Dynasties of ChinaNorthern SongNorthern Song lineage
Xining · Yuanfeng · Reign 1067—1085
Determined to reform, Wang Anshi was appointed to implement the Xining Reform and open up the Xihe River, but the expedition to Xia failed miserably, and the party struggle intensified.
Zhao Xu, the eldest son of Yingzong, was born in King Pu Mansion. He was eager to learn at a young age and had the ambition to enrich the country and strengthen the army. He was only 20 years old when he came to the throne in 1067. Faced with the situation where the finances were unable to make ends meet and the humiliation of Liao and Xia was sued for peace, he was determined to reform and strengthen himself. He summoned Wang Anshi, who was famous for his reform ideas, and was appointed as the counselor of political affairs in 1069. The following year, he became the prime minister and presided over the implementation of the new law.
During the Xining period, new laws such as young crops, recruitment, market changes, Baojia, and square field tax were successively implemented. At the same time, the imperial examinations and schools were reformed, and the Xihe River was opened up. The national treasury became increasingly full. However, there are many drawbacks in the implementation of the new law, and it has been strongly opposed by Sima Guang, Han Qi, Su Shi and others, and Caotaihou and Gaotaihou have also repeatedly criticized it. There was a severe drought in 1074, and Zheng Xia presented "Pictures of Refugees". Wang Anshi resigned as prime minister for the first time, and in 1076 he resigned as prime minister again and retreated to Jiangning.
After that, Shenzong personally presided over the reform and implemented the "Yuanfeng Reform" to rectify the official system. In 1081, he took advantage of the civil strife in Western Xia to launch a five-pronged expedition against Xia, and was defeated at the foot of Lingzhou City. The following year, Yongle City was captured again. Shenzong cried bitterly after hearing the news, and was severely hit physically and mentally. He died of illness in March 1085 at the age of thirty-eight. After his death, the old and new parties were at odds with each other, which affected Northern Song until its demise.
Shenzong was the most enterprising monarch in the Northern Song. He supported Wang Anshi's reform and tried to change the situation of poverty and weakness. The national finances improved for a time, the development of Xihe River was also achieved, and the reform of the imperial examination and official system had far-reaching influence. However, there was a disconnect between the design and implementation of the new laws. The Qingmiao, Shiyi and other laws greatly disturbed the people and rejected dissent, causing the court to split into the old and new parties. The military campaign against Western Xia suffered a series of defeats, and the ambition was not fulfilled. The party strife caused by the reform continued for decades, profoundly affecting the political situation of Northern Song in the later period.
PoliticsAscended to the throne at the age of twenty
He ascended the throne in the first month of the year, intending to change the law to become stronger and to wash away the humiliation of Liao Xia. He asked Fu Bi, the elder, for advice. Fu Bi advised him to "keep silent for twenty years." Shenzong remained silent and turned to look for someone who was determined to reform.
PeopleWang Anshi gets married more times
In April, Wang Anshi, a Hanlin scholar, was summoned to join the pair. Wang Anshi advised Shenzong to follow the example of Yao and Shun and reform the laws. Shenzong deeply agreed. The monarch and his ministers were in harmony with each other, and the reform was brewing.
PoliticsXining Reform Begins
Wang Anshi was appointed to participate in political affairs, and the third department of regulations was established to preside over the reform. The Jun Transport Law was promulgated in July, the Young Crops Law was promulgated in September, and the Farmland Water Conservancy Law was promulgated in November, marking the official start of the Xining Reform.
PoliticsPromote the protection law
The Baojia Law was promulgated, and every ten rural households were guaranteed, and martial arts were trained during leisure periods to save recruitment expenses and maintain public order. In the same year, Wang Anshi became prime minister, and Sima Guang and others who opposed the reform left Beijing one after another.
PoliticsRecruitment Law and Imperial Examination Reform
The recruitment law was fully implemented, and private households paid in lieu of military service on a per-household basis. In the same year, the imperial examination was reformed, and subjects such as poetry, Fu, and Ming Dynasty were abandoned, and scholars were selected based on the meaning, theory, and policy of the classics; Taixue implemented the three-part method.
EconomyEqual taxation between Shiyi and Fangtian
A city was established in Kaifeng to stabilize prices and provide loans to traders; it also promulgated a land equalization tax law, cleared land, classified taxes according to soil quality, and discovered a large number of hidden farm properties.
MilitaryThe Xihe River opens
Adopting Wang Shao's "Pingrong Policy", he was ordered to pass through Xihe, recover Xi, He, Tao, Min and other prefectures, expand the territory for more than 2,000 miles, set up Xihe Road, and form a flank encirclement of Western Xia.
PoliticsPictures of refugees and pictures of exiles
After a long drought, the official Zheng Xia painted "Picture of Refugees" and presented it to Shenzong, lamenting the harm of the new law; Caotaihou and Gaotaihou also cried out that the new law disturbed the people. In April, Wang Anshi resigned as prime minister for the first time and went to Jiangning Mansion.
CultureThe New Meaning of the Three Classics was promulgated
Wang Anshi returned to the throne and presided over the compilation of the new meanings of the "Poems", "Books" and "Zhou Rites", and issued academic officials as standard annotations for the imperial examinations to unify the scholars' views on classics.
DiplomacyShen Kuo envoy to Liao
Liao Dynasty requested to redraw the border east of Hedong. Shen Kuo consulted the Privy Council archives and obtained the evidence of the old boundary before sending Liao Dynasty as envoy. He repeatedly argued with Liao officials and drew maps along the way. After returning to China, he presented the "Envoy to Khitan Illustrations".
MilitaryThe Battle of Xining between Song Dynasty and Yue Dynasty
The Li Dynasty army in Jiaozhi captured Qinzhou, Lianzhou and Yongzhou, and the soldiers and civilians of Yongzhou were massacred. The Song Dynasty sent Guo Kui and Zhao Shen to march south and marched to Fuliang River to defeat Jiaozhi's army. Jiaozhi sent envoys to ask for peace.
PoliticsWang Anshi resigns as prime minister
There was discord within the reform faction, Wang Anshi and Lü Huiqing turned against each other, and his beloved son Wang Yu died of illness. In October, Wang Anshi resigned from office again, and then retreated to Jiangning Banshan Garden and stopped serving as an official.
CultureZhang Zai and Neo-Confucianism
Zhang Zai, the master of Guanxue, passed away. His ambition was summarized by later generations as "to establish a heart for the world, to establish a destiny for the people, to carry forward the unique knowledge of the saints, and to create peace for all generations." At the same time, Cheng Hao and Cheng Yi were giving lectures in Luoyang, and Neo-Confucianism gradually became a system.
Lasting legacy"Four Sentences on Hengqu" are widely recited to this day; Er Cheng's study of Southern Song and Zhu Xi developed into Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism, which became the official orthodox thought of the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties.
PoliticsWutai Poetry Case
The censor arrested Su Shi and sent him to Yushitai Prison on the grounds that Su Shi's poems and articles ridiculed the new law. He wanted to put him to death for Luo Zhi's crime. After Caotaihou and other parties rescued him, he was demoted to deputy envoy of Huangzhou Tuanlian at the end of the year.
Science & technologyShen Kuo named oil
Shen Kuo, who knew Yanzhou, inspected the oil in Yanzhou and used its bituminous coal to make ink. He predicted that "this thing will become popular in the world" and later named it "oil" in "Mengxi Bi Tan".
Lasting legacyThe name "oil" is still used today; in 1907, the first oil well in mainland China, "Yanyi Well", was drilled in Yanchang County, Shaanxi Province.
PoliticsYuanfeng restructuring
According to the "Liu Dian of the Tang Dynasty", the official system was reformed and the actual functions and powers of the three provinces and six ministries were restored, so that salary officials could set salaries and ministerial officials manage practical affairs, thus eliminating the confusion caused by the separation of officials, positions and dispatches since the early Song Dynasty.
MilitaryFive-way expedition to summer
Western XiaLiangtaihou imprisoned Huizong, and Shenzong took the opportunity to send troops to attack Xia in five directions. The Song army besieged Lingzhou for eighteen days, but the Xia army cut off the Yellow River water to flood the camp and cut off the grain roads, and they returned in defeat.
MilitaryThe defeat of Yongle City
Xu Xi's proposal was adopted to build Yongle City in Hengshan. Soon after the city was completed, it was besieged by the Western Xia army. The water source was cut off, the city fell, Xu Xi and others died in the battle, and the Song army suffered heavy losses. Shenzong cried bitterly after hearing the news.
CultureSu Shi Huangzhou wrote a poem
Su Shi reclaimed wasteland in the east of Huangzhou City and called himself "Dongpo Jushi". In this year, he wrote "Chibi Fu" and "Nian Nujiao·Chibi Nostalgic", reaching the peak of his bold style of writing.
Lasting legacyThere is now a red cliff on the east slope of Huanggang, Hubei Province, and famous poems such as "Ode to Red Cliff" and "The Great River Goes East" are still included in Chinese textbooks.
Culture"Zizhi Tongjian" is published as a book
Sima Guang took 19 years to compile a chronological general history, with a total of 294 volumes, starting from the Warring States period and ending with the Five Dynasties. When Shenzong came to the throne, he was named "in view of the past and qualified to govern the country" and wrote a preface.
Lasting legacy"Zizhi Tongjian" has been passed down to this day in its entirety, and together with "Historical Records" is known as the "Twin Jewels of Historiography", it is a classic for people today to read ancient Chinese history.
PeopleShenzong died of illness
He died of illness in March at the age of thirty-eight. The young Crown Prince Zhao Xu ascended the throne, and his grandmother Gaotaihougovern as regent, immediately appointed Sima Guang, and the new law faced complete abolition.
Since 1069, he presided over the Xining Reform, paid homage to the Prime Minister twice, and implemented new laws such as young crops, recruitment, Baojia, and market changes. He resigned as Prime Minister and retreated to Jiangning. He is also one of the "Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties".
Wang Anshi's main assistant, participated in the formulation of many new laws. Wang Anshi dismissed the prime minister for the first time and was appointed as the governor of political affairs. Later, he fell out with Wang Anshi, and the reform faction split.
He opposed the new law and argued with Wang Anshi through letters many times. From 1071, he retired to Luoyang for fifteen years and concentrated on editing "Zizhi Tongjian".
Because he criticized the new law, he was released to Hangzhou, Mizhou, Xuzhou, Huzhou and other places. In 1079, he was imprisoned for the Wutai Poetry Case and was demoted to Huangzhou. He wrote famous works such as "Chibi Fu" before and after.
He actively participated in the political reform, promoted to the imperial office, sent envoy Liao Dynasty, and learned about Yanzhou. In his later years, he wrote "Mengxi Bi Tan", which recorded a large number of scientific and technological achievements.
The "Ping Rong Policy" advocated taking Hehuang first to control Western Xia. From 1072 onwards, the Xihe states were recovered, Xihe Road was established, and the official was promoted to deputy envoy to the Privy Council.
Mr. Hengqu, known as Mr. Hengqu in the world, is the author of "Zhengmeng". He proposed in "west Ming" that "the people are our compatriots, and the things are in harmony with each other". Together with Er Cheng, he is the founder of Neo-Confucianism.
A small prison official who came to Kaifeng risked his life to present "Pictures of Refugees" in 1074, prompting King Cheng Anshi to dismiss his prime minister for the first time, but he was exiled to Yingzhou for this.