Emperor Shenzong of Song

Emperor Shenzong of Song
Palace portrait on a hanging scroll, kept in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, Taiwan
Emperor of the Song dynasty
Reign	25 January 1067 – 1 April 1085
Predecessor	Emperor Yingzong
Successor	Emperor Zhezong
Born	Zhao Zhongzhen (1048–1067) Zhao Xu (1067–1085) 25 May 1048
Died	1 April 1085 (aged 36)
Empresses	Empress Qinsheng Empress Qincheng Empress Qinci
Concubines	Consort Lin Consort Wu Consort Song Consort Xing Consort Zhang Consort Yang Consort Zhu Consort Qian Consort Guo Consort Gou
Issue	Zhao Yi Zhao Jin Zhao Jun Zhao Shen Zhao Xian Zhao Xu Zhao Jia Zhao Zhou Zhao Bi Zhao Ji Zhao Yu Zhao Si Zhao Cai Princess of Zhou Princess of Chu Princess Shushou Princess of Kang Princess of Yun Princess of Lu Princess of Xing Princess of Bin Princess of Gun Princess of Qing
Era dates Xining (熙寧; 1068–1077) Yuanfeng (元豐; 1078–1085) Posthumous name Tiyuan Xiandao Fagu Lixian Dide Wanggong Yingwen Liewu Qinren Shengxiao Huangdi (體元顯道法古立憲帝德王功英文烈武欽仁聖孝皇帝) (awarded in 1113) Temple name Shenzong (神宗)
House	House of Zhao
Father	Emperor Yingzong
Mother	Empress Gao

Emperor Shenzong of Song
Chinese	宋神宗
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Sòng Shénzōng
Zhao Xu
Traditional Chinese	趙頊
Simplified Chinese	赵顼
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Zhào Xū
Zhao Zhongzhen
Traditional Chinese	趙仲鍼
Simplified Chinese	赵仲针
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Zhào Zhòngzhēn

Emperor Shenzong of Song (25 May 1048 – 1 April 1085), personal name Zhao Xu, was the sixth emperor of the Song dynasty in China. His original personal name was Zhao Zhongzhen but he changed it to "Zhao Xu" after his coronation. He reigned from 1067 until his death in 1085.

During his reign, Emperor Shenzong became interested in Wang Anshi's policies and appointed Wang as the Chancellor. Wang implemented his famous New Policies aimed at improving the situation for the peasantry and unemployed, which some have seen as a forerunner of the modern welfare state. These acts became the hallmark reform of Emperor Shenzong's reign.

Emperor Shenzong sent failed campaigns against the Vietnamese ruler Lý Nhân Tông of the Lý dynasty in 1076.^[1]:71

Emperor Shenzong's other notable act as emperor was his attempt to weaken the Tangut-led Western Xia state by invading and expelling the Western Xia forces from Gansu Province. The Song army was initially quite successful at these campaigns, but during the battle for the city of Yongle, in 1082, Song forces were defeated. As a result, Western Xia grew more powerful and subsequently continued to be a thorn in the side of the Song Empire over the ensuing decades.

During Emperor Shenzong's reign, Sima Guang, a minister interested in the history of the previous 1000 years, wrote a very influential history book, the Zizhi Tongjian or A Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government. This book records historical events from the Zhou dynasty to the Song dynasty. Another notable literary achievement which occurred during his reign was the compilation of the Seven Military Classics, including the alleged forgery of the Questions and Replies between Tang Taizong and Li Weigong.^[2]

Emperor Shenzong died in 1085 at the age of 36 and was succeeded by his son, Emperor Zhezong.

Family

Emperor Shenzong's younger sister (Princess Shuguo, 1051-1080) was married to Wang Shen.^[3]

See also

• Wang Anshi
• Shen Kuo
• List of emperors of the Song dynasty
• Song dynasty

References

1. Maspero, G., 2002, The Champa Kingdom, Bangkok: White Lotus Co., Ltd., ISBN 9747534991
2. Sawyer, Ralph D. (2007). The Seven Military Classics of Ancient China. New York: Basic Books. p. 489. ISBN 0-465-00304-4.
3. • Murck, Alfreda (2000). Poetry and Painting in Song China: The Subtle Art of Dissent. Cambridge (Massachusetts) and London: Harvard University Asia Center for the Harvard-Yenching Institute. ISBN 0-674-00782-4, page 126.