of age. However, due to strong opposition from the court officials and his mother, Zhu Jianshen had to abandon the idea of making Wan the queen and finally made her a concubine.

Zhu Jianshen had a deep affection for Consort Wan. However, historians of later generations held different attitudes towards their relationship. On the one hand, the age difference was quite large, and their early experiences somewhat transcended the boundaries of ethics and morality. On the other hand, Consort Wan did become somewhat arbitrary and had a bad reputation after taking power.

Looking back on Zhu Jianshen's life, we can easily find that his childhood was indeed pitiful. It was precisely because of those experiences in his childhood that Zhu Jianshen's personality was not sound enough, which was also the root cause of many of his decisions during his reign. Zhu Jianshen made some contributions to the country during his reign, but he also caused some destruction. His reign can be said to have achieved mixed results.

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