The period of the Southern Song dynasty , which had conquered northern China. Among the most contentious figures of this era was Qin Hui, a chancellor often remembered as a traitor who facilitated a controversial peace treaty with the Jin. This article delves into the complex political landscape that led to the famous Shaoxing Peace Accord, examining the internal struggles within the Jin dynasty, the shifting power dynamics of the Southern Song court, and Qin Hui’s pivotal—and notorious—role in negotiating a truce that would shape Sino-Jin relations for nearly a decade.

The Jin Dynasty’s Internal Struggles: A Prelude to Peace

Understanding the Shaoxing Peace Accord requires a close look at the Jin dynasty’s internal politics during the late 1130s. The Jin, founded by the Jurchen people in northeastern China, had successfully overthrown the Northern Song dynasty but soon faced serious challenges within their own ruling elite.

In 1137, the Jin dynasty lost one of its most powerful military leaders, General Zonghan , began to assert imperial authority more forcefully, clashing with powerful nobles who had long enjoyed semi-autonomous military control. This tension culminated in the emperor orchestrating the elimination of Zonghan’s close ally, Gao Qingyi, which led to Zonghan’s death from grief and resentment.

After Zonghan’s demise, power briefly passed to Wanyan Chang , but Emperor Xizong was determined to consolidate control by removing influential nobles, including sons of previous emperors Wu Qimai and Taizong. These purges exacerbated internal conflicts, weakening the Jin’s aggressive posture against the Southern Song.

Concurrently, the puppet state of Qi, led by Liu Yu and established by the Jin in northern China, was dismantled. Liu Yu was an ineffective ruler and symbolized Jin’s tenuous grip over the Central Plains. The population in the region increasingly defected to the Southern Song, with estimates suggesting that tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians fled southward annually. The Jin’s governance in the Huai and Yellow River areas became unstable, further undermining their capacity for military campaigns.

This period of instability within the Jin provided an opportune moment for peace negotiations. Jin officials, including Wanyan Chang, advocated for a temporary truce, even offering to return the war-ravaged and sparsely populated lands south of the Yellow River to the Southern Song. This proposal aligned neatly with the desires of the Southern Song’s court faction favoring peace and accommodation with the Jin.

Qin Hui: From Patriot to Pariah

Central to the peace efforts was Qin Hui, a figure whose career embodies the contradictions and complexities of the Southern Song’s political landscape. Born in Jiangning , Qin Hui initially gained a reputation as a patriotic official during the Jingkang Incident of 1127 when the Jin captured the Northern Song capital, Kaifeng. At that time, Qin served as a censor and vehemently opposed the establishment of a puppet regime under Zhang Bangchang, even claiming he was willing to sacrifice his life for the Song cause.

However, Qin’s capture by the Jin and subsequent service under Wanyan Chang marked a dramatic transformation. By 1130, he had switched allegiances and accompanied Jin forces southward, ostensibly as a military advisor and logistics official. An infamous episode in 1130 claims that Qin and his wife escaped a Jin-controlled garrison by killing their Jin guards and commandeering a boat. This narrative, however, is widely regarded by historians as fabricated.

Later Jin records, such as an official memorial by Sun Dading in 1214, reveal that Qin Hui was, in fact, a covert agent placed by the Jin to sow discord and promote peace favorable to Jin interests. His earlier persona as a loyal patriot was leveraged to gain trust within the Song court, making him an effective intermediary.

Qin Hui’s rhetoric, which argued for a pragmatic “divide and rule” approach—advocating that the Song should govern south of the Yangtze River while the Jin retained the north—resonated with Emperor Gaozong. Gaozong, the first emperor of the Southern Song, was himself inclined toward maintaining a truncated but stable regime in the south, reluctant to continue futile wars that threatened his tenuous grip on power.

The Political Climate of the Southern Song Court

When Qin Hui was first appointed chancellor in 1131, his peace proposals met fierce opposition from military leaders and ministers committed to restoring Song sovereignty over lost territories. Figures such as General Han Shizhong and Admiral Wu Jie championed continued resistance, arguing that the Jin’s internal strife would eventually lead to their downfall.

At the same time, the Southern Song court faced immense pressures: the devastation wrought by years of conflict, economic strain, and the need to consolidate control south of the Yangtze River. Emperor Gaozong was caught between hawkish generals who advocated for continued warfare and pragmatic officials who saw peace as a necessary concession.

The death of Emperor Huizong in Jin captivity in 1137 and the return of emissaries like Wang Lun, who brought messages of Jin willingness to negotiate and restore imperial relics and territories, shifted the balance in favor of peace advocates. These developments provided political cover for Qin Hui and his faction to push for formal negotiations.

The Shaoxing Peace Accord: Terms and Implications

By 1138, Qin Hui had solidified his position as chancellor and chief negotiator. He led the Southern Song delegation in talks with Jin emissaries, including Wu Lingsimou and others, resulting in the Shaoxing Peace Accord. The treaty effectively cemented a division of China: the Jin retained the northern territories conquered from the Song, while the Southern Song maintained control over the south, paying annual tribute to the Jin.

Under the treaty’s terms, the Southern Song agreed to renounce claims to the former Northern Song lands and recognized the Jin as a legitimate sovereign power. In return, the Jin promised peace and the return of certain imperial symbols, including the ancestral tablets and empress dowager, which held significant symbolic value.

The peace accord brought an end to active hostilities for nearly a decade and allowed the Southern Song to focus on internal consolidation and economic recovery. However, it also exposed deep fissures within the Song political and military elite. Qin Hui’s role as chief architect of the treaty made him the target of widespread vilification. He was accused of treason, collaboration, and betraying the Song dynasty’s rightful claims.

Cultural and Historical Legacy of Qin Hui and the Shaoxing Accord

Qin Hui’s legacy remains one of the most controversial in Chinese history. Popular narratives cast him as a treacherous minister whose collaboration with the Jin undermined national sovereignty. Folk tales and later historiography often portray him as a symbol of betrayal, overshadowing the complex realities of the era’s geopolitical and domestic challenges.

The Shaoxing Peace Accord itself is a landmark in Chinese diplomatic history, representing one of the earliest formalized peace treaties between warring states in the medieval period. Though criticized by some contemporaries and later historians for conceding too much, it arguably provided the Southern Song with the breathing room necessary to preserve its cultural and political institutions in the south for over a century.

Moreover, the treaty set a precedent for pragmatic diplomacy in Chinese history, illustrating the delicate balance between military resistance and political accommodation in the face of overwhelming external threats.

Conclusion: The Duality of Peace and Betrayal

The story of Qin Hui and the Shaoxing Peace Accord encapsulates the fraught nature of leadership during times of national crisis. While Qin Hui’s name is synonymous with treachery in Chinese popular memory, a nuanced examination reveals the complexities of his position: a man navigating personal survival, statecraft, and the harsh realities imposed by a powerful adversary.

The internal disintegration of the Jin dynasty, the strategic calculations of the Southern Song court, and the broader socio-political context all converged to make peace not just desirable but necessary. The Shaoxing Accord, though imperfect, allowed the Southern Song to endure and evolve, influencing the trajectory of Chinese history well beyond Qin Hui’s lifetime.

This chapter of history reminds us that the lines between patriotism and betrayal are often blurred by circumstance, and that peace forged in compromise can sometimes be the most enduring legacy of turbulent times.