Emperor Shenzong of Song (25 May 1048 – 1 April 1085), personal name Zhao Xu, was the sixth

emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

of the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

of 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.

Reign

During his reign in 1068, Emperor Shenzong became interested in

Wang Anshi Wang Anshi ; ; December 8, 1021 – May 21, 1086), courtesy name Jiefu (), was a Chinese economist, philosopher, poet, and politician during the Song dynasty. He served as chancellor and attempted major and controversial socioeconomic reforms k ...

's policies and appointed Wang as the Chancellor. Wang implemented his famous

New Policies Late Qing reforms (), commonly known as New Policies of the late Qing dynasty (), or New Deal of the late Qing dynasty, simply referred to as New Policies, were a series of cultural, economic, educational, military, and political reforms implemen ...

aimed at improving the situation for the peasantry and unemployed. These acts became the hallmark reform of Emperor Shenzong's reign. Emperor Shenzong sent failed campaigns against the

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia ** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam. * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overse ...

ruler Lý Nhân Tông of the Lý dynasty in 1076. Emperor Shenzong's other notable act as emperor was his attempt to weaken the Tangut-led

Western Xia The Western Xia or the Xi Xia (), officially the Great Xia (), also known as the Tangut Empire, and known as ''Mi-nyak''Stein (1972), pp. 70–71. to the Tanguts and Tibetans, was a Tangut-led Buddhist imperial dynasty of China tha ...

state by invading and expelling the Western Xia forces from Qing prefecture (庆州, today Qingyang, Gansu Province). The Song army was initially quite successful at these campaigns, but during the battle for the city of Yongle (永乐城), 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. Emperor Shenzong hired Muslim warriors from Bukhara to fight against Khitan Liao dynasty. 5,300 Muslim men from Bukhara were encouraged and invited to move to China in 1070 by the Song emperor Shenzong to help battle the Liao empire in the northeast and repopulate areas ravaged by fighting. The emperor hired these men as mercenaries in his campaign against the Liao empire. Later on these men were settled between the Song capital of Bianliang (today Kaifeng) and Yenching (modern Beijing). The circuits (道) of the north and north-east were settled in 1080 when 10,000 more Muslims were invited into China. During Emperor Shenzong's reign,

Sima Guang Sima Guang (17 November 1019 – 11 October 1086), courtesy name Junshi, was a Chinese historian, politician, and writer. He was a high-ranking Song dynasty scholar-official who authored the monumental history book ''Zizhi Tongjian''. Sima was ...

, a minister interested in the history of the previous 1000 years, wrote a very influential history book, the ''

Zizhi Tongjian ''Zizhi Tongjian'' () is a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084 AD during the Northern Song (960–1127), Northern Song dynasty in the form of a chronicle recording Chinese history from 403 BC to 959&n ...

'' or ''A Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government''. This book records historical events from the

Zhou dynasty The Zhou dynasty ( ; Old Chinese ( B&S): *''tiw'') was a royal dynasty of China that followed the Shang dynasty. Having lasted 789 years, the Zhou dynasty was the longest dynastic regime in Chinese history. The military control of China by ...

to the Song dynasty. Another notable literary achievement which occurred during his reign was the compilation of the

Seven Military Classics The Seven Military Classics () were seven important military texts of ancient China, which also included Sun-tzu's ''The Art of War''. The texts were canonized under this name during the 11th century AD, and from the time of the Song dynasty, we ...

, including the alleged forgery of the '' Questions and Replies between Tang Taizong and Li Weigong.'' Aside from the ancient Roman embassies to Han and Three-Kingdoms era China, contact with Europe remained sparse if not nonexistent before the 13th century. However, from Chinese records it is known that

Michael VII Doukas Michael VII Doukas or Ducas ( gr, Μιχαήλ Δούκας), nicknamed Parapinakes ( gr, Παραπινάκης, lit. "minus a quarter", with reference to the devaluation of the Byzantine currency under his rule), was the senior Byzantine e ...

(Mie li yi ling kai sa 滅力伊靈改撒) of Fo lin (i.e. the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

) dispatched a diplomatic mission to China's Song dynasty that arrived in 1081, during the reign of Emperor Shenzong. Emperor Shenzong died in 1085 at the age of 36 from an unspecified illness and was succeeded by his son, Zhao Xu who took the throne as

Emperor Zhezong Emperor Zhezong of Song (4 January 1077 – 23 February 1100), personal name Zhao Xu, was the seventh emperor of the Song dynasty of China. His original personal name was Zhao Yong but he changed it to "Zhao Xu" after his coronation. He reig ...

was underage and so Shenzong’s mother Empress Gao ruled as regent until her death.

Family

Consorts and Issue: * Empress Qinsheng, of the Xiang clan (; 1046–1101) ** ''Princess Shuhuai'' (; 1067–1078), first daughter * Empress Qincheng, of the Zhu clan (; 1052–1102) ** Zhao Xu, Zhezong (; 1077–1100), sixth son ** Zhao Shi, Prince Churongxian (; 1083–1106), 13th son ** Princess Xianjing (; 1085–1115) *** Married Pan Yi () in 1104, and had issue (two sons) * Empress Qinci, of the Chen clan (; 1058–1089) ** Zhao Ji, Huizong (; 1082–1135), 11th son * ''Noble Consort'', of the Xing clan (; d. 1103) ** ''Zhao Jin, Prince Hui'' (; 1071), second son ** ''Zhao Xian, Prince Ji'' (; 1074–1076), fifth son ** ''Zhao Jia, Prince Yudaohui'' (; 1077–1078), seventh son ** ''Zhao Ti, Prince Xuchonghui'' (; 1078–1081), eighth son * ''Noble Consort'', of the Yang clan () * ''Noble Consort'', of the Song clan (; d. 1117) ** ''Zhao Yi, Prince Cheng'' (; 1069), first son ** ''Zhao Jun, Prince Tang'aixian'' (; 1073–1077), third son ** Princess Xianxiao (; d. 1108), fourth daughter *** Married Wang Yu () in 1097 * ''Pure Consort'', of the Zhang clan (; d. 1105) ** ''Princess Xianke'' (; d. 1072), second daughter * Virtuous Consort, of the Zhu clan () ** ''Princess Xianmu'' (; d. 1084) * ''Worthy Consort'', of the Wu clan (; d. 1107) ** Zhao Bi, Prince Wurongmu (; 1082–1106), ninth son ** ''Princess Xianhe'' (; d. 1090) * ''Worthy Consort'', of the Lin clan (; 1052–1090), personal name Zhen () ** Zhao Yu, Prince Yan (; 1083–1127), 12th son ** ''Princess Xianling'' (; d. 1084) ** Zhao Cai, Prince Yue (; 1085–1129), 14th son * ''Cairen'', of the Guo clan () ** ''Zhao Wei, Prince Yi'' (; 1082), tenth son * ''Furen'', of the Xiang clan () ** ''Zhao Shen, Prince Bao'' (; 1074), fourth son * Unknown ** Princess Xianmu (; d. 1111), third daughter *** Married Han Jiayan (; d. 1129) ** ''Princess Xiankang'' (; d. 1085) ** ''Princess Xianyi'' (; d. 1085)

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shenzong Of Song 1048 births 1085 deaths Northern Song emperors 11th-century Chinese monarchs People from Kaifeng Chinese reformers

Reign

Family

Ancestry

See also

References