Emperor Gaozong of Song Zhao Gou — The Difficult Choice Between Pursuing Peace and Upholding Dignity

Zhao Gou (1107 — 1187), respected as Emperor Gaozong of Song, was the tenth monarch of the Song Dynasty.

He ascended to the throne following the catastrophic Incident of Jingkang, during which his father and elder brother saw their empire fall, and were then captured by their enemy, the Jurchen Jin Dynasty.

Zhao Gou reestablished the empire in the south with a much smaller territory and brought people wealthy lives.

However, he kept oscillating between seeking revenge and reclaiming Song's lost land and dignity, and developing the current territory while enjoying life.

During this period, he made a series of controversial decisions, which made him long questioned and criticized in history.

Portrait of Zhao Gou, Emperor Gaozong of Song — Taipei Palace Museum

Brave Prince Who Volunteered to Be A Hostage

Zhao Gou was the ninth son of Zhao Ji (Emperor Huizong of Song). Hence, he spent a carefree, wealthy life as a noble, brilliant prince when he was young.

When he was 19, the Jurchen Jin Dynasty invaded the Song Empire.

His father, Emperor Zhao Ji, immediately abdicated the throne to his oldest brother Zhao Huan (Emperor Qinzong of Song).

When Jin’s army besieged Song’s capital city for the first time, Song defended the city quite well under the command of the excellent general Li Gang (1083 — 1140).

Then, Emperor Zhao Huan signed a pact with Jin, which included ceding big cities and sending a prince as a hostage.

Zhao Gou was very brave and volunteered to be a hostage in Jin.

Auspicious Crane (He Rui Tu), Painted By Emperor Huizong of Song — Liaoning Museum

A Prince's Decision Amidst the Perishing Empire

He was calm and fearless when he first arrived at Jin’s army, which made the Lord of Jin doubt if Zhao Gou was an actual prince.

Hence, Jin’s lord insisted on letting Song send another real prince and let Zhao Gou leave.

A few months after Song signed the unfair pact with Jin, Jin invaded Song again.

Zhao Gou was assigned to lead Song’s army and negotiate with Jin again. He set off to Jin immediately and left the capital city where his wife and kids lived.

However, soon, because of Zhao Huan and Zhao Ji’s series of stupid decisions, Song failed.

Emperor Zhao Huan, Zhao Ji, Song’s entire royal family, and over 100,000 skilled civilians were enslaved northward.

Song’s capital city was robbed and slaughtered. This was the Incident of Jingkang.

Part of the Painting (Qingming Shang He Tu) Along the River During the Qingming Festival of the Song Dynasty

Part of the Painting (Qingming Shang He Tu) Along the River During the Qingming Festival by Artist Zhang Zeduan of the Song Dynasty

Part of the Genre Painting of the Capital City (Bianjing or Kaifeng) of the Song Dynasty by Artist Zhang Zeduan

Part of the Painting (Qingming Shang He Tu) Along the River During the Qingming Festival
Genre Painting of the Capital City (Bianjing or Kaifeng) of the Song Dynasty before the Incident of Jingkang, by Artist Zhang Zeduan (1085 — 1145) — The Palace Museum

Hearing the fall of the Song empire, Zhao Gou, the only free prince of the royal family, didn’t lead the army to fight against Jin and try to save his captured family members, including his parents, pregnant wife, and kids.

He organized Song’s resources and enthroned in another city.

Then, chased by Jin’s army, Zhao Gou led Song’s army and kept escaping southward.

During that period, some other royal members organized armies and fought bravely against Jin, but Zhao Gou didn’t try to assist them.

This new emperor gave up the northern part of the Song Empire and was soon occupied by the Jurchen Jin.

Hence, Zhao Gou’s new empire with a smaller territory in the south was named the Southern Song Dynasty.

Perfume (Xiang Bing) Blended by Emperor Zhao Gou of the Southern Song Dynasty, Carved with Characters of "Recovery and Prosperity"

Perfume (Xiang Bing) Blended by Emperor Zhao Gou, Carved with Characters of "Recovery and Prosperity" — Changzhou Museum (Photo by Dongmaiying)

Enjoying Life and Forgetting Humiliation

At the beginning of Zhao Gou's reign, millions of loyal generals and soldiers were eager to fight, seek revenge on Jin, and regain their lost lands.

Having their emperors and tens of thousands of people enslaved and nearly half of the territory occupied was an unprecedented massive shame for a unified empire in the history of China.

Zhao Gou, now Emperor Gaozong of Song, was compelled to summon back General Li Gang, who had previously successfully defended the kingdom, and appointed him as the most powerful prime minister.

But Zhao Gou didn't like Li Gang's firmness in keeping fight.

So Li Gang was expelled a few months later and never had the chance to lead Song's army and realize his dream of avenging his country again.

Soon, Emperor Gaozong of Song probably got used to the comfortable, luxurious life as a monarch. Hence, he postponed the fight-back plan, though his parents, wife, kids, and siblings were all suffering in Jurchen Jin's regime up north.

Fighting Back in a Desperate Situation and Achieving Victory

Sometime later, Jin’s army was marching southward to the city where Emperor Zhao Gou was living; he was terrified and immediately escaped to another place, then kept running to different cities to avoid being captured.

Now he realized he had to fight back; otherwise, he might live on a boat.

Luckily, there were large numbers of loyal generals, warriors, and volunteer civilians, who never stopped fighting, even though their emperor kept escaping the whole time.

Those talented generals and loyal soldiers defeated Jin and other uprising armies within Zhao Gou’s territory.

Then he finally decided to fight back, seek vengeance, and regain his lost dignity.

Among those warriors was an extraordinary marshal named Yue Fei, whose army defeated Jin’s troops several times and kept winning. Their achievements gave Song’s people enormous hope to win back.

Emperor Zhao Gou's Imperial Edict Wrote to Yue Fei, Appraising His Loyalty and Exceptional Achievement — Taipei Palace Museum

Signing a Shameful Treaty and Murdering a Great Marshal

When Song’s armies achieved great successes and won back lots of cities, when they kept marching northward, and Jin’s army kept losing and withdrawing, when this good news was inspiring every one of the Song, Emperor Gaozong of Song, however, summoned all the troops to retreat and signed another unfair treaty with Jin.

In this unfair treaty, the Song Empire respected Jin as sovereign, gave back all the cities that Marshal Yue Fei and other generals had won before, ceded more territories to Jin, and promised to tribute a great deal of money to Jin every year.

Jin, as a reward, will send Zhao Gou’s birth mother back and his father Zhao Ji’s coffin.

Then Emperor Gaozong of Song forced Yue Fei to give up control over the army he recruited and trained himself and soon imprisoned Yue Fei.

A few months later, the extraordinary general Yue Fei was poisoned to death by evil prime minister Qin Hui, as Jurchen Jin required.

Some people said that Emperor Gaozong of Song was threatened by Yue Fei's achievement and reputation; others inferred that he didn't want his father and brothers, who may threaten his throne, to return to his empire.

Zhao Gou lived a comfortable life in the south after having executed or expelled officials who wanted to fight back against Jin.

Exquisite Jade Comb of Qin Hui's Wife — Nanjing Museum (Photo by Dongmaiying)

Development and Prosperity of the Southern Song Dynasty

Since then, southern China has been well developed and cultivated, where agriculture, economy, culture, and business prosperously increased.

Though with a much smaller territory, the Southern Song Dynasty was one of the wealthiest periods when people lived in wealth and stability.

People who escaped from the North could get loans from the government to buy farmland and houses, and they didn’t need to pay taxes for 30 years.

Emperor Gaozong of Song was also forced to develop shipbuilding technology and international trade to earn money because the years of wars had cost innumerable resources.

Recovery Model of Unearthed Civil Use Trade Ship of the Song Dynasty

Recovery Model of Unearthed Civil Use Trade Ship of the Southern Song Dynasty — National Museum of China

Childless Emperor Zhao Gou and His Careful Choice of Heir

Emperor Gaozong of Song had one son and five daughters when he was young. But his only son died at a very young age (3 years old), and his daughters were captured and died in the Jurchen Jin.

Afterward, even though he had many women in the royal palace and tried hard, he had no kids.

Hence, Zhao Gou had to adopt a son to inherit the empire.

However, most of his close relatives were captured by Jin, and the other eligible kids were from the clans that obtained much power and might liquidate Zhao Gou or manipulate politics in the future.

Hence, Zhao Gou chose and adopted a polite, clever boy named Zhao Shen, an offspring of Emperor Zhao Kuangyin (927 — 976), the founder of the Song dynasty.

Most importantly, Zhao Shen’s father was a low-rank official with little power.

Phoenix Shaped Crystal Pendant Decoration of the Southern Song Dynasty — Nanjing Museum (Photo by Dongmaiying)

Abdication of the Throne and Political Interference

When Zhao Gou was 54, Jurchen Jin invaded Song again. Song’s people fought bravely and won; later, Jin retreated.

The following year, Zhao Gou insisted on abdicating the throne to his adoptive son Zhao Shen, Emperor Xiaozong of Song (1127 — 1194).

But whenever Emperor Zhao Shen wanted to seek revenge on Jin and reclaim lost lands, Zhao Gou would try his best to interfere.

Besides that, Zhao Gou spent 25 retirement years enjoying life and practicing art. He was pretty excellent at calligraphy, painting, music, and poetry.

Part of Zhao Gou's Calligraphy "Luo Shen Fu", Wrote During His Retirement Time — Liaoning Museum

The Controversy Surrounding Emperor Gaozong of Song

Zhao Gou, the Emperor Gaozong of Song, was a controversial monarch in Chinese history.

Some criticized that he was weak for only enjoying life in southern China, having killed great generals, losing the best opportunity to take back lost lands and dignity, and seeking truces with no dignity.

Others, however, believed that under these harsh circumstances, he brought decades of peace and development to the southern civilians, fostering progress in agriculture, economy, art, business, and science.

Besides, he continued to use Song as the new dynasty’s name and gave back the throne to Zhao Kuangyin’s offspring, so he at least tried to preserve his ancestor’s empire.

Unearthed Cyan Glaze Tea Cup with A Tray (Zhan Tuo) — Southern Song Dynasty Government Kiln Museum (Photo by Dongmaiying)

Next Story: A Dreadfully Treacherous Minister and A Terrible Traitor — Qin Hui