Emperor Jing of Yaoshan: the Biography of Chai Rong

During the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, the Central Plains was in turmoil. Hundreds of years of fighting between vassals and towns, the collapse of rituals and music, and the loss of human lives were one of the most turbulent and dark times in Chinese history. Chai Rong, who was born into a commoner family in Yaoshan, Xingzhou, was trapped in war and displacement since his birth. When he was young, he experienced family decline, famine and displacement. At the age of seven, he went to Yedu to live with others. As a young boy, he traveled across the mountains and rivers in the north and south, selling tea to make a living. He witnessed with his own eyes the devastation of official corruption, land annexation, and people's exile in troubled times. He early cultivated a forbearance and compassion that was far beyond ordinary people. After fading away from the world of business, Chai Rong devoted himself to civil and military affairs, followed Guo Wei in military affairs, and grew up step by step from a commoner boy to a general of the country. During the Zhaojian period of the later Zhou Dynasty, he was granted the title of crown prince and was in charge of the government. After ascending the throne, he worked hard to govern and innovate, rectifying the imperial court, restricting Buddhism and enriching the people, equalizing land and water, dredging canals, cultivating civilized affairs internally, and strengthening border defenses externally. He conquered Bashu in the west, suppressed the Yangtze and Huaihe River in the south, and expedition to Khitan in the north. He fought successively and successfully, step by step to clear up the chaos of the separatist regime, and laid a solid foundation for the unification of the country in the Northern Song Dynasty. Unfortunately, the New Year was not a holiday. Thirty-nine-year-old Chai Rong suddenly died of illness when his great career was about to be accomplished. His lifelong ambitions came to an abrupt end, leaving eternal regrets. This book is guided by the perspective of memories of close friends, and examines the costumes, folk customs, etiquette and military and political details of the Five Dynasties. It uses documentary techniques to restore the life of a tragic and wise emperor. It removes the cold words of history books and understands the only sincere emperor in troubled times who devoted himself to mending the sky.