Shenzong

Shenzong (born 1048, China—died 1085, China) was the temple name (miaohao) of the sixth emperor (reigned 1067–85) of the Song dynasty (960–1279) of China. During his reign some of the greatest intellectual and cultural figures of the era flourished, among them Ouyang Xiu and Su Dongpo.

Under the Shenzong emperor, the radical reformer Wang Anshi carried out his economic and social program. Low-interest government loans to peasants were instituted, new land surveys were made to correct tax inequities, and government revenues were increased by a program of purchasing manufactured specialties in one region and selling them in another. To augment the military forces and maintain local security, Shenzong and Wang ordered the training of local militia groups in all villages. The government also procured horses and assigned them to peasant families in North China.

Although the Shenzong emperor continued to implement the reforms, Wang himself created so much personal antagonism that he had to retire from office in 1076. The magnitude of the program and the ineptness of the bureaucracy prevented the program from achieving any great success. On Shenzong’s death, the regents who ruled for his young son were dominated by conservative officials who revoked all the reforms.

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When the new emperor came of age, the reforms were restored, but the struggle between the two factions continued for several generations, not only denying Shenzong’s reforms the chance to take effect but nullifying any good that might have been accomplished by the programs of either side.