| Zhengde Emperor 正德帝 | |||||||||||||||||
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| Emperor of the Ming dynasty | |||||||||||||||||
| Reign | 19 June 1505 – 20 April 1521 | ||||||||||||||||
| Enthronement | 19 June 1505 | ||||||||||||||||
| Predecessor | Hongzhi Emperor | ||||||||||||||||
| Successor | Jiajing Emperor | ||||||||||||||||
| Born | 26 October 1491 Hongzhi 4, 24th day of the 9th month (弘治四年九月二十四日) Shuntian Prefecture, North Zhili, Ming dynasty (present-day Beijing, China) | ||||||||||||||||
| Died | 20 April 1521 (aged 29) Zhengde 16, 14th day of the 3rd month (正德十六年三月十四日) Bao Fang, Ming dynasty | ||||||||||||||||
| Burial | Kangling Mausoleum, Ming tombs, Beijing, China | ||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | Empress Xiaojingyi | ||||||||||||||||
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| House | Zhu | ||||||||||||||||
| Dynasty | Ming | ||||||||||||||||
| Father | Hongzhi Emperor | ||||||||||||||||
| Mother | Empress Xiaochengjing | ||||||||||||||||
The Zhengde Emperor (Chinese: 正德帝; pinyin: Zhèngdé Dì; 26 October 1491 – 20 April 1521), personal name Zhu Houzhao (朱厚㷖), was the 11th emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1505 to 1521. He was the Hongzhi Emperor's eldest son. Zhu Houzhao took the throne at only 14 with the era name "Zhengde", meaning "right virtue" or "rectification of virtue".
In the 1510s, Zhengde led an expedition against the Northern Yuan and squashed rebellions by Prince Anhua and Prince Ning. Infamous for his childlike behavior, the emperor was also known for favoring eunuchs such as Liu Jin who took advantage of his position in the court to squander vast sums of money. The emperor was also involved with several correspondences with the Malaccan government about their mutual distrust against the Portuguese, whom the Ming fought several conflicts with. He eventually died at age 29 from an illness he contracted after drunkenly falling off a boat into the Yellow River. He left behind no sons and was succeeded by his first cousin Zhu Houcong.