When he was born, his mother, the imperial concubine Shu--fearing he would be killed by the imperial concubine Wan-kuei, who was the emperor's favorite--abandoned him, but he was saved by a eunuch and raised in a secret room.
孝宗身世曲折，誕生之後，母親淑妃惟恐他為那時憲宗專寵的萬貴妃加害，欲棄於溝渠，幸賴太監搭救，藏之於密室。