Emperor Jingzong of Western Xia

Emperor Jingzong of Western Xia, born Li Yuanhao and also known as Weiming Nangxiao, was the founding emperor of the Western Xia dynasty, which the Tangut people ruled in what is now northwest China. Born in 1003, he was the eldest son of the Tangut ruler Li Deming and became leader of the Tangut on his father's death in 1032. He dropped the surname Zhao that the Song court had granted, took the surname Weiming, ordered Tangut men to shave their heads, and had a Tangut script developed. He fought the Song and the Qocho Uyghurs, taking much of Gansu, and in 1038 proclaimed himself emperor with his capital at Xingqing. A treaty with the Song in 1044 brought nominal Song sovereignty but tribute paid to the Tangut. In 1048 his own son Prince Ningling Ge, in a plot with the prime minister Mozang Epang, wounded him with a sword and he died of the wounds days later.