The Song Dynasty, in addition to the cowards in Jin Yong's novels, also has prosperity and creation that you can't expect!

One after another, one after another, the sounds of music coming from the mouths of artists in restaurants and teahouses, the laughter of citizens, the tunes of silk and bamboo orchestras, and the sound of drinking freely are introduced into the deep palace, spread to Renzong's ears. Renzong couldn't help but ask the palace people: Where are you having fun? When the palace people told him that this was an official restaurant for entertainment, Renzong couldn't help but sigh that he was lonely in the palace, and envied the night market life outside the high wall... This describes the nightlife of the people in the Northern Song Dynasty, from "North Window" The description of "Zhi Tan Lu".

01

When talking about the Song Dynasty, what do you think of?

The first thing I thought of was Jin Yong’s novels.

The Eight Parts of the Heavenly Dragon in the Northern Song Dynasty, The Legend of the Condor Heroes and The Legend of the Condor Heroes in the Southern Song Dynasty. These three masterpieces are all based on the Song Dynasty. But whenever I think of it, the only thing that comes to mind along with the figures of the heroes seems to be that the government is corrupt inside, there are gangsters looking at it outside, the people are homeless and miserable, and the lone hero has no way to serve the country, only a long cry in the mountains Howling desolate. It is a period of suffering when the family will no longer be a home and the country will no longer be a country.

The majestic Song Dynasty really makes people feel like Liu Adou, the empress of Shu, cannot help him up. So for many years, I have not liked the Song Dynasty very much. Throughout Chinese history, the Song Dynasty's presence seems to have been inferior to that of the Han, Tang, Ming and Qing dynasties. Reading this period of history, due to the rendering of novels, movies and television, the Song Dynasty gives people an unspeakable sense of depression.

Of course, except Song Ci!

The Song Dynasty also failed to unify China from beginning to end. Therefore, historians call them the Northern Song Dynasty and the Southern Song Dynasty according to the location of the capital. The Northern Song Dynasty regime successively confronted the Liao, Jin and Xixia. In the first year of Jingkang (1126), the Jin soldiers invaded Kaifeng. Emperors Hui and Qin were captured and made slaves, and they fell the following year. After the fall of the Northern Song Dynasty, Zhao Gou inherited the throne in Yingtian Mansion, Nanjing, and later moved the capital to Lin'an, which was known as the Southern Song Dynasty in history. The historical background of Jin Yong's novels takes place in such a troubled period at the end of a dynasty.

So, firstly, it was in the midst of a dynasty change, and secondly, it was difficult to resist the invasion of barbarians. Naturally, the Song Dynasty in the novel was so weak. Otherwise, how could it highlight the tallness of the heroes?

Although the novel has its fictional elements, the Song Dynasty did not compete with other dynasties in terms of expanding its territory. Its military achievements were relatively weak. It stands to reason that Zhao Kuangyin, the founder of the Song Dynasty, He was a military general, so there was no reason why the Song Dynasty was so weak?

This really has to start with Zhao Kuangyin’s armed seizure of power in the Later Zhou Dynasty and the establishment of the Northern Song Dynasty.

From the late Tang Dynasty to the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, it has always been that "where military power is, it will prosper; where military power is gone, it will fall." Many warlords of the Five Dynasties would openly claim to be emperor once their troops became strong. This was not surprising at the time. Even if Zhao Kuangyin himself is concerned, he first joined the army and then took control of the imperial army, and then seized the throne.

Therefore, after Zhao Kuangyin came to the throne, the first step was to take back military power and prevent history from repeating itself. He planned the drama of "releasing military power over a glass of wine" to concentrate military power in his own hands and reduce the commander-in-chief's power. status and weaken local military power. This series of measures taken by Zhao Kuangyin was intended to prevent future separatist forces from gaining strength and thus threatening the Song Dynasty regime. It is understandable that he deliberately suppressed the growth of military forces outside the imperial power, and he had his reasons. But perhaps what Zhao Kuangyin did not expect was that the negative effects of this "emphasis on internal and external" policy were also terrible - the combat effectiveness of the dynasty's army was greatly weakened, which led to the weakening of resistance to foreign invasions in the future.

In this regard, the Song Dynasty was indeed a bit weak.

However, was the entire Song Dynasty really so cowardly and without any achievements?

The answer is obviously no!

02

In fact, the Song Dynasty had another glorious side.

From the perspective of the entire history of China, it is at the turning point from the Middle Ages to modern times, which is the period of social change between the Tang and Song Dynasties mentioned in the book. No matter in the fields of economy, science and technology, and culture, It can all be called a golden age of prosperity and creation!

German sinologist Kuhn pointed out in "Cultural History of the Song Dynasty" that the establishment of the Song Dynasty brought about fundamental social changes in China at that time. First of all, civilian politics replaced the Tang Dynasty's local vassal towns. The representative military politics, with Confucian-educated literati serving as senior administrative officials in the government, enabled Mencius's idea of ??governing the country by kingship to be put into practice for the first time. Secondly, the Song Dynasty made great achievements in agricultural civilization, urban civilization and material civilization (such as handicraft industry), which laid the foundation for the economic prosperity of the Song Dynasty. Urban commerce and handicrafts have developed rapidly, and a new wealthy class represented by merchants has emerged, which has promoted the development of food culture, tea culture, architecture and residential culture.

Therefore, Kuhn believed that the Song Dynasty was the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of modern times in China.

American historian Murphy has a wonderful discussion of this golden age in Chapter 7 of "Asian History": "China's Golden Age":

——" In many ways, the Song Dynasty was the most exciting era in Chinese history. Later generations of historians criticized it because it failed to withstand the invasion of foreigners and was finally defeated by the Mongols, whom they hated. But it existed from 960 to 1279, which was longer than the average dynasty life span of three hundred years later. "

This was a period of unprecedented development, innovation and cultural prosperity. With a population of approximately 100 million, it was “quite the largest, most productive and most developed country in the world at that time.”

——In the Song Dynasty, the imperial examination system, one of the main glories of the Chinese Empire, reached its peak. One-third or more of the officials selected came from civilian families. "Such a high proportion of social status promotion is astonishing for any pre-modern or even modern society."

——"From many aspects, the Song Dynasty can be regarded as a golden age of political peace, prosperity and creation. Promissory notes, letters of credit and later the large-scale official issuance of banknotes adapted to the development of commerce. Government officials printed and distributed pamphlets promoting improved agricultural techniques; there were glorious advances in irrigation, fertilization, sophisticated new metal tools and the earliest machines, and new and improved varieties of crops, often sponsored by wealthy urban merchants and the imperial court. The promotion of cheap printing promoted the prosperity of literature, and novels and storybooks proliferated.”

The above discussion by the two Western historians is not an exaggeration and is completely well-founded.

03

The significance of a dynasty’s existence in history does not only refer to its achievements in civil and military affairs at that time, but more importantly, it depends on the living conditions of the people at that time. And how much influence this dynasty had on later generations.

The Song Dynasty should be unparalleled in these two aspects.

In terms of the national talent selection system, the most substantial reform for scholars in the Song Dynasty was the imperial examination.

After the drastic social changes in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, although the aristocracy was close to collapse under the general situation, the remaining forces still existed tenaciously. Most of the country's top officials still come from aristocrats, and public opinion still reflects the aristocratic spirit. Although the imperial examination system founded in the Sui Dynasty had long been open to the common people, it still had restrictions on family status. In the Song Dynasty, the imperial examination system truly developed to the point where only articles were considered, regardless of family status. This was completely different from the past.

In addition to the imperial examination, the greatest benefit to ordinary people is the new development of traditional agriculture and the commercial revolution.

As mentioned at the beginning of the article, the total population of the country in the early Song Dynasty was 35 million. After more than a hundred years, the population increased rapidly. By the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, the total population had reached nearly 140 million. Such a rapid increase in population shows that it was a time of governance and the people were able to thrive for a long time. This would have been absolutely impossible if it had been a time of chaos.

The main reason for population growth is that traditional agriculture has achieved rapid development during this period. The emergence of various new technologies, such as the increase in rice yield per unit area. At that time, people said that in the two Zhejiang areas, one acre of high-quality rice fields could yield five or six shi of rice, which was about 750 to 900 kilograms. This was a very high yield, and these records can be checked.

The new development of traditional agriculture is of epoch-making significance. It provides a broad space for the development of industry and commerce, leading to the early emergence of the "commercial revolution" and becoming a dazzling highlight in the history of the Song Dynasty.

In "China: Tradition and Change" co-authored by Fairbank and Reischauer, they wrote that the great economic development of the Song Dynasty, especially the development of business, may be appropriately called China's " Business Revolution”. This revolution brought China to a significantly higher level of economic development than before and produced an economic and social model that remained unchanged in many aspects until the 19th century.

Stavrianos also said in "General History of the World": In addition to cultural achievements, what is worth noting during the Song Dynasty is that a veritable "commercial revolution" took place. It is of great significance to the entire Eurasian continent.

This interpretation of history is still valid.

If we compare the commercial activities in the Song Dynasty with those in the Tang Dynasty, we can discover the huge social changes between the Tang and Song Dynasties, and we can also see the true status of the commercial revolution.

In the article "The Work and Rest Schedule of the Chinese Empire", the author wrote: In the Tang Dynasty, the market opened with two hundred drums at noon, and three hundred gongs at seven quarters before sunset. It ended with a sound. This rule gradually relaxed from the ninth century onwards, and by the twelfth century it was common for commercial activities in large cities to last from early morning to night, and merchants were no longer restricted in time or location. "This detail shows the social changes during the Tang and Song Dynasties from one aspect.

All the above text descriptions pale in comparison to Zhang Zeduan's "Along the River During Qingming Festival" Sorry. This long scroll records the prosperity of Kaifeng, Tokyo in a realistic way, and the leisurely living conditions of the people at that time are fully reflected.

All these things show the commercial atmosphere. Strong, indicating that commerce in this period has entered a new historical stage, including the emergence of the world's earliest paper currency, Jiaozi, due to its huge commodity circulation, to solve the huge currency circulation that metal currency has been unable to adapt to. Difficulty, this is 600 years earlier than the emergence of the earliest paper money in Europe (Sweden)

Let’s talk about technology

British scholar Joseph Needham pointed out in "The History of Chinese Science and Technology": Chinese Science. By the Song Dynasty, technology had reached its peak, and in many aspects it had actually surpassed the level of Britain or Europe before the Industrial Revolution in the mid-18th century.

Except for the papermaking of the Eastern Han Dynasty, my country's four world-renowned inventions have reached their peak. In the Song Dynasty, the other three items (printing, compass, and gunpowder) all made epoch-making breakthroughs in technology. After being introduced to the West, Europe ended the medieval era and entered the modern civilization era. How do you evaluate this technological achievement? It is not an exaggeration, because the impact on the world is really great.

In addition to the three major inventions, many other scientific achievements are still extraordinary. It is explained in the book that this masterpiece involves astronomy, geography, physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, medicine and other fields. It was absolutely at the forefront of the times in the world at that time.

By the time of the fall of the Northern Song Dynasty, the Southern Song Dynasty was over. Although it was relatively peaceful, the prosperity of foreign trade exceeded that of the Northern Song Dynasty, and the Maritime Silk Road was formed leading to Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, India, Persia, and Arabia. The prosperity of the Maritime Silk Road made the Southern Song Dynasty still relatively peaceful. It maintained close economic and cultural exchanges with other countries around the world. Lin'an (Hangzhou), the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty, was the world's leading metropolis at that time. Western scholars regarded it as a symbol of China's commercial revolution and urban revolution from the 9th to the 13th century. Hangzhou, with a population of 10,000, was not only the political center of the Southern Song Dynasty, but also the economic and cultural center.

Even after the fall of the Southern Song Dynasty, many Western travelers still praised it. He said that his hometown, Venice, the crown of European cities, was dwarfed by Lin'an in the Southern Song Dynasty, "just a dilapidated village."

We ourselves failed to feel our own. Brilliant, and all of this has been deeply imprinted in the hearts of Westerners.

04

For me personally, the reason why I like the Song Dynasty now is that the Song Dynasty was the most beautiful era for literati!

As mentioned at the beginning, the Song Dynasty was founded by soldiers and was afraid of history repeating itself, so it emphasized literature and suppressed military affairs and respected literati. Zhao Kuangyin, Emperor Taizu of the Song Dynasty, set a rule for future generations of monarchs not to kill soldiers. If you really don't like me, you can demote me to a poor place to suffer but you cannot kill me. Therefore, the main life experience of many intellectuals in the Song Dynasty was "travel" , we all know Su Shi and Liu Zongyuan.

I think Su Shi is worth talking about!

What moved me most about Su Shi was that no matter what kind of adversity he faced, he always had something called "freedom" in his heart.

Most of his life was spent in various ups and downs, and there were not many moments when he was truly proud. But no matter where he is demoted, there will always be a group of famous people looking for him to play with on the road. You, Su Shi, have traveled thousands of miles alone in frustration, and all your buddies have come to accompany you, just because they fell in love with you at first sight! During his exile, he was respected by all kinds of literati. Those big celebrities were not like people today who would avoid you if they said you were demoted or frustrated. At that time, ancient literati had a kind of integrity. Now, Where has all this integrity gone?

So that era was a beautiful era where literati were extremely worshiped.

Everyone has read Su Shi’s poems, the bold and unconstrained style! Majestic! The fact that he could write such a poem in a frustrated environment proves that he has a very broad mind, and that era was not an era that pushed literati to a dead end.

To create a person like Su Shi, the environment must be very important. In a romantic dynasty, in a dynasty that respected intellectuals without killing soldiers, literati would not take a desperate step.

Su Shi was exiled as far away as Hainan Island. At that time, Hainan Island was a barren land! But what is very touching is that his friends, those literati and hermits, all came to see him. To use today's song by Brother Li Zongsheng, it is "Across the Ocean to See You", which is extremely touching. Touching.

Su Shi himself taught many students in Hainan Island despite the difficult environment. Before his arrival, there had never been a Jinshi in this place for generations, and the first Jinshi was one of his students named Jiang. The four words "Tianya Haijiao", a well-known tourist attraction in Sanya today, were written by the great writer Su.

Having said that, the three years of exile in Hainan always caused great harm to Su Shi's body! Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty recalled him to the capital, but he died within a few days of his return.

You can talk about Su Shi for three days and three nights, let’s stop there!

After Su Dongpo in the Northern Song Dynasty, there was also Master Zhu in the Southern Song Dynasty. Zhu Xi is considered the greatest thinker after Confucius and Mencius!

05

Maybe the Song Dynasty did not have the same glorious military exploits as other historical dynasties, and all the nations came to court! It focuses on more real internal development and working with the people! From a historical perspective, the glorious military exploits and the coming of all nations to the dynasty are also turning points of prosperity and decline. Whether it is more important to expand territory or to develop people's livelihood, this itself is a historical issue that is endlessly debated!

It can only be said that history itself has its own cycle of times.

But this should not be the reason why we ignore the Song Dynasty.

In addition to the lack of military success, it can be called a golden age of prosperity and creation in terms of economy, technology, culture, etc.!

The GDP of the Song Dynasty accounted for 50% of the world's GDP at that time. The Ming Dynasty was so impressive that all nations came to dynasty, but its GDP was only 1/10 of the Northern Song Dynasty and 1/6 of the Southern Song Dynasty! The comprehensive strength of the Song Dynasty reached the historical peak of China's feudal dynasty at that time.

It was not until the end of the Qing Dynasty that China's GDP was equal to that of the Song Dynasty, but by then it was almost 600 years since the demise of the Song Dynasty.

It took later generations 600 years to catch up with the Song Dynasty!

Although the Song Dynasty failed to unify the whole of China, in my heart, it is worthy of the name of the great Song Dynasty!