#历史开讲 #
Zhao Kuangyin was the founding emperor of the Song Dynasty, and during his reign, he took "cultural rule" as his main ruling ideology, and paid great attention to economic, governance and cultural construction, and emphasizing culture over martial arts became one of the main themes of his ruling philosophy, which was very prominent at that time. So, why does Zhao Kuangyin emphasize civility over martial arts? What harm does this phenomenon bring? This governing philosophy has both deep-seated reasons and some harms. This article explores these issues.
Zhao Kuangyin
First, the deep-seated reason why Zhao Kuangyin values civility over martial arts
The Song Dynasty was in political turmoil
Zhao Kuangyin was born during the Song Dynasty, a period of political turmoil, division of the country, and constant separation. Against this background, warlords divided, bandits rioted, displaced people ran rampant, people's livelihood deteriorated, national strength declined, and social atmosphere deteriorated, which is known in history as "chaotic times". In this context, emphasizing culture over force is an inevitable choice. Zhao Kuangyin, who was the emperor at the time, needed to consolidate his position through civil rule in order to realize his political ambitions, so valuing civil officials and despising military forces would be a natural choice.
Glass of wine releases the right to fight
Thought of Emperor Taizu of the Song Dynasty
Zhao Kuangyin, the founder of the Northern Song Dynasty and an emperor who emphasized the rule of culture, believed that studiousness was one of the criteria for talent at that time. In the Zizhi Tongjian, before his reign, Emperor Taizu of Song wrote to the ministers, saying, "As an emperor, if I cannot know how to read, I can only be blind and feel the elephant, and eventually fail." This idea was further developed in Zhao Kuangyin's emperor thought, and he attached more importance to the rule of culture than to strong strength.
Zhao Kuangyin's own personal factors
Zhao Kuangyin himself was a person who was not good at using soldiers, so he did not set his sights on "military generals" like other emperors. He preferred to focus mainly on civil servants to think about various ways to manage the country and how to manage the world. He needed civil servants to plan and design to control the power of military attachés. Civil officials represent wisdom and knowledge, and military generals represent force and strength. Zhao Kuangyin, who pursues stability and prosperity, is naturally more inclined to seek civilian officials rather than relying on military generals.
A pioneer at the beginning of the founding of the country
Compared with other emperors, Zhao Kuangyin's reign as emperor was very short, but it established the unified situation since the Tang and Song dynasties. During this period, states and counties were rebuilt, skilled officials, economists, and cultural figures were reused, a large number of books and performing arts were sponsored, and cultural construction was promoted, so that the Renaissance and economic prosperity were reflected in all areas of society. Therefore, in the process of reunification, Zhao Kuangyin stressed the importance of cultural construction and constantly encouraged various literary and artistic creations to achieve the purpose of expanding the people's independent activities.
The commercial development of the Northern Song Dynasty
The importance of science and technology
Zhao Kuangyin's emphasis on cultural construction is also manifested in science and technology. At that time, the development of various technologies in China was very rapid, and many excellent scientists and technical theorists emerged. These scientists and technicians have played a huge role in the management and construction of the country, the construction of armaments, and the planning of projects. Among them, the invention and application of many technical theories such as bronze casting technology and water conservancy system, and the fundamental role of these technologies in the country's military and economic development was reflected in the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty, that is, to incorporate science and technology into the national cultural system, and make the country's cultural construction broad through cultural ascension.
References to Wei-Jin theory
From the perspective of political ideology, the emphasis on culture and light martial arts advocated by Zhao Kuangyin is also inextricably linked with Wei and Jin culture. During the Wei and Jin dynasties, with the rapid development of science and technology in various fields, the status of wealthy merchants and literati gradually improved, and the people's culture was respected, which was a political system governed by literature and thinking in the true sense. Zhao Kuangyin's attention to cultural politics reflects the concept of governing the country advocated by the cultural elite who experienced the process of change in the Wei and Jin dynasties, and this concept is also one of the deep-seated reasons why Zhao Kuangyin values culture over martial arts.
Second, the harm of emphasizing civility over force
Degradation of martial arts
Cultural development is important in a country, but if military development is neglected, it will pay a heavy price. Historically, many culturally rich countries have been invaded by neglecting the military. During the Zhao Kuangyin period, the lack of attention to military generals led to the gradual degradation of the army's martial arts. In the history of many countries, the art of war and weapons are generally developed because this country pays attention to the development of force. Weapons and the art of war dominate each other, promote each other, and evolve together. However, in an environment where civilianism is valued over force, the military lacks military innovation and new ideas. This deprives the army of its powerful combat effectiveness and military strength.
Prejudice against martial artists
Due to the emphasis on civility over martial arts, Zhao Kuangyin gave priority to elite talents to absorb civil officials. In this era, the opposition between civil and military attachés was between elite and inferior, intellectual and ignorant, arrogant and lowly. The ideas of civil servants dominate the entire social system, economic development and cultural innovation. This ideological tendency, some military attachés have always been excluded from the margins of society, affecting the development of the entire country.
Social instability
During the Zhao Kuangyin period, because he despised military attachés, the government often relied on Qin Cha officials internally to ensure domestic stability, so the bureaucratic system was corrupt and extremely corrupt, which indirectly led to political and economic turmoil in the country, and gradually evolved into bureaucratic struggles in the court, as well as evil deeds such as corruption and abuse of the law, and ultimately affected the stability and prosperity of society.
Failure to balance development
During his reign, the policy of emphasizing culture over military force led to rapid development of culture and technology, but under his rule, the unbalanced trajectory of development began to be revealed, leading to backwardness in other important areas. The lack of coordinated government investment in agriculture, health care, livelihood and other fields has led to slow development in these fields, while many culturally prosperous regions have suffered from population loss and poverty.
Peasant uprising in the Northern Song Dynasty
The power of the movable property class has increased
Zhao Kuangyin's policies were indeed effective in stimulating the economy, but at the same time they also promoted commercial development, leading to the development of the vast number of commercial groups, chaebols, and urban populations, which also gave birth to the growth of movable property class power and its interests, leading to an increase in class contradictions, thereby aggravating social instability.
National security has been seriously weakened
During Zhao Kuangyin's reign, engineering construction (including the reconstruction of the Great Wall and the capture of the Southern Tang) was relatively important. Correspondingly, awareness of statehood and security has been weakened. In the social situation of the Five Dynasties period, it is difficult to maintain the security of the country without strong national strength. In this context, Zhao Kuangyin's insistence on civil rule and the weakening of the army made the country particularly weak when subjected to external pressure. Although it was properly governed on a day-to-day basis, defense matters were neglected compared to other dynasties. As a result, when his descendants succeeded to the throne, the Song Dynasty was eventually destroyed by the Jin people, which became a major failure in the history of the Song Dynasty.
Emperor Huizong of Song was captured
To sum up, Zhao Kuangyin's emphasis on civility and light on martial arts was a phenomenon of political immersion during the Song Dynasty. The reasons for this phenomenon are varied, with the background of political turmoil and the ideas of the Song emperors being the two decisive factors. In practice, this tendency has brought serious harm in the process of national development, such as the degradation of military martial arts, prejudice against martial artists, social instability, and national security crisis. Although Zhao Kuangyin's rule had an important impact on the country's history at that time, the idea of emphasizing civility over martial arts is still sobering and should be regarded as a negative historical trace of the country's development during the Song Dynasty.