The Last New Year in Bianjing

The year was 1127, the second year of the Jingkang era. On what should have been the most festive day of the year – the Lunar New Year – the capital city of Bianjing (modern Kaifeng) stood in eerie silence. Traditionally, the imperial government permitted three days of citywide celebration during this period. Streets would overflow with food, fruits, and gifts as officials and commoners alike visited neighbors, sang, danced, and played games to welcome the new year.

Special commercial districts like Maxing and Panlou Street would erect colorful tents displaying festive goods – hair ornaments, pearls, jade, clothing, flowers, boots, shoes, and curios – accompanied by song and dance performances. Nights saw gambling, games, and banquets where even women participated in their finest attire. Even the poorest citizens wore clean clothes to share drinks and laughter.

In the imperial palace, the grand New Year’s court assembly would convene in the Daxing Hall, with the emperor seated in majesty while four exceptionally tall soldiers stood guard at the hall corners as “Generals Protecting the Throne.” Envoys from foreign nations, officials, scholars, and representatives from regional governments would all come to offer congratulations and tribute.

But this year, celebrations were muted. Emperor Qinzong performed only a simple ceremony at the Yanfu Palace where the retired Emperor Huizong resided. The emperor then sent envoys to the Jin military camp to offer New Year’s greetings. Meanwhile, the two Jin commanders kept busy – first sending twenty-one men to the Grand Xiangguo Temple to burn incense (they had visited the same temple just four days prior on the 27th day of the twelfth month), then dispatching Prince Zhenzhu and eight others to offer New Year’s greetings to the Song court.

A Capital Under Siege

The cultural fascination the Jurchen Jin showed for Han Chinese customs proved surprising. While New Year’s was important, the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first month represented the true climax of celebrations. Normally from the winter solstice, the Kaifeng government would erect colorful tents opposite the Xuande Gate, with merchants occupying both sides of the Imperial Street. Acrobats, magicians, vendors, and monkey performers created a carnival atmosphere. By the 7th day, lantern decorations would appear in preparation for five days of festivities starting on the 15th – turning Bianjing into a sleepless city of light.

The Jin developed a particular interest in these lantern customs. On the 9th day, they demanded the Northern Song include lanterns in their tribute. The Kaifeng government responded with alarming efficiency – immediately removing all lanterns from outside the Jinglong Gate to present to the Jin. These included golden lanterns, colored glass, kingfisher feather ornaments, and flying immortal figures. Still unsatisfied, the Jin then compelled the confiscation of lanterns from all Taoist temples, Buddhist monasteries, and shops throughout the city.

By the 14th day, the Jin had decorated their camp with these lanterns and even permitted city residents to view the display from the city walls – normally off-limits as the walls were under Jin control. These gestures of cultural appreciation and the apparent easing of tensions gave the illusion that the Jin might withdraw after securing territory north of the Yellow River and their war indemnity.

The Emperor’s Fateful Decision

On the 8th day, the Jin made a sudden demand – they wanted Emperor Qinzong to leave the city again, this time to bestow an honorific title on the Jin emperor. This unexpected request followed Emperor Qinzong’s dispatch of He and Li Ruoshui to the Jin camp the previous day to negotiate reducing the silver and gold payments. The Jin refused but invited the emperor to visit personally, claiming that as farming season approached, they planned to withdraw soon and wished the emperor to confer the title before leaving.

Northern Song officials saw little harm in this – Li Ruoshui even believed the emperor might successfully negotiate reduced payments if he went personally. Jin envoys suggested alternatives if the emperor preferred not to go, such as sending imperial princes and high ministers instead. Emperor Qinzong hesitated.

That same day, the retired Emperor Huizong and empress visited, creating a rare family moment. Moved by emotion, Qinzong declared that as emperor he could not prioritize personal comfort over his people’s welfare – if his suffering could alleviate their hardship, he would not spare himself. He resolved to go to the Jin camp. Having left the city once before, what harm could come from doing so again?

At dawn on the 10th day, the emperor’s carriage appeared at the Nanxun Gate. The departure was so discreet many palace eunuchs remained unaware. Before leaving, Qinzong had prepared – punishing the Kaifeng prefect and vice-prefect by demoting them three ranks each for failing to raise sufficient gold and silver. He brought substantial gold and silver as a show of good faith.

He appointed Privy Councilor Sun Fu as regent with Grand Tutor to the Heir Apparent, Vice Minister of Rites Xie Kejia as Guest of the Heir Apparent, and Minister of Revenue Mei Zhili as vice regent, placing the crown prince in charge of state affairs. Secretly, he instructed Sun Fu to assist the crown prince in managing affairs should anything happen. His retinue included He and Li Ruoshui.

Despite the secrecy, commoners learned of the departure and gathered at the gate, clinging to the imperial carriage and begging him not to fall into a Jin trap. The escort commander Fan Qiong urged them to let go, promising the emperor would return that same day and emphasizing this sacrifice was for their safety. When some still refused, Fan Qiong drew his sword, cutting off fingers and killing several before the carriage could proceed.

The Emperor’s Captivity

At the Jin camp, Emperor Qinzong was first taken to three rooms in the western corridor of the Qingcheng fasting palace, where he was told to wait as the commanders had not all arrived. His sleeping quarters in the eastern corridor lacked proper bedding – only a rough mat on an earthen bed, surrounded by iron chains separating him from the outside world.

Here, Qinzong sensed impending doom. Besides sending notices to Bianjing’s军民 assuring his imminent return, he secretly instructed officials including Wang Ruochong and Shao Chengzhang to escort the crown prince to the Xuande Gate to take charge of affairs – effectively entrusting his heir. He also secretly ordered the gate official Fu Bin to take an edict to the Northern Route headquarters, instructing regional commanders to defend national territory independently without Jin interference.

On the 11th day, with his retinue reduced to just 300 while most officials returned to the city, only nine essential officials remained with the emperor. His arrangements suggested preparation for the worst, though he still hoped to return. Neither he nor the Jin commanders knew what would happen next.

The Jin Decision to Depose the Emperor

The Jin emperor Taizong (Wanyan Sheng) received the Song surrender document on the 3rd day of the first month. After discussions with ministers about the Song emperors’ untrustworthiness, on the 5th day they rejected a proposal to keep a Zhao family member as emperor, deciding instead to depose the entire Zhao line. However, communication delays meant the Jin commanders in Bianjing remained uncertain of this decision when Qinzong left the city on the 10th.

The two Jin commanders differed in their attitudes – the Second Prince Wolibu sympathized with Qinzong and wanted him retained, while Nianhan (Zonghan) leaned toward deposition. The invitation for Qinzong to leave the city may have been Nianhan’s precaution – ready to implement deposition if the emperor’s order arrived.

A City Descends Into Chaos

With the emperor detained, Bianjing accelerated gold and silver collection. Some citizens voluntarily contributed – one poor man offered two taels of gold and seven of silver to rescue his emperor. The Kaifeng government intensified confiscations, targeting nobles, officials, eunuchs, monks, artisans, and entertainers thought to possess wealth. Their exhaustive searches turned the city upside down.

By the 19th day, Kaifeng reported collecting 160,000 taels of gold and 6 million taels of silver – still far short. The pause in collections brought temporary relief, but in the Jin camp, new demands emerged. Starting the 25th day, they sought imperial regalia like jade books, carriages, and crowns, plus 600 girls, hundreds of musicians, artisans, and entertainers – even those who had left court service. Kaifeng officials conducted door-to-door searches, filling streets with lamentations.

These women served as human currency – a palace woman counted as 500 silver ingots, a singing girl 200, a common woman 100. Each person taken reduced the emperor’s debt. Subsequent days saw demands for ritual objects, officials from various ministries, books, and even the imperial astronomical instruments – effectively stripping the capital of its cultural treasures.

The Final Deposition

On the 6th day of the second month, the Jin finally implemented the deposition order. Emperor Qinzong was brought before a incense table north of Nianhan’s tent and made to bow twice while Xiao Qing read Jin Taizong’s edict. When Nianhan’s men began stripping the emperor’s dragon robes, Li Ruoshui intervened, shouting: “These bandits run wild! This is the true Son of Heaven! You dog-killing scum show no respect!” Dragged away, Li continued arguing with Nianhan until beaten nearly to death. After days of hunger strike, he was executed on the 21st – the only Song official to die for his loyalty, a fact the Jin later noted with surprise given dozens had died for the Liao dynasty.

With the emperor deposed, the Jin needed a replacement. Unable to govern the vast Song territories directly, they sought a pliable Han ruler. On the same day as the deposition, the Jin ordered Song ministers to select a new emperor while ensuring the entire Zhao clan left the city to prevent interference.

The Imperial Family’s Fate

Retired Emperor Huizong was tricked into leaving the city on the 7th day, believing he was going to petition for Qinzong’s release. Only at the Nanxun Gate did he realize the deception when surrounded by Jin cavalry. Taken to Qingcheng, the Jin commanders mocked him: “You refused marriage alliances, now all are prisoners. How can you face anyone?”

Over subsequent days, the entire imperial clan – consorts, concubines, princes, princesses, and their spouses – were marched out under Jin orders. Some rode horses or carriages, while wet nurses and servants walked. Commoners who guessed what was happening pleaded with Prince Yan to stay and preserve the dynasty, but Fan Qiong executed these protesters.

On the 9th day, public notices announced the deposition. Fan Qiong reassured panicked citizens: “You’ve just lost a master. Eating in the east or west is the same. Like in army camps – when Zhang comes, call him Commander Zhang; when Li comes, Commander Li. Just go home and care for your families!” His brutally pragmatic advice left streets deserted by afternoon as people barricaded themselves indoors.

The crown prince departed on the 11th day after his grandfather and father requested a family reunion. Regent Sun Fu wept as he followed the procession until Fan Qiong stopped him at the city gate. A last-ditch plot to substitute a lookalike child for the prince came to nothing due to Sun’s timidity.

Legacy of a Fallen Dynasty

The Jingkang Incident marked not just the collapse of the Northern Song but a profound cultural trauma. The systematic looting of Bianjing’s treasures and talent – from musicians to astronomers – represented more than material loss; it was the dismantling of a civilization’s institutional memory. The Jin, transitioning from nomadic conquerors to empire builders, cannily recognized that skilled personnel mattered more than territory in the long term.

The tragedy also exposed the perils of bureaucratic complacency. Well-meaning officials like Li Ruoshui, who had urged the emperor’s ill-fated departure, redeemed themselves through martyrdom but couldn’t undo their miscalculations. The contrast between the Jin’s decisive, if brutal, actions and the Song’s vacillating responses highlighted how institutional inertia can prove fatal in times of crisis.

Modern parallels abound – from the dangers of underestimating adversarial regimes to the catastrophic consequences of leadership detachment from reality. The fall of Bianjing stands as an eternal warning about the fragility of civilization when faced with determined challengers and internal divisions.