Emperor Taizong of Song

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Emperor Taizong of Song

Birth and death:	20 November 939–May 8, 997
Family name:	Zhao (趙)
Given name:	Kuangyi (匡義), later Guangyi¹ (光義), then later Jiong² (炅)
Dates of reign:	15 November 976–May 8, 997
Temple name:	Taizong (太宗)
Posthumous name: (short)	Never used short
Posthumous name: (full)	Emperor Zhiren Yingdao Shengong Shengde Wenwu Ruilie Daming Guangxiao³ 至仁應道神功聖德文武睿烈大明廣孝皇帝
General note: Dates given here are in the Julian calendar. They are not in the proleptic Gregorian calendar. ——— 1. Had the first character of his given name changed from Kuang into Guang in 960 when his brother became emperor, because Kuang was the generation character shared with his brother, and it was now a taboo character that no one could use since his brother had become an emperor. 2. Changed his given name from Guangyi into Jiong in 977 after he had become emperor, and so Jiong became his taboo name. 3. Final version of the posthumous name given in 1017.

Emperor Taizong (November 20, 939 - May 8, 997), born Zhao Kuangyi, was the second emperor of the Song Dynasty of China from 976 to 997. He was the younger brother of Emperor Taizu (both born of the same mother).

During his reign as emperor, Song Taizong was a hardworking and diligent emperor. The part of his reign that is most worth praising is that he was the one that trully unified China by conquering the powerful Northern Han. He paid much attention to the well being of his people and the Song dynasty became stronger. His only set back was that Taizong failed twice in trying to subdue the Liao people of the north. The first time, he personally led the campaign and had several victories; however, later the Liao armies of Yelu Xuegu, Yelu Xiuke, Yelu Xie, and Xiao Empress turned the tables and completly destroyed the Song Dynasty with Song Taizong barely escaping. It was also during this first campaign that Song Taizong got the arrow injury that will eventually cause his death. After Liao Jingzong died, Liao Shenzong succeeded; however, due to the young age of the Shenzong, Xiao Empress was the one that made the decisions. It's around this time period that Song Taizong would launch his 2nd campaign seeing that the Liao Dynasty having only a child emperor. Still having bad memories of the first campaign, Song Taizong decided to stay at Kaifeng, but still direct the generals in combat (much like what Han Gwuang Wudi of Eastern Han did). He practically had to split the army into 3 roads. Once again suffering another defeat under Yelu Xiuke and Yelu Xie, Song Taizong decided to retreat the army once again in failure. In the process, the famous general Yang Ye (in the Yang Clan story) died in a tragic event. These failures prompted internal rebellions which were quickly suppressed. The Liao dynasty of the north would also come to plague the Song dynasty in the ensuing centuries. Seeing the fact that he can't surpass his brother in the martial area, Song Taizong took a literal and cultural approach to try and build up his evaulation in the future. Song Taizong made many economic reforms and literal reforms that were superior to that of Taizu's. Furthermore, Taizong also built a lot of important buildings and created many important systems that were not included during Taizu's reign.

Song Taizong's accession to the throne have been shrouded in mystery, with claims that he murdered his elder brother, the Emperor Taizu and seized the throne. These allegations have not yet been proven as facts.

Taizong died in 997 after a reign of 21 years and was succeeded by his son. He was 57. His temple name means "Grand Ancestor".