The Song dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu, who, in order to avoid the phenomenon of feudalism and eunuchs since the Tang Dynasty, adopted a policy of emphasizing the internal over the external and the civil over the military, which, on the one hand, was conducive to the prosperity of the economy and culture, but, on the other hand, led to the weakening of the armed forces. On the one hand, it was conducive to economic and cultural prosperity, but on the other hand, it also led to the weakness of the military force against the strong neighbors in the northern part of the country, and the use of military force against Xixia and Liao was not successful. And first in 1126-1127 the Jingkang scourge made Hui, Qin two zong by the Jin captive, forcing the Song family to move south to build the capital of Lin'an, and the south of the Jin to the Huai Shui to the Dasan Pass as the border, the history of the Southern Song Dynasty, and will be the previous capital of Bianliang history called the Northern Song Dynasty. By February 1279, the Southern Song Dynasty died in the Battle of Yashan in the Yuan Dynasty established by the Mongolian ruler Kublai.
Relatively speaking, the Song Dynasty is one of the most prosperous times in Chinese history in terms of economy and culture and education, with the revival of Confucianism, a social climate of respect for teachers, and rapid progress in scientific and technological development, as well as a more enlightened and honest politics, with no serious eunuchs in the Song Dynasty and no local conflicts, and the number and scale of mutinies and civil unrests were also relatively small in the history of China. Famous historian chen yin ke said: "the culture of the Chinese nation, after thousands of years of evolution, the creation of the ultimate in the age of zhao sung." And Western and Japanese historians believe that the Song Dynasty was a renaissance and economic revolution in Chinese history.
I. History of the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127)
1. The Beginning of the Founding
The Song Dynasty was not the overthrow of the previous dynasty, but was founded by a military coup from the previous dynasty. The founding emperor of the Song Dynasty was Zhao Kuangyin, whose temple name was Taizu. He was originally the pre-temple point inspector (i.e. the supreme commander of the forbidden army) of the Later Zhou Dynasty, and became the right-hand man of the Later Zhou Dynasty's Emperor Shizong due to his outstanding war achievements. After the death of King Shizong in the sixth year of Hiande (959), the seven-year-old Emperor Gong succeeded to the throne, and Zhao Kuangyin then had the ambition to become the emperor. In the Spring Festival of the seventh year of Hian De (960), Zhao Kuangyin's party members created false information about Liao's attack, and Fan Qi, the prime minister at the time, ordered Zhao Kuangyin to lead his army northward to defend against the enemy. On the third day of the first month, Zhao Kuangyin arrived at Chenqiaoyi, and when he slept soundly that night, he was adorned with yellow robes by his troops, who shouted long live and embraced him as the Son of Heaven, at the age of 33. When the Zhou bureaucrats learned of this, they knew they were powerless and had to face reality. Emperor Gong of Zhou was forced to abdicate. Zhao Kuangyin had been the history of the Quide Festival, stationed in the area of Songzhou (the ancient state of Song, around present-day Shangqiu), and therefore set the country's name as Song.
Jianlong two years (961 years) in July and Kai Bao two years (969 years) in October, Song Taizu before and after the two "cups of wine to release the military power", the generals and local officials of the generals to be deprived of the military power to appoint a false post, and change to civilian officers with the army, the generals and the financial power of the centralized. The Song Dynasty was thus spared the situation of the Tang Dynasty, in which the feudal lords and towns were divided. But this also led to a lack of local resources, which ultimately led to the Song Dynasty's repeated failures in foreign wars.
Another undertaking facing Song Taizu was to unify the country. Zhao Kuangyin, after a snowy night's discussion with Zhao Pu, decided to unify the country by going south first and then north. Zhao Kuangyin firstly carried out the plan of destroying the State of Guo in a false way, and destroyed Jingnan and Ma Chu. After that, he destroyed the three countries of Hou Shu, Southern Han and Southern Tang. In his desire to unify the whole country, he also set up a storehouse to save money and cloth in the hope of buying the 16 states of Yan-Yun from the Liao Dynasty later on. In August of the ninth year of the reign of Kaibao (976), Tazu once again went on a northern expedition. However, he died suddenly on October 19, and his younger brother Zhao Guangyi was too busy to assume the throne, thus the cause of national unification was suspended. Zhao Guangyi, the younger brother of Emperor Taizu of Song, assumed the throne with the temple name of Emperor Taizong.
After the reign of Emperor Taizong was firmly established, he continued the cause of national unification. First, Chen Hongjin and Wuyue Qian, who had ruled over the provinces of Zhang and Quan in Fujian, surrendered, and then the Northern Han Dynasty was destroyed. In May of the fourth year of Taiping Xingguo (979), Taizong, despite the opposition of his ministers, took advantage of the aftermath of the destruction of the Northern Han Dynasty and set off from Taiyuan to carry out a northern expedition. At first, he recaptured Yizhou and Zhuozhou. Being complacent, Emperor Taizong ordered an attack on Yanjing. As a result, he suffered a crushing defeat at the Gaoliang River. After this battle, the strategy of the Song Dynasty turned passive. In the third year of the Yongxi era (986), Taizong launched another northern expedition, which resulted in another defeat and the death of the famous general Yang Ye. After that, the Song Dynasty lost many wars against the Dangjia, and civil unrest broke out in Sichuan. Emperor Taizong's administration had to shift to emphasize the internal and the external. As a result, the government paid special attention to culture, and the Song dynasty began to emphasize education. Emperor Taizong was also fond of calligraphy, and was good at six scripts: cursive, clerical, running, seal script, eight points, and Feibai, especially Feibai. Even the characters on Chunhua Yuanbao, the currency of the Song Dynasty, were inscribed by Taizong himself.
The incident of Taizong's accession to the throne, which was called the "Candle Shadow and Axe Sound" incident, has been rumored to be the death of Zhao Kuangyin by Zhao Guangyi. In order to ensure the legitimacy of the regime, Zhao Guangyi threw out his mother, Empress Dowager Du's last orders, that is, "the Alliance of the Golden Pavilion". The origin of the Alliance of the Golden Pavilion is that the Empress Dowager Du called Zhao Pu into the palace to record her last order, and she said that she wanted Zhao Kuangyi to pass on to Guangyi, then Guangmei (later renamed Tingmei), and then Dezhao (Zhao Kuangyin's eldest son) after Zhao Kuangyin's death. This testament is hidden in the Golden Pavilion, so it is called the Alliance of the Golden Pavilion. Although there is the saying of the Alliance of the Golden Pavilion, Emperor Taizong successively forced the death of Taizu's son Dezhao and De Fang, and deposed Tingmei to Fangzhou, and Tingmei died in banishment two years later. Taizong's eldest son Yuan Zuo was also deposed for sympathizing with Tingmei, another son Yuan Xi died violently, and finally Xiang Wang Yuan Kan was made crown prince and renamed Heng. In the third year of Zhidao (997), when Taizong died, Empress Li and the eunuch Wang Ji'en attempted to install Yuan Zuo as the emperor. Luckily, Chancellor Lü Duan handled the situation properly, and Zhao Heng was crowned Emperor, with the temple name of Emperor Zhenzong. The Song Dynasty began to enter its heyday [source request].
2. A period of stability
After the death of Emperor Taizong, Emperor Zhao Heng took over the throne. True Father practiced the Huanglao politics of the last years of Emperor Taizong and did nothing. Since the Northern Expedition of Yongxi, the Liao Dynasty had often looted and plundered the border between Song and Liao, which finally turned into a large-scale war against the Song Dynasty in the first year of Jingde (1004). Chancellor Kou Zhun's resistance to the war resulted in a personal expedition by Emperor Zhenzong, which boosted the morale of the Song army, which was forced to make peace with the Liao army at the city of Stillwater. After several negotiations, the two countries succeeded in making peace. The main content of the peace treaty was: Song gave Liao 200,000 pieces of silk and 100,000 taels of silver every year, and both sides were brotherly countries. History calls this peace treaty the "Alliance of Still Waters". Critics have argued that Song Zhenzong's strategic goal of recovering the 16 states of Yanyun was not achieved, and that it was a humiliating defeat for the victor on the battlefield to have to spend huge sums of money to buy peace from the loser year after year. The affirmers, on the other hand, argued that defeating Liao's southern invasion was a victory in itself and could not be described as an alliance under the city.
Later, Kou Zhun fell out of favor and was eventually dismissed. The emperor began to give credit to a sycophant, Wang Qinruo. Wang Qinruo was a good flatterer, and knew that the emperor wanted to create an atmosphere of peace, so he advocated Zhenzheng Zen. Wang Qinruo himself joined hands with another prime minister, Wang Dan, to create a lot of "auspicious" signs all over the world, which was well received by the Emperor. As a result, Zhenzong made three Zen visits in the first year of Dazhongxiangfu (1008). This seriously depleted the people's power.
Zhenzong and his wife Liu were childless. He occasionally visited one of Liu's maidservants, Li, who gave birth to a son (Zhao Zhiqi) in the third year of the Dazhongxiangfu reign (1010), later known as Inzong. Liu later raised the child with another concubine, Yang ****. In the mid-autumn of the second year of the Tianxi reign (1018), Emperor Zhenzong formally named Zhao Beneficence as the crown prince and changed his name to Zhao Zhen. On February 20, 1022, the first year of the Qianxing reign, Emperor Zhenzong died. Prince Zhao Zhen assumed the throne, Empress Liu was honored as the Empress Dowager, in the adult Renzong before the proxy military affairs. From then on, Empress Dowager Liu began the sixteen-year era of curtain rule.
In the early years of his reign, Emperor Renzong was in the shadow of Liu, and it was only after Liu's death that he was able to realize his ambitions. Although his empress was Cao, he favored a concubine, Zhang Guifei, in particular. However, Zhang's lowly background prevented her from becoming empress. On the eighth day of the first month of the sixth year (1054), Zhang died. Renzong actually queen of the funeral ceremony, and posthumously named Queen Wen Cheng, the result of a life and death of two queens, can be said to be unprecedented.
After Li Yuanhao of the Western Xia Dynasty became emperor in the third year of the Daqing period (1038), a war broke out between the Song and Xia for several years, with the Song army losing many battles, and the Liao Dynasty took advantage of the situation to put pressure on the Song, leading to the increase of the Chongxi coinage. Later, Emperor Renzong appointed Fan Zhongyan, Lu Yijian, Fu Bi, Bao Zheng, Han Qi and other capable ministers to implement the Qingli New Deal, which achieved very good results. On the border, Emperor Renzong appointed the great general Di Qing, who successively suppressed the rebellion of the southern barbarian Nong Zhigao and the provocation of the Western Xia. The country entered the most prosperous stage since the founding of the state. However, some old-fashioned people accused these reformist officials of ganging up with each other and bragging about each other, which was called cronyism. As Emperor Renzong had always hated the idea of cliques, these bureaucrats were later relegated to the rank of magistrates. This was the end of the short-lived Qingli New Deal.
After the death of Emperor Renzong, he was succeeded by Emperor Zhao Shu. He was the grandson of King Zhao Yuanfen of Shang, the brother of True Father. He was made crown prince in the seventh year of the Jiawu reign (1062). Emperor Yingzong was sickly, and at first the government was in the hands of Empress Dowager Cao. It was only after May of the first year of the reign (1064) that King Yingzong began to take charge of the government. However, half a month after he came into power, the Pu Discussion broke out, and the controversy lasted for eighteen months. It started when Chancellor Han Qi brought up the issue of the name of King Yingzong's biological father for discussion. The court was divided into two factions, one of which believed that King Pu, the father of King Yingzong, should be referred to as Huangbo, while the other believed that he should be called Huangkao. In the end, Empress Dowager Cao issued a decree to call the father of Emperor Yingzong as Huangkao. Only to calm the debate. But on the whole, Emperor Yingzong was still a capable monarch. He continued to appoint capable ministers from the previous dynasty, and he also dared to explore new talents. Yingzong also attached great importance to the compilation and revision of books, and the writing of the Ziji Tongjian was initiated by Yingzong.
3. The Xining Reform and the Old-New Party Controversy
After the death of King Yingzong, his eldest son, King Shenzong Zhao Xu, assumed the throne. During his reign, the systems established in the early days of the Song Dynasty had produced many flaws, people's livelihoods had begun to deteriorate, and Liao and Xia were watching from the borders. As a result, the Emperor was eager to reform the system. He appointed Wang Anshi (王安石), a famous reformist minister, to be the Counselor of Government. Wang Anshi's new laws included the equalization of taxes, the exemption of the green seedling, the exemption of service, the market exchange, the protection of armor, the protection of horses, and the equalization of taxes on square fields. However, the implementation of the new laws was strongly opposed by the conservative faction led by Sima Guang. In addition, the country was plagued by natural disasters, and the determination of Emperor Shenzong to implement the new laws was also shaken. In 1074, during a severe drought in the north of China, an official named Zheng Man presented a picture of the displaced people to the Emperor, and the Emperor was greatly shocked by the horrific scenes in the picture. The next day, the Emperor ordered the suspension of eighteen decrees, including the Green Seedling Decree, the Square Field Decree, and the Exemption from Service Decree. Although these decrees were reinstated soon afterward, there was already distrust between the emperor and Wang Anshi. In April of the seventh year of Xining, Wang Anshi was dismissed from his post for the first time and sent out to Jiangning Prefecture. Later, Lu Huiqing, an official in the reformist faction, acted recklessly. Wang Anshi therefore returned to the capital to resume his post, but he was still firmly blocked by the conservatives. When Wang Anshi's eldest son died in June of the ninth year of the Xining era (1076), he took the opportunity to beg for his retirement, and Emperor Shenzong once again dismissed him from the post of minister in October, and Wang Anshi remained out of touch with the world after that.
Despite the fact that later generations were very polarized in their assessment of the Xining Law, there is no doubt that the new law was far less effective than Wang Anshi had anticipated. Although the implementation of the new law greatly increased the state's financial revenue and the area of arable land, it seriously increased the burden on the common people. Xining new law in the military reform is only a headache, treat the feet, the army combat effectiveness without significant improvement. In addition, Wang Anshi was too hasty to implement more than ten reforms in just a few years, which required a long period of social evolution, making the reforms fall into the predicament of "speed is not enough". Moreover, at the later stage of the implementation of the new law, the difference between the provisions and the effect of the implementation became bigger and bigger, and some measures became disturbing to the people from being beneficial to the people. The improper use of people in the implementation of the new law was also the reason for the final loss of popularity, such as Lu Huiqing, Zeng Bu, Li Ding and Cai Jing in the faction of the change of the law are quite controversial characters. Some of them were even regarded as villains. Regarding this reform, the historian Huang Renyu, who is known for his "Big History", commented on it: "Nine hundred years before us, China attempted to manipulate the affairs of the country by means of financial control, the scope and depth of which had not been proposed anywhere else in the world. But modern finance is an all-pervasive and all-embracing organizing force that encompasses the entirety of its dominion and must not be separated from other factors similar to it."
After Wang Anshi's dismissal, Emperor Shenzong continued his reforms, which he called the "Yuanfeng Reform". Although the Yuanfeng reforms were known as the "Xifeng New Law" with the Xining Reforms, they could not be compared with the Xining Reforms in terms of the intensity of the reforms. Along with the strengthening of the state, Emperor Shenzong shifted his focus to foreign troubles. He was determined to destroy the Western Xia. In May of the fifth year of the Xining reign (1072), the Emperor began a campaign against the Western Xia, which resulted in a great victory and greatly boosted his confidence. In April of the fourth year of Yuanfeng (1081), a coup d'état took place in Xixia, and Emperor Shenzong took this opportunity to conquer Xixia again. The result was a crushing defeat. As a result, the Emperor fell ill. At the beginning of the first month of the eighth year of Yuanfeng (1085), the Emperor installed his sixth son, Zhao Huai, as the crown prince. The new laws enacted by Emperor Shenzong were briefly abolished by his mother, Empress Dowager Gao, but were soon restored, and many of them were even used in the Southern Song Dynasty.
After the death of King Shenzong, the Empress Dowager Gao was in charge of the government and kept a tight rein on the newly crowned Emperor Zhao Xu. Empress Gao credited the old party led by Sima Guang and cold-shouldered Zhezong, resulting in serious old and new party disputes, known as the Yuanyou party dispute. After Zhezong came to power, he denounced the old party and gave credit to the new party, and thus the cause of the change of law was sustained.
4. The Jingkang Rebellion
Zhezong left no heirs, and after his death, his younger brother Zhao Ji assumed the throne as Emperor Huizong. Emperor Huizong was a man of pleasure and had no interest in government. Since his childhood, Emperor Huizong had a passion for ink and brushwork, painting, and horseback riding. Zhao Ji's life was rotten, and he liked to visit greenhouses. He also built a large construction, listening to the Taoist priests, in the northeast corner of Kaifeng, the construction of Mount Banzai, later renamed Burgundy. Burgundy Mountain is more than ten miles in circumference, in which there are hibiscus pool, Cixi and other resorts. Inside the pavilion, pavilions, birds and animals have everything. Emperor Huizong also set up a bureau in Suzhou, specializing in scavenging for strange stones in the southeast, which was known as Hanashizang, and led to a lot of public grievances.
Hui Zong ignored the government, political affairs are handed over to the six thieves led by Cai Jing. Cai Jing to restore the new law in the name of the party ban, exclusion of dissenters. Cai Jing, the day after the throne, issued an edict banning the Yuan You law. This is known as the Yuan You treacherous party case. As a result, all upright ministers were excluded from the political center. Emperor Huizong himself was so pleased with his success that when he saw that Liao was being attacked by Jin, he sent an envoy, Ma Zheng, from Dengzhou to Jin in the spring of the first year of Chonghe (1118). The two sides discussed the two countries *** with the attack on the Liao, the Northern Song Dynasty is responsible for the attack on the Liao's Nanjing and Western Capital. After the destruction of Liao, the land of Yanyun would be returned to Song, and the annual coins given by Song to Liao in the past would be paid to Jin instead. This was the alliance at sea. However, the Song army was defeated. In the end, the Jin soldiers plundered the population of Yanjing and seized Ying, Ping and Luan Prefectures. In the seventh year of Xuanhe (1125), the Jin soldiers attacked the Song in two directions. Zhao Ji was so frightened that he immediately passed the throne to his son, Qin Zong Zhao Huan. Emperor Qin Zong was in a state of uncertainty between war and peace. In a desperate attempt to defend Tokyo, Li Gang was appointed to defend the city. Although he was victorious for a while, the Jin Dynasty did not give up, and he made a second advance to the south. In September of the first year of Jingkang (1126), Taiyuan fell. In November, the outer city of Kaifeng fell, and the Jin army forced Emperor Qinzong to negotiate peace. On the 30th day of the leap 11th month, Qin Zong was forced to go to the Jin camp to negotiate peace, and returned three days later. The Jin demanded a large amount of gold and silver. Qin Zong therefore raided Kaifeng City. The city of Kaifeng was besieged by the Jin army, and epidemics spread in the city, causing many people to die of starvation and disease. On February 6, 1127, Emperor Hui and Emperor Qin were deposed and relegated to the ranks of the common people. On the seventh day, Emperor Huizong was forced to leave for the Jin camp. The Jin Dynasty set up a puppet regime called "Da Chu" with Zhang Bangchang. Emperor Huizong and Emperor Qin were plundered by the Jin to the city of Wuguo, which is known as the Jingkang Rebellion or the Trouble of Jingkang. Emperor Huizong was named the Duke of Fudu and Emperor Qin was named the Lord of Chongfudu. In the end, the two men died in the city of Wuguo, a foreign land.
While Emperor Huizong had no success in the imperial government, his mastery in calligraphy and painting was unrivaled. Huizong's calligraphy and painting both have an important place in the history of Chinese art. Huizong created the Thin Gold Style and emphasized the cause of calligraphy and painting. The status of the Hanlin Academy of Painting and Calligraphy was greatly improved, and Zhang Zeduan, the famous painter and author of the painting of the river on the Qingming River, was promoted by him. Even his son, Zhao Gong, was nurtured and became an outstanding calligrapher.
II. History of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279)
1. Jianyan's Southward Expatriation
The Jin Dynasty captured many Song clansmen during the Jingkang War, and King Zhao Jong of Kang was one of the missing ones. In the second year of the Jingkang period (1127), Zhao Gou traveled south from today's Hebei province to the accompanying capital of Nanjing, Yingtianfu (present-day Shangqiu, Henan Province), where he was crowned Emperor Gaozong of the Southern Song Dynasty and renamed his name Jianyan (建炎). Afterwards, Zhao traveled southward across the Huai River and the Yangtze River, and in the third year of Jianyan, he changed the name of Jiangning Prefecture to Jiankang Prefecture (present-day Nanjing) as the capital of the South Song Dynasty, which was called the "Eastern Capital". Shaoxing first year (1131) rose Yuezhou for Lin'an Province (now Hangzhou City) as the "line in", Shaoxing eight years formally set Lin'an as the capital, Jiankang changed to stay in the capital. Jin Dynasty also all the way to the south, pushed Lin'an, Gaozong had no way to escape, had to enter the sea to escape, in Wenzhou coast drifting for four months. Due to the southern weather humid river, coupled with the heroic resistance of the Southern Song soldiers and civilians, Jin commander Wanyan Wuzhu decided to withdraw his troops to the north. When retreating north to Zhenjiang, he was cut off by Song general Han Shizhong, and as a result, he was forced into Huangtiandang. The Song army to eight thousand troops to siege the gold soldiers 100,000, the two sides held forty-eight days, and finally the gold army with fire attack only to open the gap, to retreat, the gold army and in Jiankang was defeated by Yue Fei, and from then on did not dare to cross the river.
In the Southern Song Dynasty, the most famous of the four generals is Yue Fei. Through his northern expedition, he captured the land controlled by the pseudo-Qi regime fostered by the Jin Dynasty. However, Song Emperor Zhao Gou was determined to negotiate peace with Yue Fei in order to welcome back his birth mother, Wei,[4] and Yue Fei's northern expedition was at odds with his intentions, which laid the groundwork for Yue Fei's subsequent murder. Shaoxing ten years (1140) in May, the Jin people again tear up the peace agreement south invasion, due to the Song dynasty military and civilian resistance to the war heroically, the Jin army in the Sichuan-Shanxi, the two Huaihua attack are failed. In July, the Jin general Wuzhu turned to attack the placebo, was defeated by Yue Fei, turned to attack Yingchang, and lost again. Yue's army took advantage of the victory and pursued the attack, until it reached Zhuxianzhen, which is only forty-five miles away from Kaifeng, and Woodruff escaped from Kaifeng. Northern volunteers also responded to Yue Fei. So much so that the Jin sighed "easy to shake the mountain, shake the Yue family army is difficult". But at this time, Gaozong even twelve gold medals to urge Yue Fei division, the success of the Northern Expedition was ruined. Shaoxing eleven years (1141 years) in November, Song and Jin in writing to reach the "Shaoxing peace agreement", the two countries to the Huai Shui - Dasan Pass as the border. Song ceded Tangzhou, Dengzhou, and most of Shangzhou and Qinzhou, which had been recovered by Yue Fei, and paid an annual tribute of 250,000 taels of silver and 250,000 pieces of silk to Jin. On New Year's Eve in late December (January 27, 1142), Zhao Shou and Qin Hui killed Yue Fei, his son Yue Yun, and his general Zhang Xian in Lin'an (present-day Hangzhou)[5] on "trumped-up" charges. The Shaoxing Peace Treaty was immediately realized, and the coffin of Emperor Huizong, the father of Emperor Gaozong, and the coffin of his mother, Wei, were returned to the Southern Song Dynasty[6].
Gaozong appointed Qin Hui as a minister. Qin Hui had advocated resistance to the Jin during the Jingkang period, but was later plundered by the Jin. In October of the fourth year of Jianyan's reign (1130), Qin Hui returned to the south, and as he pursued a policy of surrender, he was very much in line with the Gaozong's wishes. He became vice prime minister in March and right prime minister in August. Due to his strong advocacy of "South from South, North from North"[7], which was still at odds with Emperor Gaozong's ideas, he was dismissed by Emperor Gaozong a year later. After the dismissal of Qin Hui, biding his time and waiting for the opportunity to move. In May, 1138, Emperor Gaozong appointed Qin Hui as the right prime minister. After Qin Hui came to power, he persecuted officials who disagreed with him, married foreign relatives, and made friends with internal ministers. Gao Zong only acquiesced to Qin Hui's behavior. In the later period, Qin Hui became too powerful and attracted the attention of Emperor Gaozong. For example, he ordered Qin Hui's grandson to lose his scholarship. Qin Hui's power declined day by day. In the 25th year of Shaoxing (1155), Qin Hui was seriously ill, and he plotted to have his son take over the post of minister, which was vetoed by the Gaozong, and he died soon afterward.
After Qin Hui's death, Gaozong cracked down on the rest of the party while rehiring surrendered officials. Gaozong was infertile, so he chose his successor from two descendants of Taizu, Zhao Yuan and Zhao Chu. In the end, Zhao Yuan won. In the 32nd year of Shaoxing (1162), Zhao Yuan was made the crown prince and renamed Zhao Shi (赵昚). In the thirty-first year of Shaoxing (1161), Wanyan Liang, King of Hailing of Jin, invaded from the south and was repulsed by Yu Yunwen in the Battle of Cai Shi. This incident made Gaozong feel the desire to retreat. In June 1161, at the age of fifty-six, he abdicated by imperial decree and crowned himself Emperor Xiaozong (孝宗), who himself became Emperor Taishang (太上皇). He himself was called the Supreme Emperor and resided in the De Shou Palace. After becoming the Supreme Emperor, Emperor Gao Zong indulged in pleasures and spent a great deal of money. On October 8, 1187, Emperor Gaozong died.
2. Holding on to Jiangnan
After Emperor Xiaozong's accession to the throne, he reformed the government and attempted to restore the Song Dynasty to a period of relative prosperity, Emperor Xiaozong vindicated the wrongful imprisonment of Yue Fei, and recruited people from the warring factions with the intention of recapturing the Central Plains. Longxingyuan year (1163) in April, Emperor Xiaozong made Li Xianzhong, Shao Hongyuan and other troops to go on a northern expedition. Although the Northern Expedition was victorious for a while, it failed after only twenty days due to the discord among the generals and the thought of being lightly defeated. After that, Emperor Xiaozong had no choice but to make peace with Jin, and in December of the second year of Longxing (1164), Song and Jin formally signed a peace agreement, known as the Longxing Peace Agreement. However, Emperor Xiaozong still remembered to restore the Central Plains and continued to reorganize his armament. However, due to the resignation of Yu Yunwen and other warlords, the Northern Expedition was not finalized. Internally, Emperor Xiaozong actively reorganized the bureaucracy, eliminated redundant officials, punished corruption, strengthened the centralization of power, and emphasized agricultural production. Generally speaking, the internal affairs of the Song Dynasty improved. After the death of Emperor Gaozong, Emperor Xiaozong became more and more apathetic towards politics and finally decided to abdicate his throne to his son Zhao Dun (赵敦), also known as Emperor Guangzong (光宗). However, Guangzong suffered from mental illness soon after his accession to the throne, and he was very unfilial to himself, which made Xiaozong very sad. In the seventh month of the fifth year of Shaoxi (1194), Emperor Xiaozong died.
Guangzong's jealousy and distrust of his father's ministers led him to become increasingly insane two years after his accession to the throne. In the seventh month of the fifth year of Shaoxi, after the death of Emperor Xiaozong, Guangzong still did not mourn. The city of Lin'an was in a state of chaos and instability. The clansmen Zhao Ruyu and Zhao Yanjiu began to secretly plan for a new ruler. Finally, the Empress Dowager issued an edict and Guangzong was consecrated as the Supreme Emperor. His son, Zhao Dang, was crowned as Ningzong and renamed Qingyuan (1195). Six years later, Guangzong died. According to history, Ningzong was "not wise" and had a low IQ. During his reign, he was controlled by two powerful ministers, Han entrusted to him and Shi Mi Yuan. Despite his low IQ, Ningzong was generally a loyal lord.
3. Internal and External Troubles
In the early years of Emperor Ningzong's reign, Zhao Ruyu was the prime minister. Zhao Ruyu himself had good political integrity. However, due to the fact that the royal family serving as prime minister was not in accordance with the rules of etiquette, coupled with Han's incitement, he was finally dismissed from the post of prime minister. However, the people still miss him very much, and there are poems on the Lin'an city gates every day. Han entrusted Han in order to completely remove the influence of Zhao Ruyu and exclude dissidents, under the pretext of academic name, to create the Qingyuan party ban. The science of science called "pseudo-scholarship", and the ministers who believed in the science of science in the court were mostly against Han 侂胄. Han depended on this to drive all the scholars who believed in the science out of the government.
In the sixth year of the Qingyuan era (1200), Han deputed Han to see that the science of science was no longer a threat, so he lifted the party ban. However, the party ban is unpopular, in order to enlist the scholars, Han entrusted the name of the Northern Expedition to bewitch the people. In the second year of Kaixi (1206), Han entrusted the Northern Expedition, which was soon defeated. The failure of the Northern Expedition made Han a target. His political opponent Shi Miyuan used this opportunity to form an alliance with the peacemakers and Han's opponents. The Jin in turn offered to kill Han as one of the conditions of the peace talks. On the third day of the eleventh month of the third year of the Kaixi era (1207), Shi Yiyuan and others forged a secret decree and killed Han. From then on, the period of Shi Yiyuan's dictatorship began. Shi collaborated with the Empress Yang and was able to monopolize the power.
Ning Zong had eight sons, but they all died young. So he made Zhao Hong, the son of King Yi, the crown prince. Zhao Hong was very dissatisfied with Shi Yiyuan's dictatorship. Therefore, Shi Yiyuan abrogated Zhao Hong's position as the crown prince and appointed Zhao Yun as the heir to the throne. On the third day of the eighth month of the seventeenth year of the Jia Ding reign (1224), Emperor Ning Zong died. Zhao Yun took over the throne and became Emperor Li Zong. However, Shi Miyuan continued his dictatorship, and Zhao Yun also practiced the strategy of hiding his power in the shadows.
Shi Miyuan died in October 1233, the sixth year of Shao Ding's reign. In October of the sixth year of Shao Ding (1233), Shi Mi Yuan died, and Emperor Li Zong finally got rid of Shi Mi Yuan's shadow. In the following year, he changed his name to Duanping and implemented a series of reforms, known as the "Duanping Reforms". He dismissed all of Shi's old party members, and the government was improved for a while. Meanwhile, in the north, the Jin Dynasty was facing Mongolian aggression and was facing the end of the country. The foreign policy of the dynasty was also divided into two factions, one of which believed that the Mongols should be allied against the Jin Dynasty, while the other believed that the Jin Dynasty should be assisted, bearing in mind the principle of the death of the lips and the alliance at sea, so that the Jin Dynasty could become a vassal of the Song Dynasty.
Shao Ding five years (1232 years) in December, Mongolia sent an envoy to discuss the cooperation of Song and Mongolia to clamp down on the Jin Dynasty, because at that time, the main force of the Jin Dynasty had already been in the "Battle of Sanfeng Mountain" by the Mongolian army, the Jin Dynasty is the state of the dead, the Song Dynasty ministers mostly agree with the United States to destroy the Jin Dynasty, but only Zhao Fan was against it. Lizong agreed to Mongolia's request, and Mongolia also promised to return Henan to the Song Dynasty after the destruction of Jin. However, this was only a verbal agreement, and no written agreement was left behind, thus laying the foundation for future troubles. When Jin Aizong learned of this, he also sent an envoy to the Song Dynasty to present the advantages and disadvantages, hoping to unite against the Mongols, but he was rejected by the Rizong. Rizong appointed Shi Songzhi to be in charge of the extermination of Jin.
In the sixth year of Shao Ding (1233), the Song army attacked Dengzhou. In May of the first year of Duanping (1234), Caizhou was captured, and Jin Aizong hanged himself, which led to the fall of the Jin Dynasty. Song general Meng Gong brought the remains of King Ai of Jin back to Lin'an. Emperor Li Zong enshrined the bones of Emperor Ai Zong in the Imperial Temple to console the spirits of Emperor Hui and Emperor Qin.
4. The fall of the Song Dynasty (Southern Song Dynasty)
After the fall of the Jin Dynasty, the Mongol army withdrew to the north, and Henan Province was empty, so Emperor Rizong intended to recover the Central Plains by defending the pass (Tongguan) and the river (Yellow River), and recapturing the three capitals (Kaifeng (Tokyo), Luoyang (Western Capital), and Guide (Nanjing)). In May of the first year of Duanping (1234), Rizong appointed Zhao Kwai as the commander-in-chief and Quan Zicai as the vanguard, and issued an imperial edict to send troops to Henan. On June 12, Quan Zicai recaptured Nanjing. On July 5, the Song army entered Kaifeng. However, due to the lack of food and supplies, the Song army missed the opportunity to attack Luoyang and was ambushed by the Meng army with heavy losses. All Song armies retreated. The "Duanping into Luo" was declared a failure, and the Song suffered heavy losses in this battle, with a large number of elite troops and supplies going down the drain, which also provided an excuse for the Mongol invasion of the Song afterward. "After the Duanping Incident, Emperor Li Zong was negligent in his duties and indulged in sexual pleasures, which led to a serious deterioration of the government.
Duanping two years (1235), the Mongolian army for the first time south invasion, was repulsed. Not willing to lose, the Mongol army invaded twice in September of the following year and the third year, with its front almost approaching the northern bank of the Yangtze River. As the Song army fought bravely, they defeated the Meng army and once again thwarted their attempts to descend south of the Yangtze River. Later, the Southern Song army and people, under the command of the anti-Mongolian generals Meng Gong, Meng Ying, and Yu Jie, defeated the Meng army several times, so that it had to attempt to go around the river. In the first year of the Kaiqing era (1259), Mongol Khan Mongkol died in the army after being wounded by a stray arrow from the Song army during the battle of Hezhou. His brother Kublai was fighting with the Song army in Ezhou, and when he heard the news of Meng's death, he learned that his younger brother Ali Bugo was going to claim the title of Khan in Hualin, and immediately prepared to withdraw his troops in order to compete for the position of Khan, and Jia Sidao took the opportunity to send a man to negotiate a peace with Kublai, in order to ensure peace. In this way Kublai returned directly to the north to establish himself as Khan.
The emperor's two sons died young, so in the end he chose Brian Zhao, the son of his brother Zhao and Rui, as crown prince. Because his mother had taken abortifacients during his pregnancy, Brian was born with a birth defect. In June of the first year of Jingding (1260), the Li Zong issued an edict making Brian Zhao the crown prince. On December 26, 1264, King Jingding died, and Brian was crowned Duzong.
After his accession, Brian ignored the government and indulged in sex and horseplay. As a result, Jia Sidao, the right prime minister, was able to seize power. Jia Sidao was a member of a group of individuals who excluded those who disagreed with him. He spent his days in his villa at Ge Ling having fun with his concubines, and was known as the "Cricket Chancellor" because of his love of cricket. He was forbidden to let Du Zong know about the battle on the front line. It was only three years after the siege of Xiangyang and Fancheng that Du Zong learned about it.
In the seventh year of Xianchun (1271), Kublai established the Yuan Dynasty in the Central Plains under the name of Dayuan. On July 9 of the 10th year of Xianchun (1274), Du Zong died at the age of 35 years.
After the death of Du Zong, his eldest son Zhao Xi assumed the throne. At that time, the rule of the Song Dynasty was paralyzed. In the spring of the first year of Deyou (1275), the Yuan army conquered the military towns of Anqing and Chizhou and pushed Jiankang, and the Yangtze River defense line collapsed. The court was greatly shocked, and all sectors hoped that Jia Sidao could go to war, but the Song army was defeated. Jia Sidao was deposed and killed by Zheng Huchen, a prison official, on his way to his post. On November 20 of the first year of Deyou, Changzhou fell to the Yuan army, which massacred the city. Soon Pingjiang also fell, Lin'an panic. On the fifth day of the second month of the second year of the Deyou reign (1276), a peaceful surrender ceremony was held in Lin'an, and Zhao Xi formally abdicated. However, Zhao Xie's brother, Zhao Yes, and Zhao Bing escaped from Lin'an under the protection of his ministers.
Zhao Yes was crowned Emperor Duanzong in Fuzhou and was renamed King Yan (1276). However, the internal struggle of the small court continued. In November of the first year of Jingyan, the Yuan army approached Fuzhou, and on the 15th of November, courtiers Chen Yizhong and Zhang Shijie escorted Zhao Yes and Zhao Bing to flee southward on a boat, and from then on, the small court could only travel by sea. In the spring of the third year of Jingyan (1278), the small court arrived at Leizhou. On April 15, Zhao Yes, who was only eleven years old, died. Lu Xiu Fu and his ministers embraced Zhao Bing as the emperor and changed his name to Xiang Xing (1278). Under the onslaught of the Yuan army, Leizhou was lost and the small court moved to Yashan. The Yuan general Zhang Hongfan followed closely and launched a general attack on Yashan. The Song army was unable to fight and collapsed. The last of Zhao Bing jumped into the sea with Lu Xiu Fu and more than 800 members of the Zhao Song royal family.
Zhang Hongfan in the stone wall engraved "Zhenguo General Zhang Hongfan destruction of the Song in this" [9] twelve words and also, the Song Dynasty to this pronounced the complete demise. The Battle of Yashan was extremely tragic, it is estimated that the Song army killed 100,000 people in the battle, the sea is full of corpses. Being in the Yuan camp of Wen Tianxiang personally witnessed the tragic situation, composed a poem: "Capricorn to the South China Sea, people died as messy as hemp. Fishy waves beat the heart broken, soaring wind blowing sideburns."
In addition, according to the Song Wangtai Park "Kowloon Song Huangtai site monument" records, the last two emperors fled south during the "tomb of Mrs. Jin, rumored to be Queen Yang [10] female, Princess of the State of Jin, the first drowning in the water to the casting of the gold body to the burial of the person", buried in the city of Kowloon today, known as the "tomb of Mrs. Jin! ", later due to the site of the construction of the Holy Trinity Church," Mrs. Jin tomb "was also obliterated.