元昊(1003～1048)，西夏地方割据政权开国皇帝。又名李元昊、赵元昊，小字嵬理。后改姓嵬名氏，更名曩霄。1038～1048年在位。李德明的儿子，母亲为卫慕氏。
元昊，胸有大志，具有开创精神，而又诡计多端。熟习汉蕃儒、释书籍，通法律，能文能武，智勇双全。但为人狠毒，好战，嗜杀，贪色。他二十五岁被立为太子，二十九岁承袭父位，被宋廷授予特进检校太师兼侍中定难军节度，夏、银、绥、宥、静等州观察处置押蕃落使，西平王。同时也被契丹封为夏国公。
元昊少年时就很有志向，时常劝说父亲不要对宋朝称臣。他认为“以所得的俸赐招养蕃族，习练弓矢，小则四行征讨，大则侵夺封疆，上下丰盈，于计为得” ，不是长久之计。而父亲告诉他说： “吾族二十年衣锦绮，此宋恩也，不可负。”元昊则愤愤地对父亲说： “衣皮毛，事畜牧，蕃性所便，英雄之生，当王霸耳，何锦绮为? ”所以，当他自己继承夏王位之后，就立即展开建国称帝的一系列准备工作。
Map of Western Xia Territory
西夏疆域图
第一，废除唐、宋两朝所赐李、赵姓氏，改姓“嵬名” ，自称吾祖(党项语音译，也译为兀卒、乌珠)，意为 “青天子” ，表示要与中原汉人皇帝自称的“黄天子”平起平坐，以示抗衡。
第二，在夏国境内不使用宋朝年号，而改用自己所颁定的年号。他在宋明道二年 (1033)，以宋朝年号中有 “明”字，与他父亲的名字“德明” 中的 “明”字相同，犯了他的父讳，于是便将 “明道”改为“显道” 。此后，元昊一发不可收，多次擅自改定年号，先后有开运(1034) 、广运 (1035～1036)、大庆(1036～1038)等。
第三，变服饰，改礼乐，创文字，一切皆从蕃俗。元昊下令在全国统一着蕃服，自己则穿白色窄袖衫，头戴红里白色毡帽，后垂红色绶结，以表示与中原皇帝身着宽袖长袍有区别。同时，还在境内颁布 “秃发令” ，从自己开始，人人都剃光头，并要男女双耳全部戴上大型圆耳环，“三日不从令，许众杀之” 。另外，在礼乐方面，他反对一切遵宋制的做法。他对大臣野利仁荣说： “王者制礼作乐，道在宜民。蕃俗以忠实为先，战斗为务，若唐宋之缛节繁音，吾无取焉。”于是在一切祭祀等活动中，改九拜为三拜，改音乐的五音为一音，并令今后 “国中悉用胡礼” 。更为有气魄的是，元昊令野利仁荣制蕃书，就是今天人们所称的 “西夏文” 。他命令，在境内凡纪事、行文等都必须使用蕃书。元昊大庆元年 (1036)，再颁令尊 “蕃书” 为 “国字” 。“国中艺文诰牒，尽易蕃书。”对外交往公文，实行蕃、汉并列。如果是与其他蕃国交往，则使用番、汉并列，用以突出夏国的独立地位。
第四，按照夏境地情和本民族的习惯，并参照宋朝的政治制度，彻底改革夏国的官制。官员分为文武两班，分别称为中书、枢密、三司、御史台、开封府、翊卫司、官计司、受纳司、农田司、群牧司、飞龙院、磨勘司、文思院、蕃学、汉学。自中书令、宰相、枢使、大夫、侍中、太尉以下，都分别任命蕃、汉各一人担任。对于地方行政区域的管理，也仿照中原王朝历代的形式，划分为府、州、县三级，并改兴州为兴庆府，定为国都。
第五，对外用兵，扩展疆域，消除立国的后顾之忧。元昊大庆元年(1036) ，首先攻取回鹘人控制的瓜、沙、肃三州 (今甘肃安西、敦煌、酒泉)，完全占领河西地区。同年，又从吐蕃人手中抢夺了兰州等地，使其势力一直伸展到南部的马衔山 (今甘肃临洮北)。这时，元昊“悉有夏、银、绥、宥、静、灵、盐 (今陕西定边) 、会 (今甘肃靖远)、胜(今内蒙古准格尔旗境)、甘、凉、瓜、沙、肃，而洪(今陕西靖边南)、定 (今宁夏平罗南) 、威 (今宁夏同心韦州镇)、龙 (今陕西志丹县北)皆即堡镇号州” ，疆域 “东尽黄河，西界玉门，南接萧关，北控大漠，地方万余里” 。最强盛的时候，夏国号称是一个拥有三十多个州的 “万里之国” 。夏国北阻黄河，西倚贺兰山为固，地广兵众，全国的军事防务分为左右两厢、分立十二个监军司，各设都统军、副统军、监军使一员，都由贵戚豪右担任主要将领。军力部署为： 以七万人护卫兴庆府，五万人镇守西平府，五万人驻防贺兰山。以左厢宥州路五万人和河南五万人防宋，以河北七万人防契丹，又以右厢甘州路三万人备回鹘、吐蕃。
第六，排除异己，整肃内部，确立自己的权威。元昊继位之时，立生母卫慕氏为皇太后，又纳娶舅父的女儿卫慕氏为皇妃。卫慕家族是实力雄厚的一个大部族，所以，后宫和朝政大权实际上被卫慕一姓所控制，这对元昊的权力构成了威胁。元昊就找借口说卫慕家族的首领卫慕山喜，有谋杀他和夺权的阴谋，而把卫慕家族成员抓起来，全部沉入黄河淹死。又用药酒毒死自己的生母，并杀了爱妃卫慕氏，把卫慕家族灭了门。后来，掌握着军权，并很有谋略，又有威望的元昊的叔父嵬名山遇，也因权重、有才和得人心的原因，被元昊寻机诛杀，并灭了门。
西夏王陵——“东方金字塔”
Tombs of Western Xia Emperors—the Eastern Pyramids
元昊完成了称帝的重大部署以后，终于在兴庆府筑坛受册，自称皇帝，史称世祖始文本武兴法建礼仁孝皇帝，国号大夏 (史称 “西夏” ) ，改元天授礼法延祚。次年，元昊上表给宋廷，表中有“称王则不喜，朝帝则是从” ，“伏愿一垓之土地，建为万乘之邦家”等语。宋仁宗接表后又惊又怒，立即下诏削夺赵元昊的一切御封官爵，对夏实施全面的经济制裁，封闭榷场，禁止互市，还在全国和边境各路府城乡广为张榜，“募人能擒元昊若斩首献者，即为定难军节度使” 。与此同时，宋廷加强对夏的军事部署，任命朝廷重臣尚书左丞夏竦知泾州兼泾原秦凤路沿边经略安抚使、泾原路马步军都总管，负责全盘指挥对夏征讨的军事行动，又任命大将范雍兼鄜延环庆路沿边经略安抚使、鄜延路马步军都总管，厉兵秣马，准备大举伐夏。元昊针对宋朝的强烈反应，辩解说： “蕃汉各异，国土迥殊，幸非僭逆，嫉妒何深! 况元昊为众心之所推，循拓跋之远裔，为帝图王，有何不可?”并无丝毫退让之意，也积极准备以兵刀回应宋廷的征讨。
从此，宋夏双方战事不断，给广大人民带来了极大的痛苦，其中一些著名的攻防战役，如金明寨、三川口、好水川、定川寨之战，以及西夏国与契丹的几次大战，虽然互有胜败，但双方国力大耗，官兵厌战情绪滋生，终于又走上了停战议和的道路。经过讨价还价，终于在宋庆历四年，即夏天授礼法延祚七年 (1044)，双方达成协议，宋册封元昊为夏国主，元昊对宋称臣。宋朝每年赏赐夏国银、绢、茶折合二十余万两白银; 重新开放保安军和镇戎军高平寨榷场，并同意夏使至京，可以就驿买卖; 允许夏自置官属，不须申报和批准。实际上宋廷对夏只有一个条件，就是只要你对中央称臣，保住朝廷和皇帝的面子就可以了，等于是以高价买回了一个脸面而已。而元昊，虽然在表面上对宋称臣，但实质上争取到 “夏国”合法的政治地位，并且仍然 “帝其国中自若也” ，还能得到大量的所谓“赏赐” ，何乐而不为呢? 同样，夏与契丹的战争，也是以双方协议而告终。
为了支持夏国庞大战争机器的物质需要，元昊一手抓军事，一手抓经济。在发展经济方面，元昊也有所建树。他既重视党项人传统的畜牧业，更加重视农业，如在贺兰山东麓开渠引水，被后人称之为 “昊王渠” 。在中央政权中设立农田司、群牧司，专管农牧业生产。手工业生产也有较快的发展，他充分利用夏州境内丰富的铁矿资源，在州东设“铁冶务” ，对矿产的开采和冶炼进行集中管理。当时夏国所生产的甲胄工艺先进，“皆冷锻而成，坚滑光莹，非劲弩可入” ，与西夏剑一起闻名天下。在商业贸易方面，也能抓住和平的间隙，加强与宋通商，并利用赴宋朝京都进贡之便，“以钱银博买物色比前数多” ，大量储备军用和民用物资。在建筑业上更是成就巨大。元昊称帝后，为其祖父、父亲在贺兰山东麓大修陵园，在兴庆府和贺兰山、天都山大规模修建行宫、塔寺，其工程之宏大，建筑工艺水平之高，都可以与内地的相媲美。此外，在文化建设方面，也取得了显著的成绩。如推广蕃字，培养精通蕃汉文化的人才。他是继德明之后，第二次从宋朝求得佛经，并首先开始用西夏文翻译佛经和儒家经典的统治者。元昊还不拘一格，善用人才，如汉族文人张元、吴昊二人由宋投奔西夏后不久，元昊就能力排众议，委以重任。张元还担任过夏国中书令和国相，在元昊的西夏政权中起了重要的作用。
元昊的生活荒淫无度，乱伦悖常，他的后宫虽然嫔妃众多，但还是肆意霸占民女，甚至他身旁大臣们的妻女，只要美貌有姿色的，往往很难逃出其魔掌。他先后宠爱过野利家族的野利氏， 大臣没��皆山的女儿没��氏， 野利遇乞的妻子没藏氏， 甚至还把自己亲生儿子宁令哥的妻子夺为己有，称为 “新皇后” ，并为此女人而把儿子的太子身份也废除了。为了供自己享乐，元昊在天都山营造行宫，在贺兰山修筑离宫，终日与旧宠新欢们“游宴其中” 。
夏天授礼法延祚十一年(1048)，元昊被自己的儿子宁令哥刺杀身亡，时年四十六岁。谥“武烈皇帝” ，庙号景宗，墓号泰陵。
Yuan Hao (1003-1048)，the first Emperor of the Western Xia Dynasty. He wasalso called LiYuanhao orZhao Yuanhao.HisstylenamewasWeiLi.Later，he changed his family name to Weiming and his given name to Nangxiao. Hehad reigned over the country from 1038 to 1048. His father was Li Deming and his mother was a woman whose family name was Weimu.
Yuan Hao was ambitious，crafty and creative. On one hand，he was good at Chinese，Fan-Ru，interpreting books and laws and adept with both pen and sword and was both wise and courageous. On the other hand，Yuan Hao was cruel，aggressive，addicted to killing and fond of women. He was designated the crown prince when he was 25 and he became the emperor when he was 29. He was conferred many titles by the Song Dynasty： Tejing and Jianxiao Taishi and Shizhong，Dingnan Jiedushi;Guanchachuzhiyafan Luoshi of Xia，Yin，Sui，You and Jing and Xiping Wang. He was also conferred the title of Xiaguogong by Qidan.
When Yuan Hao was young，he was very ambitious. He often tried to persuade his father not to be a subject to the Song Dynasty. He thought that it was not a longterm plan "to use money given by the Song Dynasty to raise Fan people，drill the Fan soldiers，go on the punitive expedition invade and occupy the other county's territoryand became rich". His father said to him： "Our nation has silk clothes for 20 years because of the kindness of the Song Dynasty，we should not betray it." Yuan Hao was angry and he argued with his father： "We are Fans and we were born heroes，we should clothe in hide with fur，go in for animal husbandry and become powerful leaders. Why should we clothe in silk?" When Yuan Hao became the Emperor of the Western Xia，he began to make preparation for his own empire. First，Yuan Hao abolished the family name Li and Zhao which were conferred by the Tang Dynasty and the Song Dynasty.He changed his family name to Weiming and called himself Wuzu (in Tanguts'language，it was translated into Wuzu or Wuzhu)，that meant "black Emperor". The name revealed Yuan Hao's implied intention-he wanted to be equal with the "Yellow Emperor" in Central Plains of the Chinese.
Second，Yuan Hao didn't use the reign title of the Song Dynasty in the Western Xia. He used the reign title created by himself. In the 2nd year of Mingdao of the Song Dynasty (1033)，Yuan Hao changed the reign title to "Xiandao"，only because the"Ming" in "Mingdao" was the same as the "Ming" in his father's name. From then on，Yuan Hao changed reign titles many times. There were Kaiyun (1034)，Guangyun(1035-1036)，Daqin (1036-1038) etc.
Third，Yuan Hao changed the style of clothes and the protocols. He created new characters and changed other things following the traditional way of the Fan. Yuan Hao ordered all the people dressed in Fan's traditional clothes. He himself was in white narrow-sleeve coat，white zha-hat with red lining and a red tie. The style of the clothes showed the difference from the wide-sleeve coat of the emperor in Central Plains. Meanwhile，he issued "the order of balding" in the country. He himself and the male people should shave the hair. And he ordered all the people，not only the female but also the male should wear big round ear-rings. "If there were persons who didn't obey the order，they should be killed." Moreover，he objected the protocols of the Song Dynasty. He said to his courtier Yeli Renrong： "The purpose of making protocols is to teach the people. Fan's protocols should put 'honesty' in the first place; attach importance to the spirit of fighting. I would not borrow any tedious protocols from the Song Dynasty." In all the sacrificial rites，Yuan Hao changed 9 bows to 3 bows，5 kinds of music to 1 kind. He ordered that： "All the things should be done in the way of Hu."More significantly，Yuan Hao asked Yeli Renrong to create Fan's characters，which is called "the Western Xia characters" today. He ordered that all the written documents should in Fan-character. In the first year of Daqin (1036)，Yuan Hao issued anotherorder and make Fan-character as "the national character"，"all the written things should be written in Fan-character，including music，literature and political thing." In the written documents of the diplomacy，they should be written in both Fan-character and Chinese. If the document was written to another Fan-country，it should be written in Fan-character or both Fan-character and Chinese in order to enlighten the independence of the Western Xia.
Fourth，according to the geographic situation and the customs of the Fan，Yuan Hao reformed the official system of Xia thoroughly. He divided all the officials into two groups. The titles were： Zhongshu，Qumi，Sansi，Yushitai，Kaifeifu，Yuweisi，Guanjisi，Shounasi，Nongtiansi，Qunmusi，Feilongyuan，Mokansi，Wensiyuan，Fanxue and Hanxue. Below Zhongshuling，Zaixiang，Qushi，Dafu，Shizhong and Taiwei，the officials were one Fan and one Chinese. As to the regional administration，Yuan Hao followed the traditional system of Central Plains and divided it into 3 classes-Fu，Zhou and Xian. Yuan Hao changed Xingzhou to Xingqinfu，and made it the national capital of the Western Xia.
Fifth，Yuan Hao invaded the neighboring countries and enlarged the territory in order to eliminate the troubles of the country. In the first year of Daqin (1036)，YuanHao seized Gua，Sha and Su (present-day Anxi，Dunhuang and Jiuquan in Gansu Province) from Huihu and controlled Hexi region completely. In the same year，he seized Lanzhou and other places from Tufan. Then his forces were spread to Maxian Mountain (the northern part of Lintao in Gansu Province today) in the south. At that time，Yuan Hao "has Xia，Yin，Sui，You，Jing，Ling，Yan (Dingbian of Shaanxi Province today)，Hui (Jingyuan of Gansu Province today)，Sheng (Zhunge'er Qi of Inner Mongolia today)，Gan，Liang，Gua，Sha，Su. And Hong (the southern part of Jingbian of Shaanxi Province)，Ding (the southern part of Pinglou in Ning Xia)，Wei(Weizhou town of Tongxin in Ning Xia)，Long (the northern part of Zhidan in Shaanxi Province) are towns of Xia". Xia's territory was more than 10 thousand sqkms，"there is Yellow River in the east，Yumen in the west，Xiaoguan in the south and the Desert in the north". In its most powerful and prosperous time，Xia was a very big country having more than 30 Zhous. Xia had large territory and a great number of soldiers; it also had very good natural barriers： there was Yellow River in the north，Helan Mountain in the west. Xia's national martial defense was divided into the LeftPart and the Right Part and 12 Jianjunsis. Bellow every Jianjunsi，there were Dutongjun，Futongjun and Jianjunshi. All of the generals were imperial relatives. The military strength was deployed in the following way： there were 70 thousands soldiers guardedXingqin Fu，50 thousands soldiers guarded Xiping Fu and 50 thousands soldiers guardedHelan Mountain. In the Left Part，there were 50 thousands soldiers in Youzhou and 50thousands soldiers in He Nan defending the Song Dynasty，there were 70 thousands soldiers in Hebei defending Qidan. In the Right Part，there were 30 thousands soldiers in Ganzhou Road defending Huihu and Tufan.
Sixth，Yuan Hao got rid of dissidents and eliminated enemies in the government and consolidated the authority. When Yuan Hao became the emperor，he conferred his mother Weimu Shi the empress dowager，and married his uncle's daughter. Then，Weimu family became a very big and powerful family and controlled the imperial harem and the court. That was a big challenge to Yuan Hao's power. Later，Yuan Hao said that the leader of Weimu family Weimu Shanxi wanted to kill him and seize the power. So Yuan Hao arrested all the family members of Weimu family and drowned them in Yellow River. Then，Yuan Hao poisoned his mother，killed his imperial concubine Weimu and exterminated the entire family of Weimu. Later，Yuan Hao killed his another uncle Weiming Shanyu and exterminated his family，only because he was powerful，talented and popular.
When Yuan Hao finished his arrangements，he built an altar in Xingain Fu and called himself the emperor. In the history，he was called Shizu-Wenben-Wuxing-Fajian-Liren-Xiao emperor. The title of the reigning Dynasty was Daxia (the Western Xia in the history) and the reign title was Tianshou-Lifa-Yanzuo. In the next year，Yuan Hao wrote a letter to the Song Dynasty and said that： "I am not glad to say I am a king，because I want to be an emperor"，and "I hope I will build a powerful county in a small place". Renzong emperor of the Song Dynasty was shocked and enraged. He issued an imperial edict and abolished all the conferred titles to Yuan Hao，and carried on economic sanction to Xia，including closing the markets and forbidding trade. He ordered to put announcement in every town and village in the border areas and said that： "The person who catches Yuan Hao or beheads Yuan Hao will be promoted to Dingnan Jiedushi."Meanwhile，the Song Dynasty strengthened its military planning on Xia Dynasty and appointed Xia Song，Shangshu Zuocheng，to Zhijingzhou and Jingyuan Qinfeng Road Yanbianjinglue Anfushi and Jingyuan Road Mabujun Duzongguan. Xia Song would be in charge of the military actions of going on the punitive expeditions to Xia. Then，the Song Dynasty appointed the general Fan Yun to Fuyanhuanqin Road Yanbianjinlue Anfushi and Fuyanhuanqin Mabujun Duzongguan，who would be in charge of the preparation for the war.Facing the strong reaction of the Song Dynasty，Yuan Hao tried to defend himself and said that： "Fan and Chinese are different and their territory are different. I haven't overstated theauthority. Why does the Song Dynasty envy me? Moreover，Yuan Hao was elected by his people and Yuan Hao was a Fan，why shouldn't he be an emperor?" Yuan Hao made no concession and made good preparation for the expedition of the Song Dynasty.
From then on，there were series battles between the Song and the Xia，which brought great sufferings to the common people. There were some famous battles in the history，for example，Jinmingzhai，Sanchuankou and Dingchuanzhai and there were battles between Xia and Qidan also. In the battle，the national power of both sides was injured and the people of every country were tired of fighting，so they reached a cease-fire agreement. After the longyear negotiation，in the 4th year of Qinli of the Song Dynasty and the 7th year of Tianshou Lifa Yanzuo of the western Xia (1044)，Yuan Hao and the Song Dynasty had an agreement.The Song Dynasty conferred Xiaguogong to Yuan Hao and Yuan Hao declared himself a subject to the Song Dynasty. The Song Dynasty would give silver，silk，tea and other things，which costs more than 200 thousands Liang silver，to Xia every year，reopen the market in Bao'anjun and the military site Gaopingzhai，allow the emissaries of Xia to do business in the national capital of the Song Dynasty and allow Xia set up its own official system without permission. In fact，the Song Dynasty had only one condition—if Yuan Hao could declare himself a subject to the Song Dynasty and do a favor to the Song dynasty，that would beenough. And the Song Dynasty bought his "dignity" with a lot of money. To Yuan Hao，he declared himself a subject to the Song Dynasty and got the legal political position. Moreover，he could get a lot of money every year. Why shouldn't he be a subject to the Song Dynasty?Later，the battle between Xia and Qidan ended with an agreement.
In order to meet Xia's martial demand，Yuan Hao paid much attention not only to military affairs but also to economy. He did great attribution to Xia's economic development and he attached great importance to Tanguts' traditional animal husbandry and agriculture. He ordered his people dig a canal，which was call "the canal of Emperor Hao"，in the east of Helan Mountain. In the government，Yuan Hao set up Nongtie Ci，Yunmu Ci which duty was in charge of the production of agriculture and animal husbandry. During the reign of Yuan Hao，handicraft industry also developed rapidly. Yuan Hao took advantage of Xia's abundant Iron-mine，set up an "Iron-mining Wu" and made unified arrangement about mining and metallurgy. At that time，the armor made in Xia was very famous because it was"made from cold-forge，hard and smooth，bright and clean. Only the strongest arrow could break it". Its fame was equal to "the sword of the Western Xia". In the industry and trade，Yuan Hao grasped the peaceful chance，strengthened the commerce with the Song Dynasty.He took advantage of going to the national capital of the Song Dynasty and "bought every kind of things" and stored lots of military and civil materials. Yuan Hao also made great achievement in architecture. When Yuan Hao became the emperor，he built graveyard for his father and his grand-father in the east of Helan Mountains. He also built palaces and temples in Xingqin Fu，Helan Mountains and Tiandu Mountains. The grandness and the building level of the buildings were equal to that of the buildings in Central Plains. In the culturalconstruction，Yuan Hao made great contribution too. He popularized Fan-characters，cultivated the talents who were good at Fan and Chinese cultures. Yuan Hao was the second person from Deming，who got Buddhist sutras from the Song Dynasty，and he was the first person who translated the Buddhist sutras and Confucian Books into the Western Xia characters. Moreover，Yuan Hao was good at choosing and using personnel. He used not only Fans but also Chinese persons. For example，Yuan Hao neglected the disagreement of his courtiers and appointed Zhang Yuan and Wu Hao，who went to Xia for a short time，to the important positions. Zhang Yuan held the posts of Zhongshuling and Guoxiang and played a very important role in the government of the Western Xia.
Yuan Hao led a life of luxury and debauchery and committed incest. Although there were many imperial concubines in imperial harem，he seized other beautiful women willfully.He even seized the wives and daughters of his courtiers，if they were beautiful. He loved many women in his life，including the daughter of his courtier Moyi Jieshan，the wife of his courtier Yeli Yuqi，even the wife of his own son Ninglingge. Yuan Hao called this woman "the new-empress"，and abolished his son's title of "crown prince" because of this woman.Yuan Hao built palaces in Tiandu Mountains and Helan Mountains for his women，and held parties from morning to night.
In the 11th year of Tianshou Lifa Yanzuo of the Western Xia (1048)，when Yuan Hao was 46 years old，he was killed by his son Ninglingge. His posthumous title was"Wulie Emperor"， his temple title was "Jingzong" and his tomb title was "Tailing" Ⓔ.
