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Wang Zhen王振
Header
Wang Zhen王振
Also known as
Wang Zhen王振
primary name:
Wang Zhen王振
Details
individual; Chinese; Male
Other dates
1400-1449 (c)
Biography
Wang Zhen was one of the earliest chief eunuchs to have benefited from a literary and administrative education in the ‘Palace School for Eunuchs’ (內書堂Nei shu tang), which was established in 1426. He was from Shanxi. He was voluntarily castrated so that he could enter the palace and teach palace ladies Confucian classics. He tutored Zhu Qizhen (1427-1464), the Zhengtong emperor (r. 1436-1449) when he was a child, and during the Zhengtong emperor’s reign Wang Zhen rose to power as a prominent advisor. In 1435, he was appointed Grand Director of Ceremonial – the highest eunuch position. However, the Dowager Empress Zhang wished to have him killed and warned her grandson against trusting him. After her death in 1442, his powers increased still further. In 1449, he actively encouraged the Zhengtong emperor to try to recreate the past glories of Yongle and Xuande eras and to personally lead his own troops against the Oirat Mongol armies. The expedition ended in the catastrophic debacle at Tumu Fort (less than sixty miles northwest of Beijing) in which many men, including Wang Zhen himself, lost their lives and the emperor was taken prisoner. This rubbing is from a stele with Wang Zhen’s portrait at the ‘Monastery of Attained Wisdom’ (Zhihua si智化寺) built in Beijing in 1443. The temple originally served as an ancestral hall for Wang's family and is now the best-preserved example of a Buddhist monastery from the early Ming period remaining in Beijing. It preserves the tradition of playing Ming Buddhist music to this day.
1 related objects
rubbing
Museum number
2014,3028.1 |
Production date
2014 |
Production place
Made in:
Beijing (city)