Emperor Renzong of Song, despite his long…

Emperor Renzong of Song, despite his long reign of over forty years, is not widely known to history.

His reign marks the high point of Song influences and powers but is also the beginning of its slow disintegration that will persist over the next century and a half.

One possible reason behind its weakness is its interpretation of its own foreign policy.

The official policy of the Song Dynasty at this time is one of pacifism and this has caused the weakening of the military.

Western Xia has taken advantage of this deterioration to wage small scale wars against Song China near the borders.

When Renzong came into power, he had issued decrees to strengthen the military and pays massive bribes to the Liao government, an adversary of Western Xia, in the hope that this would ensure the safety of Song China.

However these policies involve a heavy price.

Taxes had been increased severely and the peasants live in a state of perpetual poverty.

This had eventually caused organized rebellions to take place throughout the country and the breakdown of the government.

Emperor Renzong has elevated the forty-sixth generation descendants of Confucius to the current title of Duke Yansheng.

They had previously been of lower noble ranks.

In 1055, the Emperor Renzong had fallen ill, and as he has no surviving sons, there was a threat to the succession.

Under prompting from his Court officials Renzong had agreed to bring two boys, sons of Imperial clansmen, into the palace.

Yingzong is the thirteenth son of Zhao Yunrang (995–1059), known posthumously as Prince Pu Anyi.

Zhao Yunrang had been the first director of the Great Office of [Imperial] Clan Affairs and so the most important clan official at the time.

Moreover Yunrang had been raised in the Palace as a potential heir to Zhenzong before Renzong was born in 1010.

He was a first cousin of Emperor Renzong.

Yingzong's grandfather was Zhao Yuanfen (969–1005), known posthumously as Prince Shang Gongjing, and younger brother of Emperor Zhenzong.

Yingzong's mother, from the Ren family, was the third wife of Prince Pu Anyi, and was titled xianjun of Xianyou (xianjun is a title literally meaning "first lady of the county," which is given to the wives of a certain category of Chinese civil servants).

Renzong, still without a natural heir, dies in 1063 , and Yingzong assumes the imperial throne.