Bling Empire: Chinese Fans Don’t Believe Gabriel’s Royal Song Dynasty Family Claims

With their estimated $80 million net worth, Bling Empire’s Gabriel and Christine Chiu can certainly be considered a power couple. Their lavish parties and philanthropy make them popular among LA’s elite. But Gabriel may be more than just part of the glitterati. He may be Chinese royalty, tracing his lineage back to the Song Dynasty, although some are questioning this hard-to-prove claim.

The Song Dynasty (also called the Sung Dynasty) stretched from 960 AD until 1279 AD. It was started by Emperor Taizu of Song, also known as Zhao Kuangyin. Under his rule, the population grew rapidly, and he encouraged widespread education, technological advancement, and city growth. But when Genghis Kahn and the Mongols attacked, first the north fell, and eventually, the south followed. During the first episode of Bling Empire, Christine Chiu explains her husband Gabriel’s lineage as a “24th generation direct descent of the Song Dynasty.” 

Some viewers in China have reportedly disputed these claims, pointing out that the Song royal family had a sad end. Typically, after the fall of a dynasty, members of the imperial family and any possible heirs were killed so they couldn’t lay future claim to the throne. If any royal family members did survive the fall of their family’s dynasty, they kept their heritage a secret, basically assuming new identities that make lineage hard to trace. Other people have said that after 1000 years, it’s hard to prove lineage. All of these are valid points to be considered, but not proof against the claim. Socialite and “couture collector” Christine may yet be married to someone with royal blood.

While dethroned royal family members are usually killed immediately, there were exceptions, including during the Song Dynasty. Emperor Gong of Song, also known as Zhao Xian, was only five years old when his family surrendered to the Mongols. He was allowed to live, at least for another 47 years, and married a Mongol woman, with whom he had a son. The son was allowed to live because of his Mongol heritage and eventually had his own family as well. Interestingly enough, the family name Chiu may be a romanized version of the name Zhao, which would seem to give more credence to Christine’s claim. However, Zhao is the 9th most common family name on Earth, so that doesn’t prove much.

Much like the missing Romanov princess Anastasia, who many Russians claimed to be descendants of, many Chinese people claim to be descended from surviving Song royalty. It is hard to prove since there aren’t clear records of what happened to all the family members, some of them escaping and assuming new identities. History does tell of the Zhao Family Fort, where many members of the family escaped. It still stands today and people who believe they are descendants make pilgrimages there. Although the dynasty started over 1000 years ago, it isn’t always impossible to trace lineage that far. The British Royal Family traces their ancestry over 1200 years back, descending from King Alfred the Great from 871.

While Meghan and Harry are moving from royalty to reality TV, the Chius are reality TV royalty. There is no evidence one way or the other to definitively answer if Gabriel Chiu is descended from a Song Dynasty emperor. But with their $80 million and hit reality show, they are already living like royals, whether or not they have royal blood.

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