Great Ming's 15th emperor steps up to bat at the tender age of 15, but he's not terribly interested in tackling the challenges facing the empire. He'd rather sit in his room and... build models. As if that weren't enough, things go from already-bad to even-worse when a certain eunuch with a mountain of a chip on his shoulder manages to wrangle the reins of power from the teenage monarch.

Time Period Covered:
1620-1627 CE

Major Historical Figures:
The Tianqi Emperor (Zhu Youjiao) [r. 1620-1627]
Exalted Duke Wei Zhongxian [1568-1627]
Madame Ke [1605-1627]
Minister of War Cui Chengxiu [1571-1627]
Grand Secretary Ye Xianggao [1559-1627]
Minister Liu Zongzhou [1578-1645]
Vice Censor-in-Chief Yang Lian [1572-1625]
Xu Hengru, White Lotus rebel leader [d. 1623]
The Chongzhen Emperor (Zhu Yujian) [r. 1627-1644]

The History of China

#252 - Ming 37: The Donglin Debacle

An audio journey through the 5000 year history of one of the world's oldest continuous civilizations.