On this date in 976, Li Yu (born 936) of the Southern Tang Dynasty surrendered to the armies of the Song. Li Yu had attempted to buy off the Song Emperor for many years, trying to preserve a kingdom that covered modern day Jiangxi as well as parts of Anhui, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Fujian. Holding out in his capital at Jinling (today’s Nanjing) Li Yu even voluntarily abdicated his title as “emperor” in an attempt to appease the Song court. No dice. In the winter of 975 Song troops stormed Jinling and Li Yu was taken prisoner. He lingered in the Song capital of Kaifeng for a few years until, as the story goes, he was poisoned after having the temerity to write a poem lamenting the loss of his empire and accusing the Song emperor of raping his wife.
Staying in the Song for a moment, on this date in 1085 Song historian Sima Guang published his classic 《资治通鉴》”A Comprehensive Mirror on Government,” a tour de force with 294 volumes and 3 million characters chronicling over a millennium of history.
Today is the birthday of Peking opera star Cheng Yanqiu (1904-1958). He was born in Beijing to a banner family