Zhu Zaihou

Also known as Ming Muzong · Longqing Di · Zhu Zaiji

Zhu Zaihou was the third son of the Jiajing emperor and was made Prince of Yu in 1539. He succeeded his father in January 1567 and adopted the reign title Longqing. Acting on his father's testamentary edict, he released officials such as Hai Rui who had been jailed for their memorials, punished the court Daoist adepts and ended the palace rites. In 1567 the court accepted the Fujian governor Tu Zemin's proposal to let merchants sail from Yuegang in Zhangzhou to trade overseas. When Altan Khan's grandson defected in 1570, the court used the moment to make peace, naming Altan Prince Shunyi the next year and opening border markets, which brought quiet to the northern frontier. He left government largely to grand secretaries such as Xu Jie, Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng. He died in the Qianqing Palace in 1572 and was buried at the Zhao tomb with the temple name Muzong. The History of Ming (Mingshi) credits him with frugality and restraint but finds him more lenient than firm.