Emperor Ningzong of Song (19 November 1168 – 17 September 1224), personal name Zhao Kuo, was the 13th emperor of the

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 ...

of China and the fourth emperor of the Southern Song dynasty. He reigned from 1194 until his death in 1224. He was the second son and the only surviving child of his predecessor Guangzong and like his father, Ningzong was weak-minded; easily dominated by women. During Ningzong's reign, he had built 75 commemorative shrines and steles, the most in Song history. He was a great patron of art, promoting artists such as Liang Kai and Ma Yuan to painter-in-waiting and writing poems about their paintings. Upon Ningzong's death, a minor official and a relative of Ningzong became Emperor Lizong.

Reign

He was noted for the cultural and intellectual achievements made during his reign. In particular,

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 ...

wrote some of his most famous Neo-Confucianist works during this period. However, Emperor Ningzong was known for his aversion towards the spread of Neo-Confucianism in his imperial court due to the influence of his chancellor

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 ...

and on the political side, however, Emperor Ningzong saw his government being plagued by rising inflation that threatened the economy and the military advances by the

Jurchens Jurchen (Manchu: ''Jušen'', ; zh, 女真, ''Nǚzhēn'', ) is a term used to collectively describe a number of East Asian Tungusic-speaking peoples, descended from the Donghu people. They lived in the northeast of China, later known as Manch ...

from the north during the wars between the Song dynasty and Jurchen-led Jin dynasty. In absence of a son, he adopted a relative named Zhao Xun in 1197 who was only 6 years old. In 1198,

Neo-Confucianism Neo-Confucianism (, often shortened to ''lǐxué'' 理學, literally "School of Principle") is a moral, ethical, and metaphysical Chinese philosophy influenced by Confucianism, and originated with Han Yu (768–824) and Li Ao (772–841) ...

was banned for two years until the ban was repelled in 1202.

Song Invasion of Jin

As the Jin were weakening because of natural disasters, Ningzong's chancellor Han Tuozhou continually provoked the weak Jin by launching raids. War against the Jin was officially declared on June 14, 1206 by Han Tuozhou. The war was a disaster. Despite the Jin's weakness due to the natural disasters, it had countered the attacks from the Song and even counter-attacked. To make things worse, Ningzong was not interested in the war effort and morale was low. There was not enough supplies and many of the army deserted. Wu Xi (吳曦; d. 1207), the governor-general of Sichuan, defected to the Jin in December 1206. This was bad, as Wu was holding the western front, however, Song loyalists assassinated Wu on March 29, 1207, before Jin troops could take control of the surrendered territories. Fighting continued in 1207, but by the end of that year the war was at a stalemate. The Song was now on the defensive, while the Jin failed to make gains in Song territory. The failure of Han Tuozhou's aggressive policies led to his demise. On December 15, 1207, Han was beaten to death by the Imperial Palace Guards.

Peace

A peace treaty was signed on November 2, 1208, and the Song tribute to the Jin was reinstated. The Song annual indemnity increased by 50,000 taels of silver and 50,000 packs of fabric. The treaty also stipulated that the Song had to present to the Jin the head of Han Tuozhou, who the Jin held responsible for starting the war. The heads of Han and Su were severed from their exhumed corpses, exhibited to the public, then delivered to the Jin finally ending the war. In 1210, The Mongols, formerly a Jin tributary, ended their vassalage and attacked the Jin in 1211. In light of this event, the Song court debated ending tributary payments to the weakened Jin, but they chose to avoid antagonizing the Jin. As the Mongols expanded, the Jin suffered territorial losses and attacked the Song in 1217 to compensate for their shrinking territory. The Jin continued attacking the Song until they agreed to a peace treaty and the Jin returned home. However, the Song would never regain their lost land. In 1220, his adopted heir Zhao Xun died from

dysentery Dysentery (UK pronunciation: , US: ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications ...

. Zhao Xun was only 29 years old. Shi Miyuan decided when Ningzong died, another relative named Zhao Hong was to succeed him but Zhao Hong was never placed as heir-apparent due to conflicts with Shi Miyuan and when Ningzong died, he was replaced by

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 ...

, the future Emperor Lizong. He fell ill before dying a few days later in 1224. Ningzong may have been poisoned; it is also worth mentioning that Ningzong was physically weak as a nearly emaciated which suggested physical ailments of some gravity was shown in hi
official portrait
He was succeeded by another relative named

as all of Ningzong's children died young without any clear evidence of fowl play who later became Emperor Lizong.

The Emperor's woman

He was a good monarch but sickly at times and this let his wife the Empress Yang Exploit his inadequacies and become the de facto ruler of the Empire for nearly 30 years

Family

Consorts and Issue: *

Empress Gongshu Empress Han (1165 – 14 December 1200) was the Empress of Emperor Ningzong during the Song Dynasty. Biography Han was born in modern-day Henan, the descendant of a prominent Northern Song official. She became a concubine of Ningzong along with ...

, of the Han clan (; 1165–1200) ** ''Zhao Jun, Prince Yanchonghui'' (; 1196), second son ** ''Zhao Tan, Prince Bin'' (; 1200), third son * Empress Gongsheng, of the Yang clan (; 1162–1233), personal name Guizhi () ** ''Zhao Zeng, Prince Ying'' (; 1200–1201), fourth son ** ''Zhao Jiong, Prince Hua'' (; 1202), fifth son * ''Jieyu'', of the Cao clan () ** Princess Yuping () *** Married Lin Cun () * ''Furen'', of the Zhong clan () ** ''Zhao Qi, Prince Shun'' (; 1207), sixth son ** ''Zhao Zhi, Prince Shen'' (; 1207), seventh son * Unknown ** ''Zhao Ji, Prince Su'' (; 1208), eighth son ** ''Zhao Zhi, Prince Pi'' (; 1223), ninth son ** ''Princess Qi'' (), first daughter Adopted Issue: * Zhao Xun, Crown Prince Jingxian (; 1192–1220) * Zhao Hong, Prince Zhenzhaosu (; d. 1225) *

, Lizong (; 1205–1264)

Ancestry

In Pop Culture

Portrayed in 2022 WEBNOVEL titled ROSES OF BLOOD by author GLORIAN.C.REGNARE.

References

Citations

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ningzong, Emperor of Song 1168 births 1224 deaths Southern Song emperors 12th-century Chinese monarchs 13th-century Chinese monarchs People from Hangzhou