Why was Wanyan Gou awarded the number of Gaozong Temple?
Zhao Gou, the founding emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty, is often associated with the historical events of Qin Hui's framing of Yue Fei and Jingkang's changes. Opinions on these histories are mixed, with some accusing him of lacking the spirit of resistance and being weak and incompetent, while others respect his efforts to defend his country with great difficulty.
But such an emperor enjoys the temple name of "Gaozong". So, is the temple name of "Gaozong" praised or derogated? What is its origin?
The temple name, originated from the Shang Dynasty, is an honorific title for a monarch who has made great contributions to the country and society and is worthy of sacrifice for generations to come. In the temple, they would be referred to by specific names such as "Gojong".
Before the Sui Dynasty, it was common for kings to build special family temples for themselves to worship during their lifetimes, however after a few generations, these family temples had to be demolished and merged with the Taimiao to save land resources.
Therefore, many kings before the Sui Dynasty may not have had temple numbers. However, if a king has made significant contributions to the country and passed on the benefits to future generations, he will be posthumously given a temple number to be worshiped by future generations as a sign of respect and gratitude.
Zhao Gou, the founding emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty, that is, Wanyan Zhao. In the second year of Jingkang, after the Jin soldiers captured Hui and Qin Erzong and went north, he ascended the throne in Yingtianfu and changed to Yuan Jianyan. His temple name is Song Gaozong, which is a temple number with mixed merits.
His merit lies in the fact that although he successfully protected half of the Song Dynasty in the war with the Jin State, his fault lies in the fact that he used the hand of Qin Hui to get rid of Yue Fei and other loyal people who fought against the Jin.
Song Gaozong Zhao Gou was not born into a peasant or ordinary class, and his journey to the beginning of the dynasty was not through leading the army in a fierce resistance struggle, but through the Jingkang Revolution.
In this incident, the Jin soldiers captured Song Huizong, Song Qinzong, and a large number of Zhao royal families and courtiers, which is known as the "Jingkang Change". Against this background, Song Gaozong was forced to ascend the throne and established power in Yingtianfu in Nanjing.
However, in the end, he was forced to abandon the Central Plains and fled to Yangzhou. Subsequently, he fled to Mingzhou, Dinghai, Wenzhou and other places. In the fourth year of Jianyan, General Song Jin carried out the Battle of Huangtiandang in the Huangtiandang area of the Yangtze River, and Han Shizhong, the general of the Song Army, led an army of 8,000 people to take advantage of the favorable terrain occupied first, gave full play to the advantages of water warfare, and broke the Jin army, so that the Jin army did not dare to rashly attack the area beyond the Yangtze River.
Encouraged by this victory, Song Gaozong Zhao Gou then moved the capital to Lin'an, creating the Southern Song Dynasty. However, Lin'an Mansion was only a line, not an informal capital, so in the history of that time, the common people were not clear about the boundaries between the Southern Song and Northern Song dynasties.
Secondly, judging from the personnel structure and historical background of the Southern Song Dynasty, its contribution to the opening of the dynasty is not conspicuous. Emperor Zhao Gou of the Southern Song Dynasty was the ninth son of Emperor Huizong of the Emperor Song and the ninth brother of the crown prince Song Qinzong.
At the same time, most of the civil and military generals of the Southern Song Dynasty came from the Northern Song Dynasty, such as Yue Fei and Han Shizhong. Finally, Zhao Gou's experience of humiliation and seeking peace also affected the historical trend of the Southern Song Dynasty.
Since its establishment, the Southern Song Dynasty has experienced a life of fugitive, which doomed it to the fate of bowing to the Jin people. With the years of war, the Song Dynasty's military expenditure was huge, and in order to raise funds, they began to levy huge taxes on the peasants, which overwhelmed the peasants, and eventually an uprising broke out.
Historically, in order to stabilize his rule, Zhao repeatedly imposed heavy taxes on the peasants and suppressed their rebellions. As a result, the contradictions between the two sides have been intensifying. Under the strong pressure of the Jin army, Zhao Gou began to pay attention to the anti-Jin ability of generals such as Yue Fei and Han Shizhong, but in the end, under the instigation of Qin Hui, Zhao Gou planned an unjust case and unjustly killed Yue Fei's father and son.
At the same time, in order to strive for peace, Zhao Gou also named Qin Hui as the prime minister for life, which allowed traitors and foreigners to trample on his country, causing dissatisfaction among the people.
There are many controversies about the Qinhui Temple, and scholars are interested in it"Ancestor"with"Sect"Mixed reviews. "Sect"The word is chosen instead"Ancestor", which has caused heated discussions. In ancient times, there were regulations on the temple number, and the founding monarch used it"Ancestor", the king of the past and the future said"Sect"。
However, Zhao Kuo, the founding emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty, is why is he called"Gojong"This?
In the eyes of the ancient literati scholars, through the study of the documents of the ancestors, they came to a point of view: "According to industrial analysis, Zhao Gou of Song Gaozong only inherited part of the foundation of the Northern Song Dynasty, and he stabilized one side in Lin'an City, but he did not create a great cause for thousands of years, but only continued and survived the previous dynasty, so his temple name should be set as 'Zong'." ”
Scholars generally believe that "the son is the ancestor and the father is the ancestor, and the order of Zhaomu cannot be lost." As for the reason why Song Gaozong Zhao Gou did not have children, some scholars believe that he was frightened by fear when he fled around, but some scholars believe that after he settled in Lin'an City, he was under great pressure and his life was in the hands of others, so he did not have the heart to have children.
In addition, because Zhao Gou has no blood descendants, his throne was inherited to Zhao Yan, the seventh grandson of Zhao Kuangyin, Taizu of the Song Dynasty, and Zhao Yan and Zhao Gou's bloodline are very different, so naturally he will not be ranked in the ancestral hall with the same ancestry, nor will he worship Zhao Gou.
Although Zhao Gou failed to create a foundation and pass it on to future generations, he is still called "Gaozong", because it has become a custom for the "Lord of Zhongxing" to be honored as "Gaozong" from ancient times to the present.
The Song Dynasty, as the era when Confucianism was the most prevalent in China's feudal history, people followed the principle of "justifying the name". Therefore, under the respect of the monarch and the minister, Zhao Gou's temple name was finally set as "Gaozong", not "Shizu".