The Historical Record for January 9, 2009: The Execution of Wen Tianxiang

Wen Tianxiang Temple in Beijing

Once upon a time historians mocked the Song (960-1279).  There was this idea that after the Tang, which had always seemed a little — muscular, the Song era was too effeminate, too concerned with arts and philosophy. 

The territorial reach of the Song was never great, and it was surrounded by hostile neighbors kept at bay only through bribes and official admissions that maybe the Chinese emperors weren’t so supreme after all — a tough cookie to swallow for later Chinese historians. 

Over time, things went from bad to worse.  In 1127 the armies of the Jurchen took the northern half of the empire and by the middle of the 13th century the great hordes of the Mongol khans threatened to take the rest. 

But if you think about: the Song get a bad rap.  They held out long after most of Eurasia had fallen before the Mongol horseman and it took the near total depopulation of Sichuan and losing control of the Yangzi to finally topple the Song. 

In 1275, with the Mongol armies threatening the Song capital of Lin’an (today’s Hangzhou) a panicked throne asked all loyal officials to rush to the emperor’s aid. One of those who answered the call was Wen Tianxiang (b. 1236), a brilliant scholar and official.  Wen was soon made prime minister of the faltering Song state and was dispatched to negotiate with the Mongols. 

You have to wonder what the reaction was when he pulled that assignment:  “Yeah, Wen, these Mongol hordes have raped and pillaged the known world, and they don’t smell very good, but you know they seem like reasonable guys…can you go, you know, talk to them a bit?”  Yeah, right. Like Marty Balin trying to calm the Hell’s Angels at Altamont.

The Mongols captured Wen and held him prisoner for awhile, but the intrepid Chinese official escaped and eventually made his way back to the Song court now on the run in Guangdong.  Wen once again took a lead role in defending the dynasty, even playing a little offense by recapturing parts of Jiangxi before finally being forced back by overwhelming numbers of Mongol troops.  By 1279, the Mongols finally took Guangdong and 800 members of the Song royal family, including the 11-year old emperor, committed suicide by jumping into the sea off the Southern Chinese coast. 

Wen was taken prisoner and marched to the new Mongol capital at Dadu (today’s Beijing) where he was offered lavish riches and high positions if he would only serve the Mongol khans.  Wen Tianxiang, loyal to the last and mindful of his place in history, would have no part of it. He languished in a cell for three years, stubbornly refusing to submit to the new rulers before finally being executed on January 9, 1283.

There are many temples and shrines to Wen Tianxiang, regarded as one of China’s greatest patriots for the way he held fast against the foreign invaders, including in Beijing at 63 Fuxue Hutong (off of Jiaodaokou in Dongcheng District).  If you happen to be in the area today, why not stop by and give a shout out to Wen.  The Song may have been for too long considered historical wussies, but it takes a tough man to tell a Mongol khan “no.”

From the archives

• March 25, 2010 -- More robot errors in Chinese history: Prepare to be “assimilated”
• March 11, 2009 -- The Historical Record for March 11, 2009: The world’s first paper money
• January 1, 2009 -- The Historical Record for January 1, 2009