Emperor Taizu

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About Emperor Taizu

Lifespan: 927 – 976 A.D

Reign Years: 960 – 976 A.D

Given Name: Zhao Kuangyin

Reign Name: Taizu

Emperor Taizu – Song Dynasty

The Song of China was known as an imperial dynasty. It began in the year 969 until 1276 and was founded by Zhao Kuangyin. He was better known as Emperor Taizu of the Song Dynasty.

Emperor Taizu began the Song after seizing the Later Zhou’s throne. Doing this ended the period of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms.

When it came to his territories, he settled for a small yet more prosperous and unified country. This is compared to the other dynasties that ruled China. Emperor Taizu also ensured that he curbed the military’s power and strengthened those of the state bureaucracy’s scholar-officials.

His careful yet accurate governance guaranteed that his successors had a strong foundation. It would help them better establish one of the best and wealthiest dynasties in Chinese history.

Beginnings of the Emperor of Song

Before becoming Emperor Taizu of the Song Dynasty, he was known as Zhao Kuangyin from Luoyang. Born to Zhao Hongyin, a military commander, Zhao Kuangyin grew up as a skilled individual and excelled in mounted archery.

According to stories, he once rode an unbridled wild horse without fear. This ended up having him slam his forehead on a wall above their city’s gate, causing him to fall off the horse. Despite this, he stood up as if nothing happened, chased the horse, then subdued it without getting harmed.

The Skilled Commander

In the mid-940, Zhao Kuangyin eventually married, then decided to join Guo Wei’s army in 949. Guo Wei was a military governor (Jiedushi) of the Later Han Dynasty.

Upon joining, Zhao aided Guo in quelling the rebellion of Li Shouzhen, a Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdom’s general. Due to his brilliance as a warrior, Zhao was promoted as a palace guard commander.

At some point, Later Zhou’s ruler died, and his son was supposed to take the throne. But since the son was still young and troops disliked this idea, Zhao was endorsed as their new leader instead. He was then outfitted with the yellow imperial robes and confidently proclaimed as China’s Song Dynasty emperor.

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The Song Dynasty Emperor in Action

In the year 960, Zhao Kuangyin was hailed as the Chinese emperor of the Song Dynasty. He helped reunify most of the country after the fragmentation and rebellion of the Tang Dynasty in the year 907.

His main priority was to make sure that he kept his position as the most rightful individual in China. The emperor introduced the rotation system for his high-ranked generals and gave former generals minor positions in the new regime.

Emperor Taizu made a centralized government around the Kaifeng court. As for the civil services’ powers, these were increased and was more than what the military professions had. The civil service was also given the role to oversee the army and functioned as its supervisory body.

The Song Dynasty emperor was aiming to establish a regime that wasn’t based much on the military. Instead, he focused on a highly efficient and effective administration seen in China since the 10th century CE.

Emperor Taizu did his best to decrease corruption. He lessened the imperial court eunuch’s power and was known for his tight grip on the state purse strings. To ensure that no one abused their power, he also revived the foolproof civil service exam system.

Lastly, he introduced a new code with harsh punishments and penalties for government malpractice. Plus, he strengthened his meritocratic system by prohibiting senior officials from making recommendation-based appointments.

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Conquering and Wars

During this Chinese emperor’s reign, he conquered various states of Later Shu, Southern Tang, Jingan, and Southern Han. He was able to reunify most areas of the country, successfully ending the period of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period.

As for the wars he engaged in, Emperor Taizu’s career started at the Battle of Gaoping. It was a battle against the Northern Han and Liao Dynasties.

In 968, he personally led his army against Northern Han’s army, where at first, they tore through the enemy defenses. They were able to place Taiyuan under siege but eventually retreated when the Liao cavalry came to support the Han.

End of Emperor Taizu’s Reign

The Chinese emperor stayed in power for 17 years and died at the age of 49 in the year 976. He was succeeded by Zhao Kuangyi, his younger brother, despite having two sons, namely Zhao Dezhao and Zhao Defang. Respectively, they were the Prince of Yan and Prince of Qin.