never took the chancellorship again. Historical Background Starting in 960 and ending in 1279, the Song China consisted the Northern Song and the Southern Song. This period was considered as another period of “Golden Age” after the glorious Tang Dynasty (618-907). However, in the late Northern Song, the political corruption was serious and the regime began to decline. Before the Emperor Shenzong, （For more information please check 宋神宗）the country suffered poverty as well as weakness. After working
Zhao Ji was the eleventh son of Emperor Shenzong of the Northern Song Dynasty. Being so far down the line for succession to the empire, he spent his time devoting himself to his loves of literature, art, and Daoism; surrounding himself in luxury and sophistication. He built up and catalogued an extensive painting collection, Xuanhehuapu, with over 6,000 paintings. To date, no earlier collection, neither court or private, is known to have as much detail as Huizong’s because book length catalogues