{"id":500,"date":"2016-01-26T16:14:47","date_gmt":"2016-01-26T16:14:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/humanities.lib.rochester.edu\/china\/?page_id=500"},"modified":"2019-03-07T19:23:45","modified_gmt":"2019-03-07T19:23:45","slug":"zhao_jiaming","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/zhang.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/china\/once-upon-a-time\/zhao_jiaming\/","title":{"rendered":"Zhao Jiaming (1229-1279): The Last Defender of the Song Dynasty"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>The Song Dynasty, although an economically prosperous period in China, suffered countless defeats against invaders.\u00a0 The inability for the Song military to defend its northern territories left the court with no other choice than to retreat to the south and secure peace through annual payments.\u00a0 Hopes of recapturing the empire\u2019s lost land became a possibility under General Yue Fei, who made successful incursions into the Jurchen Jin Dynasty.\u00a0 But his demise under the hands of Qin Gui, a government official, removed any chances the Song possessed in re-conquering its former territories: \u201cFighting with the Jin dynasty continued until 1141, when the Song emperor signed a humiliating treaty with his Jin counterpart.\u00a0 Eventually people realized that Hangzhou would have to be more than a temporary capital\u2026\u201d[i]<\/strong><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0 With the loss of the great general, it appeared as if the Song army would never receive another able commander.\u00a0 But in the mist of this military chaos, one man emerged with enough skill, charisma, and bravery to provide the Song Dynasty with a final fighting opportunity.<\/p>\n

In the year 1224, the Song Dynasty received its last great military commander.\u00a0 Zh\u00e0o Ji\u0101m\u00edng, born in Hangzhou, the capital of the Southern Song, belonged to a prestigious military family, renowned for their dedication to the protection of the Chinese state.\u00a0 At the age of five, he began receiving a thorough education, becoming quite knowledgeable on Confucian teachings, poetry, as well as historical texts throughout the years.\u00a0 Showing great academic potential, Ji\u0101m\u00edng soon considered pursuing a life as a government official in order to improve the empire, which delighted his mother, but brought sadness to Ji\u0101m\u00edng\u2019s father, who had hoped his child would bring honor to the family through military victories, as he and his father had done.\u00a0 Although set on taking the civil service examinations, Zh\u00e0o Ji\u0101m\u00edng would soon choose a different path after an event that shook both his life and the Song Empire.<\/p>\n

In 1234, messengers brought news to the family of the successful conquest of the Jin Dynasty by a joint Song-Mongol invasion, as well as the unfortunate death of Zh\u00e0o Ji\u0101m\u00edng\u2019s father during the conflict.\u00a0 After the funeral, Ji\u0101m\u00edng decided to abandon the path of a civil servant for career as a soldier in order to show respect for his father and the family.\u00a0 Growing up, Zh\u00e0o Ji\u0101m\u00edng constantly heard stories of his father\u2019s accomplishments during the wars against the Jurchens as well as his grandfather\u2019s service under the famous General Yue Fei.\u00a0 Remembering his family\u2019s history helped to ensure his decision in joining the military.\u00a0 Fearing for the death of her son, Ji\u0101m\u00edng\u2019s mother originally voiced opposition, pleading with him to reconsider.\u00a0 Eventually, after realizing that she could not change his mind, reluctantly agreed to his resolve.\u00a0 At the age of ten, he began training in martial arts and studying military tactics.\u00a0 Aside from his own family, Yue Fei served as the young boy\u2019s idol: \u201cLegends of Yue\u2019s heroism continued to grow.\u00a0 In some places, especially near Hangzhou, temples were erected to his memory.\u201d[ii]<\/strong><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0 At eighteen years old, Ji\u0101m\u00edng enlisted in the Song army, with hopes of not only bringing honor to his family, but to outdo Yue Fei.\u00a0 Although his dream of improving the Song Empire as a government official no longer existed, Zh\u00e0o Ji\u0101m\u00edng hoped to accomplish the same task through military victories.\u00a0 He now sought to protect his homeland and to keep its citizens safe, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather.<\/p>\n

Since Zh\u00e0o Ji\u0101m\u00edng\u2019s entry into military life, the young man could not restrain his eagerness to engage in battle.\u00a0 Ji\u0101m\u00edng\u2019s commanders noted his overconfidence, and although were pleased at his enthusiasm, constantly lectured him on the importance of refraining from arrogance in the battlefield.\u00a0 Zh\u00e0o Ji\u0101m\u00edng would receive the opportunity to prove his skills when assigned to defend the border against the new Mongol invaders, who begun waging wars with the Southern Song after the fall of the Jin.\u00a0 These defensive campaigns proved beneficial for Ji\u0101m\u00edng, who was continuously awarded honors for his bravery and skill.\u00a0 By the age of twenty-five, he rose to the rank of general and received his own force to command.\u00a0 For the next five years, General Zh\u00e0o Ji\u0101m\u00edng would continue to engage the Mongol forces, winning the admiration from his soldiers.\u00a0 Despite his titles, Ji\u0101m\u00edng remained humble and kind towards his army, training as well as eating the same meals with them.\u00a0 During battles, the general did not retreat behind the ranks, rather remained in the front lines and fought alongside his troops.\u00a0 Aside from the techniques learned from his father and grandfather, Zh\u00e0o Ji\u0101m\u00edng also looked at Yue Fei for inspiration: \u201cBut Yue, dripping with blood from the battle, rallied his troops with a fiery speech reminding them of their obligation to repay with loyalty the dynasty\u2019s benevolence to them, of their chance to gain undying fame if they stood fast, and of his own orders to behead anyone who fled.\u201d[iii]<\/strong><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0 Although not as extreme as Yue Fei, Ji\u0101m\u00edng\u2019s modest personality as well as his prowess in creating strategies and leadership won him the loyalty of his army.\u00a0 Even when his enemy\u2019s forces outnumbered his own, General Zh\u00e0o Ji\u0101m\u00edng remained calm and patient.\u00a0 His fellow commanders often noted his practice of drinking a cup of tea, followed by a prayer to a small ancestral shrine prior to every battle and questioned his ability to relax.\u00a0 He always replied that creating panic would lead to defeat just as likely as being crushed by the enemy.\u00a0 Zh\u00e0o Ji\u0101m\u00edng\u2019s success in commanding armies and repelling invaders soon earned him the greatest honor of his entire family\u2019s military heritage.<\/p>\n

In 1254, at the age of thirty, General Zh\u00e0o Ji\u0101m\u00edng received an imperial edict, requesting his presence at the Song court.\u00a0 Unaware of the purpose of his summoning, Ji\u0101m\u00edng feared the worst, remembering the fate of Yue Fei, and hoped he would not endure a similar demise.\u00a0 But his worries soon disappeared after learning the reason for meeting Emperor L\u012dz\u014dng.\u00a0 Until the rise of Zh\u00e0o Ji\u0101m\u00edng, no soldier or commander ever possessed the abilities as General Yue Fei.\u00a0 Realizing the potential Ji\u0101m\u00edng held, the Song court, decided to promote the general to supreme commander, which gave Zh\u00e0o Ji\u0101m\u00edng full control over the Song Army.\u00a0 In addition, Emperor L\u012dz\u014dng bestowed further honors on the Zh\u00e0o family and ordered the general to return to Hangzhou in order to assume the role as a personal bodyguard to the imperial family.\u00a0 Filled with joy, Zh\u00e0o Ji\u0101m\u00edng bowed to the court and offered his undying thankfulness for their generosity.\u00a0 After leaving the palace, Ji\u0101m\u00edng returned to his home and paid respects to his family.\u00a0 The general expressed great pride for being able to bring honor to his ancestors, especially his father and grandfather.<\/p>\n

Six years later, in 1260, Kublai Khan rose to rule the Mongols and established the Yuan Dynasty in 1271.\u00a0 The new Mongol leaders now sought to conquer the remaining part of China.\u00a0 General Zh\u00e0o Ji\u0101m\u00edng realized the dire situation, and helped supervise the greater fortification of Xiangyang, which defended the waterways that ran through South China.\u00a0 Ji\u0101m\u00edng understood the loss of the city would allow the Mongol armies to take the empire with ease.\u00a0 When news arrived of Xiangyang\u2019s entrapment by Mongol forces, Zh\u00e0o Ji\u0101m\u00edng left the capital to engage the Mongols in an attempt to lift the siege.\u00a0 The campaign unfortunately ended in disaster, as Song engagements constantly ended in retreat.\u00a0 Although showing great skill, the general could not defeat the superior cavalry of the Mongols: \u201cBy the thirteenth century, the Mongols controlled most of the supply routes, limiting the Song to purchases of only ten thousand horses a year.\u00a0 The horses they managed to buy were short, sickly, sometimes as small as large dogs, and woefully unfit for fighting the Mongol horses.\u201d[iv]<\/strong><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0 Before leaving for the Hangzhou, Kublai Khan sent a message to Zh\u00e0o Ji\u0101m\u00edng.\u00a0 The Mongol leader admired his abilities and offered to spare his life if the Song general surrendered and joined his forces.\u00a0 Ji\u0101m\u00edng refused the Khan\u2019s proposal, responding that no threats, honors, or riches could persuade him to betray China.\u00a0 By 1273, the Battle of Xiangyang ended with a Mongol victory.\u00a0 News of the fall of Xiangyang as well as Fengcheng alarmed the court as Kublai Khan now possessed the ability to conquer China.\u00a0 Despite his efforts, Zh\u00e0o Ji\u0101m\u00edng could not push back the Mongols and in 1276, fled the capital with the Song court and the remaining army.<\/p>\n

By 1279, the Song forces prepared for the final assault against the Mongols at Yamen.\u00a0 At this time, Zh\u00e0o Ji\u0101m\u00edng shared military power with a fellow friend, Zhang Shijie, and together constructed a massive fleet.\u00a0 Despite earlier defeats, the Song court remained confident that their superior technology and naval skills would lead to victory: \u201cWith their ships outnumbering those of the Mongols three to one, the Chinese anticipated victory and mistakenly believed the Mongols would attack quickly.\u201d[v]<\/strong><\/strong><\/a> \u00a0After witnessing battles against the Mongols, as well as suffering previous defeats, Zh\u00e0o Ji\u0101m\u00edng knew the enemy\u2019s strength and ability to adapt new weapons into their arsenal, thus understood that victory could not be achieved.\u00a0 The general as a result, came to the conclusion that his end was near.\u00a0 With the arrival of the Mongol naval forces, the Song prepared their fleet, forming a line consisting of thousands of ships.\u00a0 Despite outnumbering the enemy, the Mongols successfully surrounded the Chinese ships and cut off their supplies of fresh water and food.\u00a0 Although expecting defeat, Zh\u00e0o Ji\u0101m\u00edng made one final speech to his soldiers, quoting the words on the back of Yue Fei: \u201cIt was said that she had tattooed on his back four characters, jin<\/em> zhong bao guo<\/em>, \u2018exhaust all your loyalty in repaying your debt to the ruling dynasty.\u2019\u201d[vi]<\/strong><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0 He reminded his troops of their duty to fight to the end, as they were the last remaining force defending the Song Dynasty as well as to die with honor.\u00a0 His words were motivational, but received little enthusiasm, as hunger and thirst proved an even greater force than encouragement.\u00a0 On the morning of the Battle of Yamen, while drinking a cup of tea, Song generals alerted Ji\u0101m\u00edng of the Mongol attack.\u00a0 The general remained calm, as he always did during battles, despite the screams of death surrounding him.\u00a0 Looking back at his life, Ji\u0101m\u00edng only regretted getting caught up in military affairs to the extent that he could not find time to marry and raise a family.\u00a0 As his father\u2019s only son, the childless Zh\u00e0o Ji\u0101m\u00edng could not continue his family lineage or legacy.\u00a0 After his final act of praying to his ancestors, Zh\u00e0o Ji\u0101m\u00edng drew his sword and charged the enemy.\u00a0 Rallying his troops, Song forces desperately fought back.\u00a0 Ji\u0101m\u00edng witnessed his soldiers fall one by one, and in the distance, saw Emperor Bing and his mother jump into the sea.\u00a0 Although accepting the fact that the loss of the emperor meant the end of the dynasty, Zh\u00e0o Ji\u0101m\u00edng refused to surrender.\u00a0 Despite the Song troop\u2019s inability to defeat the Mongols, he could still resist.\u00a0 The general sought to give as much opposition as he possibly could in order to create greater difficulty for the Mongol\u2019s to achieve victory.\u00a0 His first injury came in the form of an arrow to the leg, but Ji\u0101m\u00edng continued to fight.\u00a0 A spear to the shoulder became the first lethal strike, but still the general resumed his ferocious attacks, killing dozens of Mongol troops.\u00a0 It would take several more sword wounds before bringing down the general.\u00a0 The Battle of Yamen ended with a Mongol triumph and over one hundred thousand Chinese deaths, with the fifty-five year old General Zh\u00e0o Ji\u0101m\u00edng among them.<\/p>\n

In 1279, three conclusions emerged: the fall of the Song Dynasty, the death of General Zh\u00e0o Ji\u0101m\u00edng, and the end of the Zh\u00e0o family.\u00a0 Future generations would remember Zh\u00e0o Ji\u0101m\u00edng as the second greatest military commander of the Song Dynasty, subordinate only to Yue Fei, and one of the most prominent figures in Chinese history.\u00a0 Stories of his inspiration, loyalty, and dedication to his country continues to survive even after his death.\u00a0 When visiting modern-day Hangzhou, one can pay respects to the great general at a temple dedicated in his honor.<\/p>\n

Notes<\/h3>\n

[i]<\/a> Valerie Hansen, The Open Empire: A History of China to 1600<\/a> <\/em>(W.W. Norton & Company, 2000), 289.
\n[ii]<\/a> John E. Wills, Jr., Mountain of Fame: Portraits in Chinese History<\/a> <\/em>(Princeton University Press, 1994), 179.
\n[iii]<\/a> Wills<\/a>, 172.
\n[iv]<\/a>\u00a0Hansen<\/a>, 348.
\n[v]<\/a>\u00a0Ibid<\/a>, 348.
\n[vi]<\/a> Wills<\/a>, 175.<\/p>\n

\n

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I am Garwin Leung, and I study history as my college major with a focus on East Asia. \u00a0I was born in New York and in my free time, I enjoy spending time with friends.\u00a0More by Garwin<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Song Dynasty, although an economically prosperous period in China, suffered countless defeats against invaders.\u00a0 The inability for the Song military to defend its northern territories left the court with no other choice than to retreat to the south and secure peace through annual payments.\u00a0 Hopes of recapturing the empire\u2019s lost land became a possibility … Continue reading Zhao Jiaming (1229-1279): The Last Defender of the Song Dynasty<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":357,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"class_list":["post-500","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zhang.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/china\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/500","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zhang.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/china\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zhang.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/china\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zhang.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/china\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zhang.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/china\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=500"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/zhang.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/china\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/500\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":919,"href":"https:\/\/zhang.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/china\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/500\/revisions\/919"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zhang.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/china\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/357"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zhang.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/china\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=500"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zhang.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/china\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=500"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}