A Close Reading of Three Hundred Years of the Two Song Dynasties

This is the first time I have read the history of the Song Dynasty in such a comprehensive way. The detailed description of the Song Dynasty has broadened my horizons and given me the opportunity to fully understand the Song Dynasty. I used to think that the Song Dynasty valued literature over military affairs, but in the process of reading this book, I found that the term "civilization over military affairs" is very inappropriate. The literary or scholar-bureaucrats of the Song Dynasty did have the highest status in the past history, and they also had the best chance to enter the central government and even the center of power. But this alone cannot be said to emphasize literature over martial arts. The reason why the martial arts of the Song Dynasty is considered so is because the Song Dynasty had the shame of Jingkang and had the clothes to travel south. However, the occurrence of these things, especially the historical reasons, can be summarized as follows: 1. The Song Dynasty was established in a period when "emperors took turns and came to my house tomorrow" and "military generals frequently overthrew the previous dynasty and became emperors themselves". Song Tai Guo Wei, the Taizu of the Later Zhou Dynasty who followed his ancestors, obtained the throne by overthrowing the Later Han Dynasty. Therefore, in the early days of the establishment of the Song Dynasty, Taizu was very uneasy about the senior ministers and feudal officials who followed him. All of them had the famous "cup of wine to release military power" in history. Later, these uneasy figures were slaughtered one by one, resulting in the Renzong Dynasty having no generals who could lead troops to fight. 2. When the Song Dynasty was established, Kaifeng was its capital. The northern barrier Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures had already been sold to the Liao State by Shi Jingtang. The Central Plains area was flat and there were no dangerous rivers to defend it. The Liao State was very powerful at that time, so the Liao State, a country that was soon established as a nation, often went south to harass and plunder like the Huns before, and would attack Kaifeng City when you were not paying attention. 3. As mentioned earlier, Taizu killed all the generals and there was no one to lead the troops in the war. The emperors who followed were also afraid that "the generals would be outside and the emperor's orders would not be accepted." However, the situation on the battlefield was changing rapidly, and the generals could not change the plan on their own. Waiting to report to the court before getting the plan might have delayed all the opportunities. Moreover, the various generals fighting outside were not subordinate to each other and had no unified command. They all followed the instructions of the central court, which was equivalent to fighting independently. It was a miracle that such a victory could be achieved. The above are the bad aspects of the Song Dynasty. Let's talk about the good aspects of the Song Dynasty. The first is culture, which can almost be said to be the peak period of ancient history. Five of the Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties were included in the Northern Song Dynasty. Among the famous reformers in history, the Northern Song Dynasty included Fan Zhongyan and Wang Anshi. Among them, Wang Anshi was one of the few reformers in history who has been written into our primary and secondary school textbooks. Although everyone felt aggrieved in the Southern Song Dynasty, great talents such as Xin Qiji, Lu You, and late Wen Tianxiang also emerged. There is also the publication of the "Nine Chapters of Arithmetic" in mathematics, hundreds of years earlier than in Europe. Astronomy, calendars, etc. Have made great progress. For example, the four great inventions of gunpowder and the compass have greatly promoted the development of the Maritime Silk Road. 2. The economy of the Song Dynasty was considered to be good in the entire ancient society. Commodity trade was developed and night markets even appeared. The carpet economy probably appeared at this time. I have to say here that the economy of the Song Dynasty was good, but it was forced to raise troops. The Liao Kingdom in the north and the Xixia Kingdom in the west were not good enemies, and there were no barriers to defend, so they had to support a large number of soldiers to station at the border at all times. The entire Song Dynasty was raising money to raise troops and could not make ends meet, so Fan Zhongyan and Wang Anshi in the Northern Song Dynasty implemented economic reforms to increase income. Among them, Wang Anshi's reforms pushed the economy of the Northern Song Dynasty to its peak. The Southern Song Dynasty was also worried about raising troops, so there were various changes, but these changes were all based on harming the interests of the people. Various exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes made the people's lives more difficult. Let's talk about the economy. According to later calculations, the GDP of the Song Dynasty accounted for more than 50% of the world's GDP at that time, and nearly 80% at its peak. At that time, Europe was in the dark Middle Ages. The Song Dynasty had a splendid culture and a developed economy. If I were asked to choose which period to go back to in ancient times, I would definitely choose the Northern Song Dynasty. If I narrow it down a bit, it would be the Song Shenzong period. I want to witness Wang Anshi's reform, to implement the reform, and to go to the night market to eat and drink in an elegant manner. I want to visit my idol Mr. Dongpo, drink wine with him, share delicious food with him, talk about life with him, and sit leisurely under the fence. I want to go out to sea with the ship, immerse myself in the construction and development of the Maritime Silk Road, and travel to various countries involved in maritime trade. Maybe I will also go to an island country and become the king! 🤭 This is the first time I have such a comprehensive understanding of the Song Dynasty. I will continue to read books about the history of the Song Dynasty to further understand the history of the Song Dynasty and further explore the historical figures and events. See you next time.

Looking at the history of the Song Dynasty, I can't help but sigh. The Song Dynasty was really a "magical" dynasty! The economy and culture of the Song Dynasty were so strong, and many well-known literati were active in the court, including Fan Zhongyan, Ouyang Xiu, Su Shi, Su Che, Sima Guang... Countless, unprecedented and unprecedented! I also admire Zhao Kuangyin's Chenqiao Mutiny and the release of military power over a glass of wine. In such a chaotic era of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, it is really great to be able to end the war and make a smooth transition like this! What a pity! What I didn't expect was that the Song Dynasty's military was not very powerful starting from the second generation of Song Gaozong 😢 There was obviously no shortage of good generals in the Song Dynasty. How many ambitious and capable generals died, especially when I think of Yue Fei, I feel heartbroken! Even after winning the war, we had to cede territory and pay compensation. It was really hard to calm down!

What a great article. At the end, I actually burst into tears. It is because of them that the national spirit has survived and has endured for thousands of years.

This book is very interesting! It made me understand that the Song Dynasty was not as weak as people thought, in fact it was very prosperous in many aspects. Just like my uncle, he is a history teacher and often tells me how great the culture of the Song Dynasty was. And I found that the civil-military relationship mentioned in the book is like my friend and I. He likes sports and I like reading. Although we have different hobbies, we can understand and help each other. This book gave me a deeper understanding of the Song Dynasty. I recommend you to read it too!

The content is indeed rich. The economy, politics, and culture of the Song Dynasty are all displayed one by one, and historical figures also appear in sequence, fulfilling everyone's obligations and completing corresponding historical tasks!

The quality of the book is above average, and the evaluation of historical figures is also relatively objective. Those who want to understand the history of the Song Dynasty can read this book as a stepping stone. The not-so-good thing is that the book is a bit sloppy at the end. The Northern Song Dynasty takes up 3/4 of the whole book. A lot of things in the middle and late Southern Song Dynasty are briefly mentioned. I am a person with limited knowledge. I don't know whether it's because of the history of the Southern Song Dynasty or because the author didn't take this section seriously, but overall it's okay.

Re-reading the history of Song Dynasty, it is very wonderfully written, thank you to the author.

The writing is quite good, but the timeline is a little unclear, otherwise it would be better.

Real and humorous, easy to understand

The writing is quite good, and it doesn't clutter the book bag. It's clear-cut and has some charm.