Many members of the Song imperial family abducted. Devastating destruction to government and civilians. Unknown | Result Jin victory | |
 | ||
First siege 200,000Second siege 70,000 First siege 100,000Second siege 150,000 Period September 1125 – March 1127 Similar Jin–Song Wars, Jingnan Campaign, Battle of Yamen, Tumu Crisis, An Lushan Rebellion | ||
The Jingkang Incident (靖康事变; 靖康事變; Jìngkāng shì biàn), also known as the Humiliation of Jingkang (靖康之耻; 靖康之恥; Jìngkāng zhī chǐ) and the Disorders of the Jingkang Period (靖康之乱; 靖康之亂; Jìngkāng zhī luàn) took place in 1127 during the Jin–Song Wars when the forces of the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty besieged and sacked Bianjing (present-day Kaifeng), the capital of the Han Chinese-led Song dynasty. The Jin forces captured the Song ruler, Emperor Qinzong, along with his father, Emperor Huizong, and many members of the imperial family and officials of the Song imperial court.
Contents
- Background
- Prelude to the war
- First Siege of Bianjing
- Second Siege of Bianjing
- Abduction
- Aftermath and appraisal
- In popular culture
- References
This event marked the end of the era known as the Northern Song dynasty, when the Song dynasty controlled most of China. Some members of the Song imperial family, most notably Zhao Gou (later Emperor Gaozong), managed to escape to southern China, where they reestablished the Song dynasty (as the Southern Song dynasty) in the new capital, Lin'an (present-day Hangzhou).
This event was referred to as the "Jingkang Incident" because it took place during the Jingkang era of the reign of Emperor Qinzong; "Jingkang" was the era name 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. The Jin would get a large portion of the northern land and the Song would get a smaller portion in the southern region called the Sixteen Prefectures.
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 the Liao's defensive positions and the army was defeated by the remaining Liao troops afterwards. This exposed the limitation of the Song army as well as the corruption and bureaucracy in the Song imperial court. In the end, the Jin took control of all former Liao territories.
After the fall of the Liao dynasty, the Song dynasty wanted the Sixteen Prefectures as promised. The Jin dynasty 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 the Song was previously paying to the 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 Zhang Jue (張覺) defected to the Song dynasty. Since he was governor of the Jin-controlled Pingzhou Prefecture, an area just north of the Sixteen Prefectures on the other side of the Great Wall, Pingzhou Prefecture was also merged into Song territory. The Song imperial court initially welcomed the defection and awarded Zhang Jue an honorific title and land. The Jin dynasty, on the other hand, sent a small army aimed to overturn the defection but was defeated by Zhang Jue's troops.
Soon after that, the Song imperial court realised that Zhang Jue's defection would only result in hostility from the north. Zhang Jue was executed in the winter of 1123. This came too late: in the fall of 1125, Emperor Taizong of the Jin dynasty 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. The Jin northern army took swift action, sacked Qinhuangdao in October 1125, sacked Baoding, Dingzhou, Zhengding and Xingtai in January 1126. This army, commanded by Wolibu (Wanyan Zongwang), did not meet much resistance as most of the Song generals surrendered themselves and the cities as soon as the Jin army arrived. On the other hand, the Jin western army, commanded by Nianhan (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 (present-day Kaifeng), the Song capital. Before the invaders surrounded the city, Emperor Huizong had abdicated in favour 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 designed for cavalry as the Song soldiers put up a fight in the face of invaders. At the same time, the Jin western army was still held up in the Datong area and could not come to aid 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 to take Zhao Gou as 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. Soon, 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 groups 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 ambassadors to Song. The two ambassadors were nobles from the former Liao dynasty. Emperor Qinzong misjudged the situation and believed that they could be used to turn against the Jin ruler, Emperor Taizong. 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 just returned from their first expedition and had not even unpacked, the army was quickly mobilised. Following precedents set in the previous campaign, the Jin army divided into two groups, Wolibu's northern army and Nianhan's western army, even daring to take the same routes again.
In September 1126, the two Jin army groups set foot in 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 regrouped at Bianjing and the capital was finally besieged.
Unlike the first siege, Bianjing's defences in the second siege had some fatal flaws:
- Due to the lack of experienced generals and personnel, the whole defence process was unorganised with no prioritisation.
- 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 in 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 rapidity of 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 get into the city.
- Emperor Qinzong's trust in a minister who claimed he could summon "divine soldiers" from Heaven to the battleground was misplaced, causing much wasted time and human lives.
On 9 January 1127, Bianjing fell to Jin forces. Emperor Qinzong and his father, Emperor Huizong, were captured by the Jin army. The Northern Song dynasty came to an end.
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 demoted to commoners, stripped of their ceremonial trappings and Jin troops would compound the imperial palace. This was just the beginning of weeks of looting, rape, arson and execution of prisoners of war and civilians.
According to The Accounts of Jingkang, Jin troops looted the entire imperial library and the decorations in the palace. Jin troops also abducted all the female servants and imperial musicians. The imperial family was abducted and their residences were looted. All the female prisoners were ordered, on pain of death, to serve the Jin aristocrats no matter what rank in society they had previously held. A Jin prince wanted to marry Emperor Huizong's daughter, Zhao Fujin, who had been another man's wife. Later on, the emperor's concubines were also given to the prince by Emperor Taizong. To avoid captivity and slavery under the Jurchens, many palace women committed suicide.
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 for the lands south of the Yellow River, called Chu (楚), and ordered all the assets and prisoners to be taken back to the Jin capital – Shangjing (in present-day Harbin). The captives marched to the Jin capital along with the assets. Over 14,000 people, including the Song imperial family, went on this journey. Their entourage — almost all the ministers and generals of the Northern Song dynasty — suffered from illness, dehydration and exhaustion, and many never made it. Upon arrival, each person had to go through a Jurchen ritual where the person has to be naked and wearing only sheep skins. 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. Women were kept in a part of the Jin palace called Huanyiyuan (浣衣院) or offered for public bidding. Some Song princesses became Jin princes' concubines. Someone bought an "ex–royal" for less than ten ounces of gold.