Fat Sharing Game in the Song Dynasty
About This Novel
This book is an in-depth analysis of the political power distribution mechanism in ancient China, focusing on the fundamental differences in the institutional design of the Han and Song dynasties. The work uses the "fat sharing game" as a metaphor to reveal the pros and cons of the two models of military enfeoffment in the Han Dynasty and civilian governance in the Song Dynasty: the former gave rise to feudal feudalism but maintained military vitality, while the latter used imperial examinations to centralize power in exchange for internal stability but led to the decline of military force. Through multi-dimensional comparisons such as power distribution, official selection, court struggles, and military systems, the book shows how the two governance logics shaped the destiny of the empire. It especially provides an in-depth analysis of the three-redundancy dilemma caused by the "strong branches and weak branches" design in the Song Dynasty and the institutional contradictions faced by Wang Anshi's reform. It ultimately points to a core proposition - when the dynasty puts the prevention of internal strife above the defense of foreign aggression, the foreshadowing of its decline has been laid under the appearance of prosperity.
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