Emperor Duanzong

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Zhao Xia
趙昰
Song Duanzong.jpg
Emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty
Reign 14 June 1276 – 8 May 1278
Predecessor Emperor Gong of Song
Successor Emperor Huaizong of Song
Born 1268
Died 1278 (aged 9–10)
Posthumous name
Emperor Yu Wen Zhao Wu Min Xiao 裕文昭武愍孝皇帝
Temple name
Duanzong 端宗
Father Emperor Duzong of Song
Mother Empress Dowager Yang 楊淑妃

Emperor Duānzōng (Chinese: 端宗) (1268 – 8 May 1278) was the eighth and penultimate emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty of China who reigned from 1276 to 1278 and died at the age of ten. He was also known as the "Nation Establishing Duke " (建國公).

Born Zhào Xià (趙昰,"昰" same as "夏", means "大"(great),not "summer"), his father was sixth Southern Song Emperor Duzong. He became Prince Ji (吉王) in 1274 and Prince Yi (益王) in 1276. Enthroned as emperor at Fuzhou on 14 June 1276, his only era took the name of Jǐngyán (景炎 literally: bright flame). Duanzong's temple name means "Final Ancestor".

Duanzong's younger brother Emperor Gong of Song had been captured after the Mongol invasion of Lin'an (present day Hangzhou) in 1276. Duanzong, along with one of his younger brothers Zhào Bǐng (赵昺/趙昺), escaped to Fujian and established the seat of the government in Fuzhou. In 1278, the Mongol forces were about to break through Song's last line of defense, forcing Duanzong to flee.[1] Accompanied by ministers such as Lu Xiufu, Duanzong boarded a ship and fled to the province of Guangdong. Thereafter he stayed temporarily in Hong Kong where the Sung Wong Toi (literally: Terrace of the Sung kings) in Kowloon City commemorates this event.

In March 1278, whilst fleeing from the Mongols, Duanzong fell from a boat and almost drowned. After his rescue, he became ill and died a few months later in Gangzhou (碙州) (modern-day Lantau Island, Hong Kong).[1]

He was succeeded by his younger brother, Emperor Huaizong of Song.

See also

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Wintle, Justin. [2002] (2002). China. ISBN 1-85828-764-2
Emperor Duanzong
Born: 1268 Died: 1278
Regnal titles
Preceded by Emperor of China
1276–1278
Succeeded by
Emperor Huaizong