Imperial advisor

Song was a Grand Councilor in the Imperial Chinese court. In this role, he was called to become a military analyst:

:"The reason why our enemies to the north and west are able to withstand China is precisely because they have many horses and their men are adept at riding; this is their strength. China has few horses, and its men are not accustomed to riding; this is China's weakness.... The court constantly tries, with our weakness, to oppose our enemies' strength, so that we lose every battle .... Those who propose remedies for this situation merely wish to increase our armed forces in order to overwhelm the enemy. They do not realize that, without horses, we can never create an effective military force."

While China had many men in Chinese cavalry, very few of them actually had horses to ride; and if they did actually have a horse, they did not ride well. In stark contrast, the military forces arising from Inner Asia had many horses and the men had excellent riding skills.

Historian

As an historian and writer, Song is best known for his work as co-author of New History of the Tang Dynasty. This work was created in collaboration with Ouyang Xiu; and it was officially presented to the emperor in 1060.

生平

少时家道中落，宋天圣二年（1024年）与其兄宋郊同举进士，宋祁原为殿试第一。当时辅政的章献太后觉得弟弟比哥哥名次高不合礼法，所以改判宋郊为第一，宋祁第十。初任复州军事推官。召试，授直史馆。历官国子监直讲、太常博士、龙图阁学士、史馆修撰、知制诰、工部尚书、翰林学士承旨。

宋祁处于北宋阶级矛盾的时期，宝元二年（1038年）时任同判礼院，上疏认为国用不足在于「三冗三费」，三冗即冗官、冗兵、冗僧，三费是道场斋醮、多建寺观、靡费公用。主张裁减官员，节省经费，宰相吕夷简指责他是朋党，并加以打击。

宋祁性侈华，「多内宠，后庭曳罗绮者甚众」。亦喜拥妓醉饮，宋庠讽刺宋祁说：「听说昨夜烧灯夜宴，穷极奢侈，不知还记得某年同在州学内吃虀饭时么？」

修史

曾与欧阳修同修《新唐书》，《新唐书》大部份为宋祁所作，前后长达十馀年。期间一度为亳州太守，「出入内外」，把稿件随身携带。在任成都知府时，每晚开门垂帘燃烛，疾笔至深夜。据说宋祁修史期间好写冷僻字词。如《旧唐书》原写「绍引军直掩其背」。宋祁嫌它不够典雅，用「缭」字来替换「直掩」。再如《旧唐书》有「李林甫代张九龄为中书令，希惠妃之旨，托意于中贵人，扬寿王瑁之美，惠妃深德之」之语，宋祁在新书中改为「九龄罢，李林甫专国，数称寿王美以揠妃意，妃果德之」。一次欧阳修写了「宵寐匪祯，札闼洪庥」八个字去请教他，宋祁想了一会儿，说道：「 这是说『夜梦不祥，书门大吉吧』？」欧公又说：「《李靖传》云：『震雷无暇掩聪』，亦是类也！」宋祁明白了他的用意。后来，写文章再也不用冷僻字词。

作品

宋祁文简古艰涩，亦不乏畅达之作，散文如《题司空图诗卷末》一文曰：「噫！表圣，贤者也。以其贤故，一言一物为后人爱秘若此。宁当时之人举不及后人之知表圣耶？是不然。同时者□，异时者慕，尚何怪哉！」写得极有感情。而因其词《玉楼春》中有「红杏枝头春意闹」之句，人称红杏尚书。他为人喜奢侈，多游宴。其词多抒写个人生活情怀，未摆脱晚唐五代艳丽旧习。但构思新颖，语言流丽，描写生动，一些佳句流传甚广。又如《鹧鸪天》有「刘郎已恨蓬山远，更隔蓬山十万重」之语，风行一时，传入皇宫中，一宫女称其为小宋。后来仁宗召见宋祁，宋祁显得惶悚不安。仁宗却说：「蓬山不远」，并将宫女赐给宋祁，传为美谈。

其诗亦著名，元代的方回把他归入西昆派。如早年所作《落花》诗，立意、用典、遣词造句都是西昆风调。他是晏殊门生，作诗常请晏殊点定，诗风当然也会受其影响。把他算作西昆体诗人，有一定道理。

原有文集一百五十卷，已散佚。清四库馆臣自《永乐大典》辑其遗文，编为《景文集》六十二卷。近人辑有《宋景文公集》；赵万里辑有《宋景文公长短句》。

评价

• 《东轩笔录》说宋祁「博学能文，天资蕴籍」。