Death of Shen Kuo's Patron Emperor Shenzong

1085

Emperor Shenzong died at thirty-seven, and with him died the political will sustaining Wang Anshi's reforms. The conservative faction, led by Sima Guang, swept back to power and systematically dismantled the New Policies - abolishing the Green Sprouts loans, disbanding the militia system, ending the state trading monopolies. Song China's great experiment in activist governance was over. Whether it had succeeded or failed remained, as always, a matter of which historian you asked.