Guo Zongxun (Chinese: 郭宗訓) (14 September 953[2] – 973) or Chai Zongxun (Chinese: 柴宗訓), also known by his posthumous name as the Emperor Gong of Later Zhou (Chinese: 後周恭帝), was the third and last emperor the Chinese Later Zhou dynasty, during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. He reigned from July 959, when he succeeded his father Chai Rong (Emperor Shizong of Zhou), until February 960, when he was overthrown by his general Zhao Kuangyin (Emperor Taizu of Song), who founded the Song dynasty.

Emperor Gong of Later Zhou
後周恭帝
Emperor of the Later Zhou dynasty
Reign28 July 959 – 3 February 960[1]
PredecessorGuo Rong (Emperor Shizong)
RegentEmpress Dowager Fu
Chancellors
Born14 September 953
Chanzhou, Later Zhou[2] (modern Qingfeng County, Henan, China)
Died973 (aged 20)
Fangzhou, Northern Song (modern Fang County, Hubei, China)
Burial
Shun Mausoleum (順陵, in modern Xinzheng, Henan)
34°33′55.04″N 113°41′54.66″E / 34.5652889°N 113.6985167°E / 34.5652889; 113.6985167
Names
Surname: Guō () or Chái ()
Given name: Zōngxùn ()
Era dates
Xiǎndé (), continued from Emperor Taizu and Emperor Shizong
Year 6: 11 February 959 – 30 January 960
Year 7: 31 January 960 – 19 January 961
Posthumous name
Emperor Gong (恭皇帝)
HouseChai (by birth)
Guo (adoptive)
DynastyLater Zhou
FatherChai Rong (Emperor Shizong)
Chai Zongxun
Traditional Chinese
Simplified Chinese
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinChái Zōngxùn

The Emperor Gong was sent away with his mother to Xijing (西京). Despite assurance by the Emperor Taizu of Song that the Chai family would be treated with respect, the Emperor Gong was killed in 973 by Xin Wenyue, an official trying to gain favour with the emperor.[citation needed] Upon hearing the news, the Emperor Taizu ordered a period of mourning and buried the dethroned emperor next to the Emperor Shizong's tomb.

Notes and references

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Sources

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  • Mote, F.W. (1999). Imperial China: 900–1800. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-44515-5.
  • (in Chinese) Xue Juzheng; et al., eds. (974). Wudai Shi (五代史) [History of the Five Dynasties].
  • (in Chinese) Ouyang Xiu (1073). Wudai Shiji (五代史記) [Historical Records of the Five Dynasties].
  • (in Chinese) Sima Guang (1086). Zizhi Tongjian (資治通鑑) [Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government].
Guo Zongxun
House of Chai (954–960)
Born: 953 Died: 973
Regnal titles
Preceded by Emperor of the Later Zhou
959–960
Succeeded by