As we all know, whenever the dynasty ushers in the twilight, the lives of the common people are devastated, high taxes, and corruption are everywhere. As a result, all dynasties and generations inspired peasant uprisings, and some emperors also rose from peasant uprisings, such as Liu Bang in the Han Dynasty and Zhu Yuanzhang in the Ming Dynasty.
The trajectory of Chinese history is that it must be divided for a long time, and it must be divided for a long time. Therefore, there have been many periods of collapse and failure in Chinese history, such as the Three Kingdoms Struggle for Hegemony, the Five Hu Chaos, the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, etc.
However, there was one dynasty that showed a basic unity during a period of chaos, and its demise was not due to an internal peasant uprising, but to foreign invasion. So, which dynasty is it?
This dynasty was the Song Dynasty. The founding emperor of the Song Dynasty, Zhao Kuangyin, was the general of the last of the five dynasties, the Later Zhou, who assisted the young emperor after the death of the founding emperor of the Later Zhou Dynasty, and took the opportunity to effortlessly seize the throne while in the yellow robe of Chenqiao when he set out on the expedition, starting the Song Dynasty.
And the Song Dynasty also inherited everything from the Later Zhou, making it powerful and abnormal at the beginning of its establishment. The Song Dynasty was able to directly confront the Liao Dynasty in the north and not fall behind, resulting in the Liao Dynasty never being able to annex the Song Dynasty, forming a pattern of confrontation between the north and the south. However, this situation changed after Zhao Kuangyin released the military power with a glass of wine. At that time, Zhao Kuangyin believed that the military generals' military power might pose a threat to the throne, after all, he himself was a military general.
After that, the Song Dynasty began to emphasize literature over military force, and the rulers of the expedition were all literati, and the military generals were bound by the literati, and all orders had to obey the civil ministers. Although this made the Song dynasty one of the most GDP dynasties in Chinese history, its military weakness was also well known. The reason why the Song Dynasty was able to exist for more than 300 years was mainly due to the fact that the Liao Dynasty in the north was established by nomadic people, and its internal rule was unstable, and the Western Xia in the southwest also failed to pose a threat due to continuous civil strife, which allowed the Song Dynasty to develop steadily.
In addition, the Song dynasty was relatively stable internally, as the emperor and the literati ruled the world together. The literati here have evolved into the emperor's domestic slaves, and defending the emperor's interests is equivalent to defending his own interests. As the saying goes, "Show talent rebellion, ten years will not succeed".
As for the peasant uprising, the situation was even more unfavorable. Song Jiang and others in the Water Margin were recruited, and the same is true in actual history, they are more in pursuit of personal fame and fortune than really changing the dynasty. However, the advantage of emphasizing literature over military force is that the society is relatively prosperous and stable, and the disadvantage is that it is attacked by the Western Xia and Liao dynasties from time to time.
The fall of the Song dynasty was mainly due to the rise of the Mongols. They aspired to dominate the north, so they cooperated with the Southern Song Dynasty to destroy Jin. However, this cooperation led to disastrous results, like stealing a chicken instead of rice, and eventually destroying the Great Wall. The integration of the Jin state with the Mongols in the north could have effectively helped the Southern Song Dynasty resist the Mongol invasion, but after the fall of the Jin state, the Southern Song directly confronted the Mongols, and its military strength was weak, and it became the first victim of the attack.
Coupled with the inflation of the late Southern Song Dynasty, although paper money had been invented at that time, Jiaozi, the imperial court lacked a strict management system, which led to increased inflation. Coupled with the continuation of the war, the economy has become even worse. It can be said that the demise of the Song Dynasty had its own self-inflicted elements, but it cannot be denied that the invasion of foreign tribes dealt a fatal blow to it.
In general, although the Song Dynasty was once glorious in the long history, it eventually led to its demise due to the interweaving of internal and external factors. Its policy of emphasizing civilians over military force has made society relatively prosperous, but it has also weakened its military strength. The invasion of foreign tribes eventually became the fuse for the fall of the Song Dynasty. This history is not only a contribution to civilization, but also a warning to its own limitations.
The rise and fall of the Song Dynasty is a thought-provoking chapter in Chinese history. The article vividly depicts the new situation of Zhao Kuangyin, the founding emperor of the Song Dynasty, and the social changes and inevitable consequences brought about by the policy of emphasizing literature over military force in his later reign.
First of all, the article mentions that in the early Song Dynasty, under the leadership of Zhao Kuangyin, the strength of the Liao Dynasty was opposed, forming a pattern of confrontation between the north and the south. This passage depicts the political landscape of China at the time, and why the Song Dynasty, founded by Zhao Kuangyin, was able to achieve such great success in its early years. Behind this success, however, lies a series of political changes, the most important of which are the favor of the literati and the rejection of the military generals.
Second, the article details civilian-led military decision-making in the late Song Dynasty due to distrust of military generals. This transformation ensured the relative prosperity and stability of society to a certain extent, but it also laid the groundwork for the future challenges of the Song dynasty. The civilian-dominated situation not only limited the use of military generals, but also led to the weakness of the military strength of the Song Dynasty. This situation became more and more prominent in the late Song Dynasty, laying a hidden danger for foreign invasion.
The article also delves into the reasons for the fall of the Song Dynasty, in which the rise of the Mongols is considered to be one of the key factors that led to the fall of the Song Dynasty. The Mongol invasion forced the Southern Song to cooperate with the Jin state, but this cooperation eventually led to the rupture of the Great Wall, making the Southern Song a victim of the Mongols. In addition, the effects of inflation and war have also been profoundly revealed, making the economy even worse in the war.
Overall, the historical story of the Song Dynasty is not only a glorious historical chapter, but also a profound reflection on future generations. The article reveals an objective analysis of historical events, and makes a more nuanced interpretation of the reasons for the rise and fall of the Song Dynasty. By digging deep into the lessons of history, we may be able to better understand the world today and better meet the challenges of the future.
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