Renzong's 16 sons, 3 died young, what is the inside story?
How so? All the sons of Zhao Zhen, the fourth emperor of the Northern Song Dynasty, died at the age of three.
The history of a dynasty is often full of mysteries. Today, we can unravel one of the mysteries, that is, why all the sons of Song Renzong, the fourth emperor of the Northern Song Dynasty, died suddenly when they were less than three years old.
i.A brief biography and style of Song Renzong.
Zhao Zhen, the word Weihan, the soul number A, the eighth son of Song Taizong, the fourth son of Song Zhenzong. Dazhong Xiangfu was born in the first year (1008) in Jiuqingfang, Bianliang (now the island of Kyushu in the northeast of Kaifeng), and his father Zhao Heng of Song Zhenzong saw his intelligence and placed high hopes on his descendants, and Dazhong Xiangfu was established as the prince in the eighth year (1015). In the first year of Tianxi (1017), Song Zhenzong died, and Zhao Zhen, who was only ten years old, ascended the throne as Song Renzong.
Song Renzong reigned for forty-two years, trusted his former ministers at the beginning of his reign, and acted arbitrarily after his reign. Song Renzong was a very intelligent and capable monarch who was diligent in governing the country, attached importance to agricultural production, welcomed scholars, appointed talents, and devoted himself to consolidating and developing the national power accumulated by his ancestors. During his reign, he adopted the advice of his ministers Fu Bi and Ouyang Xiu and implemented a series of political, economic, and military reforms, as history says"Qingli New Deal"。The implementation of these measures promoted the rapid economic development and overall prosperity of the Northern Song Dynasty, and the national strength reached its peak, which later generations called it"Renzong is prosperous"。
But Song Renzong also had shortcomings. He was suspicious by nature, and in his later years, he was even more arbitrary, overjoyed, and forgetful. From the beginning of his ascension to the throne, in order to win the hearts of the people and win fame, he liked to listen to politics and constantly promulgated unspoken rules and various rules and regulations. However, these rules and regulations are often plucked out of the body to liquidate opponents, making the government unstable. His superstitious belief in monasticism and immortality led to various plagues in his later years.
Song Renzong's national color and heavenly fragrance also have a lot to offer. He loves beauty and has a group of wives and concubines. According to the "History of the Song Dynasty", he had 17 concubines with famous surnames and dozens of concubines without surnames and names. The concubines bore him sixteen children, but only four of his daughters survived, and three of his sons died before they were three years old. This ruined Song Renzong's heirs, and people can't help but ask, what caused such a result?
Secondly, the first layer of mystery is revealed - the early death of the son has nothing to do with the palace struggle.
Song Renzong's three sons were the eldest son Zhao Fang, the second son Zhao Xin, and the third son Zhao Xi. Zhao Fang's biological mother is Concubine Yu, Zhao Xin's biological mother is Concubine Miao, and Zhao Xi's biological mother is Concubine Zhu.
Zhao Fang was born at the age of 27 and died shortly after birth; Zhao Xin was born at the age of 29 and died at the age of two; Zhao Xi was born at the age of 31 and lived only two years. After that, Song Renzong had no more children.
In this case, future generations will inevitably wonder whether Song Renzong was the result of his wife's palace fight. After all, such quarrels were inevitable in successive royal families. And Song Renzong's mother, Cao Shi, had no children in her life, did she secretly kill the sons born to other concubines in order to consolidate her position?
However, a closer look reveals that this claim is untenable. Because, according to the "History of the Song Dynasty", Empress Cao was extremely kind and courteous"The main palace in the palace does not override it with the position of concubine"。She never competes for favor, nor does she sarcastically mock other favored concubines. Even if Song Renzong snubbed her, she accepted it calmly and never suspected that others would usurp the heirs she had born.
If there was really a conspiracy to assassinate his son, Song Renzong's wisdom would not have stopped it. But there is no record in the history books that he suspected his son's early death. Therefore, the death of his son must have had nothing to do with the court struggle.
Since the cause of my son's early death is unknown, we can continue to delve deeper and unravel the next layer of mystery.
Third, a family history of genetic disease may be the culprit.
Song Renzong had 16 children, but only 4 adult daughters, 12 of whom died young, with an early death rate of 75%. This is far beyond the normal range and is likely to be a genetic disease.
If we look at the ancestors of Song Renzong, this suspicion will be confirmed.
When Song Renzong's father, Song Zhenzong Zhao Heng, was alive, he also had the problem of many sons dying young. Zhao Heng only had six sons, one of whom died young, four died early, and only Song Renzong lived to adulthood. Only Song Renzong lived to adulthood. This shows that the problem of early death of children may have started in Zhao Heng's generation.
One level further, we come to Zhao Guangyi, the father of Song Zhenzong and Song Taizong. Zhao Guangyi had eight sons, almost all of whom were adults. This shows that the problem of early childhood death in the Song Dynasty began to appear in the generation of Song Zhenzong.
Song Renzong was well aware of this. He has many harems, wants to have more children and grandchildren, and breaks the family genetic disease. Unfortunately, he ended up having only three sons, all of whom died young, making it impossible for him to rebuild the ancestral hall.
According to historical records, Song Renzong also had a period of madness - dancing, muttering, and yelling. But after a few months, he gradually returned to normal. This proves that he suffers from a specific genetic disease. The symptoms were only mild and did not threaten his life.
From this point of view, the early death of Song Renzong's sons may have been caused by a family genetic disease. This also ensured that his nephew Song Huizong Zhao Ji eventually ascended to the throne.
We have lifted the veil on both sides of this historical mystery, but the most important question remains unanswered – what genetic disease did Song Zhenzong and Song Renzong suffer from? This is an unsolved mystery, and we hope that advances in medicine will one day allow us to lift the final curtain.
iv.The history of discourse is ultimately a revelation of reality.
History is a mirror that illuminates our reality.
The Song Renzong incident tells us that genetic diseases do run in families, but they are not inevitable. Nowadays, the development of medicine has made great strides in the prevention and development of genetic diseases. Through eugenics and scientific breeding of offspring, the Chinese nation will certainly be able to create a more tenacious and healthier gene pool.
On the other hand, the relationship between Song Renzong's father and son must also be analyzed. Zhao Heng regarded Song Renzong as his only son, raised him carefully, and passed the throne to him. And Zhao Zhen is filial to his father, abides by the law of the country, inherits the legacy of his ancestors, and is diligent in government and loves the people. The philanthropic ethos of the two generations of rulers also brought warmth to the people.
A hundred years of life is a flick of a finger. History is like the sea, we must use the net of wisdom to capture enlightenment; We need to feel the warmth with a fiery heart. Today, we cannot penetrate the fog of history and find the ultimate reason for the early death of Song Renzong's son. But this will ultimately be the goal of future generations. The spirit of historical research is one of the most valuable assets.