Emperor Bing of Song
Song Bing (Chinese宋帝 昺, Pinyin Song Dì Bǐng; * 1271 in Hangzhou, † March 19 1279 in the Pearl River at Yamen ) known also under the posthumous name Di or Weiwang, the last emperor of the Southern Song dynasty (Chinese 南宋, Pinyin Nan song), the last period of the Song Dynasty.
Born under the name of Zhao Bing (赵 昺, Zhao Bǐng ), the son of Emperor Duzong he was the younger brother of his predecessor, the Emperor Duanzong. In 1274 he became king Xin (信 王), in 1276 he received the title of Prince Guang (广 王) and Prince Wei (卫 王). On May 10, 1278 he was crowned in Gangzhou (碙 州) in southern China, where his predecessor died, seven years to the emperor.
A year later, the last ruler of the Song Dynasty, a boy of eight years, fled with his followers in the southern Guangdong. Large parts of China were conquered since 1276 by the Mongols under Kublai Khan. In Yamen (崖门/崖门, Klippentor ') in today's District Xinhui (新 会/新 会) on the left bank of the Pearl River Delta ( lower reaches of the West River (西江, Xī Jiang) ) tried the leaders of the Song Dynasty, by a naval battle in the delta region to turn the tide. The Battle of Yamen on March 19, 1279 one of the largest naval battles in world history, in spite of the numerical superiority of the Song forces under Admiral Zhang Shijie its a disaster that cost the lives of more than 100,000 people. The Prime Minister and Advisor Lu Xiufu (陆秀夫, 1232-1279 ) recognized the hopelessness of the situation, took the child emperor and jumped with him at Yaishan in the river to himself and his sovereign to take life before the Mongol army at Mount Ya near the river reached, so the battle is also called " battle at Mount Ya ". The fact should be considered as a sign of resistance and inflexibility towards the foreigners. Thus the Song Dynasty ended after 314 years, and began the rule of the Yuan Dynasty.
According to contemporary reports, a monk found the body of the little emperor the next day at Shekou (蛇口- in today's Nanshan District of Shenzhen City ) in the water floating, she realized the entrained Emperor Seal and buried her. In the 1980s there was erected a memorial grave for the child emperor. In this area a number of temples were built in memory of the last greats of the Song Dynasty in the past.