Zhang Bangchang
Zhang Bangchang, was a puppet ruler of Da Chu and a prime minister of the Song dynasty. He was executed by Emperor Gaozong of Song after he surrendered.
Early life
Before he became a puppet ruler, he was a prime minister serving the Song dynasty.Reign
Formation of Da Chu
The Jin leadership had not expected or desired the fall of the Song dynasty. Their intention was to weaken the Song in order to demand more tribute, and they were unprepared for the magnitude of their victory. The Jurchens were preoccupied with strengthening their rule over the areas once controlled by Liao. Instead of continuing their invasion of the Song, an empire with a military that outnumbered their own, they adopted the strategy of "using Chinese to control the Chinese".Enthronement
The Jin hoped a proxy state would be capable of administering Northern China and collecting the annual indemnity without requiring Jurchen interventions to quell Anti-Jin uprisings. Instead of directly annexing the conquered Song territories, the Jin dynasty formed the buffer state of Chu in 1127. Zhang, a former prime minister of the Song dynasty, was installed as emperor of the new dynasty. He refused to wear the formal clothing of the emperor outside of his encounters with Jin officials. The offer of enthronement was too attractive for Zhang to resist, but he had reservations about his new role. Jiankang, modern Nanjing, became the capital of Chu. The support of Empress Dowager Yuanyou, who was dismissed as empress by her former spouse Emperor Zhezong, was enlisted to bolster the legitimacy of the puppet government.Unfortunately, Da Chu did not deter the resistance in Northern China, but the insurgents were motivated by their anger towards the Jurchens' looting rather than by a sense of loyalty towards the inept Song court. A number of Song commanders, stationed in towns scattered across northern China, retained their allegiance to the Song, and armed volunteers organized militias opposed to the Jurchen military presence. The insurgency hampered the ability of the Jin to exert control over the north.