Song Shenzong

Sòng Shénzōng ( 宋 神宗 )
Family name :	Zhào ( 趙 )
First name :	Zhongzhen ( 仲 鍼 ) 1048-1063 Xu ( 頊 ) 1063-1085
Posthumous title : (short)	uncommon
Posthumous title : (complete)	Emperor Tiyuan Xiandao Fagu Lixian Dide Wanggong Yingwen Liewu Qinren Shengxiao 體 元 顯 道 法 古 立憲 帝 帝 德 王功英 文 烈武 欽 仁聖 孝 皇帝 last version from 1113
Temple name :	Shénzōng ( 神宗 )
Reign:	January 26, 1067–1. April 1085
Era names :	Xīníng ( 熙寧 ) 1068-1077 Yuánfēng ( 元豐 ) 1078-1085

Song Shenzong ( Chinese  宋 神宗 , Pinyin Sòng Shénzōng ; * May 25, 1048 in Kaifeng ; † April 1, 1085 ) was the sixth emperor of the (Northern) Song Dynasty ( Chinese  北宋 , Pinyin Běi Sòng ) and ruled from 1067 to 1085 . His temple name means "divine ancestor".

Born under the name Zhao Zhongzhen as the son of Emperor Yinzong , he changed his first name to Zhao Xu when his father rose to the throne, who only reigned briefly. The time of Emperor Shenzong is marked by the introduction of the reforms of the philosopher Wang Anshis (1021-1086) in 1069, whom the emperor made his chancellor. They served a fairer distribution of the tax burden and compulsory labor borne by the small farmers and artisans, and to lead the nation out of the trough of poverty and weakness. The reforms mainly concerned financial management and the reorganization of the troops. Laws and regulations on land surveying and tax equality, price control, exemption from labor, a pre-harvest loan and the construction of irrigation systems have been passed. The reforms were reversed at the end of Shenzong's reign; The laws of the new Chancellor Sima Guang (1019-1086), an opponent of Wang Anshi , were now enforced . Song Shenzong's son and successor, Zhezong , briefly reintroduced the reforms in 1093, but had little effect in the long term. The ultimate failure of the reforms led to the intensification of class contradictions. New peasant uprisings led by Song Jiang in Shandong and Fang La in Zhejiang were the result.

In terms of foreign policy, Shenzong tried to free its dynasty from the threat posed by the Tangut Empire . He invaded the country and drove the Xixia forces out of Qingzhou (now Gansu ). After initial success, Shenzong's armies were defeated in the Battle of Yongle City in 1082. The empire of the Xixia became stronger and stronger and was the proverbial thorn in the flesh of the Song Dynasty for the following time.

Emperor Shenzong was a friend of fine art. The painter and draftsman Cuī Bái ( Chinese 崔 白 , Pinyin Cuī Bó , W.-G. Ts'ui Po ), who came from Fengyang ( Anhui Province ), was known as a genius and was looking for commissions at the court in Kaifeng. Shenzong obliged him to paint for him after he took office. Only one painting by Cui Bo has survived to this day, "Hare and two magpies", also known as "The two magpies" or "The two bliss".  

In 1080 Emperor Shenzong named the temple built in 916 (time of the late Liang dynasty , according to other sources as early as 907 ( Tang time )) under the name of Bu-ken-qu-Guanyin-Yuan ( Chinese  不肯 去 观音 院 ) Putuoshan Island ( Zhejiang Province ) in Bao-tuo-Guanyin-Si ( Chinese  宝 陀 观音 寺 ) and donated land to the temple organization, which helped the temple complex develop positively.

literature

• Jacques Gernet : The Chinese World. The history of China from the beginning to the present time (= Suhrkamp-Taschenbuch. 1505). 1st edition, reprint. Suhrkamp, ​​Frankfurt am Main 1994, ISBN 3-518-38005-2 .

Web links

• Image of the Puji Temple
• "The two magpies" by Cui Bo

predecessor	Office	successor
Yingzong	Emperor of China 1067-1085	Zhezong
Yingzong	Emperor of the Song Dynasty 1067–1085	Zhezong