Emperor Aizong of Jin

Emperor Aizong of Jin 金きむ哀あい宗むね
Emperor of the Jin dynasty
Reign	15 January 1224 – 9 February 1234
Predecessor	Emperor Xuanzong
Successor	Emperor Mo
Born	25 September 1198
Died	9 February 1234(1234-02-09) (aged 35) Caizhou (in present-day Runan County, Henan, China)
Spouse	Empress Tushan
Names Sinicized name: Wanyan Shouli (完かん顏がお守もり禮れい), later Wanyan Shouxu (完かん顏がお守もり緒いとぐち) Jurchen name: Ningjiasu (寧やすし甲かぶと速そく) Era dates Zhengda (正大せいだい): 1224–1232 Kaixing (開ひらき興きょう): 1232 Tianxing (天てん興きょう): 1232–1234 Posthumous name Emperor Zhuang (莊そう皇帝こうてい) Emperor Min (閔皇帝こうてい) Temple name Aizong (哀あい宗むね) (official) Zhuangzong (莊そう宗むね) (private) Minzong (閔宗) (private) Yizong (義宗よしむね) (private)
House	Wanyan
Dynasty	Jin
Father	Emperor Xuanzong
Mother	Empress Minghui

Emperor Aizong of Jin
Chinese	金きむ哀あい宗むね
Literal meaning	"Mournful Ancestor of the Jin"
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Jīn Āizōng
Ningjiasu
Traditional Chinese	寧やすし甲かぶと速そく
Simplified Chinese	宁甲速そく
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Níngjiǎsù
Wanyan Shouxu
Traditional Chinese	完かん顏がお守もり緒いとぐち
Simplified Chinese	完かん颜守绪
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Wányán Shǒuxù
Wanyan Shouli
Traditional Chinese	完かん顏がお守もり禮れい
Simplified Chinese	完かん颜守礼れい
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Wányán Shóulǐ

Emperor Aizong of Jin (25 September 1198 – 9 February 1234), personal name Ningjiasu, sinicized names Wanyan Shouxu and Wanyan Shouli, was the ninth emperor of the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty of China. He was considered an able emperor who made several reforms beneficial to the Jin dynasty, such as the removal of corrupt officials and the introduction of more lenient tax laws. He also ended the wars against the Southern Song dynasty, and canceled the Treaty of Shaoxing, free of obligation, instead focusing the Jin dynasty's military resources on resisting the Mongol invasion. Despite his efforts, the Jin dynasty, already weakened by the flawed policies of his predecessors, eventually fell to the Mongol Empire. He escaped to Caizhou when the Mongols besieged Bianjing, the Jin capital (coincidentally, the former Song capital), in 1232. When Caizhou also came under Mongol attack in 1234, he passed the throne to his army marshal Wanyan Chenglin and then committed suicide.

Early life

Ningjiasu was the third son of Emperor Xuanzong. His mother was Emperor Xuanzong's concubine, Lady Wang (王おう氏し), who was posthumously honored as "Empress Minghui" (明惠あきえ皇后こうごう). After Emperor Xuanzong ascended the throne, he gave the title "Prince of Sui" (遂とげ王おう) to Ningjiasu. Emperor Xuanzong's eldest son and heir apparent, Wanyan Shouzhong (完かん顏がお守もり忠ちゅう), as well as Wanyan Shouzhong's son, both died prematurely, so in 1216 Emperor Xuanzong declared Ningjiasu, his next oldest surviving son, as his heir apparent. Ningjiasu chose for himself the sinicized name "Shouxu" (守まもり緒いとぐち).

When Emperor Xuanzong died in January 1224, Wanyan Shouxu inherited the throne and became historically known as Emperor Aizong.

Reign

In 1224, he instated his consort Lady Tushan (徒と單たん氏し) as his empress consort. During his reign, Emperor Aizong tried to revive the Jin dynasty, which was on the verge of collapse due to his predecessors' policies. He ended the wars against the Southern Song dynasty, canceled the Treaty of Shaoxing, free of obligation, reconciled with the Jin dynasty's former ally Western Xia, instituted internal reforms in his administration, eliminated corrupt and incompetent officials, and promoted military generals who resisted the Mongol invasion and recovered lost territories from the Mongols. However, the Mongol Empire had become a formidable power by then, and in 1227, it completely conquered Western Xia and concentrated its attacks on the Jin dynasty.

In 1232, the Mongols inflicted a crushing defeat on Jin forces at the Battle of Sanfengshan (三峯山みつむねやま之これ戰せん) and destroyed the bulk of the Jin armed forces. They pressed on and besieged the Jin capital, Bianjing (汴京; present-day Kaifeng, Henan Province). The defending Jin forces put up fierce resistance. At the same time, a plague hit Bianjing; around every 50 days, over 900,000 dead bodies had to be transported out of the city, excluding the dead bodies of those who were too poor to be given a proper burial.

Towards the end of 1232, Emperor Aizong fled Bianjing with an escort paid generously by the empress dowager. He crossed the Yellow River, and sought shelter in Guide (歸かえり德とく; present-day Shangqiu, Henan Province), before settling down in Caizhou (蔡州; present-day Runan County, Henan Province). The Han Chinese general Shi Tianze led troops to pursue Emperor Aizong as he retreated, and destroyed an 80,000-strong Jin army led by Wanyan Chengyi (完かん顏がお承うけたまわ裔) at Pucheng (蒲がま城じょう). In the eighth month of 1233, the Mongols asked their ally, the Southern Song dynasty, to attack the Jin dynasty at Tangzhou (唐とう州しゅう; present-day Tanghe County, Henan Province). Emperor Aizong sought to make peace with the Southern Song dynasty, so he sent an emissary to warn them that if the Mongols conquered the Jin dynasty, they would attack Southern Song next. The Southern Song dynasty ignored the warning.

On 9 February 1234, the allied forces of the Mongols and Southern Song dynasty besieged Caizhou and conquered the city.

Death

Emperor Aizong sensed that his doom was near but did not want to be remembered by history as the last emperor of the Jin dynasty, so he announced his decision to abdicate and pass his throne to Wanyan Chenglin (Wanyan Chengyi's brother). Wanyan Chenglin refused to accept, but the emperor insisted and said, "I am fat and unable to ride on horseback into battle. If the city falls, it will be difficult for me to escape on horseback. You, on the other hand, are physically fit and strong. Moreover, you are a talented military leader. If you manage to escape, you can ensure that the dynasty lives on, and make a comeback in the future. This is my wish." Wanyan Chenglin reluctantly accepted. Aizong later committed suicide by hanging himself. When Wanyan Chenglin received news of Emperor Aizong's death, he gathered his followers and held a ceremony to mourn the emperor and posthumously honor him with the temple name "Aizong". By the time the ceremony ended, Caizhou had been overrun by Mongol forces. Wanyan Chenglin was killed in action. His death marked the end of the Jin dynasty.

Remains

Emperor Aizong's remains were divided between the Mongol general Taghachar and the Song general Meng Gong (孟はじめ珙). Taghachar obtained Emperor Aizong's hands while the rest of the emperor's remains were taken back to Lin'an (臨安; present-day Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province), the capital of the Southern Song dynasty, and offered as a sacrifice in the Song emperors' ancestral temple. Hong Zikui (洪ひろし咨夔) opposed his remains being sacrificed and instead proposed having Emperor Aizong's remains buried in a prison vault. The Song imperial court eventually heeded Hong Zikui's suggestion and buried Emperor Aizong.

Rashid-al-Din Hamadani's Jami' al-tawarikh provided a different account of the fate of Emperor Aizong's remains: It stated that the emperor's body was cremated by his personal bodyguards and the ashes were dumped into the river.

References

General references

• Toqto'a (c. 1345). "Volumes 17–18: Biography of Emperor Aizong". History of Jin. China.