Emperor Lizong

Emperor Lizong of Song
宋理宗
Emperor Lizong's portrait drawn after his death, kept in the National Palace Museum.
Emperor of the Song dynasty
Reign17 September 1224 – 16 November 1264
Coronation17 September 1224
PredecessorEmperor Ningzong
SuccessorEmperor Duzong
BornZhao Yuju (1205–1222)
Zhao Guicheng (1222–1224)
Zhao Yun (1224–1264)
26 January 1205
Shaoxing, Song dynasty
Died16 November 1264(1264-11-16) (aged 59)
Lin'an, Song dynasty (modern Hangzhou, Zhejiang)
Burial
Yongmu Mausoleum (永穆陵, in present-day Shaoxing, Zhejiang)
Consorts
(m. 1227⁠–⁠1264)
IssuePrincess Zhouhan Duanxiao
Princess Zhenzhu Emperor Duzong
Era dates
Baoqing (寶慶; 1225–1227)
Shaoding (紹定; 1228–1233)
Duanping (端平; 1234–1236)
Jiaxi (嘉熙; 1237–1240)
Chunyou (淳祐; 1241–1252)
Baoyou (寶祐; 1253–1258)
Kaiqing (開慶; 1259)
Jingding (景定; 1260–1264)
Posthumous name
Short: Emperor An (安帝)
Full: Emperor Jiandao Beide Dagong Fuxing Liewen Renwu Shengming Anxiao (建道備德大功復興烈文仁武聖明安孝皇帝)
Temple name
Lizong (理宗)
HouseZhao
DynastySong (Southern Song)
FatherZhao Xilu
MotherLady Quan
Signature
Emperor Lizong of Song
Chinese宋理宗
Literal meaning"Model Ancestor of the Song"
Zhao Yun
Traditional Chinese趙昀
Simplified Chinese赵昀
Zhao Yuju
Traditional Chinese趙與莒
Simplified Chinese赵与莒
Zhao Guicheng
Traditional Chinese趙貴誠
Simplified Chinese赵贵诚

Emperor Lizong of Song (26 January 1205 – 16 November 1264), personal name Zhao Yun, was the 14th emperor of the Song dynasty of China and the fifth emperor of the Southern Song dynasty. He reigned from 1224 to 1264.

His original name was Zhao Yuju but later changed his name to Zhao Guicheng and then finally changed his name to Zhao Yun being elevated to an imperial son.[1] Although he was a descendant of the Song dynasty's founder Zhao Kuangyin (Emperor Taizu) through his son Zhao Dezhao and hence a member of the imperial clan, Zhao Yun was not in line to succeed to the throne as his family had no political status. Shi Miyuan (史彌遠), who was the chancellor for many years, collaborated with Empress Dowager Yang and when Emperor Ningzong eventually died in 1224, Shi Miyuan, along with Empress Dowager Yang, supplanted the reigning crown prince Zhao Hong and replaced him with Zhao Yun as emperor, reigning with the era name Baoqing and the temple name Lizong. In his 40-year-reign of Emperor Lizong did little to nothing to improve the Dynasty and instead sought pleasure even as the Mongols were terrorizing the borders. He died at age 59 in 1264 and was succeeded by his nephew Emperor Duzong.

  1. ^ Chaffee, John W. (1999). Branches of heaven: A history of the imperial clan of Sung China. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Asia Center. p. 203. ISBN 0674080491. OCLC 41338054.