Zhao Shu

Also known as Zhao Zongshi · Song Yingzong

Zhao Shu, first named Zongshi, was a great-grandson of Emperor Taizong and a son of Zhao Yunrang, Prince of Pu; born in 1032, he was taken into the palace as a child by the sonless Emperor Renzong. He was made imperial son in 1062 and renamed Shu, and when Renzong died the next year he took the throne, but he soon fell ill and Empress Dowager Cao held the curtain regency until 1064. Once the Zhiping era began, officials argued for nearly two years over how he should refer to his natural father: Han Qi and Ouyang Xiu wanted him called 'late father', while Sima Guang and Lu Hui insisted on 'imperial uncle'. In 1066 he set up an office under Sima Guang to compile a history of rulers and ministers, the work that Shenzong later named Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government (Zizhi tongjian). He died in the first month of 1067 aged thirty-six by Chinese reckoning, with the temple name Yingzong.