Emperor Taizu of Song
Emperor Taizu founded the Song dynasty and took power away from the generals, including himself. Born Zhao Kuangyin in 927, the son of a military officer, he rose through the armies of the Later Zhou during the Five Dynasties period — a half-century in which five dynasties and ten kingdoms had risen and fallen, almost all of them ended by their own commanders. In 960, sent north to meet a reported invasion, his troops mutinied at Chenqiao and draped a yellow robe over him while he was, by his own account, sleeping off a night's drinking. He accepted, marched back on the capital, and took the throne with almost no bloodshed, sparing the child emperor and his family. He then addressed the structural problem that had produced him. At a banquet in 961 he told his senior commanders that he could not sleep for fear of what their subordinates might drape over them, and offered them wealth, estates and marriage alliances in exchange for their commissions. They resigned the next morning — the episode is called releasing the generals' power over a cup of wine. He rebuilt the state on civilian foundations: the imperial examinations were expanded enormously and the palace examination introduced with the emperor presiding, so that officials owed their careers to the throne rather than to patrons. Military governors were replaced by civil administrators, and the best troops were concentrated under central command. He reunified most of China by conquering the southern kingdoms. He died suddenly in 976, and his brother succeeded in circumstances that produced lasting rumours.
- Lived: 927 CE – 976 CE
- Nationality: Chinese
- Roles: ruler, general
