Emperor Huizong of Song - Biography

Biography

Emperor Huizong of Song, besides his partaking in state affairs that favored the Reformist party (refer to section on reformers and conservatives in Song Dynasty), was a cultured leader who spent much of his time admiring the arts. He was a collector of paintings, calligraphies, and antiques of previous Chinese eras, building huge collections of each for his amusement. He wrote poems of his own, was known as an avid painter, created his own calligraphy style, had interests in architecture and garden design, and even wrote treatises on medicine and Daoism. He assembled an entourage of court painters that were first pre-screened in an examination to enter as official artists of the court, and made reforms to court music. Like many learned men of his age, he was quite a polymath personality. However, his reign would be forever scarred by the decisions made (by counsel he received) on handling foreign policy, as the end of his reign marked a period of disaster for Song China.

A true artist, Huizong neglected the army, and Song China became increasingly weak and at the mercy of foreign enemies, despite his recasting of the symbolic Nine Tripod Cauldrons in 1106 in an attempt to assert his authority. When the Jurchen of Manchuria founded the Jin Dynasty and attacked the Liao kingdom to the north of the Song empire, the Song court allied with the Jin and attacked the Liao from the south. This succeeded in destroying the Liao kingdom, a longtime enemy of the Song. However, an enemy even more formidable, the Jin, was now on the northern border. Not content with the annexation of the Liao kingdom, and perceiving the weakness of the Song empire, the Jin soon declared war on their former ally, and by the beginning of 1126 the troops of the Jin "Western Vice-marshal" Wanyan Wolibu crossed the Yellow River and came in sight of Kaifeng, the capital of the Song empire. Stricken with panic, Huizong abdicated on 18 January 1126 in favor of his son who became Emperor Qinzong (欽宗).

Overcoming the walls of Kaifeng was a difficult undertaking for the Jin cavalry, and this, together with fierce resistance from some Chinese officials who had not totally lost their nerve, as Huizong had, resulted in the Jin lifting the siege of Kaifeng and returning north. The Song empire, however, had to sign a humiliating treaty with the Jin, agreeing to pay a colossal war indemnity and to give a tribute to Jin every year.

But even such humiliating terms could not save the Song empire. Within a matter of months, the troops of both Jurchen vice-marshals, Wolibu and Nianhan, were back south again, and this time they were determined to overcome the walls of Kaifeng. After a bitter siege, the Jin eventually entered Kaifeng on 9 January 1127, and many days of looting, rapes, and massacre followed. Huizong, his son Emperor Qinzong, as well as the entire imperial court and harem were captured by the Jin in the Jingkang Incident, and shipped north, mostly to the Jin capital of Shangjing (near today's Harbin). One of the sons of Huizong managed to escape to Southern China where, after many years of struggle, he would establish the Southern Song Dynasty, of which he was the first emperor, Emperor Gaozong (高宗).

Huizong and Qinzong were demoted to the rank of commoners by the Jin on 20 March 1127. Then on 10 May 1127, Huizong was deported to northern Manchuria, where he spent the last eight years of his life as a captive. In a humiliating episode, in 1128 the two former Song emperors had to venerate the Jin ancestors at their shrine in Shangjing, wearing mourning dress. The Jurchen rulers granted the two former emperors offensively named ranks of the Marquess (侯, hou) of Hunde (昏德, "Muddled Virtue") and marquess of Zhonghun (重昏, "Doubly muddled").

In 1137, the Jin formally notified the Southern Song court about the death of their captive. The man who once had been the most powerful ruler on earth and had lived in opulence and art died a broken man in faraway northern Manchuria in June 1135, at the age of 52.

A few years later (1141), as the peace negotiations between the Jin and the Song were proceeding, the Jin posthumously honored Huizong with the neutral-sounding title of Prince of Tianshun qun, after a commandery in the upper reaches of the Wei River (now in Gansu). His son, still alive, became styled the Duke (公, gong) of Tianshun qun. His third brother, Zhao Si King Yue （越王赵偲), lived in Gioro, was the founder of the clan Gioro in which the Qing Imperial Family Aisin Gioro is a cadet branch. Gioro clan was split into Gioro and Donge (董鄂).