Royals › Monarch / Emperor
Zhao Kuo (Emperor Ningzong of Song)
Emperor Ningzong, fourth ruler of the Southern Song and second son of Emperor Guangzong, enthroned in the 1194 abdication; his reign saw the dominance of Han Tuozhou and then Shi Miyuan, the Qingyuan ban on 'false learning', the failed Kaixi northern campaign and the Jiading peace.
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 Song Ningzong · Prince of Jia
- Roles
- Monarch / Emperor
Zhao Kuo, Emperor Ningzong, was the fourth emperor of the Southern Song, second son of Emperor Guangzong and Empress Li. Born in 1168, he was successively Duke of Ying, Prince of Pingyang and Prince of Jia. In 1194, when his father could not conduct the mourning for Emperor Xiaozong, Grand Empress Dowager Wu, Zhao Ruyu and Han Tuozhou arranged Guangzong's abdication and Zhao Kuo took the throne. Han Tuozhou then dominated the court, imposing the Qingyuan ban that drove out Zhao Ruyu and Zhu Xi, and in 1206 launched the Kaixi northern campaign, which failed. Han was killed in 1207, the Jiading peace with the Jin followed in 1208, and Shi Miyuan held power for the rest of the reign. Ningzong died in 1224. His annals are in the Song Shi.
Life and times
Dates 1168 CE–1224 CE (r. 1194–1224)