The medieval Chinese Song Dynasty dates back to 960, when the commander of the guard, Zhao Kuangyin, seized the throne in the kingdom of the Later Zhou. It was a small state that arose and existed in the conditions of endless wars and chaos. Gradually, it united all of China around itself.
The end of political fragmentation
The period of 907-960, which ended with the beginning of the Song era, is considered in the history of China as the era of five dynasties and ten kingdoms. The political fragmentation of that time arose as a result of the decomposition and weakening of the former centralized power (the Tang dynasty), as well as as a result of a long peasant war. The main force in the designated period was the army. She removed and changed governments, because of which the country could not return to peaceful life for several decades. Provincial officials, monasteries and villages had independent armed detachments. Jiedushi (military governors) became sovereign masters in the provinces.
In the 10th century, China had to face a new external threat - a tribal union of the Khitan, who invaded the northeastern regions of the country. These Mongolian tribes survived the disintegration of tribal orders and were on the step of the emergence of the state. Khitan leader AbaojiIn 916, he announced the creation of his own empire, called the Liao. The new formidable neighbor began to regularly intervene in the Chinese internecine war. In the middle of the 10th century, hostile Khitan already controlled 16 northern districts of the Celestial Empire on the territory of the modern regions of Shanxi and Hebei and often disturbed the southern provinces.
It was with these internal and external threats that the young Song dynasty began to fight. Zhao Kuangyin, who founded it, received the throne name Taizu. He made the city of Kaifeng his capital and set about creating a unified China. Although his dynasty is most often referred to as Song in historiography, the term Song also refers to the entire era and empire that existed from 960-1279, and Kuangyin's dynasty (family) is also known by his first name Zhao.
Centralization
In order not to be on the sidelines of history, the Song dynasty from the first days of its existence adhered to a policy of centralization of power. First of all, the country needed to weaken the power of the militarists. Zhao Kuangyin liquidated the military regions, thereby depriving the military governors of the jiedushi of local influence. The reforms did not end there.
In 963, the imperial court resubordinated all military formations in the country. The Palace Guard, which until then often staged coups d'état, lost a significant part of its independence, and its functions were reduced. The Chinese Song Dynasty was guided by the civil administration, seeing in it the support of the stability of power. Loyal city officials at firstsent even to the most distant provinces and cities. But potentially dangerous military officials lost their rights to control the population.
The Song Dynasty in China carried out an unprecedented administrative reform. The country was divided into new provinces, consisting of districts, military departments, large cities and trade departments. The smallest administrative unit was the county. Each province was governed by four key officials. One was responsible for legal proceedings, the second for granaries and irrigation, the third for taxes, the fourth for military affairs.
The rule of the Song dynasty was different in that the authorities constantly used the practice of transferring officials to a new duty station. This was done so that the appointees did not acquire too much influence in their province and could not organize conspiracies.
Wars with neighbors
Although the Song Dynasty achieved stability domestically, its foreign policy position left much to be desired. The Khitan continued to pose a serious threat to all of China. The wars with the nomads did not help to return the northern provinces lost during the period of fragmentation. In 1004, the Song dynasty concluded a treaty with the Khitan Liao empire, according to which the borders of the two states were confirmed. The countries were recognized as "fraternal". At the same time, China was obliged to pay an annual tribute in the amount of 100,000 liang of silver and 200,000 silk cuts. In 1042 a new treaty was concluded. The amount of tribute has almost doubled.
In the middle of the 11th century, the Song Dynasty in China faced a newadversary. On its southwestern borders, the state of Western Xia arose. This monarchy was created by the Tibetan Tangut people. In 1040-1044. There was a war between the Western Xia and the Song Empire. It ended with the fact that the Tanguts for some time recognized their vassal position in relation to China.
Jurchen invasion and sack of Kaifeng
The established international balance was broken at the beginning of the 12th century. Then the state of the Tungus tribe of the Jurchens appeared in Manchuria. In 1115, it was proclaimed the Jin Empire. The Chinese, hoping to regain their northern provinces, made an alliance with their new neighbors against the Liao. The Khitans were defeated. In 1125, the Liao state fell. The Chinese returned part of the northern provinces, but now they had to pay tribute to the Jurchens.
The fierce new northern tribes didn't stop at the Liao. In 1127, they captured the Song capital Kaifeng. The Chinese emperor Qin-zong, along with most of his family, was taken prisoner. The invaders took him north to his native Manchuria. Historians consider the fall of Kaifeng a catastrophe comparable in scale to the sack of Rome by the Vandals in the 5th century. The capital was put on fire and in the future could not regain its former greatness as one of the largest cities not only in China, but in the whole world.
Of the ruling family, only the brother of the deposed emperor, Zhao Gou, escaped the wrath of the outsiders. He was not in the capital on fatal days for the city. Zhao Gou moved to the southern provinces. There he was proclaimed the new emperor. capitalbecame the city of Lin'an (modern Hangzhou). As a result of the invasion of strangers, the Southern Song dynasty lost control of half of China (all its northern provinces), which is why it received the prefix "South". Thus, 1127 was a turning point for the entire history of the Celestial Empire.
Southern Song Period
When the Northern Song Dynasty was left in the past (960-1127), the imperial government had to mobilize all available forces in order to maintain control at least over the south of the country. The war between China and the Jin Empire lasted 15 years. In 1134, Yue Fei, a talented general, led the troops loyal to the Song Dynasty. In modern China, he is considered one of the main medieval national heroes.
Yue Fei's troops succeeded in stopping the enemy's triumphant advance. However, by that time, an influential group of nobles had formed at the imperial court, striving to conclude a peace treaty as soon as possible. The troops were withdrawn and Yue Fei was executed. In 1141, the Song and Jin entered into an agreement that became perhaps the most shameful in all of Chinese history. The Jurchens were given all the lands north of the Huaishui River. The Sung emperor recognized himself as a vassal to the Jin ruler. The Chinese began to pay an annual tribute of 250,000 liang.
Jin, Western Xia and Liao were created by nomads. Nevertheless, the states that owned a large part of China gradually fell under the influence of Chinese culture and traditions. This was especially true of the political structure. Therefore, although the southern Song dynasty, whose years of rule fell on 1127-1269years., lost a significant part of its possessions, it managed to remain the center of a great eastern civilization, preserved after many invasions of foreigners.
Agriculture
Many wars have ravaged China. The northern and central provinces were particularly hard hit. The southern regions that remained under the control of the Song dynasty remained on the periphery of the conflicts and therefore survived. In an attempt to restore the country's economy, the Chinese government has spent a significant portion of its resources on maintaining and developing agriculture.
The emperors used the traditional tools of that time: irrigation was maintained, tax breaks were made to the peasants, abandoned lands were given for use. Cultivation methods improved, crop areas expanded. As early as the end of the 10th century in China, there was a collapse of the former land use system, the basis of which was allotments. The number of small private courtyards grew.
City Life
For the Chinese economy in the X-XIII centuries. was characterized by the widespread growth of cities. They played an increasingly important role in public life. These were fortified cities, administrative centers, ports, harbors, centers of trade and handicrafts. At the beginning of the Song era, not only the capital Kaifeng was large, but also Changsha. The cities in the southeast of the country grew fastest of all: Fuzhou, Yangzhou, Suzhou, Jiangling. One of these fortresses (Hangzhou) became the capital of the Southern Song. Even then, more than 1 million people lived in the largest Chinese cities - an unprecedented figure for the medievalEurope.
Urbanization was not only quantitative but also qualitative. Cities acquired large settlements outside the fortress walls. Traders and artisans lived in these areas. The importance of agriculture for the daily life of the Chinese townspeople was gradually fading away. Former closed quarters were a thing of the past. Instead, large districts were built (they were called "xiang"), connected to each other by a common network of streets and alleys.
Crafts and trades
Along with the evolution of the art of artisans, there was an increase in the volume of overall Chinese production. The Tang Dynasty, Song Dynasty and other states of their era paid considerable attention to the development of metallurgy. In the first half of the 11th century, more than 70 new mines appeared in the Celestial Empire. Half of them belonged to the treasury, half belonged to private owners.
Coke, coal and even chemicals began to be used in metallurgy. Its innovation (iron boilers) appeared in another important industry - s alt production. Weavers who worked with silk began to produce unique types of fabrics. There were large workshops. They used hired labor, although the relationship between the worker and the employer remained bonded and patriarchal.
Shifts in production have led to the exit of urban trade from the former tight framework. Prior to that, it served only the interests of the state and a narrow stratum of the elite. Now city merchants began to sell their goods to ordinary citizens. A consumer economy has developed. Streets and markets appearedspecializing in the sale of certain things. Any trade was taxed, giving a significant profit to the state treasury.
Song Dynasty coins were discovered by archaeologists in various countries of the East. Such finds indicate that in the X-XIII centuries. foreign interregional trade was also developed. Chinese goods were sold in the Liao, Western Xia, Japan and parts of India. Caravan routes often became the objects of diplomatic agreements between the powers. In the five largest ports of the Celestial Empire, there were special Maritime Trade Directorates (they regulated external maritime trade contacts).
Although a wide issue of coins was established in medieval China, there were still not enough of them throughout the country. Therefore, at the beginning of the XI century, banknotes were introduced by the government. Paper checks have become common even in neighboring Jin. By the end of the 11th century, the authorities of South China began to abuse this tool excessively. A process of banknote depreciation followed.
Aristocrats and officials
What changes in the structure of society did the Song dynasty bring? Photographically, chronicles and chronicles of that time testify to these changes. They fix the fact that in the X - XIII centuries. In China, there was a process of falling influence of the aristocracy. Determining the composition of their entourage and senior officials, the emperors began to replace representatives of noble families with lesser-known civil servants. But although the position of the aristocrats weakened, they did not disappear. In addition, numerous relatives retained influenceruling dynasty.
It was during the Sung that China entered the "golden age" of bureaucracy. The authorities systematically expanded and strengthened his privileges. The system of examinations became a social elevator, with the help of which the ignorant Chinese got into the ranks of the bureaucracy. Another stratum appeared, supplementing the bureaucracy. These were people who had received academic degrees (shenshi). People from the entrepreneurial and trading elite, as well as small and medium landowners, fell into this environment. The examinations not only expanded the ruling class of officials, but also made it a reliable support of the imperial system. As time has shown, the state of the Song Dynasty, strong from the inside, was destroyed precisely by external enemies, and not by its own civil strife and social conflicts.
Culture
Medieval China during the Song Dynasty had a rich cultural life. In the 10th century, poetry in the tsy genre became popular in the Celestial Empire. Authors such as Su Shi and Xin Qiji left behind many song poems. In the next century, the xiaoshuo genre of short stories arose. It became popular among the inhabitants of the cities, who recorded works in the retelling of street storytellers. Then there was a separation of the spoken language from the written language. Oral speech has become similar to modern. Already in the reign of the Song Dynasty, theater was widespread in China. In the south it was called yuanben, and in the north it was called wenyan.
The privileged and enlightened inhabitants of the country were fond of calligraphy and painting. This interest stimulated the opening of educational institutions. At the end of Xcentury, the Academy of Painting appeared in Nanjing. Then she was moved to Kaifeng, and after its destruction - to Hangzhou. There was a museum at the court of the emperors, which contained more than six thousand paintings and other artifacts of medieval painting. Most of this collection perished during the invasion of the Jurchens. In painting, the most popular motifs were birds, flowers and lyrical landscapes. Publishing developed, contributing to the improvement of book engravings.
Many wars and hostile neighbors markedly affected the artistic heritage left behind by the Song dynasty. The culture and mood of the population have changed markedly compared to past eras. If during the Tang dynasty the basis of any artistic work from painting to literature was openness and cheerfulness, then during the dynasty, these characteristic features were replaced by nostalgia for a calm past. Cultural figures began to concentrate more and more on natural phenomena and the inner world of man. Art leaned towards intimacy and intimacy. There was a rejection of excessive colorfulness and decorativeness. There was an ideal of conciseness and simplicity. At the same time, as a result of the emergence of book printing, the process of democratization of creativity has accelerated even more.
The appearance of the Mongols
No matter how dangerous the former opponents were, the time of the Song Dynasty ended not because of the Jurchens or Tanguts, but because of the Mongols. The invasion of new outsiders into China began in 1209. On the eve of Genghis Khan united the hordes of hisfellow tribesmen and gave them a new ambitious goal - to conquer the world. The Mongols began their triumphal procession with campaigns in China.
In 1215, the steppes captured Beijing, inflicting the first serious blow on the Jurchen state. The Jin Empire had long suffered from internal instability and national oppression of much of its population. What did the Song dynasty do under the circumstances? A brief acquaintance with the successes of the Mongols was enough to understand that this enemy is much more terrible than all the previous ones. Nevertheless, the Chinese hoped to get allies in the face of the nomads in the fight against their neighbors. This policy of short-term rapprochement bore fruit in the second stage of the Mongol invasion.
In 1227, the hordes finally captured Western Xia. In 1233 they crossed the great Yellow River and laid siege to Kaifeng. The Jin government managed to evacuate to Caizhou. However, this city fell after Kaifeng. Chinese troops helped the Mongols capture Caizhou. The Song dynasty hoped to establish friendly relations with the Mongols by proving their allied loy alty to them on the battlefield, but the gestures of the empire did not make any impression on foreigners. In 1235, regular invasions of strangers began on the lands of the southern kingdom.
Fall of a dynasty
In the 1240s, the pressure of the hordes weakened somewhat. This was due to the fact that at that time the Mongols went on the Great Western Campaign, during which the Golden Horde was created and tribute was imposed on Russia. When the European campaign ended, the steppe people again increased pressureto their eastern borders. In 1257, the invasion of Vietnam began, and in the next 1258, into the possession of the Song.
The last pocket of Chinese resistance was crushed twenty years later. With the fall of the southern fortresses in Guangdong in 1279, the history of the Song dynasty was cut short. The emperor then was a seven-year-old boy, Zhao Bing. Rescued by his advisors, he drowned in the Xijiang River after the final defeat of the Chinese fleet. The period of Mongol rule began in China. It continued until 1368, and was remembered in historiography as the Yuan era.
