Jingkang incident
The Jingkang Incident, also known as the Humiliation of Jingkang and the Disorders of the Jingkang Period, was an episode of invasions and atrocities that took place in 1127 during the Jin–Song wars when the troops of the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty besieged and sacked Bianjing, the capital of the Han-led Northern Song dynasty. The Jin forces captured the Song ruler, Emperor Qinzong, along with his father, the retired Emperor Huizong, assorted members of the imperial family from Emperor Taizong's bloodline, and numerous officials of the imperial court. The ordinary civilians of Bianjing living in the non-imperial quarters were generally left alone after being forced to pay enormous ransoms.
This event marked the collapse of the Northern Song dynasty that originally controlled most of China proper. Some members of the Song imperial family, most notably Zhao Gou, managed to escape to southern China, where they reestablished the Song dynasty in the new capital, Lin'an. This event also greatly contributed to the return of the descendants of Emperor Taizu to the line of succession, as most of Emperor Taizong's descendants were abducted and Emperor Gaozong failed to produce an heir. This event is known as the "Jingkang Incident" because it took place during the Jingkang era of Emperor Qinzong's reign.
Background
In 1120, under the Alliance Conducted at Sea, the Jin and Song dynasties agreed to form a military alliance against the Liao dynasty and, if victorious, divide up the Liao territories. Jin would get a large portion of the northern land and Song would get a smaller portion in the southern region known as the Sixteen Prefectures.Led by Tong Guan, the Song army marched to the Song-Liao border and was stopped by the defensive forest that Song had maintained since the reign of Emperor Taizu. In order to pass through, Tong Guan ordered the soldiers to clear the forest and continued the expedition into Liao.
The Jin army sacked the Liao capital of Shangjing and ended the Liao dynasty. The Song army in the south, however, could not even penetrate Liao's defensive positions and the army was defeated by the remaining Liao troops afterwards. This exposed the limitations of the Song army as well as the corruption and inefficiency in the Song imperial court. In the end, Jin took control of all former Liao territories.
After the Liao dynasty's fall, Song wanted the Sixteen Prefectures as promised. Jin sold the land at a price of 300,000 bolts of silk and 200,000 ounces of silver. This price was considered to be extremely generous because it was the tribute that Song had been paying to Liao annually since the Chanyuan Treaty of 1005.
Prelude to the war
According to the Twenty-Four Histories, in 1123, three years after the fall of Liao, a Jin general named Zhang Jue defected to Song. He was governor of the Jin-controlled Pingzhou Prefecture, which was within the Great Wall, but not counted among the Sixteen Prefectures. Nonetheless, the Song imperial court initially welcomed the defection and awarded Zhang Jue a title and land. Jin, on the other hand, sent a small army aiming to overturn the defection but was defeated by Zhang Jue's troops.In 1123 or 1124, Jin sent diplomats for Zhang Jue and sacked three Song cities. Panicking, Song general Wang Anzhong killed someone who looked similar to Zhang Jue and sent the head to Jin, who realized it was a ruse and attacked Song again. Zhang Jue was eventually executed in the winter of the same year. This came too late: in the fall of 1125, Emperor Taizong of Jin issued an order to launch a full-scale attack on Song territories.
First Siege of Bianjing
The Jin armies invaded Song territory from the west and from the north. When the Jin troops reached the former Song-Liao border, since the original defensive forest was cleared during 1122 expedition, the Jin troops marched through a defenseless border without impediment. The Jin northern army advanced quickly, sacking Qinhuangdao in October 1125, followed Baoding, Dingzhou, Zhengding and Xingtai in January 1126. This army, commanded by Wanyan Zongwang, did not meet much resistance as most of the Song generals surrendered themselves and their cities as soon as the Jin army arrived. On the other hand, the Jin western army, commanded by Wanyan Zonghan, was held up near the cities of Datong and Taiyuan from the very beginning and did not make much progress for the rest of the war. In February 1126, the Jin northern army crossed the Yellow River and began the siege of Bianjing, the Song capital. Before the invaders surrounded the city, Emperor Huizong had abdicated in favor of his eldest son, Emperor Qinzong, and fled to the countryside with his entourage. The Jin northern army faced difficult siege fighting that was not well-suited for cavalry. At the same time, the Jin western army was still held up in the Datong area and could not come to the aid of the northern army. In an effort to end the battle sooner, Emperor Qinzong sent his ninth brother, Zhao Gou, to the enemy camp for peace talks. The Jin emperor, Emperor Taizong, ordered Zhao Gou taken hostage until the Song imperial court came up with a ransom. Eventually, the Song imperial court came forth with the ransom and the city of Taiyuan was also given to Jin as a gift in good faith. Zhao Gou was released and the Jin northern army started to withdraw.Second Siege of Bianjing
Everything went back to normal as soon as the Jin forces retreated. Lavish parties continued to be held daily at the imperial palace. Emperor Huizong returned to Bianjing from the countryside. Song generals suggested that large numbers of troops ought to be garrisoned along the border of the Yellow River. Emperor Qinzong rejected the proposal by citing that the Jin forces might never come back. Many experienced generals who defended the city in the first siege of Bianjing were removed from the capital and posted elsewhere in the country. Many army divisions were decommissioned or sent back to their prefectures of origin.Three months after the first siege of the city, the Jin imperial court sent two envoys to Song. The two envoys were nobles from the former Liao dynasty. Emperor Qinzong misjudged the situation and believed that they could be turned against the Jin ruler. Emperor Qinzong sent a coded letter which was sealed in candle wax, inviting them to join Song to form an anti–Jin alliance. The two handed the letter to Emperor Taizong right away. Furious, Emperor Taizong ordered an even bigger army to attack Song. This second campaign would eventually topple the Northern Song dynasty.
Since most of the Jin troops had just returned from their first expedition and had not even demobilized, the army was quickly ready for battle. Following precedents set in the previous campaign, the Jin army divided into two groups, Wanyan Zongwang's northern army and Wanyan Zonghan's western army, even daring to take the same routes again.
In September 1126, the two Jin armies set foot on Song territory. Unlike the previous battle, however, the western army was able to sack Datong within only one month. Cities like Luoyang and Zhengzhou surrendered themselves, clearing the way to Bianjing. The northern army, having sacked Baoding, Dingzhou and Zhengding in September, regrouped and crossed the Yellow River in November. It then went on a rampage and sacked Qingfeng, Puyang and other satellite cities around Bianjing in December. By the middle of December, the two forces met at Bianjing and the capital was finally besieged.
Unlike the first siege, Bianjing's defenses in the second siege had some fatal flaws:
- Due to the lack of experienced generals and personnel, the whole defense process was unorganized;
- The Jin army was much bigger than the last time. Emperor Taizong sent a 150,000 strong force, having learnt from the first siege, when the western army was held up at Datong and could not advance on Bianjing. This time, however, Datong was sacked within a month, and the full strength of the western army was under the city walls;
- Although Emperor Qinzong called for help and many responded, the rapid deployment of Jin troops made it impossible to aid the city. Song troops from all over the country, including Zhao Gou's troops, came to Bianjing but were not able to enter the city;
- Emperor Qinzong's trust in an official who claimed he could summon "divine soldiers" from Heaven to the battleground was misplaced, causing much wasted time and loss of human lives.
In exchange for the Jin soldiers sparing Bianjing's ordinary civilian population, the people gave them wine, meat, silk, gold and silver. Song officials also turned over wine, weapons, horses, gold and silver after Jin demanded them, as well as Buddhist and Daoist books, printing blocks, silk bolts, silk thread, pharmacy pills, parasols, ox carts, old bronze vessels, diagrams, maps, headgear worn by imperial consorts, musical instruments, bells, lanterns, Buddhist monks, teachers, physicians, storytellers, painters, clerks, jade carvers, wine makers, gardeners, masons, weapons makers, astronomers and musicians.
Abduction
On 20 March 1127, Jin troops summoned the two captured emperors to their camps. Awaiting them was a directive from Emperor Taizong that they were to be stripped of their ceremonial trappings and demoted to commoners, and the Jin troops would compound the imperial palace.According to The Accounts of Jingkang, the Jin troops looted the imperial library and the decorations in the palace. They abducted all the female servants and imperial musicians. The imperial family was also abducted and their residences were looted. To avoid captivity and slavery under Jin, many palace women committed suicide; others were killed for resisting rape.
Emperor Taizong feared that the remaining Song troops would launch a counter-offensive to reclaim the capital. Therefore, he set up in Bianjing a puppet government named Chu for the lands south of the Yellow River, and ordered all the assets and prisoners to be taken to the Jin capital, Shangjing. Over 14,000 people, including the Song imperial family, marched to the Jin capital. Their entourage — almost all the officials and generals of the Northern Song dynasty — suffered from illness, dehydration and exhaustion, and many never made it. Upon arrival, each person went through a ritual where the person has to be naked and wearing only sheep skins. Contrary to what was previously thought, the ceremony was drawn from ancient Han Chinese customs and put together by Jin experts on the Han civilization, rather than a Jurchen ritual. Empress Zhu committed suicide because she could not bear the humiliation.
Men were sold into slavery in exchange for horses with a ratio of ten men for one horse.
All the female prisoners were ordered, on pain of death, to serve their Jin masters no matter what rank in society they had previously held. Some of them, especially princesses, were turned into palace slaves in a part of the Jin palace called Huanyi Garden, while others were sold into slavery. A Song prince's granddaughter was bought with less than ten ounces of gold. In addition, many of the female prisoners became concubines of Jin princes. For example, Wanyan Zongwang took Zhao Fujin, Emperor Huizong's married daughter, while on their way back to the Jin capital. Later on, Emperor Taizong bestowed more Song noblewomen upon him.
Liao princesses from the Yelü imperial clan and the Xiao clan had also been distributed to Jin princes as concubines after their dynasty's fall. Wanyan Liang alone received at least four women, including Consort Chen, Consort Li, and Consort Rou.
Before the Jurchen Jin overthrew the Khitan Liao, unmarried Jurchen girls were offered to Liao envoys as a custom, with the girls and their families having to host the Liao envoys, which caused resentment among the Jurchens. Song envoys to Jin were usually entertained by singing girls.
In retaliation, Liao female prisoners were given to the Song princes after their original wives were confiscated. One of Emperor Huizong's sons was given a consort from the Liao palace and another son was given a Liao princess. The members of the Song imperial family were even told that they were fortunate because their Liao counterparts had been treated much worse; the children of Emperor Tianzuo of Liao were given as gifts to Jin soldiers, but the Song emperor was allowed to keep his children while in captivity; the Jurchens had not only sacked and destroyed the Liao capital at Shangjing, but also burned the ancestral tombs of the Liao emperors.
Emperor Qinzong would spend the rest of his life in captivity, although his status was eventually raised to nobility and he began to receive a stipend. In 1156, as a humiliation for both men, the former Emperor Qinzong of Song and the former Emperor Tianzuo of Liao were forced by the Jin emperor to play a match of polo against each other. Emperor Qinzong was weak and frail, and so fell off his horse, while Emperor Tianzuo, despite being quite old himself, was more familiar with horse riding and tried to escape on his horse, but was shot and killed by archers.