(Emperor Huizong of Song)
Great artist, failed ruler
Polymath, poet, musician, called “one of the greatest Chinese artists of all time,” but an incompetent leader taking disastrous advice to disastrous results; Huizong demonstrated the difficulty of blending art and politics. Collecting over 6000 paintings, he sponsored artists, wrote poems, painted, reformed court music, and wrote dissertations on Taoism, tea ceremony, and medicine. His foreign policy decisions however and military neglect led to a Jurchen invasion and the ending of the Song Dynasty, his demotion to commoner status, and the last 8 years of his life spent as the “Besotted Duke" jailed in a remote, cold province prison. He promoted monumental philanthropic efforts including founding orphanages, hospitals, and schools; but, his failure to balance his religious Taoism with the Confucian mainstream prevented the maintenance of a strong government.
Lineages
Politicians Taoist
“Ah, butterflies now, dancing in air, lost along fragrant pathways;
Flitting, fluttering, see how they flow, painting the evening breeze.”
Comments: Click to comment
“Sometimes I visit in dreams
And yet all alone
Sometimes I am even unable to dream”
Comments: Click to comment
“Sung dynasty emperor and one of China’s greatest calligraphers and patrons of the arts. His [Tao Te Ching] commentary was finished in 1118, shortly before he was taken captive by nomad invaders.”
Comments: Click to comment
Comments (0)