Book Reflections: True Story of the Sixteen Emperors of the Ming Dynasty by Xu Wenji & Chen Shilong

I became interested in Ming history after reading 1587, A Year of No Significance, which was so fascinating that it made me want to learn about the Ming dynasty more systematically. I chose this book because many Ming emperors had remarkably distinctive personalities. Learning about their lives offers a window into the broader society of the Ming dynasty. The book is also based on relatively rigorous historical sources, which helped me avoid forming misconceptions before I had a solid understanding of the historical facts, or being overly influenced by an author’s personal perspective.

My strongest impression after finishing the book is that one of the most fatal problems with the Ming emperors’ approach to governing was their belief that, as the saying goes, “all under Heaven is the sovereign’s land.” Apart from a few diligent emperors who genuinely cared about their people, many indulged in pleasure and luxury, acted arbitrarily, and regarded their own authority as absolute.

Of course, the deeper problem behind the decline of the Ming dynasty lay in its institutions. The Embroidered Uniform Guard (Jinyiwei), the Western Depot, and the Eastern Depot undermined the judicial and supervisory systems. Imperial estates damaged the economic system, while the practice of appointing officials directly by imperial command weakened the Confucian ideal that government positions should be earned through learning and merit.

I am also curious whether the Ming dynasty could, in some sense, be seen as an example of Confucianism becoming increasingly rigid and institutionalized. The Great Rites Controversy in the early Jiajing reign is a particularly interesting example. I never imagined that a debate that essentially came down to “Who is my father?” could become a major political controversy with such a profound impact on the imperial court and the politics of the time…

In any case, Ming history is truly fascinating.