Quem se casou com Empress Dowager Xiaoding?

Empress Dowager Xiaoding (1545 – 18 March 1614), of the Li clan, was a Chinese empress dowager of the Ming dynasty. She was one of the concubines of the Longqing Emperor and the mother of his successor, the Wanli Emperor.

After the Longqing Emperor's death, she became the regent and de facto ruler in place of the underage Wanli Emperor. She oversaw the emperor's education while Grand Secretary Zhang Juzheng and the highest-ranking eunuch of the imperial palace, Feng Bao, managed the state administration. Although she did not typically involve herself in politics, she did intervene in the dispute over the appointment of the heir to the throne, where she supported the rights of the emperor's eldest son. Instead of focusing on politics, she devoted herself to religion. She was a devout Buddhist and surrounded herself with leading Buddhist monks of the time. She also used her influence and financial resources to extensively support Buddhist monasteries, particularly in the 1570s and 1580s, and to a lesser extent after 1601.

The Longqing Emperor (4 March 1537 – 5 July 1572), personal name Zhu Zaiji, was the 13th emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1567 to 1572. He was initially known as the Prince of Yu (裕王) from 1539 to 1567 before he became the emperor. He succeeded his father, the Jiajing Emperor.

After the death of the Jiajing Emperor, the Longqing Emperor inherited a country in turmoil due to years of mismanagement and corruption. Recognizing the extent of the chaos caused during his father's lengthy reign, the Emperor worked to restore order in the state administration. He reinstated talented officials who had been previously exiled and dismissed corrupt officials and Taoist priests who had surrounded the Jiajing Emperor. Additionally, he lifted the ban on foreign trade, boosting the empire's economy, and reorganized the border troops to strengthen security on the inland and coastal borders. The seaports of Zhejiang and Fujian were fortified to defend against coastal pirates, who had been a constant nuisance during the previous government. The Emperor also successfully repelled Altan Khan's Mongol army, which had breached the Great Wall and reached Beijing. A peace treaty was signed shortly after, allowing for the resumption of the exchange of horses for silk.

The Longqing Emperor, like many previous Ming emperors, relied heavily on court eunuchs. One particular eunuch, Meng Cong (孟沖), who was supported by Grand Secretary Gao Gong, gained control over the inner court towards the end of the Emperor's reign. Despite a promising start, the Longqing Emperor quickly neglected his duties as a ruler and instead focused on personal pleasures, much to the disappointment of his reform-minded advisors. The Emperor also made contradictory decisions by re-employing Taoist priests, whom he had previously banned at the beginning of his reign.