Royals › Monarch / Emperor
Li Jing
Second ruler of the Southern Tang, who lost all his lands north of the Yangzi to the Later Zhou and gave up the imperial title, and who left a handful of admired song lyrics
In a side chamber of a palace, a yellow ceremonial robe embroidered with a dragon hangs on a wooden stand, its hem worked with waves and rocks, before a carved folding screen, while a black lacquer chest sits on a low table by a lattice window and no person is in view.
Also known as Nantang Yuanzong · Li Jingtong
Li Jing, originally named Jingtong, courtesy name Boyu, was the eldest son of the Southern Tang founder Li Bian; he succeeded in 943 and adopted the reign title Baoda. He exploited civil wars to conquer Min and Chu, though most of the gains were soon lost. From 955 Emperor Shizong of the Later Zhou invaded three times; in 958 Li Jing handed over the last four prefectures north of the Yangzi, dropped the title of emperor to call himself ruler of the state, and adopted the Zhou calendar. In 961 he moved his capital to Nanchang and died there the same year. He exchanged lyrics with court poets such as Feng Yansi, but only a few of his own survive, later collected with his son Li Yu's as the Lyrics of the Two Rulers of Southern Tang (Nan Tang er zhu ci). Wang Guowei's Remarks on Song Lyrics (Renjian cihua) found in his lines on withered lotus leaves a sense of fading beauty and lost time.
Life and times
Dates 916 CE–961 CE