Description of the Nine Emperors of the Southern Song Dynasty

Description of the Nine Emperors of the Southern Song Dynasty

Liu Fuxin

Emperor Gaozong of Song

Emperor Huizong of Song and Emperor Qinzong of Song were captured and went north. Zhao Zhi ascended the throne.

Zhao was the ninth son of Emperor Huizong of Song and the brother of Emperor Qinzong of Song. He was once named "King Kang". In 1127 (the second year of Jingkang), after Jin Bing captured Hui and Qin Erzong went north, he ascended the throne in Yingtianfu and changed the Yuan to Jianyan. Refusing the main war faction's anti-Jin claims, he fled south to the capital of Lin'an (present-day Hangzhou) and established the Southern Song regime.

During his reign, although he was forced by the situation to resist Jin with Yue Fei and other generals, he reused the surrender faction Qin Huan. Later, he asked the Jin people for peace on humiliating conditions such as cutting land, paying tribute to him, and becoming a courtier, and killed Yue Fei.

In 1162 AD (the 32nd year of Shaoxing), Zen was located in the Song Dynasty, and Emperor Xiaozong proclaimed himself Emperor Taishang.

Emperor Gaozong of Song was the leader of the surrender faction in the early years of the Southern Song Dynasty. When the Southern Song Dynasty regime was first established, he used Li Gang, a faction of resistance, as prime minister, but soon drove Li Gang away, abandoned the Central Plains with his favored ministers Wang Boyan, Huang Qianshan and others, and fled from Nanjing Yingtianfu to Yangzhou, dedicated to pleasure. In 1129 (the third year of Jianyan), in the second month of the old calendar, Jin soldiers attacked Yangzhou, and he crossed the river through Zhenjiang to Hangzhou. Under the pressure of public opinion, he had to remove Wang Boyan, Huang Qianshan and others.

During this period, a coup d'état took place, forcing Emperor Gaozong of Song to abdicate. Later, Emperor Gaozong of Song was able to "restore". He continued to send envoys to the Jin Dynasty to beg, lamenting that after he had fled to the south, "what he did was poor, and what he threw himself into was narrow", "there is no one with the code, and there is no land if he runs", and demanded that the Jin ruler "see mourning and forgive himself" and not march south. No forceful deployment was made for the war against gold. In September, Jin soldiers crossed the Jiangsu to invade, and Emperor Gaozong of Song immediately led his ministers to flee south. In October, he fled to Yuezhou (present-day Shaoxing, Zhejiang), then fled to Mingzhou (present-day Ningbo, Zhejiang), and from Mingzhou to Dinghai (present-day Zhenhai, Zhejiang), drifted to the sea, and fled to Wenzhou (present-day Zhejiang). It was not until Xia Jinbing evacuated Jiangnan in the fourth year of Jianyan that he returned to Shaoxing Prefecture (present-day Shaoxing, Zhejiang) and Lin'an Prefecture (present-day Hangzhou, Zhejiang), and later established Lin'an as the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty.

He introduced Qin Hui (抉), who had been sent by the Jin Dynasty to the Southern Song Dynasty to lure the surrender, as a close confidant and appointed him as prime minister, trying his best to suppress the anti-Jin demands of Yue Fei and other generals. When the Song armies of the tenth year of Shaoxing (1140) won successive victories in the war against Jin, Emperor Gaozong of Song was worried that the generals would have a great merit and a big tail, and he was afraid that he would have to abdicate after welcoming back Emperor Qinzong, so he ordered all Song armies to squad and division, ruining the good situation of the anti-Jin struggle. In the eleventh year, Yue Fei, Han Shizhong and other generals were relieved of their military power, and expressed their determination to make peace to the Jin Dynasty. Soon, he and Qin Hui created a case against Yue Fei's father and son, killed him on "trumped-up" charges, and then signed a peace treaty with Jin Dynasty to humiliate and surrender Shaoxing, and paid tribute to Jin in exchange for Jin recognizing his rule in the area south of the Huai River and Dasanguan.

After Emperor Gaozong of Song made his life, he lived for many more years and died at the age of 81.

I once wrote a historical academic paper on why the Ming Dynasty did not decline after the change of the Tumu Fort of the Ming Dynasty, and there is a paragraph dedicated to the character differences between Emperor Zhu Qiyu of the Ming Dynasty and Emperor Gaozong of Song Zhao:

Emperor Mingjing is not involved in insidious activities. Emperor Mingjing ruled for eight years, and on the whole, he lived up to his ancestral cause, did not involve insidious things, trusted loyal and good generals, fought hard and self-improving, and his achievements could not be erased. He holds great politics and always trusts Yu Qian and others. It is beyond reproach to motivate the crowd to fight the enemy. But it also caused him unexpected consequences, that is, the more he killed the enemy, the more the enemy wanted to send back Yingzong, because Vara saw that Emperor Jing was difficult to deal with. 

After Emperor Jing came to the throne, although he was a little greedy and slightly immoral, in the eyes of the people, it was the emperor's family affair, and Emperor Jing did not harm Yingzong, which was really a cruelty compared to Ming Chengzu's treatment of Emperor Jianwen. If you compare Emperor Jing with Emperor Gaozong of the Southern Song Dynasty, it is even more in sharp contrast. Zhao Zhi not only favored the southern corner of the Jiangsu River, but also stole his life; And in order not to welcome back the two emperors of Hui and Qin, every day said to welcome the drive, every day to seek peace, when the golden people are in a hurry, the killing will delay the war, send gold and silver property to please the golden people, deliberately revealed in front of the golden people: once the two emperors are sent back, the Southern Song court will not necessarily be so tame anymore. This kind of trick of forgetting one's relatives in the name of condescension is something that Emperor Jing cannot do, so Emperor Jing is more than Emperor Gaozong of Song, and his merits cannot be counted. Yingzong was taken into captivity and the Ming Dynasty was still in its prime, and Emperor Jing's failure to do trickery was really a creation of the Ming Dynasty.



Illustration 1: Yue Fei, a famous general of the Southern Song Dynasty

Puppet Emperor Liu Yu (not the Southern Song Emperor, only inserted in this historical event)

Liu Yu was declared emperor in the daimyofu, known as Emperor Qi.

Selling the country for glory.

Song Xiaozong

Emperor Xiaozong of Song, imperial name Zhao Yang (shèn), given name Bo Qiang, later renamed Yu, given the name Wei, character Yuanyong, was the seventh grandson of Emperor Taizu of Song Zhao Kuangyin, descendant of Zhao Defang. He was born on November 27, 1127 (November 27, 1127) in the first year of Jianyan, and died on the ninth day of the sixth month of the fifth year of Shaoxi (June 28, 1194). Second emperor (reigned 20 July 1162 – 18 February 1189).

From this time on, the power of the Song Dynasty returned to the hands of Zhao Kuangyin's descendants. We all know that Zhao Kuangyin's younger brother Zhao Guangyi took over power from his brother Zhao Kuangyin, regardless of whether the "candle shadow axe sound" that was spread in history is true or not, but since then, the emperor has been inherited by Zhao Guangyi's descendants. There is a reason why Zhao Kuangyin's team can become the emperor. Emperor Gaozong of Song was frightened while fleeing Yangzhou and lost his fertility. The only son died again after the change of Miao Liu. And the descendants of the Ying lineage were basically wiped out by Jin after Jingkang's change.

During the reign of Emperor Xiaozong of Song, there was Zhu Xi.

Continued peace negotiations with Jin Guo.

Song Xiaozong Zen gave way to Guangzong.

At the time of death, he was 68 years old.

Emperor Xiaozong of Song Zhao Wei was known as the sage lord of the Southern Song Dynasty. His main contribution was to call the Jin dynasty a nephew and not a vassal and restore Yue Fei's reputation.

After Emperor Xiaozong ascended the throne, he dictatorily governed the government, the people were prosperous, the grains were abundant, and the peace and happiness were peaceful, changing the corrupt and decadent situation during the Gaozong dynasty.

Emperor Xiaozong was the most capable emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty.

In the reign of Emperor Gaozong, there were ministers of restoration, but there were no princes of restoration. The Filial Piety Dynasty had a restored prince and no restored minister. Emperor Xiaozong is worthy of being a descendant of Taizu, and his positive and enterprising spirit is commendable for going against Emperor Gaozong's groveling surrender line and bent on restoring the Central Plains.

For more than ten years, Qin Hui was the main war faction in the dynasty, persecuting and suppressing it. Therefore, Emperor Xiaozong is handsome but a talented person like Zhang Jun, and he will not be able to Li Xianzhong and Zou Hongyuan. There is only one Yu Yunwen under his hand. He also had to fight against the Lord and the Faction, especially Emperor Xiaozong had been emperor for 27 years, and Emperor Gaozong had been alive and healthy for the first 25 years, which had always influenced him. Emperor Gaozong resolutely opposed the main battle, and even said to Emperor Xiaozong, "Wait a hundred years before you will do it." Filial piety, who is known for his filial piety, cannot not listen at all. Emperor Xiaozong was diligent and thrifty, and the Emperor Xiaozong Dynasty was the time when the national strength was strongest. It is a pity that Xiaozong encountered a Ming monarch like Xiao Yaoshun Jin Shizong, and although Jin Guo took a defensive stance against Song, there was no civil unrest. Song and Jin belong to the absolute balance of power at this time, and the balance has not been broken. So they can't destroy each other. Compared with other emperors of the Two Song Dynasty, Xiaozong was more sympathetic.

Emperor Xiaozong advocated thrift by example, "thrift is greater than that of ancient emperors". Daily life costs very little, often wear old clothes, and do not build much. Ministers were rarely rewarded in normal times, and the income from the palace was not used for many years, so that the ropes on which Neku wore coins rotted. He often told officials around him, "Shi Dafu is an example of customs, and you should cultivate your virtues in order to civilize them." "There has been a situation of moderate prosperity under the "rule of cleanness."

Illustration 2: Map of the military situation of the Northern Song Dynasty

Song Guangzong

Lee Hou dictatorship.

Song Guangzong was one of the more mediocre of all the emperors of the Song Dynasty. After ascending the throne as emperor, he was already 43 years old. Song Guangzong was weak and sick, and did not have the talent to govern the country in An Bang, and Guangzong listened to the rumors of traitors, deposed Xin Qiqian and other ministers of the main war faction, and the famous jealous woman at that time, the ruthless Empress Li came to power, and the traitor was in charge, and the imperial government turned from Qingming under Song Xiaozong to corruption, but Song Guangzong himself did not think about the imperial government and indulged in wine.

Emperor Guangzong had always been at odds with Emperor Xiaozong, and he did not visit for a long time after Emperor Xiaozong of Song abdicated the throne. Even when Xiaozong died of illness, he did not accept the mourning. Therefore, the ministers Han Kanxin and Zhao Ruyu forced Guangzong to abdicate with the permission of the Empress Dowager. Emperor Guangzong had to give way to the crown prince Zhao Kuan, and he lived idly in Lin'an Shoukang Palace, proclaiming himself "Emperor Taishang".

Song Ningzong

After the crown prince Zhao Kuan presided over the funeral of Emperor Xiaozong of Song, he ascended the throne as emperor for Emperor Ningzong of Song.

Peace with Kim. Cut two Huai; Annual silver 3 million taels.

Smash Prime Minister Han Kan to death with a hammer.

The Jin dynasty declined and the Mongol regime rose.

Song Ningzong reigned for 30 years at the age of 57.

Illustration 3: Map of the military situation during the Southern Song Dynasty

Song Lizong

He was born in 1205 and died in Lin'an in 1264. Originally named Zhao and Ju, he was the heir of Prince Yi of Lining in 1222, given the name Guicheng, and in 1224 he was established as the prince of Ningzong, given the name Yun, and was the fifth emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty, and his reign was from 1224 to 1264.

Zhao Yun was not originally a prince, but a distant royal family of the Song Dynasty, and he was the ninth grandson of Zhao Dezhao, the son of Zhao Kuangyin. After the death of his predecessor Emperor Ningzong of Song, Prime Minister Shi Miyuan deposed the crown prince Zhao Hong and established Guicheng, who was this person.

For the first ten years, he was under the hostage of the powerful minister Shi Miyuan, and he did not care about government affairs at all, and it was not until Shi's death in 1233 that he began to be pro-government, and at the beginning of the pro-government, he was determined to be pro-government, and adopted reform measures such as deposing the Shi Party, personally promoting Taiwan advice, clarifying the rule of officials, and rectifying finances. In the later period of his reign, the imperial government successively fell into the hands of Ding Daquan, Jia Xidao and other traitors, and the country's momentum declined rapidly.

In 1234, the Southern Song Dynasty and the Mongol state destroyed Jin. In 1259, when the Mongols attacked Ezhou, Prime Minister Jia Xidao made a vassalage to the Mongols in the name of Emperor Lizong of Song and completely ceded the land north of the Yangtze River to the Mongols.

After his death, the temple was called Emperor Lizong. The reason why the temple number was named Lizong was because of his admiration for Cheng Zhu Lixue, he was the most important monarch in the process of the official study of Lixue, and his temple number can be described as well-deserved.

When Emperor Lizong was seriously ill, he issued an edict to ask famous doctors from all over the country to treat his illness, but no one applied. Emperor Lizong died of illness and was buried in the Yongmu Tomb near Huiji. Only fifteen years after his death, his mausoleum, including the tombs of several other emperors and concubines of the Southern Song Dynasty, was stolen by a monk named Yang Lian Zhenjia, and Lizong's body was not decayed because it was soaked in mercury when he entered the tomb, so the robbers took his body out of the mausoleum and hung it upside down in the woods in front of the mausoleum to extract mercury. Emperor Lizong's head was then cut off and sent to the ruler of the Yuan Dynasty, the capital of Beijing, whose torso was burned. This was something that Song Lizong never expected before his death. Emperor Lizong's head was not found in the imperial palace of Yuan Dadu until Zhu Yuanzhang captured the capital, and Zhu Yuanzhang ordered people to rebury Lizong's skull at the site of the Song Mausoleum and restore the destroyed mausoleum.

Song Duzong

Song Duzong, named Zhao Yu.

Emperor Lizong of Song had no son, adopted him as an adopted son, and successively became King Jian'an, King Yongjia, and King Zhong. In 1260, he was made crown prince. Emperor Lizong died of illness in October of the fifth year of Jingding (1264), and he succeeded to the throne on the same day, changing the name to "Xianchun" the following year.

After Emperor Duzong came to the throne, he was weaker and more incompetent, more than Emperor Lizong.

Standing and procrastinating in the color of wine.

Feng Jia was made a imperial master, and he was doubly favored and entrusted him with all the imperial government. Jia Xi Daozong saw that Duzong was even more mediocre than Lizong, so he was more domineering, blind, and without care, he threatened to resign from the government, and Duzong was afraid that he would not give up, and always bowed down and kept him with tears. He was specially granted the important affairs of Jia Xiandao Pingzhang to the military state, and allowed him to be a dynasty for three days. Later, it was relaxed to the ten-day dynasty, and every time he retreated, Duzong always had to leave his seat and watch him walk out of the hall before he dared to sit down. He also built a beautiful residence for him in Geling, West Lake. Jia Xidao committed sexual immorality so much that it darkened the imperial government.

After Kublai Khan seized the Mongol khan throne and stabilized the interior, he sent troops to invade the Sichuan region of the Great Song Dynasty and moved south along the Han River. In the fourth year of Emperor Yuduzong's reign (1268), he besieged Xiangyang, and in 1269 he besieged Fancheng. Jia Xidao did not report it and did not send reinforcements. As a result, Xiangfan was besieged for three years, and the situation was very critical. Later, Duzong found out and asked Jia Xidao. Jia Xidao still concealed the truth, saying: "The Mongol soldiers have retreated, who created this rumor?" Duzong replied that a palace maid had told him, and Jia Xidao killed the palace maid. In the first month of the ninth year of Xianchun (1273), Fancheng was attacked by the Yuan army, and in February of the same year, the Xiangyang defender Lü Wenhuan surrendered the city when he ran out of food. When the news came, Jia Xidao pretended to lead his army to fight, and the timid and incompetent Duzong dragged Jia Xidao to death and prevented him from going to battle.

In July of the tenth year of Xianchun (1274), Emperor Duzong died in the Funing Hall in the Lin'an Palace due to excessive wine color, and was succeeded by the crown prince Zhao Xian.

This person was incorrigible, reigned for 10 years and died at the age of 35.

Emperor Gong of Song

When Crown Prince Zhao Xian succeeded to the throne, he was only four years old.

Emperor Duzong died in July of the tenth year of Xianchun (1274), leaving behind three minor sons: Zhao Xian born to Yang Shufei at the age of 7, Zhao Xian born to Empress Quan at the age of 4, and Zhao Xiang born to Yu Xiurong at the age of 3.

Empress Dowager Xie summoned the courtiers to discuss the establishment of an emperor, and everyone thought that Zhao Yu, born to Yang Shufei, was the elderly, but both Jia Xiandao and Empress Dowager Xie advocated the establishment of concubines, so Zhao Xian was made emperor for Emperor Gong.

At this time, external troubles are imminent.

He was the seventh emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty (reigned 1274–1276).

He ascended the throne, and his grandmother, Empress Dowager Xie, and his mother, Empress Dowager Quan, obeyed the government. But the power of the military state is still in the hands of Jia Xidao.

At that time, the Mongol ruler Kublai Khan believed that the emperor was young and the traitors were in power, and it was a great opportunity to unify the Central Plains. The Yuan army had gained control of the northern half of China, and after gaining control of Xiangfancheng, the most important passage to the south, crossed the Yangtze River and marched towards Lin'an (present-day Hangzhou), the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty. Empress Dowager Xie ordered the "King of Qin" throughout the country and begged for peace with the Yuan army. The overwhelming Yuan army broke through the defenses in various places and successively subdued the states in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. In 1275, the 30,000-strong army led by Jia Xidao was defeated against the Yuan army in Wuhu, and soon Empress Dowager Xie and Emperor Gong of Song had to kill Jia Xidao under the oppression of the people of the whole country, but it was too late, the Song Dynasty was at the end of its life, and the situation of demise was inevitable. By the middle of the same year, the Yuan army had captured most of Jiangdong (present-day Jiangsu Province). On January 18, 1276, the Yuan army led by Bo Yan arrived in Lin'an. The Southern Song court failed to make peace, so it had to surrender to the Yuan army. In the same year, Empress Dowager Xie surrendered to the Yuan army with the five-year-old little emperor Zhao Xian.

Song Duanzong Zhao Yu

After Empress Dowager Xie surrendered to the Yuan army with the five-year-old little emperor Zhao Xian, Lu Xiufu and Zhang Shijie supported Zhao Xian the Prince of Liji as emperor. Zhao Yu was 11 years old at the time.

Soon, die.

He also made Zhao Xiang emperor.

Emperor

The remnants of the Southern Song Dynasty resisted the Yuan in Fujian and Guangdong, and reached Yashan in Guangzhou.

During this period, Wen Tianxiang was captured.

In 1279, the minister Lu Xiufu was cornered by the Yuan army, and jumped into the sea with the eight-year-old emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty, Zhao Xiang, and the Southern Song Dynasty perished.

There is a historical monograph called "Romance of the Eighteenth Dynasty of the Song Palace", the so-called Eighteen Dynasties of the Song Palace, that is, the generation of the Song Dynasty, including the nine emperors of the Northern Song Dynasty and the nine emperors of the Southern Song Dynasty.

In fact, the seventh emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty, Emperor Zhao Xian, was over, and the next two minor emperors were just that

It is just a remnant of the Zhao dynasty. Therefore, it is not impossible to call it the Sixteen Dynasties of the Song Palace.

Emperor Zhao Xian of Song Gong ascended the throne at a young age, so Empress Dowager Xie obeyed the government.

During the reigns of Emperor Lizong and Emperor Duzong, the demise of the Song Dynasty was irreversible, and less than two years after Emperor Gong ascended the throne, the Song court surrendered to the Yuan Dynasty.

The Song Dynasty was taken by Emperor Taizu Zhao Kuangyin from the orphans and widows of Later Zhou, and finally lost to the orphans and widows. Later generations wrote poems ridiculing: "When Chen Qiaoyi was in the day, he deceived his widows and orphans. Who knew that more than 300 years later, widows and orphans were also deceived. ”