<Articles>The Political Upheaval of the First Month of the Fifth Year of the Chongning Era : The Confrontation of Huizong and Cai Jing over Negotiations with Liao

Emperor Huizong 徽宗 ascended the throne in the third year of the Yuanfu era (1100), but the power behind the throne was the Empress Dowager Xiang 向太后. It has been claimed that Xiang used both the New Policies faction and the opposing Old Policy faction in equal measure, charting a middle course between the two parties at this time. However, as other members of the more radical wing of the New Policies faction fell one after another, Empress Dowager Xiang continued to support Cai Jing 蔡京 who thus remained at the center of power, Cai Jing had previously built up a personal relationship with the family of Xiang during the reign of Emperor Zhezong 哲宗. Empress Dowager Xiang employed Cai Jing, eunuchs, and maternal relations to maintain her unofficial power. Although she has been judged as not having been very aggressively involved in political affairs, she was in fact strongly politically motivated. Given the continuous opposition from the censors and remonstrators, her influence decreased precipitously and Cai Jing was demoted. Huizong whose rule was inaugurated in the first year of the Jianzhongjingguo era (1101) made clear his intention of both carrying on the policies of Emperor Shenzong 神宗and of conducting political affairs through a deliberate melding of the policies of the New Policies and Old Policy factions. However, during this period Zeng Bu 曽布, who had been appointed grand councilor, was consumed by a constant and strident political feud with his rival Li Qingchen 李清臣, and Huizong gradually became estranged from Zeng Bu, abandoned the middle course, and switched to the implementation of the radical policy of the New Policies faction. He selected Cai Jing to carry out these policies. With Huizong's support, Cai Jing assumed the post of grand councilor and created the Yuanyou dangji inscription 元祐党籍碑in order to remove his rivals Zeng Bu, Zhao Tingzhi 趙挺之and the Yuanyou faction. Thereafter he forcefully implemented the ideas of the New Policies faction. However, with the appearance of a comet in the first month of the fifth year of the Chongning era (1106), which was seen as an inauspicious omen, the Cai Jing administration suddenly collapsed. Heretofore, it has been thought that Huizong dismissed Cai Jing without reasonable cause and reversed policy out of fear engendered by the celestial event. However, a constant political agency can be detected in Huizong from the time of his enthronement, and Huizong was the chief actor in the upheaval that was carried out in a manner not to draw the attention of Cai Jing. Song had actually entered into negotiations with Liao over relations with Western Xia in the previous year. Cai Jing's regime in the name of Huizong's court had assumed a hard-line towards Western Xia and obtained a considerable expanse of territory. Under pressure, Western Xia sought the intervention of Liao. Liao then dispatched an embassy to Song, requesting that peace be concluded with Western Xia and the territory that had been obtained be returned. In contrast to Huizong's conciliatory policy of returning the territory and the concluding matters peacefully, Cai Jing for whatever reason advocated a hard line and attempted to force a rupture of the negotiations. As a result, Liao also hardened its stance, and relations with Song became increasingly strained. Relations with Liao were of course of prime importance for the state of Song and a single misstep could bring about disaster. Since the opinions of the emperor and chief councilor were at odds over foreign policy, the situation was grave. The political upheaval of the first month of the fifth year of the Chongning era occurred precisely at this time. Cai Jing was dismissed and Zhao Tingzhi, who proclaimed a conciliatory policy toward Liao, was appointed grand councilor. Another embassy from Liao arrived in this year and once again assumed a hard-line stance in negotiations and deployed troops along the common border. In response Huizong and Zhao Tingzhi adopt