caused organised rebellions to take place throughout the country and the breakdown of the Song government. However, according to the records of History of Song, Renzong was considered to be merciful, tolerant, modest, lenient, and frugal, and seldom revealed his feelings on expressions. One popular folk story of him was about that Emperor Renzong felt hungry one night and was eager to eat mutton. When the servant was about to order the cooks to prepare it, Renzong stopped him and explained that this might cause wastage if the cooks kept cooking mutton from then on, and hence, he preferred to suffer from hunger rather than waste too much. Renzong ordered that officers of government must be very cautious in using the death penalty, and if an officer wrongly sentenced an innocent person to death even once, he would never be promoted. Renzong once said to his near ministers : "I have never used the word 'death' to scold others, how dare I abuse the death penalty?" During Emperor Renzong's reign, the culture of Song Dynasty, especially literature, began to prosper. Many of the most famous literati and poets in Chinese history lived or started their creating careers during his reign, such as Fan Zhongyan, Ouyang Xiu and Mei Yaochen. In the 2nd year of Jiayou, the Imperial Examination enrolled some students who would become famous throughout China. The students included Su Xun, Su Shi, Su Zhe, Zeng Gong, etc. They became the most important literati in Chinese history and also began a new era of Chinese literature. Emperor Renzong elevated the 46th-generation descendants of Confucius to the current title of Duke Yansheng. They were previously of lower noble ranks. In 1054, Chinese astronomers recorded the explosion of SN 1054, a supernova. In 1055, Emperor Renzong became critically ill and started to worry about having no successor because his sons all died prematurely. Acting on the advice of his ministers, Emperor Renzong agreed to bring two of his younger male relatives into his palace. One of them was Zhao Zongshi, the future Emperor Yingzong, who was eventually chosen and designated as the Crown Prince. Renzong died of an illness in 1063 and was succeeded by Emperor Yingzong. Many people mourned his death, including the new Emperor Yingzong and, oddly enough, Emperor Daozong of Liao. Legend According to the 14th-century classical novel Water Margin, the first 27 years of Emperor Renzong's reign