Zhao Shu

Timeline

1. 1032–1062Bianjing · KaifengZhao Shu was born into the imperial clan's Prince Pu household, entering the palace as a young child as Renzong's adopted son. He was successively enfeoffed as Commandant of Yuezhou and Regional Inspector within Qingzhou, later invested as Yingzong and Crown Prince, receiving heir-apparent education in the palace and long remaining in the line of succession.
2. 1063–1065Bianjing imperial palace · KaifengRenzong died in the eighth year of Jiayou and Zhao Shu acceded, changing the era name to Zhiping. At the start of his reign, due to illness, Empress Dowager Cao governed behind a screen; he later ruled personally, posthumously honored his birth father Prince Anyi of Pu, dealt with disputes over Eastern Palace old ministers and the Censorate, and maintained the political order established since Renzong.
3. 1066–1067Bianjing · KaifengDuring the Zhiping era Yingzong was often ill, and most military and state affairs were delegated to chief ministers such as Han Qi and Zeng Gongliang. He died in the fifth month of the fourth year of Zhiping, and Crown Prince Zhao Xu succeeded him as Emperor Shenzong of Song, as Northern Song politics was about to enter an era of reform.