What impact did the "clique" dispute have on the Northern Song Dynasty? What is the struggle between the old and new parties over? Why were cliques banned repeatedly in the Northern Song Dynasty? Under the intensified party struggle, who suffers the most from both the government and the opposition?
This book is a classic work on the study of party strife in the Northern Song Dynasty. The book takes Wang Anshi's reform as a key node and is based on the old and new party struggles since Shenzong Xining. It focuses on the history of party struggles in the nearly sixty years from Qingli to Jingkang, paying attention to its political emphasis, personnel changes and immediate response to the political situation. It carefully analyzes the actions of political figures and ruling groups in the middle and late Northern Song Dynasty, and the influence of the political situation on the foundation of dynasty rule. It explains the failure of Wang Anshi's reform and the alienation of scholar-official politics, and reveals the inevitability of why scholar-official politics has reached a deadlock. The book has solid historical materials, rigorous research, and the author's writing style is very contagious, with a strong sense of narrative and readability. It can be used as an important reading for understanding the party struggles in the Northern Song Dynasty.
