Hongzhi Emperor
The Jiajing Emperor had succeeded his first cousin, the Zhengde Emperor after the latter died childless. His uncle, the Hongzhi Emperor, had not left any other surviving children either. In order to perform the proper rituals owed him according to tradition, it was necessary that the Jiajing Emperor be posthumously adopted by his late uncle who has been dead for nearly two decades. The Jiajing Emperor was reluctant to do this partly because he feared the influence of the Hongzhi Emperor's surviving wife, Empress Dowager Zhang. In this he had the support of his biological mother, who was angered by the prospect that her son could be removed from her by adoption.