Emperor Yingzong of Song

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Emperor Yingzong of Song

Birth and death:	16 February 1032–25 January 1067
Family name:	Zhao (趙)
Given name:	Zongshi¹ (宗實), later Shu² (曙)
Dates of reign:	May 2, 1063–25 January 1067
Temple name:	Yingzong (英宗)
Posthumous name: (short)	Never used short
Posthumous name: (full)	Emperor Tiqian Yingli Longgong Shengde Xianwen Suwu Ruisheng Xuanxiao³ 體乾應歷隆功盛德憲文肅武睿聖宣孝皇帝
General note: Dates given here are in the Julian calendar. They are not in the proleptic Gregorian calendar. ——— 1. Was named Zongshi in 1036. 2. Had his name changed into Shu in 1062 when he was officially named crown prince. This name became his taboo name when he ascended the throne the next year. 3. This is the final version of the posthumous name given in 1083.

Emperor Yingzong (February 16, 1032 – January 25, 1067) was the fifth emperor of the Song Dynasty of China. His personal name was originally Zhao Zongshi but he later changed it to Zhao Shu. He reigned from 1063 to 1067. His temple name means "Outstandingly Talented Ancestor".

In 1055 the Emperor Renzong fell ill and as he had no surviving sons there was a threat to the succession. Under prompting from his Court officials Renzong agreed to bring two boys, sons of Imperial clansmen, into the palace. Yingzong was the thirteenth son of Zhao Yunrang (趙允讓) (995-1059), known posthumously as Prince Pu Anyi (濮安懿王). Zhao Yunrang was 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 ((趙元份) (969-1005), known posthumously as Prince Shang Gongjing (商恭靖王), and younger brother of Emperor Zhenzong. Yingzong's mother, from the Ren (任) family, was the third wife of Prince Pu Anyi, and was titled xianjun¹ of Xianyou (仙遊縣君).

Yingzong's reign is known for controversy over the correct rituals to be performed by the Emperor for his father. Yingzong had been adopted by Renzong and so the ritual sense Renzong was Yingzong's father. In a more strictly biological sense, Zhao Yunrang was Yingzong's father. Some officials wished Zhao Yunrang to be given the title of "Imperial Uncle", however Yingzong sided with Ouyang Xiu and others and granted him the title "Parent". This was not only an early sign of more conflict during Xiaozong's reign but also the Great rites controversy of the Ming Dynasty.

[edit] Notes

¹ Xianjun is a title literally meaning "first lady of the county," which was given to the wives of a certain category of Chinese civil servants during imperial times.