Emperor Aizong of Jin (25 September 1198 – 9 February 1234), personal name Ningjiasu, sinicized names Wanyan Shouxu and Wanyan Shouli, was the ninth

emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother ( ...

of the

Jurchen Jurchen may refer to: * Jurchen people, Tungusic people who inhabited the region of Manchuria until the 17th century ** Haixi Jurchens, a grouping of the Jurchens as identified by the Chinese of the Ming Dynasty ** Jianzhou Jurchens, a grouping of ...

-led Jin dynasty of China. He was considered an able emperor who made several reforms beneficial to the Jin dynasty, such as the removal of corrupt officials and introduction of more lenient tax laws. He also ended

the wars ''The Wars'' is a 1977 novel by Timothy Findley that follows Robert Ross, a nineteen-year-old Canadian who enlists in World War I after the death of his beloved older sister in an attempt to escape both his grief and the social norms of oppressi ...

against 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 res ...

, and canceled the Treaty of Shaoxing free of obligation, instead focusing the Jin dynasty's military resources on resisting the

Mongol invasion The Mongol invasions and conquests took place during the 13th and 14th centuries, creating history's largest contiguous empire: the Mongol Empire (1206-1368), which by 1300 covered large parts of Eurasia. Historians regard the Mongol devastati ...

. Despite his efforts, the Jin dynasty, already weakened by the flawed policies of his predecessors, eventually fell to the

Mongol Empire The Mongol Empire of the 13th and 14th centuries was the largest contiguous land empire in history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Europe, ...

. He escaped to

Caizhou Caizhou or Cai Prefecture was a '' zhou'' (prefecture) in imperial China in modern Henan, China, seated in modern Runan County. It existed (intermittently) from 606 until 1293. Caizhou was the location of the Siege of Caizhou, the last major ...

when the Mongols besieged

Bianjing Kaifeng () is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, China. It is one of the Eight Ancient Capitals of China, having been the capital eight times in history, and is best known for having been the Chinese capital during the Nor ...

, the Jin capital (coincidentally the former Song capital), in 1232. When Caizhou also came under Mongol attack in 1234, he passed the throne to his army marshal Wanyan Chenglin and then committed suicide.

Early life

Ningjiasu was the third son of Emperor Xuanzong. His mother was Emperor Xuanzong's concubine, Lady Wang (王氏), who was posthumously honored as "Empress Minghui" (明惠皇后). After Emperor Xuanzong ascended the throne, he gave the title "Prince of Sui" (遂王) to Ningjiasu. Emperor Xuanzong's eldest son and heir apparent, Wanyan Shouzhong (完顏守忠), as well as Wanyan Shouzhong's son, both died prematurely, so in 1216 Emperor Xuanzong declared Ningjiasu, his next oldest surviving son, as his heir apparent. Ningjiasu chose for himself the sinicized name "Shouxu" (守緒). When Emperor Xuanzong died in January 1224, Wanyan Shouxu inherited the throne and became historically known as Emperor Aizong.

Reign

In 1224, he instated his consort Lady Tushan (徒單氏) as his empress consort. During his reign, Emperor Aizong tried to revive the Jin dynasty, which was on the verge of collapse due to his predecessors' policies. He ended

against the

, canceled the Treaty of Shaoxing free of obligation, reconciled with the Jin dynasty's former ally

Western Xia The Western Xia or the Xi Xia (), officially the Great Xia (), also known as the Tangut Empire, and known as ''Mi-nyak''Stein (1972), pp. 70–71. to the Tanguts and Tibetans, was a Tangut-led Buddhist imperial dynasty of China tha ...

, instituted internal reforms in his administration, eliminated corrupt and incompetent officials, and promoted military generals who resisted the

and recovered lost territories from the Mongols. However, the

had become a formidable power by then, and in 1227 it completely conquered Western Xia and concentrated its attacks on the Jin dynasty. In 1232, the Mongols inflicted a crushing defeat on Jin forces at the Battle of Sanfengshan (三峯山之戰) and destroyed the bulk of the Jin armed forces. They pressed on and besieged the Jin capital, Bianjing (汴京; present-day

Kaifeng Kaifeng () is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, China. It is one of the Eight Ancient Capitals of China, having been the capital eight times in history, and is best known for having been the Chinese capital during the Nort ...

, Henan Province). The defending Jin forces put up fierce resistance. At the same time, a plague hit Bianjing; around every 50 days, over 900,000 dead bodies had to be transported out of the city, excluding the dead bodies of those who were too poor to be given a proper burial. Towards the end of 1232, Emperor Aizong fled Bianjing with an escort paid generously by the

empress dowager Empress dowager (also dowager empress or empress mother) () is the English language translation of the title given to the mother or widow of a Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or Vietnamese emperor in the Chinese cultural sphere. The title was a ...

. He crossed the

Yellow River The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the sixth-longest river system in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Ha ...

, and sought shelter in Guide (歸德; present-day Shangqiu, Henan Province), before settling down in Caizhou (蔡州; present-day Runan County, Henan Province). The Han Chinese general Shi Tianze led troops to pursue Emperor Aizong as he retreated and destroyed an 80,000-strong Jin army led by Wanyan Chengyi (完顏承裔) at Pucheng (蒲城). In the eighth month of 1233, the Mongols asked their ally, the

, to attack the Jin dynasty at Tangzhou (唐州; present-day Tanghe County, Henan Province). Emperor Aizong sought to make peace with the Southern Song dynasty, so he sent an emissary to warn them that if the Mongols conquered the Jin dynasty, they would attack Southern Song next. The Southern Song dynasty ignored the warning. On 9 February 1234, the allied forces of the Mongols and Southern Song dynasty besieged Caizhou and conquered the city.

Death

Emperor Aizong sensed that his doom was near but did not want to be remembered by history as the last emperor of the Jin dynasty, so he announced his decision to abdicate and pass his throne to Wanyan Chenglin (Wanyan Chengyi's brother). Wanyan Chenglin refused to accept, but the emperor insisted and said, "I am fat and unable to ride on horseback into battle. If the city falls, it will be difficult for me to escape on horseback. You, on the other hand, are physically fit and strong. Moreover, you are a talented military leader. If you manage to escape, you can ensure that the dynasty lives on, and make a comeback in the future. This is my wish." Wanyan Chenglin reluctantly accepted. Aizong later committed suicide by hanging himself. When Wanyan Chenglin received news of Emperor Aizong's death, he gathered his followers and held a ceremony to mourn the emperor and posthumously honor him with the

temple name Temple names are posthumous titles accorded to monarchs of the Sinosphere for the purpose of ancestor worship. The practice of honoring monarchs with temple names began during the Shang dynasty in China and had since been adopted by other dyna ...

"Aizong". By the time the ceremony ended, Caizhou had been overrun by Mongol forces. Wanyan Chenglin was killed in action. His death marked the end of the Jin dynasty.

Remains

Emperor Aizong's remains were divided between the Mongol general Taghachar and the Song general Meng Gong (孟珙). Taghachar obtained Emperor Aizong's hands while the rest of the emperor's remains were taken back to Lin'an (臨安; present-day

Hangzhou Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also Chinese postal romanization, romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the prov ...

Zhejiang Province Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiang ...

), the capital of the Southern Song dynasty, and offered as a sacrifice in the Song emperors' ancestral temple. Hong Zikui (洪咨夔) opposed his remains being sacrificed and instead proposed having Emperor Aizong's remains buried in a prison vault. The Song imperial court eventually heeded Hong Zikui's suggestion and buried Emperor Aizong. Rashid-al-Din Hamadani's ''

Jami' al-tawarikh The ''Jāmiʿ al-tawārīkh'' ( Persian/Arabic: , ) is a work of literature and history, produced in the Mongol Ilkhanate. Written by Rashid al-Din Hamadani (1247–1318 AD) at the start of the 14th century, the breadth of coverage of the work ...

'' provided a different account of the fate of Emperor Aizong's remains: It stated that the emperor's body was cremated by his personal bodyguards and the ashes were dumped into the river.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aizong Of Jin, Emperor Jin dynasty (1115–1234) emperors 13th-century Chinese monarchs Suicides by hanging in China 1198 births 1234 deaths Monarchs who abdicated Suicides in the Jin dynasty (1115–1234)