tirsdag 2. mai 2017

China’s Only Monogamous Emperor Swore Off Consorts After One Murdered His Mom

Is it conceivable that the supreme ruler of an empire would have chosen to be monogamous? It seems hard to believe, but at least one such emperor exists in history. His name was Emperor Hongzhi, and palace trauma seems to have left him with the impression that maybe sticking to a single woman was his safest bet. Throughout history, Chinese emperors were widely known to have multiple wives–in order to guarantee an heir–and hundreds of other sexual partners at their behest and within their palaces. But the Hongzhi Emperor, who reigned between 1487 and 1505 during China’s Ming Dynasty, seems to have voluntarily, even deliberately, opted for an exclusive relationship. Read more