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*''Other Names: Shizong''

*''Other Names: Shizong''

The Jiajing Emperor was the 12th emperor of China's [[Ming Dynasty]]. He was the first to succeed as a nephew, and not a son, of the previous emperor.

The Jiajing Emperor was the 12th emperor of China's [[Ming Dynasty]]. He was the first to succeed as a nephew, and not a son, of the previous emperor. A great supporter of [[Taoism]], he has been referred to as "the Taoist Emperor."

Jiajing's reign saw the revival of the power of the scholar-bureaucracy, which had been somewhat pushed aside by his predecessor, the [[Zhengde Emperor]]. As the scholar-bureaucrats reasserted their power, they worked to diminish the influence of court [[eunuchs]]; some were even put to death.

Jiajing's reign saw the revival of the power of the scholar-bureaucracy, which had been somewhat pushed aside by his predecessor, the [[Zhengde Emperor]]. As the scholar-bureaucrats reasserted their power, they worked to diminish the influence of court [[eunuchs]]; some were even put to death.

Where Zhengde, in his last years, frequently skipped out on court rituals and daily audiences for lengthy periods, Jiajing is said to have tended to his duties quite diligently, and to have even worked to restore certain rituals to better adhere to older precedents. Like his predecessor, however, in the latter half of his reign, Jiajing similarly shied away from court rituals, retiring to the Inner Palace, and holding audiences only rarely in the final twenty years of his lengthy reign. During this time, he occupied himself with [[Taoism|Taoist]] rituals, some lasting for stretches of up to two weeks.<ref>Conrad Schirokauer, et al, ''A Brief History of Chinese and Japanese Civilizations'', Fourth Edition, Cengage Learning (2012), 248.</ref>

Where Zhengde, in his last years, frequently skipped out on court rituals and daily audiences for lengthy periods, Jiajing is said to have tended to his duties quite diligently, and to have even worked to restore certain rituals to better adhere to older precedents. Like his predecessor, however, in the latter half of his reign, Jiajing similarly shied away from court rituals, retiring to the Inner Palace, and holding audiences only rarely in the final twenty years of his lengthy reign. During this time, he occupied himself with Taoist rituals, some lasting for stretches of up to two weeks, and with the formulation and consumption of Taoist immortality elixirs.<ref>Conrad Schirokauer, et al, ''A Brief History of Chinese and Japanese Civilizations'', Fourth Edition, Cengage Learning (2012), 248, 259.</ref>

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