After the Anshi Rebellion of the Tang Dynasty, China fell into an era of feudal separatism. Even at the time of the fall of the Tang Dynasty, the style of martial arts secession did not disappear, leading to the chaos of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. Zhao Kuangyin, the founding emperor of the Northern Song Dynasty, implemented the national policy of "weak branches" and "emphasizing literature over military power" after releasing military power with a glass of wine, trying to change the pattern of arbitrary military personnel and weak monarchy in the past. However, were the soldiers of the Northern Song Dynasty really as despised as the traditional perception be?
Indeed, whether it is the Northern Song Dynasty or the Southern Song Dynasty, most of the leaders are elegant Wenchen. Cai Xiang pointed out in "Cai Xiang's Discussion on the Important Days of the Nation": "In this world, we should employ people with great recklessness. Ministers, scribes also;The courtiers of the close courtiers, the scribes also;The division of money, the scribe also;The border guard, the scribe also;The world's transit envoys, scribes also;Zhizhou County, scribe also. In order to improve the status of literati, the imperial court adopted measures such as promoting Confucianism and increasing the number of places in the imperial examination, so that Jinshi could get official positions once they entered the imperial examination, which can be described as a steady progress.
In contrast, the warriors were discriminated against to a certain extent during the Song dynasty. For example, in order to prevent soldiers from escaping, the Song court would tattoo characters on the faces or backs of their hands to mark them, which was equivalent to putting labels on the soldiers as "criminals" and "slaves", which was extremely humiliating. In terms of appointing officials, the Privy Council, as the highest military organ, has only 18 military officers (such as privy envoys, privy council members, etc.) among the 73 main positions. What is even more alarming is that this number will decrease from day to day. During the period from Taizu to Zhenzong, the number of people with martial arts was reduced from 18 to 12. By the time of the Renzong Dynasty, there were only 6 people left. After arriving in the Yingzong Dynasty, there was no one with a military background, and the disadvantages of the Song Dynasty's military weakness can be seen.
Despite this, there are many scholars in the academic community who have put forward different views on this. Some have criticized past studies for ignoring the importance of Song military generals, and pointed out that although their status may not seem significant, military generals still enjoyed considerable privileges and preferential treatment. Even though Taizu had erected a monument in the palace to warn future generations not to kill Wen Chen and not to overuse military generals, Taizu was Xi of sending military generals to the position of "capital deployment" when dispatching military officials.
Even under the principle of "using literature to control force", the intervention role of Wenchen in military operations was still limited. Civilian officials can only play auxiliary roles in military operations, such as providing food and wages, pacifying the people, etc., and have no direct relationship with military operations and command. When Taizu suppressed the uprisings of Wang Xiaobo and Li Shun, he ordered Zhao Zhiyan, the governor of the council, to serve as the capital to suppress the arrogance of the local generals. Although Zhao proposed that the deployment of the capital was the beginning of the civil minister's appointment as an important government and concurrently in charge of the garrison, it must be pointed out that the local civil servants of the early Song and early Song dynasties generally did not have the right to intervene in the garrison. For example, in the fourth year of Kaibao, when Liu Zaiquan and He Jiyun were not in harmony with Jianwu Jiedu, he was demoted to the Sima of the Shannan East Road Marching Army because He Jiyun was "sued by Shang".Liu Kai of Zhibei Prefecture was demoted because of "sitting in a dispute with the prison army". These all show that although the status of military generals was declining at that time, they still retained the right to lead troops independently, and Wenchen could not intervene.
The impression of the low status of military attachés in the Song Dynasty was actually that they had an excessively superior position relative to civilian officials. Therefore, military generals, as part of the ruling class, are not themselves discriminated against. In "Water Margin", Lu Zhishen, as a grassroots officer, can also be majestic in the west of the town, not to mention the local tyrant advocating the capital prison. In general, although the status of military attachés in the Song Dynasty was inferior to that of civilian officials, their living conditions were still good. As for the Southern Song Dynasty, in the face of the threat of Jurchen forces and the rise of civil strife, the Zhao and Song royal families abandoned the family law of "respecting literature and suppressing martial arts" in order to motivate their soldiers, and began to improve the status of warriors, showing the ups and downs of the status of warriors between the two Song Dynasty.
Although Taizu's founding policy was criticized, the military weakness and the lack of victory and defeat are the best proof, but it was precisely because Taizu advocated culture and education that the Song Dynasty got rid of the predicament of the previous dynasty's corrupt morale, and then opened the prosperous era of cultural rule. The emergence of literary scholars Su Shi and Ouyang Xiu, and physicists Lu Jiuyuan and Zhou Dunyi are inseparable from the national policy of the Song Dynasty to respect literati.
In this article, the author delves into the phenomenon of "emphasizing literature over military force" in the Northern Song Dynasty, and the in-depth analysis of the relationship between civil and military affairs in this historical period enables readers to have a more comprehensive understanding of the structure and dynamics of society at that time. First of all, through a brief review of the historical background of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period and the early years of the founding of the Northern Song Dynasty, the article highlights the turbulent situation of Chinese society after the Anshi Rebellion, and provides readers with a clear historical background.
In the discussion of "emphasizing literature over military force", the author details the political and military dominance of Wenchen during the Northern Song Dynasty, as well as the apparent discrimination against the Wuren. By citing Cai Xiang's views and specific examples, the article emphasizes the dominance of civil servants in the political system and a series of measures taken to improve the status of literati, such as the promotion of Confucianism and the increase in the number of places in the imperial examination. This kind of employment mechanism of "advancing by words" made the literati occupy a dominant position in the imperial court, while the martial artists were subjected to various discrimination and limitations.
However, the author does not blindly emphasize the tragic plight of the warriors, but points out the different views of some scholars in a more objective manner. Through the analysis of the national policy of the Tai Dynasty, the article reveals that although the status of military generals in the Northern Song Dynasty was relatively low, they still enjoyed certain privileges and preferential treatment. For example, when Taizu dispatched military officials, he Xi inertly appoint military generals to important positions, which shows that military generals are not without status in practice.
The structure of the essay is clear, and the examples are detailed in the process, which helps readers better understand the complexity of the relationship between civil and military affairs in the Northern Song Dynasty. At the same time, through the specific cases of local civil servants in the early Song and early Song dynasties who did not have the right to intervene in the garrison, the article fully demonstrates the relative independence of military generals in military affairs, although the overall status is relatively low.
Finally, the paper makes a balanced analysis of the positive and negative aspects of the Taiguo policy, which not only points out its shortcomings, such as military weakness and defeat, but also emphasizes the positive influence of promoting culture and education, so that the Song Dynasty can get rid of the predicament of the previous dynasty. This approach not only presents a plurality of perspectives, but also enables readers to fully understand the complexity and contradictions of civil-military relations in the Northern Song Dynasty.
Overall, this article presents a multi-layered and multi-perspective historical picture by digging deep into the civil-military relations in the Northern Song Dynasty. The author's objective analysis and attention to detail enable the reader to better understand the complexity of the social structure of the Northern Song Dynasty, which provides a useful reference for understanding specific stages of Chinese history.
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