Dynasties of ChinaNorthern SongNorthern Song lineage
Qingli · Jiayou · Reign 1022—1063
During the forty-two years of his reign, he was tolerant and benevolent, and famous ministers emerged in large numbers; the Qingli New Deal, the Song-Xia War, and the prosperity of culture and science and technology all occurred at this time.
Zhao Zhen, whose first name is Yiyi, is the sixth son of Zhenzong. His biological mother is Li Shi, a palace official. He was raised by Liuhuangzhou since he was a child. He has not known who his biological mother is for a long time. He ascended the throne at the age of thirteen in 1022, and Empress Dowager Liu listened behind the curtain for eleven years. It was not until the death of the Empress Dowager in 1033 that she took charge of the throne. Only then did she learn that his biological mother, Concubine Li Chen, had died the previous year. The folk story of "a civet cat exchanged for a Crown Prince" is based on this incident and is not a historical fact.
After taking office, Western Xia Yuan Hao proclaimed himself emperor. The Song army failed one after another at Sanchuankou, Haoshuichuan, and Dingchuanzhai. In 1044, the Qingli peace treaty was obtained in exchange for the annual gift. Liao Dynasty took the opportunity to seize the land again, and the Song Dynasty settled the matter by increasing the annual currency. Under internal and external difficulties, he appointed Fan Zhongyan, Fu Bi, and Han Qi to implement the Qingli New Deal. However, the New Deal touched the interests of the bureaucracy and failed after more than a year. After that, he appointed Han Qi, Fu Bi, Wen Yanbo and others to govern with generosity.
There were many famous ministers in the Renzong Dynasty, including Ouyang Xiu, Bao Zheng, Di Qing, Sima Guang, Wang Anshi, etc., and the first-ranked Jinshi in 1057 was even more talented. Jiaozi was changed to be issued by the government, movable type printing was invented, poetry and prose innovation emerged, and the economy and culture were highly prosperous. However, the problems of redundant officials, redundant soldiers, and redundant expenses became increasingly serious. All his sons died young, and in his later years he made his cousin's son Zhao Shu his heir. He died of illness in 1063 at the age of fifty-four.
Renzong was known for his generosity and tolerance for criticism. During his reign, the political situation was relatively stable, famous officials emerged in large numbers, and great progress was made in imperial examinations, schools, printing, and currency. The culture of the Song Dynasty reached its peak here. However, he had a soft character and used annual coins to seek peace externally. Internal reforms were abandoned halfway, redundant officials, redundant soldiers, and redundant expenses were increasing day by day. His finances were unable to make ends meet. The trend of poverty and weakness was very obvious in his later years.
PoliticsEmpress Dowager Liu hangs the curtain
After ascending the throne at the age of thirteen, Empress Dowager Liu had the power to handle military and state affairs. The Queen Mother acted decisively, deposed Ding Wei, and appointed Wang Zeng, Lü Yijian and others. However, in her later years, she wore the imperial uniform to visit the Ancestral Temple, which aroused criticism from the courtiers.
EconomySet up sub-services
The imperial court established Jiaoziwu in Yizhou, and the following year the government issued "Guanjiaozi", which were issued in fixed amounts and exchanged on a demarcated basis. This was the earliest paper currency issued by the government in the world.
Lasting legacyJiaozi is recognized as the world's earliest banknote, more than 600 years earlier than the earliest European banknote issued by Sweden in 1661.
Science & technologyCast acupuncture bronze figure
Medical officer Wang Weiyi was ordered to cast two bronze acupuncture figures with meridians and acupuncture points engraved on the body. He also wrote the "Bronze Figures of Acupuncture and Moxibustion" and engraved stone tablets for doctors' study and assessment.
PoliticsPro-government and deposed queen
In March, Empress Dowager Liu died, and Renzong took charge. Only then did he find out that his biological mother was the late Concubine Li Chen. In the same year, Empress Guo was deposed, and Fan Zhongyan and other Taiwanese admonishers fought hard, but were all demoted from the capital.
PeopleLiu Yong passed the Jinshi
Liu Yong, a poet known for his slow poetry, is a Jinshi. He has been in the market for a long time, writing lyrics for musicians and singers, and his works have been widely circulated. A returned Western Xia official said, "Anyone who has a well water to drink can sing Liu lyrics."
MilitaryThe defeat of Mikawaguchi
Western Xia Yuanhao attacked Yanzhou, and Song generals Liu Ping and Shi Yuansun were defeated and captured at Sanchuankou. Renzong appointed Han Qi and Fan Zhongyan as the deputy envoys of Shaanxi Economic Strategy, built cities, trained soldiers, and turned to active defense.
MilitaryHaoshui River and Dingchuan Village
Song general Ren Fu died in ambush in Haoshui River, and the entire army was wiped out; the next year, Ge Huaimin died in Dingchuan Village. The Song Army lost three of three games, but the Huanqing front line defense run by Fan Zhongyan was strong, and Western Xia was unable to penetrate deep.
Science & technologyBi Sheng invented movable type
During the Qingli period, Bi Sheng, a cloth craftsman, invented movable clay type: characters were carved with clay, burned to make it solid, and then printed on an iron plate. After printing, the plates could be dismantled and used repeatedly. Its method is recorded in Shen Kuo's "Mengxi Bi Tan".
Lasting legacyThis is the world's earliest movable type printing technology, about four hundred years earlier than Gutenberg's metal movable type in Germany.
DiplomacyChongxi increased coins
Liao took advantage of the war between Song and Xia to send envoys to claim the land south of Guannan. Fu Bi twice made Liao argue hard, and finally settled with an annual increase of 100,000 taels of silver and 100,000 pieces of silk, thus preserving the territory.
PoliticsQingli New Deal
Fan Zhongyan was appointed as the political advisor, and Fu Bi and Han Qi were appointed as deputy envoys to the privy council. Fan Zhongyan published "Ten Matters in Answering the Imperial Edict" and implemented reforms such as clearing the emperor, suppressing luck, and promoting fine tribute. However, he was criticized for violating the interests of the bureaucracy. More than a year later, the New Deal failed.
DiplomacyQingli Peace Conference
Yuan Hao proclaimed himself a minister to the Song Dynasty, and the Song Dynasty named him the Lord of the Xia Kingdom. He was "gifted" 50,000 taels of silver, 130,000 bolts of silk, and 20,000 jins of tea every year.
CultureQingli Xingxue
The imperial edict ordered all states and counties to set up schools universally, and established Xiqingyuan as the Imperial Academy. Hu Yuan’s teaching methods in Suzhou and Huzhou were adopted, and the teaching was divided into two classes: classics and meaning, and governance. From then on, local official schools spread all over the country.
Science & technology"Wu Jing Zong Yao" is published as a book
Zeng Gongliang and Ding Du were ordered to compile a military encyclopedia, "Martial Classics General Essentials", which detailedly recorded firearms such as artillery, fireballs, and tribulus fireballs, as well as the formulas of three types of gunpowder.
Lasting legacyThe book contains the earliest extant gunpowder formula in the world, about two centuries earlier than similar records in Europe.
Culture"The Story of Yueyang Tower" and "The Story of the Drunkard Pavilion"
After the failure of the New Deal, Fan Zhongyan was demoted to Dengzhou. At the request of his friend Teng Zijing, he wrote "The Story of Yueyang Tower" and wrote "Be worried about the world's worries first, and then be happy when the world is happy." In the same year, Ouyang Xiu, who was demoted to Chuzhou, wrote "The Drunkard Pavilion".
Lasting legacyThe two texts have been passed down to this day and have been selected into middle school Chinese textbooks for a long time; the Yueyang Tower in Hunan and the Zuiweng Pavilion in Langya Mountain in Chuzhou, Anhui have also become famous all over the world.
SocietyYellow River Shanghu breach
The Yellow River burst at Shanghuxiang in Chanzhou, and its main stream changed its course to the north, passing through central Hebei Province and reaching the sea near Tianjin. In the following decades, the court debated endlessly about the eastward flow of the Huihe River, and large-scale construction projects were carried out repeatedly, which cost a lot of money.
MilitaryDi Qing attacks Kunlun Pass at night
Nong Zhigao of Guangyuan Prefecture raised his troops, captured Yong Prefecture, and swept across Guangdong and Guangxi. Di Qing was ordered to march south. He took advantage of the Lantern Festival night banquet to attack Kunlun Pass in the rain. He defeated Nong Zhigao in Quy Nhon Pu and pacified Lingnan.
PeopleBao Zhengzhi Kaifeng Prefecture
Bao Zheng was appointed as the Quan Zhi of Kaifeng Mansion. He opened the main entrance of the government office, allowing litigants to directly go to court to make complaints, and severely punished the illegal powerful. There was a saying in the capital that "if there is no joint, there will be Yama and Bao Lao".
Lasting legacyThe image of "Bao Qingtian" has been passed down to this day through Yuan dramas and "Three Heroes and Five Righteousnesses"; today there is the rebuilt Kaifeng Mansion in Kaifeng, and there are Bao Gong Temple and Bao Gong Cemetery in Hefei.
PeopleTribute Examination in the Second Year of Jiayou
Ouyang Xiu presided over the examination of the Ministry of Etiquette, deposed the treacherous "Tai Xue Ti", and admitted Su Shi, Su Che, Zeng Gong, Zhang Zai, Cheng Hao and others, and was praised by future generations as "the first in the imperial examination in a thousand years."
PoliticsWang Anshi's Book of Ten Thousand Words
Wang Anshi, who was the judge of Duzhi at the time, wrote in the "Book of Remarks of the Emperor Renzong" in which he lamented the disadvantages of poverty and weakness and advocated reforming laws and cultivating talents. However, this was not adopted, but it paved the way for future reforms.
Culture"New Book of Tang" completed
It took Ouyang Xiu, Song Qi and others seventeen years to complete the "New Book of Tang"; Ouyang Xiu also wrote the "New History of the Five Dynasties", which uses concise writing to incorporate praise and criticism into the narrative.
Lasting legacyBoth books are included in the "Twenty-Four Histories", parallel to the "Old Book of Tang" and "Old History of the Five Dynasties", and are still the basic historical books for studying the Tang and Five Dynasties.
PeopleBirth and death
Zhuzi died young, and in 1062 he made Zhao Zongshi, the son of his cousin Zhao Yunrang, the prince, and named him Zhao Shu. Renzong died of illness in March of the following year at the age of fifty-four. He reigned for forty-two years and was the longest-reigning emperor in the Song Dynasty.
Renzong's aunt has been listening to politics behind the curtain for eleven years, and she is very decisive in everything she does. She concealed Renzong's life experience during her lifetime, but was persuaded by Lü Yijian to bury Renzong's biological mother, Li, with the ceremony of a queen.
Renzong paid homage to the prime minister three times in the early stage. He was experienced and capable and presided over the government for a long time. Political disagreements with Fan Zhongyan once caused Fan Zhongyan to be demoted as a "crony".
During the Song-Xia War, he visited Shaanxi, built cities, and trained troops and horses. Western Xia people said that he "had tens of thousands of soldiers in his chest." In 1043, he presided over the Qingli New Deal. After its failure, he released it and wrote "The Story of Yueyang Tower".
Together with Fan Zhongyan, he managed Shaanxi and was known as "Han Fan" at that time. During the Qingli New Deal, he served as deputy privy envoy, and later became prime minister. In his later years, Renzong urged the early establishment of an imperial heir.
In 1042, he sent envoys to Liao Dynasty twice, but refused to cede the land and settled the dispute with an increase in annual coins. He served as deputy envoy to the Privy Council during the Qingli New Deal, and became prime minister at the same time as Wen Yanbo in 1055.
He advocated innovation in poetry and literature, supported Qingli's New Deal, presided over the imperial examination in 1057, promoted Su Shi, Zeng Gong and others, co-edited "New Tang Book" with Song Qi, and authored "New History of the Five Dynasties".
Known for his integrity and integrity, he has repeatedly impeached powerful people and relatives. During the period of Zhi Kaifeng Prefecture, the officialdom was purged, and he was promoted to deputy privy envoy. Later, he evolved into the image of "Bao Qingtian".
He was born in the army and has tattoos on his face. He made many military exploits in the Song-Xia war. In 1053, he defeated Nong Zhigao and was promoted to Privy Council. Because the general held a high position, he was jealous of his position and was dismissed from office.
Originally known as San Bian, he was good at slow poetry and wrote mostly about the urban customs and the sorrow of traveling and separation. His representative work "Yulin Ling" greatly expanded the style and subject matter of Song poetry.