Emperor Qinzong

Emperor Qinzong of Song 宋欽宗
Emperor of the Song dynasty
Reign	19 January 1126 – 20 March 1127
Predecessor	Emperor Huizong
Successor	Emperor Gaozong
Born	Zhao Huan 23 May 1100
Died	14 June 1161 (aged 61)
Empress	Empress Zhu
Concubines	Consort Zhu Zheng Qingyun Han Jingguan Liu Yue'e Lu Shunshu He Fengling Di Yuhui Qi Xiaoyu Zheng Yuegong Jiang Changjin Bao Chundie
Issue	Zhao Chen Zhao Jin Zhao Xun Princess Roujia Lady Zhao Lady Zhao
Era dates Jingkang (靖康; 1126–1127) Posthumous name Gongwen Shunde Renxiao Huangdi (恭文順德仁孝皇帝) Temple name Qinzong (欽宗)
House	House of Zhao
Father	Emperor Huizong
Mother	Empress Xiangong

Emperor Qinzong of Song
Traditional Chinese	宋欽宗
Simplified Chinese	宋钦宗
Literal meaning	"Venerate Ancestor of the Song"
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Sòng Qīnzōng
Zhao Ji
Traditional Chinese	趙桓
Simplified Chinese	赵桓
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Zhào Huán
Marquis Chonghun
Chinese	重昏侯
Literal meaning	Doubly Besotted Marquis
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Chónghūn Hóu

Emperor Qinzong of Song (23 May 1100 – 14 June 1161), personal name Zhao Huan, was the ninth emperor of the Song dynasty in China and the last emperor of the Northern Song dynasty.

Emperor Qinzong was the eldest son and heir apparent 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 during the Jin–Song Wars, Emperor Huizong abdicated and passed on his throne to Emperor Qinzong, and then assumed the title Taishang Huang ("Retired Emperor") himself. Left to deal with the Jin invasion, Emperor Qinzong appointed the general Li Gang (李綱) to lead the Song military to fend off the invaders. However, the emperor 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. However, Jin forces eventually breached the walls of the Song capital, Bianjing, in 1127 and occupied the city in an event historically known as the Jingkang Incident ("Jingkang" was the era name of Emperor Qinzong's reign). Emperor Qinzong, along with his father Emperor Huizong and the rest of their family, were taken prisoner by Jin forces. This event also marked the end of the Northern Song dynasty. One of Emperor Huizong's sons managed to escape to southern China, where he reestablished the empire as the Southern Song dynasty and became historically known as Emperor Gaozong.

Emperor Qinzong and his father were demoted to the status of commoners on 20 March 1127 and deported to Huining Prefecture, the Jin capital, on 13 May 1127. In 1128, the two former Song emperors were forced to wear mourning dress and pay homage to the ancestors of the Jin emperors at their ancestral temple in Huining Prefecture.^[1][2] 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 Besotted Marquis") while Emperor Huizong was called "Duke Hunde" (昏德公; literally "Besotted Duke").^[2]

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" (天水郡公), which is based on a commandery located in the upper reaches of the Wei River. 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.^[2]

Emperor Qinzong died as a sick and broken man in 1161.^[3] He was 61. His temple name means "Esteemed Ancestor".

Family

• Spouse: Empress Zhu, bore Zhao Chen
• Concubines:
  • Lady Zhu (朱氏), formally known as Consort Shende (慎德妃), bore Zhao Jin and Lady Zhao#2
  • Zheng Qingyun (鄭慶雲), cairen, bore Zhao Xun
  • Han Jingguan (韓靜觀), cairen
  • Liu Yue'e (劉月娥), cairen
  • Lu Shunshu (盧順淑), cairen
  • He Fengling (何鳳齡), cairen
  • Di Yuhui (狄玉輝), cairen, bore Lady Zhao#1
  • Qi Xiaoyu (戚小玉)
  • Zheng Yuegong (鄭月宮)
  • Jiang Changjin (蔣長金)
  • Bao Chundie (鮑春蝶)
• Sons:
  • Zhao Chen (趙諶), Crown Prince (太子)
  • Zhao Jin (趙謹)
  • Zhao Xun (趙訓)
• Daughters:
  • Princess Roujia (柔嘉公主)
  • Lady Zhao#1 (趙氏)
  • Lady Zhao#2 (趙氏)

See also

• List of emperors of the Song dynasty
• Jin–Song Wars
• 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

1. Tao, p. 32
2. Franke (1994), p. 233-234.
3. Mote F.W. (2003). Imperial China 900-1800. Harvard University Press. p. 291. ISBN 0674012127.

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.