Do you know why the Song Dynasty is said to be very strange?
In the history of the Song Dynasty in the past three hundred and nineteen years, there are many interesting and strange scenes, as a rare unified country with the smallest territory in Chinese history, even in its heyday, it only has a territory of more than 3 million square kilometers, surrounded by strong enemies, Liao, Jin, Western Xia, Mongolia, Tubo, Dali, etc., none of which is a good stubble.
According to this logic, if we infer that the entire Song Dynasty should be the people's livelihood is withered, the people are not happy, the country is dilapidated, and the poor and weak are right, but the truth is just the opposite. Compared with the barbarians in the west and the north, the entire Song Dynasty was like a pearl in the East, too rich, and even the bud of capitalism appeared. According to statistics, the per capita GDP of the entire Song Dynasty has been the highest in the past, converted into US dollars to reach 2280 US dollars per capita, and the entire Song Dynasty accounts for 65% of the world's GDP, even if it is like the strongest period of the Ming and Qing dynasties.
In addition to economic wealth, in terms of culture, the entire Song Dynasty is outstanding, we have always praised the poetry of the Tang Dynasty, but the words of the Song Dynasty are still a strange flower in Chinese history and culture, which profoundly affects future generations. The great lyricist Can ruo xingchen, Su Shi, Li Qingzhao, Li Yu, Xin Shuyi, Liu Yong... These countless names connect the historical trajectory of the entire Song Dynasty. More importantly, the six most famous people in the cultural history of the Song Dynasty are Ouyang Xiu, Su Xun, Su Shi, Su Rui, Zeng Gong, and Wang Anshi, not including rising stars like Sima Guang, who are placed in modern times, and any one of them is also a presence with more than tens of millions of fans.
In terms of science and technology, three of the four great inventions of ancient China appeared in the Song Dynasty, namely movable type printing, compass and gunpowder, which later changed the history of the whole world and were the propellers of the world's historical civilization. The advent of movable type printing changed the way humans recorded and passed on their experiences, greatly increasing efficiency. The compass became a weapon for mankind to conquer the world, and mankind began to set out for the vast sea, discovering a new continent, and connecting all human beings. Gunpowder changed the course of human war and promoted the dominance of advanced civilizations, barbarian culture was gradually eliminated, and human history really entered a situation where the strong were stronger and the weak were weaker.
However, despite the wealthy Song Dynasty, there were not many ways to deal with barbarian invasions. This was determined by the innate nature of the Song Dynasty, and the Chinese nation, which had experienced five generations and ten kingdoms, had lost its most precious place, that is, the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun, which led to the entire Song Dynasty being able to be only in a passive beating situation when facing nomadic peoples from the north. But even so, the entire Song Dynasty had the highest victory rate when it came to foreign wars, but why was the Song Dynasty always the weakest in the eyes of the world? I am afraid that this is only compared with the Han and Tang Dynasties! As mentioned earlier, due to the lack of Youyun Sixteen Prefectures, the Song Dynasty lost the most precious horse breeding land, and horses were the most important strategic materials in ancient times, so they could only fortify everywhere, but could not take the initiative to attack, which was also the most helpless place of the Song Dynasty, and eventually led to its own demise because of this reason!
Reference: History of the Song Dynasty