The second emperor of the Northern Sòng dynasty: temple-name Tàizōng 太宗, personal name Zhào Jiǒng 趙炅 (originally Zhào Guāngyì 趙光義 before his accession). Born 939 CE; died 997 CE, having ruled from 976. Younger brother and successor of the Sòng founding emperor Tàizǔ 太祖 (Zhào Kuāngyìn 趙匡胤, r. 960–976).
His reign is foundational for the institutional consolidation of the Northern Sòng dynasty, in particular through:
- The completion of dynastic unification with the conquest of the Northern Hàn 北漢 in 979 and (unsuccessfully) the Liáo in the campaigns of 979 and 986.
- The expansion of the civil-service examination system to its full Sòng-bureaucracy form.
- The systematic patronage of Buddhist canonical-printing: he was the principal sponsor of the Kāibǎo canon-printing project (the 開寶藏 / Kāibǎozàng, the first xylographic printing of the Chinese Buddhist canon), begun in Kāibǎo 4 (971) and completed in Tàipíngxìngguó 8 (983) at Yìzhōu 益州 (modern Chéngdū). The 5,048-juan Kāibǎo canon became the prototype for all subsequent East Asian xylographic Buddhist canon-printings.
- His patronage of the Indian translator-monk Tiān-xī-zāi 天息災 (Devaśāntika), Fǎ-tiān 法天 (Dharmadeva), and Shī-hù 施護 (Dānapāla) — establishing the Yì-jīng-yuàn 譯經院 (Sutra Translation Bureau) at Tài-píng-xìng-guó-sì 太平興國寺 in Kāifēng in 980.
His personal Buddhist literary output is the single most substantial body of imperially-composed Buddhist literature in pre-modern Chinese history, comprising at least four substantial works preserved in the Goryeo Tripiṭaka:
- Yùzhì liánhuá xīnlún huíwén jìsòng 御製蓮華心輪迴文偈頌 (KR6s0057, K1258, 25 juan) — huíwén (palindrome) Buddhist verse-encomia.
- Yùzhì mìzàng quán 御製秘藏詮 (KR6s0058, K1259, 30 juan) — discourse on the Buddhist secret canon.
- Yùzhì xiāoyáo yǒng 御製逍遙詠 (KR6s0059, K1260, 11 juan) — Buddhist-Daoist syncretic xiāoyáo (free-roaming) verse-encomia.
- Yùzhì yuánshí 御製緣識 (KR6s0060, K1261, 5 juan) — Buddhist-doctrinal yuán (cause) and shí (consciousness) verse-encomia.
In addition, KR6s0061 preserves further imperially-composed prefatory matter.
These works were composed during the mid-to-late portion of his reign (ca. 980–997), most likely with court-monastic editorial assistance even where the imperial byline is unmodified. They demonstrate Tàizōng’s deep personal engagement with Buddhist doctrine and his programmatic effort to position the Sòng imperial state as a major Buddhist-canonical patron — an engagement that contrasts with the more reserved Buddhist policies of subsequent Northern Sòng emperors.
Source: standard Sòng dynastic sources (Sòngshǐ 宋史, j. 4–5 Tàizōng běnjì); imperially-composed works at KR6s0057–KR6s0061; Sòng huìyào jígǎo 宋會要輯稿 Dàoshì 道釋 sections.