Emperor Shenzong of Song

Emperor Shenzong of Song
宋神宗
Palace portrait on a hanging scroll, kept in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, Taiwan
Emperor of the Song dynasty
Reign25 January 1067 – 1 April 1085
Coronation25 January 1067
PredecessorEmperor Yingzong
SuccessorEmperor Zhezong
BornZhao Zhongzhen (1048–1067)
Zhao Xu (1067–1085)
25 May 1048
Died1 April 1085(1085-04-01) (aged 36)
Burial
Yongyu Mausoleum (永裕陵, in present-day Gongyi, Henan)
Consorts
(m. 1066⁠–⁠1085)
Empress Qincheng
(m. 1068⁠–⁠1085)
Empress Qinci
(before 1085)
IssueEmperor Zhezong
Zhao Bi
Emperor Huizong
Zhao Yu
Zhao Shi
Zhao Cai
Princess Xianmu
Princess Xianxiao
Princess Xianjing
Era dates
Xining (熙寧): 1068–1077
Yuanfeng (元豐): 1078–1085
Posthumous name
Emperor Tiyuan Xiandao Fagu Lixian Dide Wanggong Yingwen Liewu Qinren Shengxiao (體元顯道法古立憲帝德王功英文烈武欽仁聖孝皇帝) (conferred in 1113)
Temple name
Shenzong (神宗)
HouseZhao
DynastySong (Northern Song)
FatherEmperor Yingzong
MotherEmpress Xuanren
Emperor Shenzong of Song
Chinese宋神宗
Literal meaning"Spiritual Ancestor of the Song"
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinSòng Shénzōng
Zhao Xu
Traditional Chinese趙頊
Simplified Chinese赵顼
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinZhào Xū
Zhao Zhongzhen
Traditional Chinese趙仲鍼
Simplified Chinese赵仲针
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinZhào Zhòngzhēn
Tomb guardian at Emperor Shenzong's tomb

The Emperor Shenzong of Song (25 May 1048 – 1 April 1085), personal name Zhao Xu, was the sixth emperor of the Song dynasty of China. His original personal name was Zhao Zhongzhen but he changed it to "Zhao Xu" after he acceded to the throne. He reigned from 1067 until his death in 1085 and is best known for supporting Wang Anshi's New Policies. He was a particularly active monarch concerned with solving the fiscal, bureaucratic, and military problems of the Song dynasty, but his reign remains controversial.