Zhao Jiong (20 November 939 – 8 May 997), known as Zhao Guangyi from 960 to 977 and Zhao Kuangyi before 960, also known by 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 dynas ...

as the Emperor Taizong of Song, was the second emperor of the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty ( ) was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Fiv ...

of China. He reigned from 976 to his death in 997. He was a younger brother of his predecessor Emperor Taizu, and the father of his successor

Emperor Zhenzong Emperor Zhenzong of Song (23 December 968 – 23 March 1022), personal name Zhao Heng, was the third emperor of the Song dynasty of China. He reigned from 997 to his death in 1022. His personal name was originally Zhao Dechang, but was change ...

. Why Emperor Taizong succeeded his brother rather than Emperor Taizu's grown sons ( Zhao Dezhao and Zhao Defang, who both died in their twenties during his reign) is not entirely understood by later historians. According to official history, his succession was confirmed by Emperor Taizu on their mother Empress Dowager Du's deathbed as a result of her instruction. A popular story dating back from at least the 11th century suggests that Emperor Taizong murdered his brother in the dim candlelight when the sound of an axe was allegedly heard. Whatever the truth, Zhao Guangyi had been prefect of the Song capital

Kaifeng Kaifeng ( zh, s=开封, p=Kāifēng) is a prefecture-level city in east-Zhongyuan, central Henan province, China. It is one of the Historical capitals of China, Eight Ancient Capitals of China, having been the capital eight times in history, and ...

since 961 where he gradually consolidated power. He was the only living prince during Emperor Taizu's reign (as Prince of Jin) and placed above all grand councilors in regular audiences. In the first three years of his reign, he intimidated the Qingyuan warlord Chen Hongjin and

Wuyue Wuyue (; ) was a Dynasties in Chinese history, dynastic state of China and one of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period#Ten Kingdoms, Ten Kingdoms during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period of History of China, Chinese history. It wa ...

king Qian Chu into submission and easily conquered the

Northern Han The Northern Han ( zh, t=北漢, s=北汉, p=Běi Hàn) was a dynastic state of China and one of the Ten Kingdoms during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. It was founded by Liu Min (Emperor Shizu) as a continuation of the Later Ha ...

, thus reunifying

China proper China proper, also called Inner China, are terms used primarily in the West in reference to the traditional "core" regions of China centered in the southeast. The term was first used by Westerners during the Manchu people, Manchu-led Qing dyn ...

for the first time in 72 years. However, subsequent

irredentist Irredentism () is one state's desire to annex the territory of another state. This desire can be motivated by ethnic reasons because the population of the territory is ethnically similar to or the same as the population of the parent state. Hist ...

wars to conquer former

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

territories from the Liao dynasty in the north and the

Early Lê dynasty Early may refer to: Places in the United States * Early, Iowa, a city * Early, Texas, a city * Early Branch, a stream in Missouri * Early County, Georgia * Fort Early, Georgia, an early 19th century fort Music * Early B, stage name of Jamaican d ...

in the southeast proved disastrous: after the failures in the Battle of Gaoliang River and the Battle of Bạch Đằng, the Sixteen Prefectures and

Northern Vietnam Northern Vietnam or '' Tonkin'' () is one of three geographical regions in Vietnam. It consists of three geographic sub-regions: the Northwest (Vùng Tây Bắc), the Northeast (Vùng Đông Bắc), and the Red River Delta (Đồng Bằng Sôn ...

(at least in their entirety) would remain beyond Han control until the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

in the 14th century. Emperor Taizong is remembered as a hardworking and diligent emperor. He paid great attention to the welfare of his people and made the Song Empire more prosperous. He adopted the centralization policies of the

Later Zhou Zhou, known as the Later Zhou (; ) in historiography, was a short-lived Chinese imperial dynasty and the last of the Five Dynasties that controlled most of northern China during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. Founded by Guo Wei ...

, which include increasing agricultural production, broadening the

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system, compiling

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s, expanding the civil service and further limiting the power of ''

jiedushi The ''jiedushi'' (, Old Turkic: Tarduş) or jiedu, was a regional military governor in China; the title was established in the Tang dynasty and abolished in the Yuan dynasty. The post of ''jiedushi'' has been translated as "military commissi ...

s''. All subsequent emperors of the Northern Song were his descendants, as well as the first emperor of the Southern Song. However, from Emperor Xiaozong onwards, subsequent emperors were descendants of his brother, Emperor Taizu. This largely stemmed from the Jingkang Incident, whereby most of Emperor Taizong's descendants were abducted by the Jin dynasty, forcing Emperor Gaozong to seek a successor among Taizu's descendants, as Gaozong's only son had died young.

Early life

Emperor Taizong was born in 939 in

. After his brother Emperor Taizu took the throne, he was appointed prefect of

. He was the Prince of Jin in his brother's reign.

Succeeding the throne and suspected fratricide

Emperor Taizong succeeded the throne in 976 after the death of his elder brother, Emperor Taizu, who was 49 and had no recorded illness. It is rather unusual in Chinese history for a brother rather than the son to succeed the throne, so the event fueled popular belief that foul play was involved. According to official history, Empress Dowager Du before her death in 961 asked the 34-year-old Emperor Taizu to promise that his brother would succeed him so as to ensure the continuation of the

. She reportedly asked Emperor Taizu, "Do you know why you came to power? It was because

had a seven-year-old emperor!" The so-called "Golden Shelf Promise" () was also allegedly recorded and sealed, by secretary Zhao Pu and reopened after Emperor Taizong's succession to prove the latter's legitimacy. Emperor Taizu's eldest son, Zhao Dezhao, was already 25 years old in 976, certainly old enough to handle an emperor's duties. Also suspicious is that Zhao Pu, banished in 973 by Emperor Taizu for allegations of corruption, returned to the capital in 976 and was made the

chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

in 977. Wen Ying, a Buddhist monk who lived in the era of Emperor Taizong's grandson, Emperor Renzong, wrote an account about the last night of Emperor Taizu. According to this account, he was dining and drinking with Emperor Taizong, then still the "Prince of

", beside some candles. Palace

eunuch A eunuch ( , ) is a male who has been castration, castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2 ...

s and maids standing in a distance saw that Emperor Taizong's shadow on the window moved a lot and appeared antsy. It was getting late and several inches of snow had fallen on the inside of the hall. Then they heard an axe chopping the snow, with Emperor Taizu saying, "Do it right! Do it right!" Soon enough Emperor Taizu was heard snoring. Several hours later, he was pronounced dead by his brother, who spent the night in his palace. This legend has been referred to as "sound of the axe in the shadow of the flickering candle" () and proved to be popular to this day. Modern historians were unable to find any concrete evidence suggesting murder; however they generally accept that the "Golden Shelf Promise" was fraud fabricated by Emperor Taizong and Zhao Pu. Also worth mentioning is the suicide of Zhao Dezhao, Emperor Taizu's eldest son, three years after his father's death. During Emperor Taizong's first campaign against the Khitan-led Liao dynasty, Zhao Dezhao was leading an army when rumours spread that Emperor Taizong had disappeared, and that Zhao Dezhao should be the new emperor. Upon hearing that, Emperor Taizong did not award the troops when they returned. When Zhao Dezhao asked him, Emperor Taizong barked back, "You do that when you become the new emperor!" According to this account, Zhao Dezhao immediately went to his palace and killed himself and when Taizong heard about the suicide, he was very sad and hugged the corpse crying. Emperor Taizu's second son, Zhao Defang, died in 981 from an unidentified illness. Just 22, he was unusually young. Emperor Taizong was very sad and visited Defang's grave and cancelled meetings for 5 days. During the same year, Emperors Taizong and Taizu's younger brother, Zhao Tingmei (previously known as Zhao Guangmei and Zhao Kuangmei), was also stripped of his title "Prince of Qi" and sent to the Western Capital. He died three years later. Moreover, when Emperor Taizu's widow Empress Song died, her body was not buried with her late husband and not given the recognition according to tradition. Toqto'a. (Yuan dynasty)
History of Song, Volume 293.
/ref> After Emperor Taizong's ascension to the throne, there were persistent doubts as to the legitimacy of the succession, and a popular prophecy arose that Taizu's descendants will rightfully return to the throne one day (). This prophecy proved true when Taizu's seventh-generation descendant

Xiaozong Xiaozong can be the name of the following Chinese emperors: *Emperor Xiaozong of Song China (reign: 1162–1189) *Hongzhi Emperor of the Ming Dynasty (reign: 1487–1505) {{disambiguation Temple name disambiguation pages ...

became emperor after the capture of most of Taizong's line by the Jurchens during the Jingkang incident and Gaozong, the first emperor of the Southern Song dynasty, whose own son Zhao Fu died young, lacked an heir.

Military campaigns

Conquering Northern Han

Emperor Taizong personally led the campaign against

in 979 and ordered the flooding of enemy cities by releasing the Fen River. The Northern Han ruler Liu Jiyuan was forced to surrender, thus ending all the kingdoms and dynasties in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period.

First campaign against the Liao dynasty

Having conquered

in 979, Emperor Taizong took advantage of the momentum and launched another military campaign against the Khitan-led Liao dynasty. In May 979, Emperor Taizong embarked on his campaign from

Taiyuan Taiyuan; Mandarin pronunciation: (Jin Chinese, Taiyuan Jin: /tʰai˦˥ ye˩˩/) is the capital of Shanxi, China. Taiyuan is the political, economic, cultural and international exchange center of Shanxi Province. It is an industrial base foc ...

and took Zhuo and Yi Prefectures easily. He besieged Yanjing (present-day

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

) after the success. However, the siege failed when the Liao defending general Yelü Xuegu defended the fortress firmly. Concurrently, Liao reinforcements led by Yelü Xiuge arrived from the Gaoliang River region, west of Yanjing. Emperor Taizong ordered his army to attack the reinforcements. Initially, he received reports that the Liao army was suffering heavy casualties. He ordered a full assault on the Liao army as he thought that the whole battle was under his control. Just then, Yelü Xiuge and Yelü Xiezhen's armies attacked from two sides. Yelü Xiuge concentrated on attacking Emperor Taizong's main camp. Emperor Taizong was shocked and evacuated from the battlefield. During the evacuation, the Song army was divided and obliterated by the Liao cavalry. Amidst the onslaught, Emperor Taizong fled towards Yi Prefecture and arrived there safely with his generals protecting him. He sustained an injury from an arrow and was unable to ride on his horse and had to travel by carriage back to Ding Prefecture. Emperor Taizong ordered a retreat after that. The Song army was without a commander as Emperor Taizong was separated from his troops. The troops suggested that Emperor Taizu's eldest son, Zhao Dezhao (Emperor Taizong's nephew), be the new emperor. Emperor Taizong's suspicions were raised when he heard that and eventually he ordered Zhao Dezhao to commit suicide. The Battle of Gaoliang River was significant as it was one of the major contributing factors to the Song dynasty's decision to adopt a defensive stance. The early Song army suffered its first major defeat in battle. Meanwhile, Emperor Taizong was also troubled by the possibility that Zhao Dezhao would launch a coup. After the battle, Emperor Taizong personally inspected and focused more on the development and strengthening of his military forces. He ignored his subjects' advice and regarded state affairs as of lower importance. He also limited the power and control that the

imperial family A royal family is the immediate family of monarch, monarchs and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or emperor, empress, and the term papal family describes the family of ...

and military officers had over the army.

Second campaign against the Liao dynasty

After the death of Emperor Jingzong of Liao in 982, the 12-year-old Emperor Shengzong of Liao ascended to the throne of the Liao Dynasty. As Emperor Shengzong was too young to rule the kingdom, Empress Dowager Xiao became the regent. Emperor Taizong decided to launch the second campaign against Liao in 986, following the advice of his subjects. During this time, Zhao Yuanzuo, Taizong's oldest son became insane after the death of his uncle, Zhao Tingmei, and that he was not invited to the Double Night Daylight Feast which ultimately caused Yuanzuo to burn down the palace. As a result, Taizong, under the pressure of his censors demoted Yuanzuo to commoner status and exiled him. This, was changed when 100 officials rejected Yuanzuo's exile and pressured Taizong to let Yuanzuo remain in the palace. Three officials who had responsibility for Yuanzuo asked to be punished by Taizong in which Taizong said "This son, even I have been unable to reform through my teaching. How could you guide him?" in response. In 983, the practice of officials tutoring imperial princes began under his reign. One notable case was Emperor Taizong's son Zhao Yuanjie and his tutor Yao Tan (935–1003) in which Yao constantly berated the young prince for being idle and lazy causing resentment from the prince. Yao attempted to complain to Taizong who said "Yuanjie is literate and enjoys learning; that should be sufficient to make him a worthy prince. If when young he is immoderate, then it is necessary to have entreaties to rein in his ridicule. But if you slander him without good reason, how is that going to help him?" However, Yuanjie under peer pressure from his friends feigned illness and began neglecting his duties. Concerned, Taizong checked the Prince's progress daily. He summoned Yuanjie's wet nurse after the Prince still was "ill" for a month with the wet nurse stating "The Prince is basically not sick; it's just that with Yao Tan checking up on him, he can seldom follow his inclinations, and thus has become sick." This enraged Emperor Taizong ordering her to be caned. Emperor Taizong remained in Bianjing and directed the war there without personally entering the battlefield. He split the army into three sections – East, Central and West. The East Army was led by Cao Bin, the Central Army by Tian Zhongjin and the West Army by Pan Mei and Yang Ye. All the three armies would attack Yanjing from three sides and capture it. The campaign was termed as the Yongxi Northern Campaign as it took place in the third year of the Yongxi era of Emperor Taizong's reign. The three armies scored some victories initially but they became more divided later as they acted individually without cooperation. Cao Bin took the risk by attacking without the support of the other two armies. He succeeded in taking Zhuo Prefecture but the lack of food supplies forced him to retreat. As there was miscommunication between the three armies, the East Army attacked Zhuo Prefecture again. However, this time, Empress Dowager Xiao and Yelü Xiuge each led an army to support Zhuo Prefecture. The East Army was inflicted with a crushing defeat and almost completely destroyed. Emperor Taizong was aware that the failure of the East Army would affect the entire campaign and he ordered a retreat. He ordered the East Army to return, the Central Army to guard Ding Prefecture and the West Army to guard four prefectures near the border. Following the defeat of the East Army, the Liao army led by Yelü Xiezhen attacked them as they retreated. The West Army led by Pan Mei met Yelü Xiezhen's army at Dai Prefecture and faced another defeat at the hands of the Liao army. The two commanders of the West Army started to argue about retreating. Yang Ye proposed that they should retreat since the East and Central Armies had already lost the advantage following their defeats. However, the other generals on Pan Mei's side began to doubt Yang's loyalty to Song as Yang Ye used to serve

. Yang Ye led an army to face the Liao troops but they were trapped and Yang committed suicide eventually. Pan Mei was supposed to arrive with reinforcements to support Yang but he failed to do so. Emperor Taizong ordered another retreat following the Song armies' defeats by Yelü Xiuge and Yelü Xiezhen. The failure of the second campaign was attributed to the miscommunication between the three armies and their failures to operate together. Besides, Emperor Taizong had also restricted the decisions of his generals as he had arbitrarily planned the whole campaign against Liao and his generals had to adhere to his orders strictly. These failures led to internal rebellions which were crushed swiftly. In 988, the Liao armies led by Empress Dowager Xiao attacked the Song border again. Emperor Taizong did not order a counter-attack and merely instructed the troops to defend firmly.

Later reign after 988

Emperor Taizong felt that he could not surpass his brother ( Emperor Taizu) in terms of military conquests and achievements and decided to focus more on developing his dynasty internally and establish his legacy. He implemented a series of economic and literary reforms which were better than his brother's. He also initiated many construction projects and inducted new systems absent in Emperor Taizu's reign. Emperor Taizong died in 997 after reigning for 21 years at the age of 57. He was succeeded by his third son, who became

Economy

Chunhua period (990-994)

With the rise of monopolies, local officials focused on collecting industrial and commercial taxes as a main daily duty. During the Song dynasty, this led to a system where tax collection influenced rewards, punishments, and job status. Officials reported their performance and financial balances starting with Emperor Taizong's Chunhua period. The government, under Emperor Taizong, aimed to collect stable tax amounts based on tax targets starting in the third year of the Chunhua period and covering various taxes. This practice of collecting taxes continued in succeeding governments of the Song dynasty.

Family

Consorts and issue

* Empress Shude, of the Yin clan () **'' unnamed daughter'' * Empress Yide, of the Fu clan (; 941–975) * Empress Mingde, of the Li clan (; 960–1004) ** ''Zhao Yuanyi, Prince of Chong (崇王趙元億), 9th son'' * Empress Yuande, of the Li clan (; 943–977) ** Zhao Yuanzuo, Prince Gongxian of Han (; 965–1027), 1st son ** Zhao Heng, Zhenzong (; 968–1022), 3rd son ** ''Unnamed daughter'' ** ''Unnamed daughter'' *Noble Consort Sun, of the Sun clan (貴妃孫氏) *Worthy Consort, of the Gao clan (贤妃高氏) *Virtuous Consort, of the Zhu clan (德妃朱氏, d. 1035), personal name Chonghui (冲惠) *Able Consort, of the Shao clan (賢妃邵氏, d. 1016), personal name Zhaoming (昭明) * Noble Consort, of the Zang clan () ** Zhao Yuancheng, Prince Gonghui of Chu (; 981–1014), 7th son ** Princess Hejing (; d. 1033), 4th daughter *** Married Chai Zongqing (; 982–1044) in 1002 ** Princess Ciming (; d. 1024), personal name Qingyu (), 6th daughter * Noble Consort, of the Fang clan (; d. 1022) ** Princess Xianmu (; 988–1051), 9th daughter *** Married Li Zunxu (; 988–1038) in 1008 * Virtuous Consort, of the Wang clan () ** Zhao Yuanyan, Prince Gongsu of Zhou (; 986–1044), 8th son *''Taiyi'', of the Ren clan (任氏太仪) **Zhao Yuanfen, Prince Gongjing of Shang (商恭靖王趙元份; 969–1005), 4th son *''Shuyi'', of the Li clan (淑儀李氏) *''Shuyi'', of the Wu clan (淑儀吳氏) * Unknown ** Zhao Yuanxi, Crown Prince Zhaocheng (; 966–992), 2nd son ** Zhao Yuanjie, Prince Wenhui of Yue (; 972–1003), 5th son ** Zhao Yuanwo, Prince Gongyi of Zhen (; 977–1018), 6th son ** ''Princess Heqing'' (), 1st daughter ** Princess Yinghui (; d. 990), 2nd daughter *** Married Wu Yuanyi (; 962–1011) in 984 ** Princess Chunmei (; d. 983), 3rd daughter ** Princess Yishun (; d. 1004), 5th daughter *** Married Wang Yiyong (; 986–1056) in 1003

References

Sources

* * *

External links

The Veritable Records of the Song Emperor Taizong
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taizong Of Song 939 births 997 deaths Northern Song emperors 10th-century Chinese monarchs People from Kaifeng