For Zhao Ji, becoming the nation's supreme leader was indeed an unexpected windfall.
His father (Emperor Shenzong of Song) had passed away, and his half-brother Zhao Xu ascended the throne (Emperor Zhezong of Song). Although this imperial brother had a short life, dying at the age of 25, the imperial crown seemed to have no chance of falling upon Zhao Ji's head.
The principle of imperial succession in the era of monarchy was: establish the eldest son of the empress if there is one; otherwise, establish the eldest son regardless of mother's status. If the deceased emperor had no sons, the throne would pass to a younger brother by the same mother based on closeness of blood relation, or to the eldest brother by age. As the eleventh son of Emperor Shenzong of Song, Zhao Ji was neither the son of the empress nor the eldest. Under normal circumstances, his chances of succession were extremely slim. However, if a key figure in the "selection committee" favored him, his chances of winning would suddenly surge, becoming the greatest.
Who pushed the painter onto the political stage? The "mentor" was named Empress Dowager Xiang. She was Emperor Shenzong's consort, Emperor Zhezong's foster mother (and thus also Zhao Ji's stepmother). This most crucial recommender of the imperial successor firmly believed Zhao Ji was a fine horse.
It is well known that Zhao Ji was not without talent, but his talent lay not in politics, but in the fine arts. A painter taking on the role of a statesman—this speaks either to the painter's lack of self-awareness or to the mentor's poor judgment.
Regarding self-awareness, one must understand that desire and ability are not always perfectly aligned. Whether one is suited for a task and whether one wishes to undertake it are sometimes entirely different matters. In this world, people do not necessarily refrain from doing things they are unsuited for just because they possess self-awareness. Faced with the omnipotent "open sesame" of the imperial throne, even if one knows oneself to be unfit, who would not grab it if it fell within reach?
It goes without saying that Zhao Ji's imperial position was "picked up" by chance. He was an "accidental emperor." Before succession, Zhao Ji had just come of age (18 years old). Throughout his 18 years of life, he left no trace of "heroic youth." His most prominent "achievement" was his calligraphy and paintings.
Zhao Ji's life mentor was the renowned artist Wang Shen, a sophisticated and talented artist. Wang Shen had three outstanding characteristics: first, he excelled at painting; second, he lived extravagantly; third, he was lustful. Wang Shen "did not concern himself with minor conduct" and led a rather dissolute life. Besides having eight concubines, his residence was filled with countless singing girls and dancers, and he frequently went out seeking pleasure. Such behavior was not fatal for an artist. However, once transferred to a statesman, it was bound to cause disaster.
Machiavelli stated in *The Prince*: "Some attain sovereignty through fortune, others solely through their own abilities. Those who gain sovereignty purely through their own abilities find it difficult to acquire, but easy to maintain. Conversely, those who gain it easily through fortune find it difficult to preserve."
How true these words are! Zhao Ji, who gained the throne through fortune, initially found it comfortable, but it gradually became more and more difficult... until finally he could no longer "bear it."
When the Jin dynasty conquered the Northern Song, Zhao Ji not only became a ruler of a fallen state, but also a captive of the enemy. He and his son were escorted by the Jin forces to the northern wilderness. The Jin demanded they "wear civilian clothes, expose their upper bodies, and drape themselves in sheepskins." The dignified emperor of Central China was forced to wear the clothes of Jin commoners, bare his upper body, and don sheepskin. This imposed "performance art" filled the painter-emperor with shame and indignation. He once attempted to hang himself, but though his son desperately held him back and prevented his death, he soon fell ill from sorrow and anger, suffering from "sores covering his abdomen," and died filled with resentment.
The painter-emperor found no peace even in death. According to *Xuanhe Yishi (The Unofficial History of Xuanhe)*, after Emperor Huizong's death, he was not given a "proper burial," but was instead "reused as waste" by the Jin people, his body broken and burned. "They brought the corpse to a stone pit, placed it beside the pit, and burned it with tea nà and wild vines. When half-charred and burnt, they extinguished the fire with water, pierced the corpse with a wooden staff, and dragged it into the pit."
The Jin people threw Zhao Ji's body onto an earthen pit, built a fire to burn it—not a proper cremation, only half-burning it, then smashing it with a stick, pouring water on it, and finally throwing it into the pit. They did not bury this emperor as an artist. The only use of this burial method was: the water in the pit could be used as oil for lamps!!
—The painter-emperor was "reused as waste" to the extreme, humiliated even in death.
Before his death, Zhao Ji must have been filled with regret. If he had focused solely on being a painter like his mentor Wang Shen, allowing someone virtuous and talented to become emperor, he might have lived a peaceful and happy "artistic life." How could he have fallen into such a living hell?!