He was the fourth son of Emperor Taizu and the younger brother of Zhao Dezhao.
In 976, Zhao Defang had his first official appointment as the Defense Commissioner of Guizhou, which was quickly followed by appointments of Prefect of Xingyuan (興元, today's Hanzhong), Military Commissioner of Shannanxi Circuit (山南西道, around today's Sichuan) and chancellor.
In the winter of 978 he was named Grand Commandant of Inspection (檢校太尉).
Emperor Taizong, his uncle, visited his coffin in tears and cancelled imperial court meetings for 5 days to commemorate him.
The breakdown: The "Eighth Virtuous Prince" in Seven Heroes and Five Gallants was clearly based on the historical Zhao Yuanyan, who