Emperor Gaozong of Song

Mutiny & First Abdication

In March 26, 1129, Gaozong lost his throne to a mutiny that was instigated by the palace guards led by Miao Fu (苗傅) and Liu Zhengyan (劉正彥) who were unsatisfied with Gaozong's decision to appoint one of their adversary Wang Yuan, to important imperial post hence would outrank them. Miao and Liu banded together with at least ten thousand palace guards under the pretense that Wang and the eunuchs in court were plotting, mutinied and murdered Wang. They then forced Gaozong to abdicate in favor of his two-year-old son Zhao Fu. The plot came to an abrupt end less than a month later in April 30, 1129 when Miao and Liu was defeated by Gaozong's loyal army led by Han Shizhong and were both executed for treason. His son later died from illness after a unofficial reign of 3 months. After being restored to the throne, he was pursued by Jin forces and was not in full control of southern China until the late 1130s.

In 1130, during the Battle of Huangtiandang, when fleeing to the south, he had the newly appointed commander-in-chief, Yue Fei, who was only 27 years old at the time, to help with the defense, and Yue scored a major victory against the Jin armies neared Nanjing. After the Song forces defeated the Jin, they stayed north of the Yangzi River, and Emperor Gaozong declared the city of Hangzhou (known then as Lin'an) as the dynasty's new captial, replacing Kaifeng in 1132.^[4]

In November 1133, another puppet state, Da Qi,^[5] which had more autonomy than the previous Da Chu^[3] invaded the Song. They initially had success but they were defeated and in late 1137, the Jin officially abolished the Da Qi.

When Emperor Gaozong was eventually told of the death of Huizong and Empress Zheng in 1137, he reportedly reacted quite severely, ordering an extended period of mourning.^[6]

Treaty of Shaoxing

Emperor Gaozong supported negotiating a peace treaty with the Jurchens, the Treaty of Shaoxing, ratified on October 11, 1142.

After years of fighting and significant military success, Emperor Gaozong settled on a pacifist stance.^[7] One of the major reasons behind this was that Emperor Gaozong and the chancellor Qin Hui did not want the Song army to defeat the Jurchens, as this might result in his half-brother and the last emperor of the Northern Song Dynasty, Emperor Qinzong who was living in Jin-imposed exile in Manchuria might had a good chance of being recalled to the throne should the Jin Dynasty be destroyed causing Gaozong to lose power. As a result, Emperor Gaozong and Qin Hui plotted to frame Yue Fei for some ambiguous offense and had him put to death. Han Shizhong was also dismissed from his military duties. During Emperor Gaozong's reign in October 11, 1142, the Song and Jin empires signed the Treaty of Shaoxing, which recognised the Jurchens' claims to the former Song territories they already conquered which meant that Emperor Gaozong had to give up all land north of the Huai River, in exchange for peace between the two empires which lasted for seventy years aside from two incidents.^[8][9] The Song also had to pay a yearly tribute of 250,000 taels of silver and 250,000 packs of silk to the Jin.^[10] The negotiation allowed the emperor's mother and other selected members of the imperial clan returned to Song; Empress Wei then named Empress Dowager in Southern Song. However the treaty designated the Song as the "insignificant state", while the Jin was recognized as the "superior state". Contemporary historians would later blame the emperor for Yue Fei's death and vilified him as a tyrant. However, despite the treaty's terms resulted the Song as a vassal state to the Jin, it saved Song's economy: since the dynasty's founding, the regime lost more capital on military defenses than annual payments to their neighbors, about over three-quarter of state revenue. In addition, with the southern part of China remained under Song's controls, transport of goods became more cost-effectively by boats through streams and canels criss-crossing the region. It also eliminated obstacles on trades, allowing traders import goods between Song and Jin territories.^[11][12] Qin Hui, in a reply to Gaozong's gratitude for the success of the peace negotiations, told the emperor that "the decision to make peace was entirely Your Majesty's. Your servant only carried it out; what achievement was there in this for me?"^[13]

Emperor Gaozong was also a notable poet and had significant influence on other Chinese poets. Among his surviving works is the Quatrain on Heavenly Mountain.

In 1161, the ruler of the Jin Dynasty, Wanyan Liang declared war on the Song in the Battle of Tangdao and the Battle of Caishi due to him wanting to unify China. The Jin lost the war and it importantly removed the status of the Song as a vassal although they still had to pay tribute. Wanyan Liang was assassinated shortly due to many Jin officers rebelling as a result of the Jin defeat.

Second Abdication

Emperor Gaozong abdicated in 1162 after reigning for more than 35 years, and passed the throne to his adopted son and distant cousin Zhao Shen who then became Emperor Xiaozong, because his only son, Zhao Fu (趙旉), died prematurely around the age of three from an illness. Emperor Gaozong may also abdicated to due his handling of the Battle of Caishi with Wanyan Liang. Emperor Gaozong then assumed the title of Taishang Huang ("Retired Emperor") and remained to hold some power until his death in 1187.