Emperor Huizong of Song

Emperor Huizong of Song 宋徽宗
Palace portrait of Emperor Huizong, on a hanging scroll, kept in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, Taiwan
Emperor of the Song dynasty
Reign	23 February 1100 – 18 January 1126
Coronation	23 February 1100
Predecessor	Emperor Zhezong
Successor	Emperor Qinzong
Born	Zhao Ji (趙佶) 7 June 1082 Bianliang, Song dynasty (present-day Kaifeng, Henan, China)
Died	4 June 1135(1135-06-04) (aged 52) Wuguocheng, Jin dynasty (present-day Yilan County, Heilongjiang, China)
Burial	1142 Yongyou Mausoleum (永祐陵, in present-day Shaoxing, Zhejiang)
Consorts	Empress Xiangong ​ (died 1108)​ Empress Xiansu ​ (died 1131)​ Empress Mingda ​ (died 1113)​ Empress Mingjie ​ (died 1121)​ Empress Xianren ​ (before 1135)​
Issue	See § Family
Era dates Jianzhongjingguo (建中靖國; 1101) Chongning (崇寧; 1102–1106) Daguan (大觀; 1107–1110) Zhenghe (政和; 1111 – October 1118) Chonghe (重和; November 1118 – February 1119) Xuanhe (宣和; February 1119 – 1125) Regnal name Emperor Jiaozhu Daojun (教主道君皇帝) Posthumous name Emperor Tishen Hedao Junlie Xungong Shengwen Rende Xianci Xianxiao (體神合道駿烈遜功聖文仁德憲慈顯孝皇帝) (conferred in 1143) Temple name Huizong (徽宗)
House	Zhao
Dynasty	Song (Northern Song)
Father	Emperor Shenzong
Mother	Empress Qinci
Signature

Emperor Huizong of Song (7 June 1082 – 4 June 1135), personal name Zhao Ji, was the eighth emperor of the Song dynasty of China and the penultimate emperor of the Northern Song dynasty. He was also a very well-known painter, poet and calligrapher. Born as the 11th son of Emperor Shenzong, he ascended the throne in 1100 upon the death of his elder brother and predecessor, Emperor Zhezong, because Emperor Zhezong's only son died prematurely. He lived in luxury, sophistication and art in the first half of his life. In 1126, when the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty invaded the Song dynasty during the Jin–Song Wars, Emperor Huizong abdicated and passed on his throne to his eldest son, Zhao Huan while Huizong assumed the honorary title of Taishang Huang (or "Retired Emperor"). The following year, the Song capital, Bianjing, was conquered by Jin forces in an event historically known as the Jingkang Incident. Emperor Huizong and Emperor Qinzong and the rest of their family were taken captive by the Jurchens and brought back to the Jin capital, Huining Prefecture in 1128. The Emperor Taizong of Jin, gave the former Emperor Huizong a title, Duke Hunde (literally "Besotted Duke"), to humiliate him. After Zhao Gou, the only surviving son of Huizong to avoid capture by the Jin, declared himself as the dynasty's tenth emperor as Emperor Gaozong, the Jurchens used Huizong, Qinzong, and other imperial family members to put pressure on Gaozong and his court to surrender. Emperor Huizong died in Wuguocheng after spending about nine years in captivity. He, along with his successors, were blamed for the Song dynasty's decline.

Despite his incompetence in administration, Emperor Huizong was known for his promotion of Taoism and talents in poetry, painting, calligraphy and music. He sponsored numerous artists at his imperial court, and the catalogue of his collection listed over 6,000 known paintings.^[1]