The Three Hundred Years from Kaifeng Prefecture to Lin'an City

Preface Many people understand the elegance of the Tang and Song Dynasties, the eternal Song poetry, the prosperous night markets, and the fashionable schools of thought, but they have never understood the real Song Dynasty. In the eyes of the world, the Song Dynasty was a prosperous age with rich clothing and fine food, flourishing literary style, and all nations came to court. It was a paradise for literati and the most gentle pinnacle of Chinese civilization. But tearing apart the neat words and whitewashed eulogies of the history books, what is hidden under the prosperous skin is three hundred years of calculation, compromise, tolerance and struggle that have never stopped. This is the most contradictory dynasty. Its economy is the best in ancient and modern times, and it is the richest in the world, but it pays money every year to seek peace and endures for peace; its literary status is unprecedented, with numerous famous ministers and awe-inspiring character, but it has been fighting for hundreds of years and internal strife; it has a perfect start, strong soldiers and horses, ending the chaos of the Five Dynasties, and ending the century-old feudal rule. In the end, it was overturned twice, the mountains and rivers were shattered, the clothes were transferred south, and the country was martyred on the cliffs. The official history only records the successes and failures, the chronicles of the emperors, the biographies of famous ministers, the great achievements of the prosperous times, and the important events of the family and the country. And this book is about the secrets of people's hearts, secret plots, and unspoken truths. I will follow the popular official history narrative writing method, without joking, making magical changes, or fabricating fictional plots. All stories will rely on official historical materials such as "History of the Song Dynasty", "Xuzizhi Tongjian Changbian", and "Three Dynasties Beimeng Huibian". The plot will be driven by characters, and the rise and fall of the three hundred years of the Song Dynasty will be told in vernacular. There are no obscure ancient textual researches, no rigid historical conclusions, only living people: the helplessness of emperors, the games of powerful ministers, the desolation of famous generals, the perseverance of literati, and the ups and downs of little people. Only by understanding these secret things can we truly understand the gentle and cowardly, brilliant and tragic Song Dynasty.