Emperor Qinzong of Song (23 May 1100 – 14 June 1161), personal name Zhao Huan, was the ninth emperor of the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the res ...

of China and the last emperor of the

Northern Song dynasty Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ...

. Emperor Qinzong was the eldest son and

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

of Emperor Huizong. His mother was Emperor Huizong's empress consort, Empress Wang. In 1126, when the forces of the Jurchen-led Jin Empire invaded the Song Empire beginning the first siege of Bianjing. Frightened, Emperor Huizong intended to flee but was convinced by his officials to abdicate first and then flee. Huizong then abdicated and passed on his throne to Emperor Qinzong, and then assumed the title ''

Taishang Huang In Chinese history, a ''Taishang Huang'' or ''Taishang Huangdi'' is an honorific and institution of a retired emperor. The former emperor had, at least in name, abdicated in favor of someone else. Although no longer the reigning sovereign, the ...

'' ("Retired Emperor") himself and fled to the countryside.

Reign

Left to deal with the Jin invasion by himself, Emperor Qinzong appointed the general Li Gang () to lead the Song military to fend off the invaders. However, Emperor Qinzong was not a decisive leader and often made poor judgments. Eventually, he removed Li Gang from his appointment in the hope of starting peace talks with the Jin Empire and sent his younger brother Zhao Gou to negotiate but he was captured and ransomed. This may contribute to Emperor Gaozong's decision to not rescue Qinzong. The first siege of Bianjing ended after Qinzong gave a city to the Jurchens and paid them annual tribute. Emperor Huizong returned after hearing that the siege was over.

Causes of the Second Siege of Bianjing

Despite this, almost as soon as the Jin armies had left Kaifeng, Emperor Qinzong reneged on the deal and dispatched two armies to repel the Jurchen troops attacking Taiyuan and bolster the defenses of Zhongshan and Hejian. An army of 90,000 soldiers and another of 60,000 were defeated by Jin forces by June. A second expedition to rescue Taiyuan was also unsuccessful. Emperor Qinzong rejected an proposal to reinforce the northern borders reasoning that they may never come back and sent his generals to other parts of the country. The Jin imperial court sent two ambassadors to Song. The two ambassadors were nobles from the former

Liao dynasty The Liao dynasty (; Khitan: ''Mos Jælud''; ), also known as the Khitan Empire (Khitan: ''Mos diau-d kitai huldʒi gur''), officially the Great Liao (), was an imperial dynasty of China that existed between 916 and 1125, ruled by the Yel� ...

. Emperor Qinzong misjudged the situation and believed that they could be used to turn against the Jin ruler, Emperor Taizong. Emperor Qinzong sent a coded letter which was sealed in candle wax, inviting them to join Song to form an Anti–Jin alliance but the ambassadors handed the letter to Emperor Taizong and in retaliation, accused Emperor Qinzong for violating the peace treaty and sent an even bigger army against the Song.

Capture

Since Qinzong mistakenly removed the army to post in different parts of the country, the Jin forces eventually breached the walls of the Song capital,

Bianjing Kaifeng () is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, China. It is one of the Eight Ancient Capitals of China, having been the capital eight times in history, and is best known for having been the Chinese capital during the Nort ...

, in 1127 and occupied the city in an event historically known as the Jingkang Incident ("Jingkang" was the

era name A regnal year is a year of the reign of a sovereign, from the Latin ''regnum'' meaning kingdom, rule. Regnal years considered the date as an ordinal, not a cardinal number. For example, a monarch could have a first year of rule, a second year o ...

of Emperor Qinzong.) Emperor Qinzong, along with his father Emperor Huizong and the rest of their family, were taken prisoner by Jin forces, marking the end of the Northern Song. Qinzong's brother Zhao Gou managed to escape to southern China, where he reestablished the empire as the Southern Song dynasty and became historically known as Emperor Gaozong.

Life in the Jin Dynasty

Emperor Qinzong and his father were demoted to the status of commoners on 20 March 1127 and deported to

Huining Prefecture Huining Fu (), or Shangjing Huiningfu (), was a Fu in the Shangjing region of Northeast China. It served as the first superior capital of the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty (1115-1234) from 1122 to 1153 (and was a secondary capital after 1173). I ...

, the Jin capital, on 13 May 1127. In 1128, the two former Song emperors were forced to wear mourning dresses and pay homage to the ancestors of the Jin Emperors at their ancestral temple in Huining Prefecture. Furthermore, the Jurchen ruler, Emperor Taizong, gave the two former Song emperors contemptuous titles to humiliate them: Emperor Qinzong was called "Marquis Chonghun" (重昏侯; literally "Doubly Muddle-headed Marquis") while Emperor Huizong was called "Duke Hunde" (昏德公; literally "Muddle-headed Duke"). In 1141, as the Jin Empire normalised relations with the (Southern) Song Empire, the Jurchens renamed Emperor Qinzong's title to the more neutral-sounding "Duke of Tianshui Commandery" (), which is based on a commandery located in the upper reaches of the

Wei River The Wei River () is a major river in west-central China's Gansu and Shaanxi provinces. It is the largest tributary of the Yellow River and very important in the early development of Chinese civilization. The source of the Wei River is close ...

. A few months later, the former emperor started receiving a stipend due to his nobility status. He lived the rest of his life as a captive in the Jin Empire, which used him as a hostage to put pressure on the Song Empire. In 1142, Emperor Gaozong signed the

Treaty of Shaoxing The Treaty of Shaoxing () was the agreement that ended the military conflicts between the Jin dynasty and the Southern Song dynasty. It also legally drew up the boundaries of the two countries and forced the Song dynasty to renounce all claim ...

which made peace with the Jin Dynasty. This destroyed Qinzong's chance of returning. In 1156, in an act of humiliation, the Jin Emperor who at the time was the Prince of Hailing ordered him and the former Emperor Tianzuo of Liao to compete in a match of polo. Emperor Qinzong was weak and frail, thus quickly fell off the horse. Emperor Tianzuo himself despite being very old, was more familiar to horse riding, tried to escape but was shot to death by Jurchen archers. Emperor Qinzong died as a sick and broken man in 1161 having spent two-thirds of his life in the Jin Dynasty. He was 61. His

temple name Temple names are posthumous titles accorded to monarchs of the Sinosphere for the purpose of ancestor worship. The practice of honoring monarchs with temple names began during the Shang dynasty in China and had since been adopted by other dyna ...

means "Venerate Ancestor".

Family

Consorts and Issue: * Empress Renhuai, of the Zhu clan (; 1102–1127) ** ''Zhao Chen, Crown Prince'' (; 1117–1128), first son ** Princess Roujia (; b. 1121) * Virtuous Consort Shen, of the Zhu clan (; 1110–1142) ** Zhao Jin (; b. 1127), second son ** A daughter (b. 1130) * ''Cairen'', of the Zheng clan (), personal name Qingyun () ** Zhao Xun (; b. 1129), third son *''Cairen'', of Han clan (才人韓氏), personal name Jingguan (靜觀) ** A son (b. 1128) * ''Cairen'', of the Di clan (; b. 1114), personal name Yuhui () ** A daughter (b. 1129)

Ancestry

References

* * * * (hardcover); * {{DEFAULTSORT:Qinzong Of Song 1100 births 1161 deaths Northern Song emperors Monarchs taken prisoner in wartime 12th-century Chinese monarchs People from Kaifeng Heads of government who were later imprisoned