Wang Anshi, Reformer of the Great Song

The emperor asked, “The Great Song is riddled with deep-rooted problems. How should we govern it?”

Wang Anshi answered simply, “First, choose the right approach.”

From then on, this civil official set out to cut into the tangled web of the old system.

The Green Sprouts Law freed farmers from exploitation by powerful families charging usurious interest;

The Equal Transport Law exposed years of waste in the imperial court;

The Service Exemption Law required even wealthy households to shoulder their share of state service;

The Baojia Law gave villagers the means to protect themselves;

And the imperial examination reforms aimed to select people who truly knew how to govern.

But once the new laws were introduced, local officials imposed them by force, wealthy families retaliated in secret, and public discontent spread.

Han Qi submitted a memorial condemning the reforms, Sima Guang raised four objections, Lü Huiqing turned against Wang Anshi and settled scores, and even Emperor Shenzong wavered for the first time before the “Refugees’ Map.”

Wang Anshi wanted to save the realm, but discovered that the hardest thing to change was never the law. It was people’s hearts.

When the new laws threatened everyone’s interests, were the Great Song’s reforms saving the country or destroying it?