Emperor Shenzong of Song

Emperor Shenzong of Song, personal name Zhao Xu, was the sixth emperor of the Song dynasty of China and reigned from 1067 until his death in 1085. He is best known for supporting the New Policies of the chancellor Wang Anshi, a program of fiscal, agrarian, bureaucratic and military reforms aimed at easing the situation of the peasantry and raising state revenue. When Wang Anshi retired in 1076, Shenzong took personal control of reform in the Yuanfeng period, restructured the central government around the Six Ministries in 1082 and created the Yuanfeng Treasury. He wanted to expand Song territory and break with the passive stance of his predecessors, but his campaigns against the Western Xia were defeated and the reforms did not achieve their military goals. Conservative officials such as Sima Guang opposed his policies, and his reign remains controversial. He died in 1085 at the age of thirty-six and was succeeded by his son, who became Emperor Zhezong.