Wanyan Chenglin

Biography

Family Background and Early Years

Wanyan Chenglin was a descendant of Wanyan Helibo, posthumously honored as Emperor Shizu of Jin, and belonged to the Jin imperial clan. The historical sources do not clearly record his exact genealogy. In the final years of the Jin dynasty, Wanyan Chenglin served as a Jin general. He was known as brave in battle and capable in strategy and was highly valued by Emperor Aizong of Jin, Wanyan Shouxu. His elder brother Wanyan Chengyi was also a Jin general. In 1233, the second year of Tianxing, Chengyi was convicted of an offense and died in prison. Wanyan Chenglin was implicated and sent to Xuzhou for resettlement.

Escorting the Emperor and the Defense of Caizhou

In 1232, the first year of Tianxing, Mongol forces advanced south against Jin. Emperor Aizong left his family in Bianjing and fled the capital under the stated purpose of “leading troops against the Mongols.” Wanyan Chenglin remained with him throughout the journey and personally protected him. Although many civil and military officials deserted along the route to save themselves, Chenglin continued to guard the emperor and successfully escorted him first to Guide (present-day Shangqiu, Henan) and later to Caizhou (present-day Runan County, Henan).

After arriving at Caizhou, Wanyan Chenglin advised Emperor Aizong to organize the central administration and actively prepare defenses against the Mongol advance. On October 13, 1233, the ninth day of the ninth month in the second year of Tianxing, Wanyan Chenglin was appointed deputy to Eastern Front Marshal Boshulu Loushi. On January 12, 1234, the eleventh day of the twelfth month of that year, Wanyan Zhongde recommended that Chenglin replace Boshulu Loushi as Eastern Front Marshal.

Receiving the Abdication and Ascending the Throne

On February 8, 1234, the ninth day of the first month in the third year of Tianxing, the Song-Mongol forces besieging Caizhou launched an assault. The Mongols damaged the western wall of the city, while Song forces advanced to the southern wall. At midnight, Emperor Aizong summoned the officials and transferred the throne to Wanyan Chenglin. Chenglin declined while facing west. Aizong personally brought the imperial seal to him, but Chenglin knelt on the ground and wept, refusing to accept it. Aizong explained that he was not skilled in horsemanship and hoped Chenglin might be able to escape and preserve the dynastic line. Chenglin finally agreed to succeed him, and Aizong handed over the imperial seal and withdrew.

At dawn on February 9, 1234, the tenth day of the first month in the third year of Tianxing, the imperial proclamation commissioner Wendun and Pusan Xiebushi, acting assistant director of the Eastern Gate, presided over Wanyan Chenglin's enthronement ceremony. Chenglin wore armor and stood before the principal seat to receive the homage of the officials. Cai Ba'er, marshal of the Loyal and Filial Army, refused to bow to Chenglin on the grounds that he could not serve another ruler.

Death in Battle and the Fall of Jin

After the ceremony, all the officials went to defend the city. By then Song banners had already been planted on the southern wall. Wanyan Chenglin directed the commanders in the defense. Soon the Song-Mongol army broke through the southern gate and fought Jin troops in the streets, forcing them back into the inner city. After transferring the throne, Aizong hanged himself in Youlan Pavilion. When Wanyan Chenglin heard the news, he led the officials there to mourn. He said to them: “The former emperor reigned for ten years. He was diligent, frugal, generous, and benevolent, and sought to restore the old realm. His ambitions were not fulfilled; this is truly lamentable. I wish to give him the posthumous title Ai. What do you think?” Everyone agreed. By this time the enemy had reached the inner city. Jin forces resisted fiercely and at one point drove the attackers back, but the enemy renewed the assault from all sides. The inner city fell, and Wanyan Chenglin was killed amid the fighting.

The Jin state, founded by Emperor Taizu Wanyan Aguda in 1115, ended after 119 years.

Major Activities

Military Activity

Wanyan Chenglin served as a general in the final years of the Jin dynasty and was known for bravery and military ability. In 1233, the second year of Tianxing, he was appointed deputy to Eastern Front Marshal Boshulu Loushi. On the recommendation of Wanyan Zhongde, he later replaced Boshulu Loushi as Eastern Front Marshal and became responsible for defending the eastern side of Caizhou. During the siege of Caizhou, Chenglin directed the commanders in defense, withdrew into the inner city after street fighting, and ultimately died in battle.

Receiving the Throne

On February 8, 1234, the ninth day of the first month in the third year of Tianxing, Emperor Aizong of Jin summoned his ministers and transferred the throne to Wanyan Chenglin. Chenglin repeatedly refused. Aizong pleaded with him, saying in substance that he was transferring the throne only because necessity compelled him: his own body was heavy and he was unsuited to rapid riding, whereas Chenglin was agile and possessed military ability, and if Chenglin could escape, the dynastic line might continue. Chenglin finally accepted. The following day, before the enthronement ceremony could be completed, the Song-Mongol forces had already entered the city. Chenglin's reign lasted less than a day, making him one of the shortest-reigning emperors in Chinese history.

The Posthumous Title Aizong

After Emperor Aizong hanged himself in Youlan Pavilion, Wanyan Chenglin led the officials there to mourn. He proposed conferring the posthumous title “Ai” on the former emperor, and everyone agreed. That posthumous designation has continued in use, and Wanyan Shouxu is therefore known as Emperor Aizong of Jin.

Burial After Death

After Wanyan Chenglin was killed, surviving Jin soldiers carried his coffin day and night to Jingchuan (present-day Jingchuan County, Gansu), where they buried him at Bojiwan, behind the ridge of Sanxing Village in what is now Taiping Township. In December 2003, descendants of the Wanyan clan moved his remains back to Wanyan Village and reburied them behind the tomb of Prince Rui. Members of the Wanyan clan in Wanyan Village, Wangcun Town, Jingchuan County, Gansu, also maintain a cenotaph for Wanyan Chenglin.

The days around his accession can be set out in order: on 12 January 1234, on Wanyan Zhongde's recommendation, he replaced Boshulu Loushi as marshal of the eastern front; on 8 February Emperor Aizong summoned the ministers and passed the throne to him, Chenglin firmly declining until the emperor begged him repeatedly on the ground that there was no alternative, whereupon he accepted; the next day, with the accession ceremony still unfinished, the Song and Mongol armies broke into Caizhou, and he led troops against them and withdrew to the inner city after street fighting; Emperor Aizong hanged himself in the Youlan Pavilion, and Chenglin led the ministers in lamentation and conferred on him the posthumous title Aizong; when the inner city fell he died among the troops, and the Jin dynasty came to an end. His emperorship lasted less than a day and belongs to the same process as the fall of Caizhou, and should not be described as a settled reign.

Personal Relations

• Remote ancestor: Wanyan Helibo (Emperor Shizu of Jin)
• Elder brother: Wanyan Chengyi (Jin general; convicted and died in prison in the second year of Tianxing)
• Ruler: Emperor Aizong of Jin, Wanyan Shouxu (transferred the throne to Wanyan Chenglin)
• Colleague: Wanyan Zhongde (recommended Wanyan Chenglin as Eastern Front Marshal)
• Colleague: Boshulu Loushi (Wanyan Chenglin originally served as his deputy)
• Mongol forces (destroyed the Jin dynasty)
• Southern Song forces (joined the Mongols in destroying the Jin dynasty)

Historical Assessment

Jin Period / Contemporary Accounts

• Emperor Aizong of Jin, Wanyan Shouxu: “You have always been agile and possessed military ability. If by chance you can escape, the dynastic line need not be cut off. This is my intention.” (History of Jin, vol. 18, “Basic Annals 18”)
• Emperor Mo of Jin, Wanyan Chenglin, on Emperor Aizong: “The former emperor reigned for ten years. He was diligent, frugal, generous, and benevolent, and sought to restore the old realm. His ambitions were not fulfilled; this is truly lamentable.” (History of Jin, vol. 18, “Basic Annals 18”)

Song and Yuan Periods

• Yuan historians compiling the History of Jin included Wanyan Chenglin in the imperial annals. Although he reigned for less than a day, they still called him “Emperor Mo,” thereby recognizing his imperial accession. (History of Jin, vol. 18, “Basic Annals 18”)
• Yuan historians assessed Emperor Aizong as follows: “He barely managed to preserve the ancestral state and extend its fate for several years, yet in the end could not avoid destruction; the circumstances were such that it could scarcely have been otherwise.” (History of Jin, vol. 18, “Basic Annals 18”)

Ming and Qing Periods

• Wang Fuzhi, in Du Tongjian Lun, discussed the situation at the end of Jin and regarded Aizong's transfer of the throne to Wanyan Chenglin as an act of “prolonging matters from one morning to the next on the eve of destruction,” while expressing sympathy for Chenglin as one who “received the mandate in a moment of crisis.”
• Zhao Yi, in Notes on the Twenty-Two Histories, mentioned Emperor Mo Wanyan Chenglin and wrote that he “received the abdication as a clansman, died when the city fell, and perished together with the state,” adding that although “his reign was brief, he died for the altars of state and is therefore worthy of pity.”

Modern Period

• General History of China, edited by Cai Meibiao and others, refers to Wanyan Chenglin as the “last emperor of the Jin dynasty” and notes that “before the enthronement ceremony was completed, the city had already fallen, and he died amid the fighting,” recognizing that he died with the dynasty.
• Modern scholars generally regard Wanyan Chenglin as one of the shortest-reigning emperors in Chinese history. His accession and death occurred almost simultaneously and symbolize the fall of the Jin dynasty.
• Members of the Wanyan clan in Wanyan Village, Jingchuan, Gansu, have long maintained rites for Wanyan Chenglin, calling him “the last emperor” and holding annual commemorative ceremonies, reflecting local remembrance of the final Jin ruler.