| During the reign of Wuzong of Ming Dynasty,one of the emperors who traveled the most frequently,the longest time and the longest distance.Before Wuzong’s Tours,the internal and external environment was complex and changeable,with Mongol armies frequently attacking Nine frontiers and the internal situation becoming increasingly turbulent and chaotic.Therefore,the Wuzong’s rule was not very stable.The detailed arrangement of Wuzong’s Tours was mainly reflected in the two aspects of escort and defense.From the aspect of the arrangement of entourage,the entourage of Wuzong’s Tours were mainly based on the military members from Bao Fang,and the frontier forces represented by Jiang Bin played an important guiding role in the process of Wuzong’s Tours.At the same time,from the perspective of the arrangement of the imperial succession,The Wuzong had no imperial heir,Ministers had to be put in charge in the capital,which reflected that the imperial succession crisis in the late years of Zhengde was becoming more prominent.Compared with the previous emperors,The Wuzong’s tours showed distinct characteristics.Firstly,Wuzong often traveled in secret,which brought uncertainty and danger to the emperor’s security.Secondly,Wuzong was fond of military affairs,his several Tours were mostly conducted with military field hunting activities as the core purpose.Wuzong also played a positive role in resisting foreign enemies in the campaign of Yingzhou.Thirdly,from the specific activities of Wuzong’s Tours,we can glimpse the personality and psychology of Emperor Wuzong’s frankness and publicity,and show the various and complex character images of Wuzong.On the whole,the civil officials were mostly critical and dissuaded Wuzong from going on the trips,and they mainly discouraged him by writing a letter,applying for retirement,and protesting in a public place.Facing the opposition of the officials,Emperor Wuzong mostly took measures such as“Liuzhong”(留中),“Tingzhang”(廷杖),and dethroning.The conflicts between the emperor and the officials in the late Zhengde Dynasty also became increasingly prominent,and the relationship between the emperor and the officials presented a tense and stalemate situation.However,this situation also contains the complex and subtle features and tension between the emperor and the officials.At the same time,from the perspective of political culture,the reasons of dissuasion can be seen from the political values of the officials.First,in the aspect of government affairs,the group of civilofficials warned the emperor that he should be diligent in government affairs based on ancestral instructions,and the subject consciousness of the group of civil officials to participate in government affairs gradually rose;Secondly,in view of Emperor Wuzong’s absence from ceremonial activities,civil officials used the theory of"Heaven-Human Induction"(天人感应)to highlight the unique sanctity and absolute authority of the abstract and complex concept of"heaven"and emphasized that the monarch could not act willfully.Thirdly,the courtiers criticized the behavior of traveling and enjoying themselves for the consideration of the state and people’s livelihood,showing the response of the Confucian scholar-officials’people-oriented concept and the political concept of the public to the emperor’s private concept of enjoying himself.Fourth,the courtiers’criticism of the emperor’s military activities also reflects the political logic of the group of scholars and officials to govern the world with culture and the way of keeping the interior and the outside world in peace and maintaining the heavy and the light.In general,the political values between the emperor and the ministers in the late period of the Zhengde dynasty were in conflict and opposition,which was mainly reflected in the conflict between the emperor’s indulgent view of the private realm and the Confucian scholars’concern for the people and the public realm centered on the state.During this process,the Ming Dynasty civil officials and Confucian scholars,especially some low-level officials,dared to make suggestions and even risked their lives,and the moral integrity of the Ming Dynasty became more prominent and developed.In summary,during the late period of the Zhengde reign,there existed conflicting and opposing political values between the emperor and his officials.This conflict was primarily manifested in the Emperor’s indulgence in personal pleasures,viewing the world as his own,and the Confucian scholar-officials’ concern for the well-being of the people and the importance of the state.Throughout this process,the literati and scholar-officials of the Ming Dynasty,especially some lower-ranking officials,dared to speak out and offer advice,even at the risk of their lives.As a result,the moral integrity of the literati during the Ming Dynasty became more active,and there was some development in thepolitics of the scholar-officials. |
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