Zhao Ji was the eleventh son of Emperor Shenzong of the Northern Song Dynasty. Being thus in line with the succession to the empire, he spent his time indulging in his loves of literature, art and Taoism; surrounding yourself with luxury and refinement. He built and cataloged a large painting collection, Xuanhehuapu, with over 6,000 paintings. To this day, no previous collection, either courtly or private, is known to have as much detail as Huizong's because book-length catalogs of his paintings, calligraphies, and antiquities have survived (Ebrey, p.5). Huizong wanted to reform the court music that had degenerated during the Five Dynasties period and was a firm believer in ruiying, Heaven's way of communicating with earth. He is considered the only accomplished artist in a lineage of emperors who loved and appreciated the arts (Oxford Art Dictionary). It is his love of the arts and his decision to favor art and religion over politics that are associated with the fall of the Northern Song dynasty, a dynasty that ruled from 960 until it was lost to Huizong in 1127 .Huizong was a literate artist, well trained in poetry and calligraphy, often viewing paintings in terms of these two arts, adopting many of the aesthetic concepts set forth in Ershisi Shipin (The 24 Aspects of Poetry). As a literate artist he believed in the “depth and primitive simplicity” of his work, and that painting was a pleasurable activity intended to please oneself and one's friends (Barnhart, p.3). His growth as an artist was nurtured by three friends, all of high social standing, but with different interests. Zhao Lingrang was a painter and assisted the Emperor in his ongoing search for scrolls to adorn his hill...... middle of paper ......“In Chinese popular memory, Huizong is known as the Artist- Emperor (Ebrey , p.8)” He was talented enough to make a name for himself, if he had not become emperor. During his twenty-six year reign he created the most impressive art collection anyone has assembled to date. He founded a school for court painters and restored music in China. It was simply his misfortune that during his rule, his empire would fall into the hands of the Northern Jin tribe. Perhaps it is because “Huizong loved beauty so intensely that he had no head for the hard side of government (Ebrey, p.11)”. However, I don't think it would be right to overlook all that Huizong did for the Chinese arts and simply focus on the misfortune that forced him to lose his empire. A few bad decisions shouldn't undo all the greatness Huizong made possible through his love of the arts.