宋太宗

He took the throne in 976 when his brother 赵匡胤 died suddenly, and a legend called 烛影斧声 'candle shadows and the sound of an axe' hints that he killed him. He conquered the Northern Han in 979 and so finished reuniting China, but failed to win back the Sixteen Prefectures from the Liao. Tradition also says he had the captive poet-king 李煜 poisoned.

He ordered the great compilations 《太平御览》 and 《太平广记》. Told that a thousand scrolls were too much for an emperor to read, he answered 开卷有益, 'opening a book always does some good'.