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His marriage in 1578 was to a commoner girl, who had been selected by his mother or other such figures, and whose father had been quickly appointed to military position in order to make the daughter eligible to marry an emperor. Though this girl, who was to come to be known as Empress Xiaoduan, was essentially of no particular significance, still this was not a love marriage, but rather was arranged so that the young Wanli Emperor might produce an heir as soon as possible. Married, he was now less watched, and less controlled, by his mother; whether for this reason or otherwise, he soon came to take more frequent entertainment, drinking and wandering the gardens of the Imperial City, as well as organizing frequent soirees. On one particular occasion in [[1580]], he sentenced two young women to death for failing to sing particular songs he ordered them to perform (these were not songs with which the women were sufficiently familiar); though the sentence was only symbolic, and they lost locks of hair rather than their heads, this was still taken as a serious breach of conduct for the emperor. His mother, along with Zhang Juzhen, arranged that he should have to abdicate the throne, and relented only after an hour of prostration and apology by the young monarch. While he kept his throne, Wanli was now to be accompanied more closely by Zhang Juzhen, and by a group of [[Hanlin Academy]] masters, who might help (re)educate him in the ways of virtue and proper conduct.

His marriage in 1578 was to a commoner girl, who had been selected by his mother or other such figures, and whose father had been quickly appointed to military position in order to make the daughter eligible to marry an emperor. Though this girl, who was to come to be known as Empress Xiaoduan, was essentially of no particular significance, still this was not a love marriage, but rather was arranged so that the young Wanli Emperor might produce an heir as soon as possible. Married, he was now less watched, and less controlled, by his mother; whether for this reason or otherwise, he soon came to take more frequent entertainment, drinking and wandering the gardens of the Imperial City, as well as organizing frequent soirees. On one particular occasion in [[1580]], he sentenced two young women to death for failing to sing particular songs he ordered them to perform (these were not songs with which the women were sufficiently familiar); though the sentence was only symbolic, and they lost locks of hair rather than their heads, this was still taken as a serious breach of conduct for the emperor. His mother, along with Zhang Juzhen, arranged that he should have to abdicate the throne, and relented only after an hour of prostration and apology by the young monarch. While he kept his throne, Wanli was now to be accompanied more closely by Zhang Juzhen, and by a group of [[Hanlin Academy]] masters, who might help (re)educate him in the ways of virtue and proper conduct.

He had nine sons and ten daughters by ten wives, but it is said that his relationship with one of those wives, Lady Zheng, was a particularly caring one, which lasted throughout the rest of their lives; in [[1585]] or [[1586]], he promoted her above all his other wives & consorts to a status second only to the empress.  

He had nine sons and ten daughters by ten wives, but it is said that his relationship with one of those wives, Lady Zheng, was a particularly caring one, which lasted throughout the rest of their lives; in [[1585]] or [[1586]], he promoted her above all his other wives & consorts to a status second only to the empress.

In [[1582]], after the death of his tutor & advisor Zhang Juzheng, the emperor freed himself of the Hanlin scholars who had been assigned to keep a watch over him. Wanli's first son was born in the summer that year, allowing him presumably to free himself from his mother's control even further as well. Yet, he still found himself at the mercy of eunuchs and officials when it came to making policy; factions warred amongst the officials, and just as Zhang Juzheng convinced the emperor of the benevolence, wisdom, and selflessness of his policies, leading the emperor to defend him against numerous critiques and complaints, now, beginning in 1582 when the late Zhang Juzheng was succeeded as Grand Secretary by Zhang Siwei, Siwei began working to convince the emperor that Juzheng had been controlling him, misleading him all along, and that the policies which had brought such prosperity in the first ten years of Wanli's reign were in fact bad policies, and had not done so. Convinced of Juzheng's treachery, Wanli began signing his approval to reverse many of Juzheng's policies, one by one, and to remove many of his followers from their official appointments. Where Zhang Juzheng had previously successfully convinced the emperor that his rivals' accusations were all lies, Zhang Siwei now succeeded in convincing the emperor they were not, and that Juzheng had been manipulating the emperor for his own personal gain, and that of his faction, without truly having the interests of the nation in mind.

In [[1582]], after the death of his tutor & advisor Zhang Juzheng, the emperor freed himself of the Hanlin scholars who had been assigned to keep a watch over him. Wanli's first son was born in the summer that year, allowing him presumably to free himself from his mother's control even further as well. Yet, he still found himself at the mercy of eunuchs and officials when it came to making policy; factions warred amongst the officials, and just as Zhang Juzheng convinced the emperor of the benevolence, wisdom, and selflessness of his policies, leading the emperor to defend him against numerous critiques and complaints, now, beginning in 1582 when the late Zhang Juzheng was succeeded as Grand Secretary by Zhang Siwei, Siwei began working to convince the emperor that Juzheng had been controlling him, misleading him all along, and that the policies which had brought such prosperity in the first ten years of Wanli's reign were in fact bad policies, and had not done so. Convinced of Juzheng's treachery, Wanli began signing his approval to reverse many of Juzheng's policies, one by one, and to remove many of his followers from their official appointments. Where Zhang Juzheng had previously successfully convinced the emperor that his rivals' accusations were all lies, Zhang Siwei now succeeded in convincing the emperor they were not, and that Juzheng had been manipulating the emperor for his own personal gain, and that of his faction, without truly having the interests of the nation in mind.

Later in his reign, Wanli turned away from tending to government matters, leaving a great many matters to simply go unaddressed. While his ministers were capable of doing much without him, some matters - such as the appointment of new officials - required the emperor's approval, and so went undone; towards the end of his reign, as a result, the palace went severely understaffed. Further, he went for long periods without even leaving the inner (residential) areas of the palace, where officials were forbidden to enter, thus causing the palace eunuchs, who could enter, to gain considerable power/influence as vital intermediaries.<ref>Jonathan Spence, ''The Search for Modern China'', Second Edition, W.W. Norton & Co. (1999), 16-17.</ref>

While it was standard that his first son, Changluo, should have become the heir, Wanli preferred his third son, Changxun (aka Prince Fu). Though he never officially announced this desire, it was clear to the officials at Court, as he refused time and again to authorize the designation of Changluo as heir, and even refused to allow him to be "capped" (his coming-of-age ceremony) and to begin the formal education standard for an heir. This came as just one part of Wanli's broader protest against the whims and factionalism of his officials. However, in the end, he was forced to give in to standard practice, but historian Ray Huang identifies this as one of the key issues which led to Wanli turning even more deeply into stubborn refusals to fulfill his duties. From roughly this time, forward, the emperor began to refuse to attend or participate in imperial rituals.<ref name=huang75>Huang, 75-76.</ref>

Wanli did not call a general audience of all his officials for over twenty-five years, from 1589 to 1615, and he had direct meetings with the Grand Secretariat only five times over a thirty-year period from 1590 until his death in 1620. Though early in his reign memorials criticizing the emperor received, at times, harsh recourse, during the last twenty years or so of his reign, even harsh criticism simply went unread, and ignored. The emperor similarly ignored it when many officials simply resigned their posts without imperial permission. Two matters that Wanli did pay attention to were taxation, and military campaigns. From the time of his majority in the 1580s onwards, the Ming fought battles with [[Ayutthaya]] and [[Burma]] as well as with tribal minority peoples in the southwest, campaigns in Inner Mongolia, and against the [[Manchus]] in the northeast, who the Ming managed to at least hold back, for a time. Wanli also had to deal with the rather expensive campaign against samurai armies in Korea in the 1590s.

 

 

 

Wanli did not call a general audience of all his officials for over twenty-five years, from 1589 to 1615, and he had direct meetings with the Grand Secretariat only five times over a thirty-year period from 1590 until his death in 1620. Two matters that Wanli did pay attention to were taxation, and military campaigns. From the time of his majority in the 1580s onwards, the Ming fought battles with [[Ayutthaya]] and [[Burma]] as well as with tribal minority peoples in the southwest, campaigns in Inner Mongolia, and against the [[Manchus]] in the northeast, who the Ming managed to at least hold back, for a time. Wanli also had to deal with the rather expensive campaign against samurai armies in Korea in the 1590s.

 

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