Emperor Qinzong
| Zhao Huan | |||||||||||||||||
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| Emperor of Northern Song Dynasty later Marquess of Zhonghun 重昏侯' | |||||||||||||||||
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| Reign | 19 January 1126 – 9 January 1127[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Born | 23 May 1100 | ||||||||||||||||
| Died | 14 June 1161 (aged 61) | ||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | Empress Renhuai 仁懷皇后 | ||||||||||||||||
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| Dynasty | Song (宋) | ||||||||||||||||
| Father | Emperor Huizong of Song | ||||||||||||||||
| Mother | Empress Xiangong 顯恭皇后 | ||||||||||||||||
Emperor Qinzong (May 23, 1100 – June 14, 1161) was the ninth emperor of the Song Dynasty of China, and the last emperor of the Northern Song. His personal name was Zhao Huan. He reigned from January 1126 to January 1127.
Qinzong was the eldest son of Emperor Huizong. His mother was the empress consort, from the Wang (王) family, known posthumously as Empress Xiangong (顯恭皇后) (1084–1108).
He ascended the throne in dramatic circumstances following his father's abdication. As the Song empire was faced with invasion by the Jurchen of the Jin Dynasty, Qinzong's father Emperor Huizong quickly abdicated in Qinzong's favour. Left to deal with the Jurchens, Qinzong appointed Li Gang (李綱) to fend off the Jurchens. However Qinzong was not a determined leader. He made poor judgements and eventually removed Li Gang from his post in hopes of peaceful negotiation. Uninterested in peace, the Jurchens invaded Kaifeng in January 1127 and captured 26 year old Qinzong, Grand-Emperor Huizong and the entire Song imperial family including dozens of government officials in the Jingkang Incident, thus ending the Northern Song dynasty.
Qinzong, along with his father, was demoted to the rank of commoner on March 20, 1127, and on May 13, 1127 he was deported to faraway and bitter cold Northern Manchuria where he was to spend the last 34 years of his life in confinement.
In 1128, Qinzong, along with his father, had to pay homage to the ancestors of the Jin emperor at their ancestral temple in Shangjing (near today's Harbin), wearing mourning dress.[4][5] He was then granted the title of Marquess of Chonghun (重昏, "Doubly muddled"); his father received a similarly derogatary-sounding title.[5]
In 1141, as the Jin relations with the Song were about to normalized, Qinzong's captors granted him a neutrally-sounding title of the Duke (公, gong) of Tianshui Jun, after a commandery in the upper reaches of the Wei River (now in Gansu), while his father (who had died in 1135) was posthumously styled the Prince of Tianshui Jun; a few months later he started receiving a stipend due to his rank. Until his death in 1156[6] he was kept by the Jin in a role akin to that of a hostage, as a tool to bring pressure on the Song.[5]
Qinzong died as a sick and broken man in 1161.[citation needed] He was 61. His temple name means "Esteemed Ancestor".
Personal Information
Empress
- Empress Zhu, said to be named Zhu Lian (朱琏). She committed suicide to avoid Jurchen insult and was posthumously honored Lady Zhenjie of Jingkang County
Consorts
- Consort Zhu, aka Consort Shende (朱慎德妃)
- Lady Zheng
Sons
- Zhao Chen (赵谌), Crown Prince born by Empress Zhu
- Zhao Jin (赵谨), born by Consort Zhu
- Zhao Xun (赵训), born by Lady Zheng in the territory of Jin Dynasty
Daughter
- Princess Roujia (柔嘉公主)
Titles from birth
- Crown Prince
- Emperor
- Marquess of Zhonghun 重昏侯
- Duke of Tianshu Commendary 天水郡公
See also
- List of Song Emperors
- Architecture of the Song Dynasty
- Culture of the Song Dynasty
- Economy of the Song Dynasty
- History of the Song Dynasty
- Society of the Song Dynasty
- Technology of the Song Dynasty
Notes
- ^ The Jurchen invaders entered in Kaifeng on January 9, 1127, thus
in effect putting an end to his reign. - ^ Had his name changed into Xuan in February 1102.
- ^ Had his name changed into Huan in December 1102. This name
became his taboo name when he ascended the throne in 1126. - ^ Tao, p. 32
- ^ a b c Franke (1994), p. 233-234.
- ^ 1156 is the date given in Franke, p. 234
References
- Jing-shen Tao (1976) The Jurchen in Twelfth-Century China. University of Washington Press. ISBN 0-295-95514-7.
- Herbert Franke, Denis Twitchett. Alien Regimes and Border States, 907-1368 (Cambridge History of China, vol. 6). Cambridge University Press, 1994. ISBN 0-521-24331-9. Partial text on Google Books.