In recent years, a trend of ideas has arisen on the Internet to praise the Song Dynasty, saying that the Song Dynasty was the "happiest" dynasty in Chinese history. He even borrowed the mouth of European and American sinologists to crown the Song Dynasty as "China's greatest dynasty".
And the reason why these people spared no effort to praise and beautify the Song Dynasty, a basic argument is that the Economic, Cultural, and Technological Achievements of the Song Dynasty were unprecedentedly developed, and successive emperors have pursued civil rule, respected knowledge, and attached importance to readers, because the Song Dynasty was a "lovely Song Dynasty" and the happiest era for Chinese intellectuals.
Some people yearn for the Song Dynasty
Whether the argument of blowing and praising the Song dynasty is in line with history, we will put it aside for the time being. However, it is a true fact that the Song Dynasty established the country with literature and reused the readers.
This stems from the summary of historical lessons by Zhao Guangyin, the grandfather of the Song Dynasty.
In his view, the reason why warlords have been fighting around since the end of the Tang Dynasty and the world is in the fact that the temperance of all localities is that they are all "military leaders" who hold great military and political power, so that the central authorities cannot restrain them, and the people are affected by the scourge of war.
The solution given by Zhao Guangyin is to emphasize the text and suppress the soldiers, and respect Kong and Confucianism. Therefore, after the establishment of the Song Dynasty, Zhao Guangyin's first thing was to rebuild the Confucius Temple, paint the statue of Confucius, and personally present the praise text. According to Zhao Pu's plan, while peacefully disposing of many military generals who fought in jiangshan, a large number of readers were used to make Wenchen the governor of zhizhou and hold the military power. On the basis of the old dynasty, officials at all levels were given an average increase of 5,000 yuan.
Stills of Zhao Guangyin
After Emperor Taizong of Song and Zhao Guangyi came to power, he continued and strengthened Zhao Kuangyin's national policy of establishing a state by literature. At the level of the central government, the ChongwenYuan was established, and the emperor himself read the Taiping Imperial Records in "three volumes of daily progress". Every April, a grand royal poetry meeting (flower viewing feast) is also held in the Royal Garden, requiring officials stationed in Beijing with more than four pins and more than three pins outside Beijing to attend. At the poetry meeting, the emperor and his ministers composed poems. While strengthening Confucianism, we vigorously advocate Buddhism and Taoism and promote the integration of the three religions.
Stills of Zhao Guangyi
Under the guidance of this policy, only the famous readers such as Ouyang Xiu, Sima Guang, Su Shi, and Wang Anshi, who are well known to us, have been reused.
But the question is, how do the reused readers repay the Zhao family? Regrettably, these reused readers did not let the Song Dynasty "cultivate political affairs internally, then return from afar, and make themselves quiet", but rather external troubles and humiliations. Moreover, in the course of this history, these readers who have been offered high positions have "bad deeds" and make people sigh endlessly.
First, there is no bottom line.
During the reign of Emperor Zhenzong of Song, Zhao Heng of Song Zhenzong had a dream, saying that some immortals told him that he would practice in the imperial palace for a month, and the heavens would send three auspicious rays to great Song.
In the face of such absurd "wild dreams," Wang Dan, Wang Qinruo, Chen Pengnian, Du Ho, and other readers who were full of poetry and books, entered the military, and held important positions unexpectedly received the most precious treasures. Instead of trying to advise Song Zhenzong on this absurdity, he also tried his best to echo it, explaining in the far-fetched confucian scriptures that this was an auspicious omen of the Great Song Dynasty, and staged a farce of "Heaven Descending xiangrui". The so-called Xiangrui is the traditional classic Hong Fan and The Tao Te Ching, and explains that this is a divine reminder to the emperor to establish a filial piety to the world, and to live a pure and simple life.
This is not the end, under the influence of Wang Dan, Wang Qinruo and others, Song Zhenzong imitated the practice of ancient emperors and went to Mount Taishan to hold a grand sealing ceremony, paying homage to the Confucius Temple, adding Confucius "Xuansheng Wenxuan King", and crowning Lao Tzu as "Emperor Taishang Laojun Mixed Yuan Shangde".
Song Zhenzong sealed Zen
Wang Qinruo, Ding Zhi, and others also presented Song Zhenzong with the title of Zen Xiangruitu. Wang Ruoqin and others were also added to the rank of knight. In this way, for a time, readers from all over the world competed for Xiangrui.
Second, attack each other and nepotism.
After Emperor Shenzong of Song came to power, he was eager to find the "Minister of Dreams" to change the situation of the Great Song River. Wang Anshi, who was very highly literate and advocated changing the law, thus entered the emperor's eyes.
Wang Anshi was appointed by the Third Division of Regulations and Presided over the change of law. Wang Anshi, Lü Huiqing, and other cronies formulated a set of new policies and strategies for farmland, water conservancy, young seedlings, balance, armor protection, and exemption from military service, and promulgated them to the whole world.
The so-called reform law and the New Deal have encountered resistance from all sides from the beginning. Sima Guang, Fu Bi, Ouyang Xiu, Su Shi' father and son vigorously opposed the new law. The new law has been criticized in this way, and in addition to the so-called conservatives in order to safeguard the interests gained, what is more important is that the new policy plan planned by Wang Anshi is only theoretical and has no operability. In the case of the BIBS Law, the original intention of the reform was to alleviate the people's immediate needs. However, in practice, it is relatively easy for the government to lend money to the people, but it is very difficult to recover, and it may also lead to grass-roots officials cheating and enriching themselves.
As for the opposition inside and outside the imperial court, Wang Anshi and others did not choose to amend and improve the new law, but forcibly implemented it, and did not hesitate to exclude dissidents, and a large number of readers such as Sima Guang, Su Shi's father and son were demoted from the capital or dismissed.
Portrait of Su Shi, a great literary hero affected
After the failure of the change, Wang Anshi was also deposed. Sima Guang and others, who regained power, also rejected Wang Anshi's new law.
After tossing and turning, Song Shenzong's dream of becoming a strong country was completely shattered, and the Great Song slid farther and farther on the road of poverty and weakness.
Third, stand timidly and fear death, and go to a corner.
In the late Song Dynasty, the main external enemies of the Song Dynasty became western Xia in the west and Khitan in the north. The Song Dynasty's most well-known war against the Khitan was the Battle of Liaoyuan.
After the war broke out, the Song Dynasty divided into two voices: the main war faction and the main and the main faction. The chancellor Wang Ruoqin advocated peace talks and suggested that the capital be moved from Kaifeng to Jinling in case of an accident. Kou Zhun and others advocated armed confrontation, and in order to boost morale and express their determination to win, they proposed that Emperor Zhenzong of Song personally march.
Kou Zhun stills
Emperor Zhenzong of Song accepted Kou Zhun's main battle stance in trembling and trepidation, and personally visited the city of Liaozhou, and with the encouragement of the emperor, the morale of the Song army was greatly boosted, and the Khitan army was severely damaged.
After the victory of Qi kai, Kou Zhun suggested that the Khitan be forced to return to the places they had occupied earlier, such as You, Ji (Beijing and Liaoning), and said that once they won, they would bring a hundred years of peace to the Great Song. But at this time, the Lord and the Faction had the upper hand, and many high-ranking officials, including Song Zhenzong, decided to use the victory to bribe the Khitan gold, silver and treasure to reach a peace agreement.
The Alliance of the Abyss won by victory
In this way, the Song Dynasty sent Cao Tou to negotiate peace with the Khitans. In the end, the two sides reached an agreement, and the Great Song sent 100,000 taels of silver and 200,000 silk silk to the Khitan every year, and the Khitan withdrew.
This is not to mention, the lord and Wang Ruoqin did not forget the revenge of Kou Zhun, and under his instigation, the main battle of Kou Zhun was demoted.
I don't know, after watching the poor performance of the Song Dynasty's reused readers, how do those modern intellectuals who praise the great Song Dynasty and respect the readers feel?