Legacy and Death
After 45 years on the throne (the second longest reign in the Ming dynasty), Emperor Jiajing died in 1567 – possibly due to mercury overdose believing to be the Elixir of Life – and was succeeded by his son, the Longqing Emperor. Though his long rule gave the dynasty an era of stability, Jiajing's neglect of his official duties resulted in the decline of the dynasty at the end of the 16th century. His style of governance, or the lack thereof, would be emulated by his grandson later in the century.
Read more about this topic: Jiajing Emperor
Famous quotes containing the words legacy and/or death:
“What is popularly called fame is nothing but an empty name and a legacy from paganism.”
—Desiderius Erasmus (c. 1466–1536)
“The sole work and deed of universal freedom is therefore death, a death too which has no inner significance or filling, for what is negated is the empty point of the absolutely free self. It is thus the coldest and meanest of all deaths, with no more significance than cutting off a head of cabbage or swallowing a mouthful of water.”
—Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831)