On Criticism to Shenzong Emperor in Late Wanli Reign

In late Wanli reign, the bureaucrat group led by supervisors began criticizing Shenzong Emperor. Its basic reason, firstly, lies in Shenzong’s weakness, and secondly, contributes to supervisors’ bravery. Furthermore, the criticism also reflects some questions of this period, such as political situation getting dangerous, the Emperor’s power getting weaker, and officialdom custom getting worse, some supervisors pursuing fame. Although the criticism was within traditional political critical mode of “respecting the Emperor by offending him”, it was an important resource that led to the enlightenment in the transitional period from Ming to Qing dynasties.