The Song Dynasty was not a unified dynasty, and the main reason was that the integration of ethnic groups had not yet reached the height it should have, and the independence of the Khitan, Jurchen, Dangxiang, Hui, and Tubo ethnic groups was still very strong; however, the institutional reform of the Song Dynasty, whether it was a central system or a local system, laid the foundation for unification for the next few hundred years, although it was overkill.
I. Politics
1. The Song Dynasty was established.
In 960, Zhao Kuangyin and Chen Qiao mutinied, and Zhou was called emperor on behalf of Kaifeng. After the establishment of the Northern Song Dynasty, it successively destroyed several separatist regimes in the south and the Northern Han in the north, ending the division of five dynasties and ten kingdoms.
2. Institutional change. In view of the historical lessons of warlord secession and political turmoil since the late Tang Dynasty, the rulers adopted a series of measures to strengthen the centralization of power and maintain the stability of the regime.
(1) Strengthen the control of the central government over the local government.
(1) The central government sent civil officials to serve as governors of local prefectures, and the degree of moderation gradually became a fictitious title. At the state level, a general judgment is added, and documents are signed jointly with the governor to restrain each other.
(2) Set up a road transport department to manage local finances and ensure that the vast majority of the taxes paid by the states are handed over to the imperial court. Four parallel road-level agencies were set up to monitor and control the states from different aspects.
(3) Organize local elite troops into the forbidden army, defend the Beijing division, guard the locality, and change the garrison regularly.
(4) Lufu Prefecture and County System. The government was a local administrative body that Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty began to set up, which was only set up in the capital and the place where the emperor was stationed, and later expanded to important areas, with a higher status than the general state. Song Dynasty succession. The roads of the Song Dynasty were equivalent to the states of the Western Han Dynasty and the roads of the Tang Dynasty, mainly as supervision areas. The road is divided into three or four horizontal institutions, and there is no highest official position of the commander-in-chief, which is temporarily set up when there is something to do.
(2) Decentralization of the power of the central organs and mutual containment
(1) The Privy Council is in charge of military affairs, and the three divisions are in charge of finance, sharing power with the Prime Minister, and adding the Governor as Deputy Minister. The official prime minister is called the same Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhang Political Affairs.
(2) The Privy Council and the "Sanya" share powers, the former has the right to transfer troops but does not command troops, and the latter has the right to command troops but does not have the right to transfer troops.
(3) In order to curb the expansion of the power of military generals, the policy of advocating literature and suppressing military force was implemented
(1) Remove the military power of the veteran generals and appoint civilian officials as privy councillors.
(2) Vigorously advocate the rule of culture, expand the scale of the imperial examination, and elevate the status of civil officials and scholars.
(4) Reform of the household registration system. In the Song Dynasty, household registration was divided into the main household and the customer, the main household refers to the tax household that owns land and pays taxes, and the customer refers to the tenant household who does not have land. At the beginning of the Northern Song Dynasty, customers accounted for 40%, but in 1072 it dropped to 30%, indicating that agriculture had developed and the population owned land increased.
(5) Impact
(1) Positive effect: It has solved the two major problems of frequent change of central power and local division and separation, strengthened the centralization of power, effectively prevented internal turmoil, and consolidated the unity and stability of the country.
(2) Negative impact: The system is too rigid and the division of power is too fine, which also affects the administrative efficiency and promotes a conservative political atmosphere.
3. Border pressure.
(1) Pressure from Liao
(1) After the unification of the Northern Song Dynasty, the Northern Expedition to recapture the sixteen states of Yanyun was launched twice, but both failed miserably.
(2) Later, the Liao army marched south and landed on the north bank of the Yellow River. The two sides signed an agreement to maintain the existing borders, and the Liao and Song emperors were called brothers. The Northern Song Dynasty gave Liao a sum of money every year, called "New Year's Coin".
(2) Pressure from Western Xia
(1) The Northern Song Dynasty was repeatedly defeated in the wars with the Western Xia.
(2) The two sides reached a peace agreement: the Western Xia declared themselves vassals to the Northern Song Dynasty, but in fact maintained the title of emperor, and the Northern Song Dynasty gave the Western Xia money and goods every year, which was called "New Year's Gift".
4. Fiscal crisis.
(1) Raising troops: The continuous expansion of the army has led to a sharp rise in military spending, accounting for most of the country's financial expenditure.
(2) Raising officials: The establishment of government agencies is overlapping, and the ranks of bureaucrats are constantly expanding.
(3) Year old coins.
5. "Qingli New Deal".
(1) Background: The Northern Song Dynasty was politically corrupt, conservative, and administratively inefficient. Financial difficulties. Peasant uprisings continued. The northern nomads attacked.
(2) Overview: During the reign of Song Renzong, the minister Fan Zhongyan initiated reforms aimed at rectifying the bureaucracy.
(3) Result: The New Deal clearly violated the vested interests of the bureaucracy, provoked a boycott, and quickly failed.
6. Wang Anshi's reform.
(1) Background. Class contradictions are acute, ethnic antagonism is serious, and contradictions within the ruling group are prominent. Fan Zhongyan's reform of the rule of officials - the failure of the Qingli New Deal. In view of the social reality of "poverty and weakness" in the Northern Song Dynasty at that time, the purpose was to enrich the country and strengthen the army. Time: Song Shenzong period (beginning in 1069).
(2) Fields: agriculture, commerce, military, imperial examinations, education and many other fields. Aiming at the shortcomings of the bureaucracy, the financial system, the military system, etc.
(3) Principle: Strengthen the state's management and control over these areas, so as to achieve the goal of enriching the country and strengthening the army.
(4) Measures. Farmland Water Conservancy Law, Equal Loss Law, Green Seedling Law, Recruitment Law, City Easy Law, Fangtian Average Tax Law, Armor Protection Law, General Art Law, etc.
(1) Rich countries: The government has tried to open up financial resources while regulating the economy by providing agricultural loans to farmers and allocating huge sums of money to engage in commercial operations. Conscription Law. In the Song and Tang dynasties, two taxes were levied, but the additional taxes were complicated and often exceeded by several times the regular tax. In addition to levying the service fee, the Song Dynasty also often distributed various kinds of forced labor. Wang Anshi reformed, the people paid the exemption money and the service money, and the government recruited people to serve on their behalf.
(2) Strengthening the army: Carry out establishment management and military training for the peasants, and gradually restore the conscription system of "integrating soldiers and peasants" to replace the conscription system.
(3) Thoughts. Wang Anshi and others wrote the "Three Classics and New Meanings" and promulgated Taixue as the standard for the imperial examination to unify thinking.
(5) Evaluation
(1) Significance: To a certain extent, it has achieved the goal of enriching the country and increased a large amount of income.
(2) Limitations: The effect of strengthening the army was not obvious; some measures increased the burden on the people in the process of implementation, which also caused fierce controversy; the division within the ruling group became increasingly serious, and the Northern Song Dynasty gradually declined. It involved a wide range of areas, there was great resistance, and some measures were inappropriate, and after Wang Anshi was dismissed, the law change measures were abolished.
7. The Southern Song Dynasty was established.
(1) In 1127, the Northern Song Dynasty was defeated by the Jin Dynasty, and Song Huizong and Song Qinzong were captured by the Jin, which is known as the "Jingkang Change" in history.
(2) Zhao Gou, King Kang of the Northern Song Dynasty, was called the emperor in Yingtianfu, and later set the capital Lin'an, known as the Southern Song Dynasty in history. Zhao Gou is Song Gaozong.
8. "Yue's Army" resists gold.
(1) In the early years of the Southern Song Dynasty, the "Yuejia Army" made outstanding achievements in resisting Jin.
(2) Song Gaozong and Prime Minister Qin Hui regarded Yue Fei and others as a danger to their henchmen, and took the initiative to sue for peace with the Jin Dynasty.
(3) Yue Fei was arrested and killed by the Southern Song Dynasty.
9. Shaoxing Peace Conference.
(1) Time: In 1141, the Southern Song Dynasty and Jin signed the Shaoxing Peace Conference.
(2) Content: From Huaishui in the east to the west to the Dasanguan line of demarcation, the Southern Song Dynasty called the Jin Dynasty a vassal, and paid a sum of money to the Jin Dynasty every year, called the "annual tribute".
10. Song-Jin confrontation.
After several wars between the Song and Jin, the Southern Song Dynasty no longer called Jin a vassal, but "the world is a nephew".
11. The fall of the Southern Song Dynasty.
In 1276, the Yuan Dynasty army captured Lin'an, and the Southern Song Dynasty perished.
2. Economy.
The commodity economy is highly developed.
1. Agriculture.
1] Policy. The failure to suppress mergers has led to fierce land annexation and a serious gap between the rich and the poor.
2] Tools. High drum car, water turn overturn.
3] Crops. Cotton planting in Fujian and Guangzhou. "Suhu is familiar with the world".
(1) The rice-wheat multi-cropping system of double cropping in one year is quite popular in the south, and in some places it can be cropped three times a year, which has increased grain production.
(2) In some areas, farmers who regularly grow certain cash crops have appeared, which has made a certain breakthrough in the traditional natural economic structure.
4] Production relations. The tenant-tenant relationship is universal, second only to the yeoman peasant economy, with contracts signed, rents in kind as the mainstay, and fixed rents and shared-rent rents. The peasants' personal dependence on the landlord was relaxed, and the peasants' enthusiasm was enhanced, which promoted agricultural development.
After the Han Dynasty, all property relations involving sales, pawns, leases, loans, gifts, compensation, partnerships, as well as personal relationships such as adoption, employment, heirship, and human trafficking, had to be concluded. After the Tang and Song dynasties, contracts were more widely used.
2. Handicrafts.
1] Government camp. Five famous kilns, Jingdezhen has become the porcelain capital. Hebei Dingyao, Henan Jun kiln, Jiangxi Jingdezhen kiln, Zhejiang Longquan kiln, Shaanxi Yaozhou kiln and other famous kilns are famous for the quality of their products.
2] Privately-owned. Cotton spinning industry.
3] Coal smelting iron.
3. Business.
1] Companionship.
(1) Causes. The development of the commodity economy led to a shortage of money; iron and copper coins were too heavy and unsafe; the foundation of flying money in the Tang Dynasty was born; and the power of private merchants swelled.
(2) Generation. Produced in Sichuan, it was later issued by the government, and the name was Huizi and the banknote was handed over [banknotes].
(3) Role. It is a kind of auxiliary coin, parallel to copper coins, which promotes the development of commodity economy, and is one of China's great inventions and the world's earliest paper money. The Yuan Dynasty used paper money alone, called banknotes. At that time, there were no reserves, and the relationship between the issuance of paper money and the total economy was not understood, and the indiscriminate issuance of paper money led to inflation, which was one of the reasons for the fall of the Yuan Dynasty.
2] The development of the city.
(1) Spatial variation. The boundaries of the city are broken. Market town development. Appeared in the entertainment venue tile. Towns with purely economic functions, such as Jingdezhen, etc.
(2) Time variation. Night Market - Xiao Market, Grass Market. The "grass market" in the Song Dynasty already had relatively complete catering service facilities.
(3) Policy changes. Cities and villages that were previously forbidden to establish cities were also allowed to set up cities for trading.
(4) Field. The economic exchanges between the Song and Liaoxia and Jin regimes were very close, and the government set up a market for mutual transactions, and private trade was also quite active.
(5) The population of Tokyo in the Northern Song Dynasty and Lin'an in the Southern Song Dynasty exceeded one million when it was large, and the market was active, the transactions were frequent, and the entertainment activities were rich and colorful.
(6) The rise of market towns. Military towns were set up in the Northern Wei Dynasty, and market towns operated and settled by industrialists and merchants appeared in the Northern Song Dynasty. Some towns, due to their geographical importance and growing population, have become the seat of first-class administration, attracting more and more artisans and merchants, opening workshops and shops, and promoting a thriving market. Zhuxian town is located in Kaifeng, Henan, Yue Fei broke the gold soldiers here, famous, in the Ming and Qing dynasties is the place where the water and land boats and vehicles gathered, the business is very prosperous, and later due to the siltation of the Yellow River, the water transport is cut off, and gradually declines. Jingdezhen was a specialized market town for the production and sale of porcelain that arose in the Song Dynasty.
4. Foreign trade.
In the Song Dynasty, the northwest land transportation was not smooth, and the sea and land were developed, and the trade route from Guangzhou to Arabia through Vietnam was resumed, and the route from Mingzhou that is, Ningbo to Japan and Korea was opened.
1] Policy. The government encouraged foreign trade, and tax revenue was the main source of the Southern Song Dynasty treasury. Set up a municipal shipping department to take charge of foreign trade.
2] Technology. The compass was used for navigation, the development of shipbuilding, the advancement of navigation technology, the unprecedented development of foreign trade, and the replacement of the overland Silk Road.
3] Ports and routes. Guangzhou, Quanzhou, Yangzhou, and Dengzhou are foreign trade ports since the Tang Dynasty, and there are many foreign merchants. It is close to the South Sea, as far as the Persian Gulf, the Arabian coast, and the Red Sea.
4] Goods. Large ocean-going vessels are loaded with silk fabrics, porcelain, paper, tea, etc., which are exported to many countries and regions in Asia and Africa, and the goods imported into China are mainly spices and jewelry.
5. The center of gravity of the economy has shifted southward.
1] Six dynasties. The war in the north was in turmoil, but the south was relatively stable; the Jin imperial family moved south, which led the people of the north to move south, bringing advanced productive forces; and the southern regime rewarded cultivation and weaving. As a result, the development of the south of the Yangtze River and the economic balance between the north and the south tended to be balanced.
2] Tang Dynasty 5. In the Anshi Rebellion, the people of the north moved south, and the south gradually surpassed the north.
3] Southern Song Dynasty. The Jin soldiers went south to destroy the Northern Song Dynasty, and the Song royal family moved south, driving the people of the north to move south. The southward shift of the economic center of gravity was completed.
4] Impact. It has promoted the development of the south, driven the center of gravity of handicrafts, commerce and culture to move southward, and changed the pattern. On the other hand, the living customs of the north spread to the south, changing the living habits of the southerners. During the Northern Song Dynasty, southerners had a clear advantage in the unified national imperial examinations, and later the imperial court was forced to allocate separate admission quotas to candidates from the northern regions. Since the Southern Song Dynasty, Jiangsu and Zhejiang have become areas where talents are concentrated.
6. Social life.
1] The concept of doors
(1) Change: During the Sui and Tang dynasties, the scholar class had declined politically, but the concept of family background was still very popular. By the Song dynasty, this situation had changed radically.
(2) Reason: The imperial examination system is more perfect than that of the Tang Dynasty, not only open to the whole society in principle, but also more emphasis on fair competition. A large number of scholars from civilian families entered the political arena, and many of them held high positions.
2] Personal relationships
(1) Before the Song Dynasty, there was a long-term untouchable class in society that was not completely free and was discriminated against. By the Song dynasty, their numbers had decreased significantly.
(2) Most of the domestic services in the previous generation were undertaken by hereditary slaves and maids, and the Song Dynasty came more from employment.
(3) The landless peasants of the Song Dynasty usually signed contracts with landlords to rent land, and were less likely to be physically bound by contractual relationships.
3] Social control
(1) Land sales and pawns are basically not subject to government interference, and only legal formalities and transaction tax can be paid.
(2) The government also relaxed restrictions on the relocation of people's residences, occupations, and daily living standards than in previous generations.