Song Ningzong

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Song Ningzong

Ningzong (born November 19, 1168 in Hangzhou , † September 17, 1224 ibid), personal name Zhao Kuo , was the 13th emperor of the Song Dynasty and thus the 4th emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty. He ruled over the Empire of China from 1194 until his death in 1224.

Life

Ningzong was the second son and only surviving child of Emperor Guangzong , whom he succeeded to the throne in 1194 after his abdication. His mother was Empress Li († 1200).

Ningzong had a great aversion to neo-Confucianism and in 1196 had Zhu Xi , an important exponent of this religious-philosophical doctrine, declare the interpretations of the classic as heterodox. 1197 the followers of his doctrine were proscribed ; three years later, Zhu Xi died.

Inflation rose during the reign of Ningzong . The emperor was politically disinterested and easily influenced. It was ruled by its powerful Chancellor, Han Tuozhou . In 1197 a revolt broke out in Guangdong over abuse of the salt tax . In 1199, the emperor prohibited Korean and Japanese traders operating in China from exporting copper coins.

After the death of Ningzong's first main wife, Empress Han († 1200), Empress Yang (1162-1232), who came from a lowly background, moved into her position . She was six years older than Ningzong and had already caught his attention when he was crown prince. Against the resistance of Han Tuozhou she rose to Ningzong's second main consort, was crowned in 1203 and also took a dominant position at court.

Chancellor Han Tuozhou started a war against the Jin Empire in 1206 to recapture long-lost territories in northern China. The offensive was initially successful, but the tide turned when the Jin counterattacked, although some cities in the Song Empire vigorously defended themselves against the attacks of the Jin armies. In addition, Wu Xi, the Sichuan provincial commander , joined the Jin in December 1206. Because of the threat posed by the rising power of the Mongols under their ruler Genghis Khan , the Jin were ready to negotiate, and peace was concluded soon after the assassination of Han Tuozhou as a result of an officer coup (December 1207). The borderline remained unchanged, but Ningzong had to undertake to pay war indemnity and increased deliveries of goods and tributes.

Han Tuozhou's influential position was now taken over by an important advisor at court, Shi Miyuan , with whom Empress Yang cooperated closely over the next few decades. Among other things, Shi Miyuan ended the suppression of the neo-Confucian school of Zhu Xi and stabilized the government. In 1221 Ningzong allied with the Mongols against the Jin Empire. After his death in 1224 none of his sons were alive; he was succeeded by Lizong .

literature

Web links

Remarks

  1. ↑ a b c Jacques Gernet: The Chinese World , French original edition Paris 1972, German edition Suhrkamp, ​​1st edition 1988, ISBN 3-518-38005-2 , p. 611.
  2. ↑ a b Ningzong , in: Encyclopædia Britannica online.
  3. ^ Maria Rohrer: Fiction or Reality ?: the "Fifty Palace Songs of Empress Yang (1162-1232 AD)" in the context of traditional Chinese poetry , 2005, p. 44 f. ( online on Google Books).
  4. ↑ a b Keith McMahon: Celestial Women: Imperial Wives and Concubines in China from Song to Qing , 2016, p. 28 f. ( online on Google Books).
  5. ↑ Herbert Franke, Rolf Trauschein: The Chinese Empire , 1968, p. 216.
predecessor Office successor
Guangzong Emperor of China
1194–1224 		Lizong
personal data
SURNAME Song Ningzong
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Emperor of China during the Song Dynasty
DATE OF BIRTH November 19, 1168
PLACE OF BIRTH Hangzhou
DATE OF DEATH 17th September 1224
Place of death Hangzhou