Abstract：The Qingyuan Proscription (庆元党禁) that took place during the early period (1194-1207) of Emperor Ningzong’s reign was an important historical event in the political history of the Southern Song dynasty. It is relevant to the complicated topics of that history, such as the relative powers of the prime minister and emperor, the relationship between the retired emperor and the emperor, and the relationship between the affinal kin clan and scholar-officials. Meanwhile, the proscription provides a classic case study and critical perspective leading to a deeper understanding of the interactions between academic thoughts and the politics of the Song dynasty. Although a rich body of literature on the mechanisms by which Han Tuozhou monopolized power for so long has been written, questions remain unanswered. For instance, the question of Emperor Ningzong’s thinking when he chose to place his confidence in Han Tuozhou for thirteen years and, moreover, tacitly permitted him to use the Qingyuan proscription for the purpose of driving Zhao Ruyu out from the center of court.Taking the mourning rites proper to Ningzong’s relationship with his grandfather as the starting point, this essay discusses how Ningzong became so securely confident in Han Tuozhou. According to Zhu Xi’s (1130-1200) recommendation, even under circumstances where his father (Emperor Guangzong) was yet living, Ningzong should follow the essential mourning rites of “grandson’s assumption of responsibilities for his deceased father mourning rites (disun chengzhong 嫡孙承重)”, and hence remain in mourning for three years for his grandfather (Emperor Xiaozong). This unusual proposal for adjusting the system of ritual institutions symbolized Ningzong’s decision to follow Xiaozong’s inclination towards the political line of the Neo-Confucianism scholar-official group, as well to take Guangzong’s failures while reigning as a negative lesson. Zhu Xi’s position was widely endorsed by a clique of Neo-Confucianism scholar-officials led by Zhao Ruyu, who did so because they were taking the initiative in the political struggle that was about to unfold, and hence taking preemptive action.However, this observation of the three-year mourning period would have required that for twenty-seven months prior to ascending the throne, Ningzong was unable to carry out auspicious rites such as offering sacrifices at the Grand Imperial Ancestral Temple and Jingling Temple, which would do significant damage to his authority as emperor. Consequently Han Tuozhou and his faction went in a contrary direction, firmly maintaining that Ningzong should not follow the pattern of “disun chengzhong”. Thus, during the second year of the Qingyuan era (1196), he assisted Ningzong in bringing the three-year mourning period to an early conclusion. During the following year (1197), when Ningzong’s great grandmother (the Grand Empress Dowager Wu) passed away, Han Tuozhou falsified the date of her death, ensuring that the plan for Ningzong’s first sacrifices in the southern suburbs could be carried out normally. More importantly, Ningzong escaped a second three-year mourning period required of him in his status as the dowager empress’s “mainline great grandson”. These measures won the confidence of Ningzong, thereby weakening the influences of Zhu Xi and other Neo-Confucianism scholar-officials on him. Thus, through the Qingyuan proscription, Han Tuozhou’s faction was able to defeat these opponents, and the impacts of these behaviors were decisive for the direction of subsequent political developments in the early period of Ningzong’s reign.Within the field of classical studies, “disun chengzhong” is a subject important to “ritual learning (lixue 礼学)”. Drawing upon Han and Tang dynasty classical scholarship, Zhu Xi creatively applied a theory of “disun chengzhong” to Emperor Ningzong, revealing that his system of scholarly thought was constructed on the foundation of engagement with Han and Tang dynasty classical studies. In this case, through their research on it, Song dynasty Confucian scholars both indirectly engaged in major political policymaking and set the course for future politics. This furthered and deepened Song dynasty scholar-officials’ understanding of the mechanisms by which the government operated.Zhu Xi is a Neo-Confucian, but the method of scholarly inquiry he employs rather belongs to the category of traditional Han and Tang dynasty classical scholarship. Furthermore, the objective he sought to achieve was to underpin the fundamental political orientation of Emperor Ningzong’s imperial court. By presenting an entirely new picture of the interaction between Southern Song dynasty politics and scholarship, this article incorporates the extensive research findings on the history of Chinese philosophy, classical philology, and Song dynasty political history, comprehensively employing methodologies belonging to these three fields to weave together the timelines for the evolution of ritual institutions, specific events pertaining to individual lives, and the course of political developments.
王宇. 朱熹“宁宗嫡孙承重”说与庆元党禁的走向[J]. 浙江大学学报(人文社会科学版), 2022, 52(3): 46-61.
Wang Yu. "The Main Line Grandson Bears the Burden": Zhu Xi’s Proposal for Emperor Ningzong's Mourning Rites and the History of the Qingyuan Proscription. JOURNAL OF ZHEJIANG UNIVERSITY, 2022, 52(3): 46-61.
2022, Vol. 52 
