Do not understand the Song Dynasty,
It is impossible to truly understand Chinese history;
Do not read the history of Liaoxia Jin,
Only a quarter of the history of the Song Dynasty can be read.
A brief treatise by Wang Zengyu, a well-known expert in Song history
Read the "Eight Parts of the Heavenly Dragon"
A historical guide to geopolitics
On the changes in China's ancient and modern society, the most important thing is in the Song Dynasty. Before the Song Dynasty, it can be roughly called ancient China; after the Song Dynasty, it was the China of later generations. As far as the Song Dynasty is concerned, the political economy and social life have not changed since the previous generation.
- Qian Mu
If you could cross, which dynasty would you like to go back to? Many people may choose the Song Dynasty. However, the Song Dynasty was the most controversial dynasty in Chinese history, both the most prosperous dynasty in China and "poor and weak".
The regimes of the same period as the Song Dynasty included Liao, Western Xia, Jin, Dali, Tubo, etc., and their relationships were intricate and complex, leaving a strong mark in history. The vicissitudes of the 10th and 13th centuries also left room for future generations to imagine and explore: Jin Yong's martial arts novel "Tianlong Babu" was written against the background of that period of history.
From the 10th to the 13th century, there were Liao, Song, Xia, Jin, Uighur, Tubo, Dali and other ethnic regimes intertwined in China, so this period is also regarded as the "second southern and northern dynasties" in Chinese history.
Wang Zengyu, a well-known expert on the history of the Liao, Song, and Jin dynasties, outlined the political, economic, social, military, cultural, and conflicting and blending of the four coexisting Dynasties of Liao, Song, Xia, and Jin with a lofty historical pattern.
There is also no shortage of in-depth discussion of historical events in the book, such as the Liao Dynasty has a strong nomadic political characteristics, the shadow supplement system is the main reason for the redundant officials of the Song Dynasty, the founding of the Western Xia is to take advantage of the desertification of the northwest, the Jurchens are highly Sinicized and then rapidly corrupted, the agricultural multi-cropping system and the desertification of the northwest are important reasons for the southward shift of the economic center of gravity and the eastward shift of the political center, and so on.
The book's comments on historical figures are also very characteristic, blunt and full of warm respect.
Journalist recommended
1. "A Brief Introduction to the Liao, Song, and Xia Jin" is an introductory reading of history that is informative
Nowadays, historical research is more and more sophisticated, and most of the research works are based on new theories or perspectives, and works that concisely introduce the most basic situation of a certain era have become scarce. At the beginning of "A Brief Introduction to the Liao, Song, Xiajin", it introduces the basic situation of the Liao, Song, Western Xia, Jin, Dali, Tubo and other regimes in an all-round way (political, economic, cultural, social, etc.), so that the reader has a global impression of the intricate history of China from the 10th to the 13th century, "very friendly to the introduction of Song history."
2. "A Brief Introduction to the Liao, Song, and Xia Jin" is a brief treatise of historians
Mr. Wang Zengyu is a master of Song history, with a profound academic foundation, a large number of Song Dynasty historical allusions and quotations at his fingertips, and easy to use. For example, on the issue of redundant officials in the Song Dynasty, on the basis of the traditional theory of "decentralization" and "checks and balances", Mr. Wang further proposed that "the central problem of redundant officials is the yin supplement system"; he criticized the shortcomings of the Song Dynasty's autocracy without mercy.
About the Author
Wang Zengyu
He is a well-known contemporary expert in the history of the Liao and Song Dynasties, a member of the Honorary Faculty of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, a researcher of the Institute of Ancient History, and a famous contemporary historian and a tycoon of Chinese Song history. He is the author of "Yue Fei's New Biography: Serving the Country with Loyalty", "Song Gaozong: Absurdity and No Way", "Preliminary Investigation of the Military System of the Song Dynasty", "Notes on the Compilation and Proofreading of the Jin Tuo of the Eguo Dynasty" and other works.
Title: "Jian Shuo Liao Song Xia Jin"
Author: Wang Zengyu
Publisher: Chongqing Publishing House
Text/Guangzhou Daily, New Flower City Reporter: Wu Bo
Photo/ Guangzhou Daily, Xinhuacheng reporter: Wu Bo
Video/Guangzhou Daily Xinhuacheng Reporter: Wu Bo
Correspondent: Zhang Xiaoyan
Guangzhou Daily New Flower City Editor: Li Yani