The 'strange' hobbies of 4 Chinese emperors, one was so obsessed with cats that he abandoned the government

Emperor Suzong of Tang

Emperor Suzong of Tang (711 - 762), whose real name was Li Heng, was the 8th Emperor of the Tang Dynasty. When the An Lushan rebels captured the capital Chang'an (756), his father, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Li Longji, had to flee to Chengdu; Li Heng was proclaimed Emperor by the ministers and people at Lingwu on August 12, 756.

Emperor Suzong of Tang was passionate about chess. He even neglected his ministers' memorials to play chess.

He even ordered the chess pieces to be made of wood instead of metal so that his courtiers would not hear him playing. Because of Emperor Suzong's carelessness, the Tang Dynasty was still unable to restore the capital Luoyang when he died, and the An Shi Rebellion lasted until 764.

Emperor Xizong of Tang

Emperor Xizong of Tang, whose real name was Li Xuan, was the 19th emperor of the Tang Dynasty in Chinese history. His hobby was playing cuc to, also known as tower cuc, tramp cuc, and cuc toc, which is an ancient Chinese soccer game. The game is competitive, the aim is to kick the ball into the net without using hands.

This game became the ancestor of football during the Han Dynasty, officially recognized by the World Football Federation (FIFA) as the oldest version of today's football.

Emperor Xizong of Tang was so obsessed with the game that he would play for hours at a time, even skipping meals. He also often asked local officials to recruit people to join his team. Many of them were promoted thanks to their excellent skills in playing the game. However, many also lost their lives when they made mistakes while playing with the emperor.

Emperor Wuzong of Ming enjoyed horse riding, hunting and drinking. (Photo: Sohu)

Emperor Wu of Ming

Emperor Wuzong of Ming (1491 - 1521) - the 11th Emperor of the Ming Dynasty in Chinese history. During his 16 years in power, he only used the reign name Zhengde, so historians in history books also call him Emperor Zhengde.

According to historical records, Emperor Wuzong of Ming was described as a debauched and promiscuous emperor. He enjoyed horse riding, hunting, and drinking. Every two days, late at night, Emperor Wuzong of Ming would take the eunuch Liu Jin out of the palace to drink and “have fun” with beauties.

Emperor Ming Wuzong thought that being an emperor was not fun at all, so he decided to indulge himself in his hobbies and neglect state affairs.

Emperor Shizong of Ming

Emperor Shizong of Ming (1507 - 1567) was the 12th Emperor of the Ming Dynasty in Chinese history. He ruled for a total of 45 years, from 1521 to 1567, becoming one of the longest-reigning Chinese emperors.

During the last 18 years of his reign, Emperor Shizong neglected state affairs because of his love for cats. (Photo: Sohu)

In the first years of his reign, Emperor Shizong of Ming carried out many reforms, took care of state affairs, had decisive policies, eliminated eunuchs, consolidated borders, and led the country forward. However, in the last 18 years of his reign, Shizong gradually neglected state affairs and did not bother to hold court.

Emperor Ming Shizong was very fond of cats. He had two cats named Shi Mao and Xue Mi. He "pampered" these two cats very much, even giving them salaries and titles, making the concubines in the harem jealous.

Emperor Shizong of Ming neglected state affairs for 18 years just to play with cats. After the two cats died, he had them coffined, tombs built, and even wrote poems dedicated to them on their tombstones.

Quoc Thai (Source: Sohu)

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