明代宫妃殉葬制度与明朝“祖制”

The System of Burying Royal Princess with the Dead Emperor and the Father’s Law in the Ming Dynasty

明初,从太祖朱元璋开始,大规模的宫妃殉葬制度死灰复燃,历经成祖、仁宗、宣宗、代宗几帝,至天顺八年(1464年),终被明英宗(朱祁镇)明令禁止。至此,在明初肆虐的宫妃殉葬之制才在完全意义上从制度上被废除,并以"祖制"的姿态效法于后世。由此可知,明朝的祖制其实是一个动态的概念,是一个在朱元璋制定的祖训基础上不断添加或更改的层累体。

At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang who was the first emperor of Ming and thus called tai zu, restored the large-scale system of burying royal princess with the dead emperor, followed by cheng zu, ren zong, xuan zong, and dai zong. Until the year 1464, this behavior was prohibited by ying zong(Zhu Qizhen). Thus, we could say the system discussed above was completely abolished from the social system. What’s more, from then on, it was not lawful for emperors to bury their royal princess, and this rule became a new Father’s Law. For this reason, the Father’s Law, in the Ming Dynasty, as it were, was a dynamic concept, which was appended or altered constantly on the basis of the Father’s Law established by Zhu Yuanzhang.