Author: CHUNG Yoon Ngan
Date: 03-12-04 09:40
The end of the Song Dynasty
[Please refer to the map of Guangdong province
http://chungyn.webhop.net/hk.jpg]
In February 1276AD, without any resistance the Mongolian Army entered the city of Linan (臨安 present day Hangzhou 杭州 city), the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty (南宋 1127AD to 1279AD). All the officials, including the Prime Minister Chen Yi Zhong (陳宜中), had fled the capital. The innocent 7 years old Emperor Gong Di Zhao Xian (恭皇帝趙顯) and Empress Xie Shi (謝氏太后) remained in the palace. What could they do when they saw the Mongolian Army? They had no choice but to surrender. Emperor Gong Zhao Xian was escorted to Da Du (大都 present day of Beijing 北京) where he was given a title Ying Gong (瀛公 or the Duke of the Ocean). When Zhao Xian grew up he became a monk.
Empress Xie Shi was very ill when the Mongolian Army arrived. Due to her illness she was allowed to remain in the palace. However, several months later when she had recovered from her illness, she was sent to Da Du where she lived until she died of old age. She wrote a famous poem called Zui Ge (醉歌 or the Song of Drunkard [will post to the Forum later])
Zhao Shi (趙是), the 9 years old elder brother of Emperor Gong Zhao Xian, fled with his mother, Empress Yang Shi (楊氏太后) to Fuzhou (福州 present day Fuzhou city in Fujian province 福建省). On the first day of the fifth Month in 1276AD, Prime Minister Chen Yi Zhong, General Zhang Shi Jie (張世杰), Minister Lu Xiu Fu (陸秀夫) and the Song supporters installed Zhao Shi as Emperor Jing Yan (景炎皇帝). The fledgling Song Court appealed to all its supporters to continue to resist the Mongolian invaders. However, the Mongolian Army were after them relentlessly. They fled south to Quanzhou (泉州 present day Jinjiang 晉江 in Fujian province), then to Chaozhou (潮州 present day Chaoan 潮安 in Guangdong province 廣東省), then to Xiushan (present day Humen town 虎門鎮 of Dongguan county 東莞縣 in Guangdong province). Finally they arrived at Jingao (井澳 present day island of Hengqinshan 橫琴山 about 100 kilometers south of present day city of Zhongshan 中山市). During the fleeing by boats Emperor Jing Yan accidentally fell into the sea. The Emperor was so frightened that he felt ill. They fled further to Diaozhou (碉州 present day Wuchuan suburb 吳川 in the city of Guangzhou 廣州) where Emperor Jing Yan died, aged 9.
The remnants of Song Dynasty, about 200,000 of them, installed Zhao Bing (趙昺), the 8 years old younger brother of Emperor Jing Yan as the new Emperor. They settled at Yashan (崖山 not far from Macau), a desolate beach about 40 kilometers south of present day Xinhui county (新會縣), facing South China Sea. They set up their Court on the boats because they had no land of their own. Every day Empress Yang Shi carried the baby Emperor to attend Court business
A year later in 1279AD, the Mongolian Army finally caught up with the Song Court.
In front of them lay the deep waters of the South China Sea and behind them stood the Mongols. Quite literally, the Song Court was between the devil and the deep blue sea.
Lu Xiu-Fu (陸秀夫), the Minister, carried the young Emperor Zhao Bing on his back and said,
“我們君臣﹐不應受到外國人的侮辱”
"We, the Emperor and the Minister, would not be humiliated by foreigners".
With this statement and the young Emperor still on his back, Lu Xiu-Fu walked
right into the sea. Both of them were drowned.
Empress Yang Shi jumped into the sea and was drowned too. General Zhang Shi Jie took a boat and tried to get to the present day Guangzhou. Half way his boat capsized and he was drowned. That was the end of the Song Dynasty that had existed for 320 years.
CHUNG Yoon-Ngan (鄭永元)
All rights reserved 12032004
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CHUNG Yoon
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