Those Old Things About Zhao Song

This is a dynastic history about "contradictions". The Song Dynasty for three hundred years was an utopia for literati and a tomb for generals and heroes. It has unparalleled prosperity - the tiles and railings are open all night long, movable type printing opens up the people's wisdom, the world's earliest banknotes are born amidst the fireworks in the market, and the literati's pens have both the tenderness of "the dawn wind and the waning moon on the bank of the willows" and the pride of "the great river is going eastward". But in the prosperous age, crisis lurks. The Founding of the People's Republic of China released its military power with a glass of wine, which brought peace but also laid the root of weakness. Civil officials use their pens to stir up party strife, and military generals end in suspicion. The emperor lost sleep in the "ancestral family law" and wavered between reform and conservatism. There are the mysterious cases of the palace with the sound of candles and axes, the lonely bravery of Kou Zhun who forced the palace, Fan Zhongyan's ambition of "worrying first and rejoicing later", and the tragic song of the breakup of two gentlemen, Wang Anshi and Sima Guang. Peace is maintained by yearly coins, dignity is discounted by covenants. When the iron hoof of the north crushed the prosperity of Bianjing, it left behind the thousand-year pain of "Jingkang Shame". The monarchs and ministers who crossed south found peace in the singing and dancing of the West Lake, and wrote their last words in the waves of the naval battle at Yashan. There is Yue Fei's "Shame on Jingkang, it's still not snowing", Xin Qiji's "Looking at Wu Gou and taking pictures of the railings", and Wen Tianxiang, facing the Mongolian Khan's promise to become prime minister, only responded with "No one has ever died since ancient times." Open this book and see a dynasty heading towards its fate amid the torn between glory and humiliation, civilization and barbarism. Here there is conspiracy and loyalty, stubbornness and integrity, the most splendid culture, and the most painful lessons. There are no ifs in history, but the answers are already written in those past events.