Chapter 2 Primer

In 960 A.D., General Zhao Kuangyin of the Later Zhou Dynasty launched the Chenqiao Mutiny and established the Song Dynasty. The capital was Bianjing (now Kaifeng, Henan), and it was known as the "Northern Song Dynasty" in history.Zhao Kuangyin is Song Taizu.At that time, in addition to the newly established Song Dynasty, there were also separatist forces such as Houshu, Southern Han, Southern Tang, Wuyue, and Northern Han.So from the beginning of the founding of the Song Dynasty, Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin began his struggle to unify the country.In 964, 965, and 970 AD, the Northern Song Dynasty eliminated Jingxiang, Houshu, and Southern Han successively, and defeated the relatively powerful Southern Tang in 974.Since then, local forces in Wuyue, Zhangzhou, Quanzhou and other places in Fujian "acquired the land" in the Song Dynasty one after another, gradually ending the chaotic situation.

In the late Jin period of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, the sixteen prefectures of Yanyun in the north were ceded to the Liao Kingdom established by the Khitan people.In order to recover the sixteen prefectures of Yanyun, the Northern Song Dynasty fought a long war with the Liao Dynasty.Since Song Taizong Zhao Guangyi, the Northern Song Dynasty had fought against the Liao Dynasty many times, but it has not been able to recover the lost ground.Until 1004 A.D., Emperor Zhenzong of the Northern Song Dynasty and the Liao Kingdom reached an armistice agreement in Chanzhou, agreeing that Song and Liao would be a state of brothers, and the Northern Song Dynasty would pay Liao "year-old coins" every year, and the two sides would not invade each other.Since then, there has been a little peace in northern China, and this alliance between Song and Liao was called the "Chanyuan Alliance" by later generations.

At the beginning of Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin's establishment of the Song Dynasty, in order to prevent Song from becoming another short-lived dynasty after the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, he formulated a series of policy guidelines.First of all, in terms of military affairs, Taizu lifted the general's control over the army with "a cup of wine to release the power of soldiers", and set up a central forbidden army to bring elite soldiers from all over the country under the jurisdiction of the forbidden army in the capital, giving the Song Dynasty complete control over the army.In addition, the Song Dynasty followed the Tang system and weakened the powers of the officials to a certain extent, so that the emperor had more power than previous dynasties.In terms of imperial examinations, Song Taizu broke the routine and conducted the final assessment of candidates in the form of palace examinations.As a result, the bureaucratic team of the Northern Song Dynasty was strengthened, and a large number of outstanding politicians emerged from it, consolidating the regime.Later, during the period of Zhenzong, Renzong, Yingzong and Shenzong in the Northern Song Dynasty, the society tended to be stable, the scale of economy was unprecedented, and the culture was even more prosperous.

During the Northern Song Dynasty, due to the unification of most parts of the country, some areas were relatively peaceful, so productivity and science and technology have made significant progress. As one of my country's four major inventions, letterpress printing is an outstanding representative. .In addition, due to the needs of war, gunpowder was first used in the military during the Song Dynasty.The modern war weapons of Western countries were developed on the basis of the gunpowder manufacturing technology spread through West Asian countries during the Northern Song Dynasty.Not only in science, but also in literature and art in Song Dynasty, celebrities came forth in large numbers.The imperial examination system in the Song Dynasty allowed literati to develop freely.Among them, the more famous literati include Wang Anshi, Fan Zhongyan, Sima Guang, Su Shi, Ouyang Xiu, etc., and the lyrics and works of the Song Dynasty have reached a very high level, and they are called the treasures of Chinese classical literature and art together with Tang poetry.In terms of painting and calligraphy, Zhang Zeduan's "Surfing the River During the Qingming Festival" is the first to be promoted. This long scroll depicts the scenery of Bianjing, bringing nearly 600 people to life on paper, and has become an immortal masterpiece in the history of Chinese painting.

In order to promote social development, Song Shenzong appointed Wang Anshi as Prime Minister in 1069 AD to implement the new law. However, due to the strong conservative forces, Wang Anshi failed to implement the new law twice.In the first year of Zhezong, the Empress Gao of Yingzong completely abolished the new law, and the Song Dynasty restored the original rule.At this point, the Northern Song Dynasty began to decline. After Zhezong's death, Huizong ascended the throne.The story of this book begins here...