Imperial Politics Past

Author: Li Yaping
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-09-01
Features: In the era of great changes, there are many hidden complexities. Beyond intelligence, great wisdom is required. Reading it feels very much like The Fifteenth Year of the Wanli Reign—it unfolds in a graceful and profound manner, capturing the essence and spirit. Li Yaping lets us live alongside those renowned figures from ancient times. In 1127 AD, the second year of the Jingkang era in the Northern Song Dynasty and the first year of the Jianyan era in the Southern Song Dynasty. That year, the Northern Song Empire fell, and the Southern Song Empire was proclaimed amidst turmoil. The Chinese people endured over a decade of warfare, bloodshed, and chaos. First, at the end of the previous year, the capital Bianjing (also known as Bianliang, modern-day Kaifeng) fell into enemy hands. In January, the Jin cavalry looted all the gold, silver, treasures, cultural artifacts, ceremonial regalia, and historical records from the capital. In February, the Jin people enthroned the former imperial prime minister Zhang Bangchang as the Emperor of Da Chu. Between March and April, both emperors of our empire—Emperor Huizong Zhao Ji, who had been a retired emperor for over a year, and his eldest son, Emperor Qinzong Zhao Huan, who had reigned for less than a year—were captured by the Jin cavalry and taken to Jin Country. Over 14,000 others, including royal relatives, concubines, maids, officials, craftsmen, and performers, were also taken captive. The Northern Song Empire thus perished. This was a humiliation the Chinese had never before endured. From then on, "The Humiliation of Jingkang" was etched into the memory of China like a knife. Emperor Huizong's ninth son, Prince Kang Zhao Gou, miraculously escaped and fled to Nanjing, which is modern-day Shangqiu in Henan. On May 1st of that year, Zhao Gou proclaimed himself emperor in Nanjing, establishing the Southern Song Dynasty and changing the era name from the second year of Jingkang to the first year of Jianyan. At that time, Zhao Gou was just 21 years old. He became the tenth emperor of the Great Song Dynasty and the first emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty, known in history as Emperor Gaozong. That year, the characters involved in this book had different circumstances. Some were considered responsible for everything that happened that year, while others had their destinies altered by the events of the year, sometimes in quite profound ways.