Emperor Huizong / Patricia Buckley Ebrey.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ebrey, Patricia Buckley, 1947-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Song Huizong, Emperor of China, 1082-1135.

Song Huizong.

China--History--Song dynasty, 960-1279.

China.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (696 p.)

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Massachusetts : Harvard University Press, [2014]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

China was the most advanced country in the world when Huizong ascended the throne in 1100 CE. Artistically gifted, he guided the Song Dynasty toward cultural greatness but is known to posterity as a political failure who lost the throne to Jurchen invaders and died their prisoner. In this comprehensive biography, Patricia Ebrey corrects the prevailing view of Huizong as decadent and negligent, recasting him as a ruler ambitious in pursuing glory for his flourishing realm. After a rocky start trying to overcome political animosities at court, Huizong turned his attention to the good he could do. He greatly expanded the court's charitable ventures, founding schools, hospitals, orphanages, and paupers' cemeteries. Surrounding himself with poets, painters, and musicians, he built palaces, temples, and gardens of unsurpassed splendor. Often overlooked, however, is the importance of Daoism in Huizong's life. He treated spiritual masters with great deference, wrote scriptural commentaries, and urged his subjects to adopt his beliefs and practices. This devotion to the Daoist vision of sacred kingship eventually alienated the Confucian mainstream and compromised Huizong's ability to govern. Ebrey's lively biography adds new dimensions of understanding to a passionate, paradoxical ruler who, many centuries later, inspires both admiration and disapproval.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

Tables, Maps, and Illustrations

Preface

Note on Ages, Dates, and Other Conventions

Chronology

Cast of Characters

Genealogy of the Song Emperors and Empresses

I Learning to Rule, 1082-1108

1 Growing Up in the Palace, 1082-1099

2 Taking the Throne, 1100

3 Trying for Balance, 1101-1102

4 Choosing the Reformers, 1102-1108

II Striving for Magnificence, 1102-1112

5 Placing Faith in Daoism, 1100-1110

6 Embracing and Revitalizing Tradition

7 Welcoming Masters and Experts

8 Crafting an Image as an Artist

III Anticipating Great Things, 1107-1120

9 Pursuing the Monumental

10 Finding Plea sure in Court and Palace Life

11 Working with Councilors

12 Accepting Divine Revelations, 1110-1119

13 Allying with Jin

IV Confronting Failure, 1121-1135

14 Adjusting to Military Setbacks, 1121-1125

15 Abdicating the Throne, 1125-1126

16 Losing Everything, 1126-1127

17 Enduring Captivity, 1127-1135

Afterword

Appendix A: Reasons for Rejecting Some Common Stories about Huizong and His Court

Appendix B: Huizong's Consorts and Their Children

Timeline

Notes

References

Chinese Character Glossary

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780674727687

0674727681

9780674726420

0674726421

OCLC:

874160920