Emperor Taizu of Song

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Emperor Taizu of Song bigraphy, stories - Song Dynasty emperor

Emperor Taizu of Song : biography

21 March 927 – 14 November 976

Zhao Kuangyin (趙匡胤) (927–976), also known by his temple name Taizu (太祖), was the founder and the 1st emperor of ancient China’s Song Dynasty. Originally a military general under the Later Zhou Dynasty, he staged a coup d’état in 960 and forced the young Emperor Gong of Later Zhou to abdicate power, forming the Song Dynasty which he ruled until his death.

During his reign, he conquered the kingdoms of Southern Tang, Later Shu, Southern Han and Jingnan, thus reunifying most of China proper and effectively ending the tumultuous Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. To strengthen his control, he lessened the power of influential military generals, keeping his country intact. He was succeeded by Emperor Taizong, his younger brother who possibly murdered him for the throne.

In popular culture

Literature

The late 16th century novel by Xiong Damu (熊大木) called Records of the Two Songs, South and North (南北兩宋志傳) is a historical novel about ancient China from roughly 926 to 1022. The first 50 chapters detail the fall of Later Tang Dynasty and the rise and fall of Later Jin Dynasty, Later Han Dynasty and Later Zhou Dynasty, with a focus on the legends of Zhao Kuangyin. The last 50 chapters focus on the Generals of the Yang Family legends. As a result, the book is in later publications usually split in 2 separate parts under various different names.

A 1797 novel written by Wu Xuan (吳璿) called Legends of the Flying Dragon (飛龍傳) proved to be very popular at his time. He expanded the stories on Zhao Kuangyin in Xiong Damu’s book and added a wuxia twist to it. Another novel Emperor Taizu of Song Thrice Sets off for Southern Tang, Trapped in Shouzhou City (宋太祖三下南唐被困壽州城) was written by an "Antiquarian Master" (好古主人) in 1858.

While these stories mostly use historical figures as supporting characters, a number of fictional characters became famously associated with Zhao Kuangyin:

  • Zhao Jingniang (趙京娘), a beautiful teenage girl whom Zhao Kuangyin saved from kidnappers and protected during her journey home. She developed strong romantic feelings about Zhao Kuangyin, but he only regarded her as a younger sister. She eventually committed suicide when a misunderstanding occurred.
  • Zheng En (鄭恩), style name Ziming (子明), the 3rd sworn brother to Zhao Kuangyin and Chai Rong in the stories. He is portrayed as dark-skinned, strong and loyal, with a simple temperament, probably in the mold of Zhang Fei in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. He was eventually killed by a drunk Zhao Kuangyin by accident.

Martial arts

According to martial arts traditional lore, the Emperor Taizu created a Shaolin-based fighting style known as Tàizǔ Chángquán (太祖長拳; literally "Emperor Taizu long fist"). It is the core style of modern day Long Fist. Whether he really did invent this style or if it even dates from this time is not actually known.

Films

A Chinese 4D film tentatively titled Unifying the Country (一統江山) is planned to be directed by Academy Award-winning Danish director Bille August. The film is said to center on Zhao as well as Li Yu (last ruler of Southern Tang) and Qian Chu (last ruler of Wuyue).

Television series

  • Military Control (兵權), a 1988 Hong Kong series starring Gordon Liu as Zhao Kuangyin.
  • Zhao Kuangyin (趙匡胤), a 1995 Chinese series starring Zhao Xiguang as Zhao Kuangyin.
  • The Preordained Emperor (真命天子), a 1998 Taiwanese series starring Lin You-hsing as Zhao Kuangyin.
  • Zhao Kuangyin (趙匡胤), a 2013 Chinese series starring Chen Jianbin as Zhao Kuangyin.

Three independent television series focused on the complex relationships between Zhao Kuangyin, Li Houzhu (Li Congjia) and the many women in their lives. They are:

  • The Sword and the Song (絕代雙雄), a 1986 Singaporean series starring Lin Mingzhe as Zhao Kuangyin and Li Wenhai as Li Congjia
  • Love, Sword, Mountain & River (情劍山河), a 1996 Taiwanese series starring Wu Hsing-kuo as Zhao Kuangyin and Chin Feng as Li Congjia
  • Li Houzhu and Zhao Kuangyin (李後主與趙匡胤), a 2006 Chinese series starring Huang Wen-hao as Zhao Kuangyin and Nicky Wu as Li Congjia