Illustrious Emperor Research Paper

Most Worthy Emperor and Most Distinguished First Grand Secretary, thank you for granting me the opportunity to speak again and allowing me to present a memorial on a topic of my choosing. I humbly come before you and the members of the Grand Secretariat today: to speak of matters not only dear to me, but to the entirety of the Ming Empire. Over the past few meetings, we have been talking about corruption, what it takes to be a good, effective leader, and the many issues endangering the empire such as banditry and calls for tax reform. However, the biggest issue that we should prioritize is the succession crisis.
As I have previously declared in my first memorial, the issue is simple and is constantly emphasized in the Analects: the elder takes precedence over the younger and the younger show deference toward the elder. I fear for the sake of our great country because this has caused an riotous uproar in the empire. Illustrious Emperor, you have ignited distress in the people of China by refusing to name Changluo, your first-born son to be the next heir and successor.
“For from of old death has been the lost of all men; but a people that no longer trusts its ruler is lost indeed” ( Book 12 Analect 7). In this statement, I would like to …show more content…
However, maybe the behavior of your children is not a factor in deciding who is the next heir, but the mother of the child. It has come to my attention that the person who is the underlying cause to this problem is Lady Zheng. I am aware that Lady Zheng is said to be “intelligent, well-read, and strong-willed” (Huang 30), which enabled her to satisfy your emotional needs and caused you to favor Lady Zheng over Lady Wang. Yet, Lady Zheng was “frequently unhappy about your indecisiveness” (Huang 32), Emperor. In fact, Lady Zheng exclaimed to you that you are “an old lady!” several times (Huang