Zhao Heng (968–1022), formally Emperor Zhenzong, is the 3rd emperor of imperial China's Song Dynasty.
He reigns from his father Emperor Taizong's death in 997 until his own death in 1022, when he is succeeded by his son Emperor Renzong.
Emperor Zhenzong's reign is noted for the consolidation of power and the strengthening of the dynasty.
The country prospers, and its military might is further reinforced.
However, it will also mark the beginning of a foreign policy towards the Khitan Empire (Liao Dynasty) in the north that will ultimately result in humiliation.
In 1004, the Khitan wage war against the Song empire.
Zhenzong, leading his army, strikes back at the Khitan.
Despite initial successes, in 1005 Zhenzong concludes the Shanyuan Treaty.
The treaty results in over a century of peace, but at the price of the Song dynasty agreeing to an inferior position to the Khitan, and also agreeing to pay an annual tribute of 100,000 ounces of silver and over 200,000 bolts of silk.
The admission of inferiority will come to plague the foreign affairs of the Song dynasty, while the payments slowly deplete the empire's coffers.
Zhenzong founds a celebrated ceramic kiln at Jingdezhen in 1004, which will continue to produce porcelain for China's imperial use until the fall of the Qing Dynasty 900 years later.
He is also responsible for ordering the shipment of 30,000 bushels of quick-maturing rice seed from the Fujian Province to the lower Yangtze basin in 1011–1012, improving agriculture.
Zhenzong stresses the importance of Daoism at Court.
It is during his reign that the so-called Heavenly Texts, which glorify the Zhao family, are allegedly discovered.
This is followed up by Imperial sacrifices carried out at Mount Tai.
From 1013 to 1015 he issues official decrees deifying the Jade Emperor as the highest ruler of Heaven.
