Yingzong's short 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 in 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 granted him the title 'Parent'.

The Song Dynasty (960??279) was an imperial dynasty of China that succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period (907??60) and preceded the Yuan Dynasty (1271??368), which conquered the Song in 1279. Its conventional division into the Northern Song (960??127) and Southern Song (1127??279) periods marks the conquest of northern China by the Jin Dynasty (1115??234) in 1127. It also distinguishes the subsequent shift of the Song's capital city from Bianjing (modern Kaifeng) in the north to Lin'an (modern Hangzhou) in the south.