Shi Miyuan (; February 23, 1164 – November 27, 1233) was a Chinese politician during the

Southern Song Dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

. He was instrumental in installing

Emperor Lizong Emperor Lizong of Song (26 January 1205 – 16 November 1264), personal name Zhao Yun, was the 14th emperor of the Song dynasty of China and the fifth emperor of the Southern Song dynasty. He reigned from 1224 to 1264. His original name was ...

on the throne, despite the fact that Lizong was not in the line of succession. Under Lizong's rule, Shi was appointed Grand Chancellor. Shi hailed from a family of bureaucrats and was adept in politics. He took the

Imperial examination The imperial examination (; lit. "subject recommendation") refers to a civil-service examination system in Imperial China, administered for the purpose of selecting candidates for the state bureaucracy. The concept of choosing bureaucrats by ...

s at the age of only seventeen, and placed first in his class. After the dismissal of

Han Tuozhou Han Tuozhou (; November 6, 1152 – November 24, 1207) was a Chinese politician of the Southern Song dynasty, who served as a chancellor under Emperor Ningzong. He was responsible for Southern Song efforts to recover territories lost in north ...

as Chief Councillor, Shi was appointed to the position in 1208 (a number of historians accuse Shi of orchestrating Han's murder). Once in power, he reversed many of Han's policies, making peace with the Jin and revoking proscriptions against the

Neo-Confucianism Neo-Confucianism (, often shortened to ''lǐxué'' 理學, literally "School of Principle") is a moral, ethical, and metaphysical Chinese philosophy Chinese philosophy originates in the Spring and Autumn period () and Wa ...

Zhu Xi Zhu Xi (; ; October 18, 1130 – April 23, 1200), formerly romanized Chu Hsi, was a Chinese calligrapher, historian, philosopher, poet, and politician during the Song dynasty. Zhu was influential in the development of Neo-Confucianism. He con ...

, although he still did not allow adherents of Zhu Xi's theories any great political power. He generally promoted officials on merit and was able to restore a degree of stability to government.

Imperial succession

When the

Emperor Ningzong Emperor Ningzong of Song (19 November 1168 – 17 September 1224), personal name Zhao Kuo, was the 13th emperor of the Song dynasty of China and the fourth emperor of the Southern Song dynasty. He reigned from 1194 until his death in 1224. He ...

died in 1224, the succession wasn't known as Ningzong had not designated an heir. Ningzong's eldest son had died in 1197 and all of his other sons were dead too so the appointed heir was therefore adopted (the crown prince in 1224 was actually the third boy Ningzong had adopted for the role). Shi moved to place

Zhao Yun Zhao Yun ( ) (died 229), courtesy name Zilong (), was a military general who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty and early Three Kingdoms period of China. Originally a subordinate of the northern warlord Gongsun Zan, Zhao Yun later came ...

(a minor imperial prince) on the throne ahead of the heir apparent. In some histories, it is suggested that Shi placed a lute-playing courtesan in the crown prince's company, and through her learned of the heir apparent's plot to remove Shi from power after attaining the throne. In changing the order of succession, he had the unwilling support of Empress Yang, who was initially against the plot but was forced to assist after Shi threatened to exterminate her clan. She forged an edict appointing Zhao Yun as heir, and he was crowned as the

. Shi Miyuan died in office in 1233 and was succeeded by Zheng Qingzhi.

References

{{Authority control 1164 births 1233 deaths Politicians from Ningbo Song dynasty chancellors Song dynasty politicians from Zhejiang