Jingkang Incident Chinese history [1126–1127] Actions Cite verifiedCite While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Select Citation Style MLA APA Chicago Manual of Style Copy Citation Share Share Share to social media Facebook X URL https://www.britannica.com/event/Jingkang-Incident-1126-1127 Give Feedback Feedback Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Feedback Type Select a type (Required) Factual Correction Spelling/Grammar Correction Link Correction Additional Information Other Your Feedback Submit Feedback Thank you for your feedback Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

　　Print Cite verifiedCite While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Select Citation Style MLA APA Chicago Manual of Style Copy Citation Share Share Share to social media Facebook X URL https://www.britannica.com/event/Jingkang-Incident-1126-1127 Feedback Also known as: Battle of Kaifeng Written by R.G. Grant R.G. Grant is a historian who has written extensively on many aspects and periods of history. R.G. Grant Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica Last Updated: Jul 22, 2024 • Article History Table of Contents Date: December 1126 - January 1127 (Show more) Location: China Kaifeng (Show more) Participants: Jin dynasty Song dynasty (Show more) Key People: Qinzong (Show more) See all related content → Ask a Question Ask a Question

　　Emperor Qinzong of the Song DynastyQinzong was the eldest son of Emperor Huizong. The Jurchens invaded Kaifeng in January 1127 and captured 26-year-old Qinzong. The Jingkang Incident from 1126-1127 was a turning point in military technology, being one of the earliest occasions on which gunpowder was used in battle. © Pictures From History—Universal Images Group/Getty Images.(more)In January 1127 Juchen steppe nomads captured the Chinese capital of Kaifeng and with it the Song emperor. What came to be known as the Jingkang Incident was a major event in Chinese political history, but it was also a turning point in military technology, being one of the earliest occasions on which gunpowder was used in battle.

　　Britannica Quiz A History of War A confederation of tribal horsemen, the Juchen had developed imperial ambitions, declaring the foundation of the Jin dynasty in 1115. From 1125 they began a war against the Northern Song dynasty, rulers of most of China. As so often in Chinese history, horsemen proved superior in open battle, but had difficulty taking walled cities.

　　The Liao emperor surrendered to the Juchen in 1125, ending that dynasty and leaving the Juchen to devote their full attention to conquering the remaining Chinese states, including the Song, which had allied with them against the Liao. The Juchen began their siege of Kaifeng, an ancient capital in east-central Henan, in December 1126. The Song had been experimenting with gunpowder, placing it on the tips of arrows as an incendiary device and bundling quantities of it in bamboo or paper, tied up with string, to make a primitive bomb. Hurling these “thunderclap bombs” from the walls shocked the Juchen—a Chinese source states that “many fled, howling with fright”—but the “bombs” were in truth no more than noisy firecrackers.

　　No relief army arrived to save the city, which fell to the Juchen in mid-January 1127. There followed an orgy of looting and wanton destruction. The fate of the population was grim: the survivors were subjected to rape and other cruelties, or sold into slavery. The imperial family was not spared. Song Emperor Qinzong was carried off into the Juchen heartland and lived the rest of his life there with the status and dress of a servant. A new Song emperor, Qinzong’s half-brother Zhao Gou, was chosen to rule southern China, but the north was lost to the Juchen, which ruled until the arrival of Genghis Khan’s Mongols in the early thirteenth century.