Jingkang Incident: Events, Sources and Historical Consequences

Diterbitkan oleh Anthony
pada November 11, 2026

Trace the Jingkang Incident through the two sieges of Kaifeng, the capture of two Song emperors, and Zhao Gou’s establishment of a new court in 1127.

Quick Answer: What Was the Jingkang Incident?

The Jingkang Incident (靖康之变, Jìngkāng zhī Biàn) was the capture of the Northern Song (北宋, Běi Sòng) capital of Kaifeng (开封, Kāifēng) by the Jurchen Jin (金朝, Jīn Cháo) after two sieges in 1126–1127. Jin forces took Emperor Qinzong (宋钦宗, Sòng Qīnzōng), his father and predecessor Emperor Huizong (宋徽宗, Sòng Huīzōng), and many other people north. The Northern Song ended in 1127. ^[1][3][4][5]

First siege: The court bargained for a Jin withdrawal.
Second siege: Jin forces returned and took Kaifeng.
After the capture: The two emperors were removed north, and a new Song court formed outside the city. ^[1][2][3][5]

The incident ended the Northern Song court at Kaifeng. The dynasty continued as the Southern Song (南宋, Nán Sòng). ^[2][7]

Two sieges led to the loss of Kaifeng and the formation of a new Song court.

The first siege left both the Song emperor and his capital in place. The bargain that lifted it left three northern districts in dispute. How each court dealt with those districts shaped the second siege.

How Former Allies Came to Fight

The Song dynasty had made an alliance with the Jurchen Jin dynasty against the Khitan Liao. The Song wanted to recover territory around the Liao southern capital, near present-day Beijing. When Song troops failed to take the city and Jin troops captured it, the Song depended on its ally to recover a city it had sought for itself. ^[3][4][5]

Liao fell in 1125. Disputes about territory and people who crossed from Jin to Song followed. Jin leaders cited breaches of the agreement when they launched an invasion. As troops moved south, Huizong abdicated in favor of his son Qinzong, who inherited the task of defending the capital. Historian Ari Daniel Levine cautions that later accounts of Huizong’s character were shaped by the search for someone to blame for the defeat. ^[1][3][4][5]

Why the Two Sieges Ended Differently

In the first siege, Li Gang (李纲, Lǐ Gāng) helped defend Kaifeng while Qinzong’s representatives negotiated. The Jin demanded payments, territory and hostages. The territory at issue included Taiyuan, Zhongshan and Hejian. Zhao Gou (赵构, Zhào Gòu), then the Prince of Kang, was briefly held as security before the Song provided another prince in his place. ^[1][2][3][5]

The Jin army withdrew from Kaifeng, but the Song court resisted carrying out the territorial terms and sought to hold or relieve the contested cities. Jin forces later captured Taiyuan. The Jin annals follow two commanders. Zonghan moved toward Kaifeng from Taiyuan, while Zongwang moved from Zhending. Their armies brought pressure on the capital from different directions. The second siege ended when the attackers took a gate and broke through the defenses in the winter of 1126–1127. ^{[1][2][3][5][6]}

What Happened After Kaifeng Fell

Negotiations continued after the Jin breached the walls. Qinzong returned from the Jin camp once, then went back as the demands continued. The Jin stripped Qinzong and the already retired Huizong of imperial rank, then took them and other members of the court north. The History of Song also lists palace workers, artisans, books, ceremonial objects and astronomical instruments among the people and property removed. ^[1][3][5]

For residents, the siege had already brought insecurity and scarcity. Leung Wai Kei draws on accounts of residents moving between districts to escape fighting and looting, and tracks the difficulties of obtaining food during the blockade. These accounts record decisions that rarely appear in imperial annals, such as which districts people thought were still safe. Food and fuel were both hard to obtain in the winter. The Song court arranged reduced-price sales of rice and firewood at sites that included Xiangguo Temple. The Jin blockade continued to restrict movement after the breach. ^[1][5]

How a Song Court Survived Outside Kaifeng

The Jin installed the former Song minister Zhang Bangchang (张邦昌, Zhāng Bāngchāng) as ruler of a regime called Chu. Chu lasted only briefly. Zhang relinquished power and restored Empress Meng to a position of authority in the Song court. She endorsed the claim of Zhao Gou, who had been outside Kaifeng during the final siege. The Gaozong annals record that a Song imperial seal reached him before his accession. The transfer helped present his new government as a continuation of the Song court. ^[1][2][3][5]

Zhao took the throne in 1127 as Emperor Gaozong at Yingtian, present-day Shangqiu. This was the beginning of the Southern Song. Fighting continued and the court later settled farther south. Zhao could appoint officials and organize a defense while the two former emperors remained in captivity. ^[2][3][6][7]

FAQs About the Jingkang Incident

Why is it called the Jingkang Incident?

Jingkang was Qinzong’s era name. It dates the crisis in the Song annals and also survives in the expression Jingkang Humiliation, a name that reflects later memory of the disaster. ^[1][4]

Did Kaifeng fall in 1126 or 1127?

The second siege took place in the winter of 1126–1127. The Chinese record places the breach late in the first Jingkang year, in the intercalary eleventh month. That winter date falls in early 1127 in Western dating. Detention and deportation unfolded afterward. ^[1][3][5][6]