Who is Zhao Yuanxi? The history encyclopedia editor brings relevant content for everyone. Interested friends, come and take a look.
The Crown Prince is an exclusive title for the successor to the throne in ancient China. The person who can be conferred the title of Crown Prince holds a position second only to the Emperor, truly below one person and above ten thousand people. However, due to the sensitive identity of the crown prince, in some specific historical periods, the emperor often does not confer titles on the crown prince. For example, during the more than a hundred years from the end of the Tang Dynasty to the beginning of the Song Dynasty, there were many emperors, but not a crown prince. It was not until the establishment of the Song Dynasty that the first crown prince since the end of the Tang Dynasty, Zhao Yuanxi, appeared during the reign of the second emperor of the Song Dynasty, Emperor Taizong.
Emperor Taizong of Song had nine sons, with Zhao Yuanxi being the second eldest in the family and having a legitimate eldest son named Zhao Yuanzuo above him. So theoretically, the relationship between the imperial throne and the illegitimate second son Zhao Yuanxi is not significant. However, once attached to the throne, it often becomes particularly complicated.
Zhao Yuanzuo was clever and alert, and in many ways, he was very similar to Emperor Taizong of Song, so he was deeply loved by him. However, Zhao Yuanzuo had one thing completely different from Emperor Taizong of Song, which was that he was honest and straightforward, with clear love and hate, while his father was a master of conspiracy and power. Of course, this difference between father and son does not affect his status in the mind of Emperor Taizong of Song. But this upright personality ultimately led to Zhao Yuanzuo’s tragic fate.
The throne of Emperor Taizong of Song was inherited from his brother Zhao Kuangyin, and the process was full of suspense. In order to have a valid reason, Emperor Taizong of Song once proposed the concept of the “Golden Chamber Alliance” at the beginning of his succession, which means that the throne of the Lao Zhao family is not passed on to their son, but to their brothers. After their brothers have been together for a hundred years, it is then passed on to Zhao Kuangyin’s son, and this cycle repeats itself. Therefore, according to the agreement of the “Golden Chamber Alliance”, the first heir of Emperor Taizong of Song was not his son Zhao Yuanzuo, but his fourth brother Zhao Tingmei. In fact, Emperor Taizong of Song had no intention of passing the throne to his younger brother.
In the seventh year of Taiping Xingguo (982 AD), King Zhao Tingmei of Wei was involved in an inexplicable conspiracy to usurp the throne. At that time, both civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty avoided Zhao Tingmei, and only Zhao Yuanzuo stepped forward to intercede for his fourth uncle. However, this matter was actually planned by Emperor Taizong of Song, so there was no room for compromise. Zhao Tingmei was ordered to be sent to Xijing (now Luoyang) as a stay at home. Not long after, Emperor Taizong of Song stripped Zhao Tingmei of all his official positions and ordered him and his family to relocate to Fangzhou, citing Zhao Tingmei’s lack of repentance. In 984, Zhao Tingmei died of grief and anger in Fangzhou at the age of 38.
After learning of Zhao Tingmei’s death, Zhao Yuanzuo suddenly changed his temperament and would often use a knife to attack people. Everyone knew that Zhao Yuanzuo had gone crazy! In theory, if someone in the family becomes crazy, it is not good news for any family member. However, this matter was a great blessing for Zhao Yuanxi. Originally, Zhao Yuanzuo was recognized as the heir to the throne, but now that he has gone insane, the throne cannot be passed on to a madman. As the second child in the family, he naturally has to shoulder this “heavy burden”.
As expected, after Zhao Yuanzuo went insane, Zhao Yuanxi’s status skyrocketed. Emperor Taizong of Song quickly placed all his expectations for Zhao Yuanzuo onto Zhao Yuanxi. In the third year of Yongxi (986 AD), Zhao Yuanxi was appointed as the magistrate and attendant of Kaifeng, promoted to the title of Prince Xu, and appointed as the magistrate of the Central Secretariat. The most eye-catching title in this long list is the seemingly least important position of Kaifeng Yin, because from the Five Dynasties to the Northern Song Dynasty, Kaifeng Yin was a standard position before the emperor ascended the throne, which was also a strong signal of Emperor Taizong’s appointment as the successor.
However, surprisingly, on the day of Ji Hai in November of the third year of Chunhua (992 AD), Zhao Yuanxi suddenly died without warning at the age of only 27. Back then, Zhao Yuanzuo’s madness dealt a huge blow to Emperor Taizong of Song, and now the passing of Zhao Yuanxi has left him heartbroken. According to historical records, Emperor Taizong of Song wept and cried throughout the night, causing Da Dan to be unable to sleep. In order to express his longing for his son, Emperor Taizong of Song broke with tradition and posthumously honored Zhao Yuanxi as Crown Prince, with the posthumous title of Gongxiao. Zhao Yuanxi thus became the first crown prince in the history of the Song Dynasty.
However, this matter is not over yet. Due to the mysterious cause of Zhao Yuanxi’s death, Emperor Taizong of Song ordered his trusted eunuch Wang Jien to investigate the matter. The investigation results will be released soon, but the content is unknown. But after learning the result, Emperor Taizong of Song suddenly turned from sadness to anger. He ordered the hanging of Zhao Yuanxi’s favored concubine Zhang and the destruction of Zhang’s parents’ graves. All of Zhao Yuanxi’s close aides have been suspended and dismissed from their positions. The ceremony of posthumously conferring the title of Crown Prince to Zhao Yuanxi has also been indefinitely suspended, and only a first-class braised book has been buried. So the question is, did all this tremendous change go wrong?
According to official historical records of the Song Dynasty, the reason was that Zhao Yuanxi’s beloved concubine, Zhang Shi, was tyrannical and unrestrained, beating and even killing slaves and servants. Moreover, the tombs of Zhang’s parents violated the rules and regulations. However, for a royal relative, these are not big matters. Does Emperor Taizong of Song really get angry about them? Moreover, even if Zhang is guilty, punishing him would be the end of the matter. Why should all of Zhao Yuanxi’s close aides be suspended and dismissed from their positions? Why stop the coronation ceremony of Zhao Yuanxi posthumously honoring the Crown Prince? Therefore, the above reasons obviously do not make sense.
Although there is no more convincing material in the historical records of the Song Dynasty, we have reason to believe that Zhao Yuanxi was likely involved in a conspiracy to usurp the throne. Only for this reason did Emperor Taizong of Song suddenly turn his sorrow towards his beloved son into anger. Although Zhao Yuanxi was already recognized as the heir at that time, the throne did not count until he had obtained it. He may have wanted to learn from his father and create a timeless mystery similar to the sound of candles and axes, and then officially ascend to the throne as the heir. However, an unexpected death turned Zhao Yuanxi’s dream into a bubble. At the same time, it also made Emperor Taizong of Song, who had been involved in conspiracies all his life, feel the desolation of the sunset.
