Generally speaking, foreigners look at the history of China's Song Dynasty in two parts.
Some people believe that the Liao State (Khitan regime) is an authentic Chinese civilization, this is because the Liao State was strong in military strength, once defeated the Northern Song Dynasty and the Western States, and its territorial area and regional influence far exceeded that of the Northern Song Dynasty, so after the fall of the Tang Dynasty, foreigners in Western Europe, Central Asia and other places generally recognized China as the Khitan regime of the Liao State.
The other part is that the farming culture of the Northern Song Dynasty is considered to be an authentic Chinese civilization, because although the Territory and regional influence of the Song Dynasty are not as good as those of the Liao State, the level of productivity is more advanced, and the role of promoting history in terms of science and technology culture is stronger, so they recognize the orthodox status of the Northern Song Dynasty.
As for the phenomenon that some foreign scholars have a very high evaluation of the Song Dynasty, while the Chinese people do not have a high evaluation of the Song Dynasty, it should be viewed dialectically, which is caused by the ideological differences between China and the West.
The traditional Chinese view of history determines the strength or weakness of a dynasty, and the most intuitive measure is the size of the territory. The vast territory is supported by strong force, so in the feudal era, the strength of force determines the absolute authority of this regime, and the neighboring countries have become their vassal states because they are afraid of the external powerful military threat, which invisibly shapes a legal authoritative regime.
However, the Song Dynasty was different from the traditional Han and Tang dynasties, first of all, it was not enough to call it a unified dynasty, not only the Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures in northern China were confiscated and restored, but also the control of the western part of the country was seriously insufficient. Secondly, the Song Dynasty was an era of advocating civil rule, and the power and status of military generals were very low, which determined that the Song Dynasty was relatively backward Chinese militarily, and even the small countries in the western region could repeatedly defeat the Song Dynasty. How can it be rated high?
Compared with the Chinese's agitated national feelings, foreigners can put aside the subjective feelings of their homeland and objectively view the development of the Song Dynasty with a historical materialist view of history. Foreign historians have analyzed the history of the Song Dynasty in great detail, summed up political experience from the changes of Fan Zhongyan, Wang Anshi and others, and seen the ancient Chinese version of "Keynesianism"; inspired by the compass and printing; and appreciated the mysteries of scientific and technological innovation; and from the Song Ci, they have appreciated a strong humanistic feeling... Foreigners are full of novelty about this characteristic dynasty, and the more they understand the Song Dynasty, the more they can appreciate the charm of the Song Dynasty.