历史

开国

宋朝的开国皇帝是赵匡胤，庙号太祖。他本来是后周的殿前都点检，掌管禁军，乃职业军人。赵匡胤由于战功卓著，成为了后周世宗的左膀右臂。世宗死后，继位的恭帝年幼，后通过陈桥兵变夺取后周政权，建立北宋王朝。

北宋建立后，为防止大臣用同样或类似的方式篡位，赵匡胤决定加强专制主义中央集权制度，使得中唐以来重臣或宦官专权，武将拥兵自重和藩镇割据的基础得以铲除，从而维护专制主义中央集权的统一，有利于社会经济的稳定和发展。但是，北宋初期在赵匡胤的带领下，增设大量的官僚机构，实行一官多职制度，导致机构重叠，官员数量庞杂，财政开支极大，形成「冗官」局面，因此北宋中期机构臃肿，人浮于事，办事效率低下，财政困难。另外，北宋大量地扩充军队，大力削弱武将的兵权，统兵权和调兵权相互牵制，导致兵将分离，军队战斗力下降，对大辽，西夏等少数民族的侵略屡战屡败，形成「冗兵」局面，边疆防备空虚，不利于国防安全。综上所述，加强专制主义中央集权，虽有利于封建国家的统一和社会的安定，能够有效地防止地方分裂和农民起义的发生。但是，过度的中央集权会导致机构臃肿，边疆防备空虚，不利于国防安全，这也为北宋中期的积弱埋下了伏笔。

显德七年（960年）春节，赵匡胤的党羽制造辽国进攻的假情报，当时的宰相范质急令赵匡胤率军北上御敌。正月初三，赵匡胤抵达陈桥驿，当日夜里他酣睡之时，被手下军队黄袍加身，三呼万岁，拥戴为天子。后周官僚得知后已知无力回天，只得面对现实。周恭帝被迫逊位。赵匡胤登基成为宋太祖。

建隆二年（961年）七月与开宝二年（969年）十月，宋太祖前后两次「杯酒释兵权」，将手握重兵的将军与地方官吏的武将军权予以剥夺，委以虚职，并改以文官带军，将军权与财政大权全部集中到中央。宋朝因此得以免于出现唐朝藩镇割据的局面。但是这也导致地方资源狭少，最终让宋朝在对外战争中屡屡失败。

北宋的基本国策是「重文轻武」，这个政策对宋朝有利有弊，好处乃在于使北宋初期政治、经济等各方面都比较安定，尤其是没有宦官专权、地方割据等祸事。即使帝王中多表现平平，但也无损国家的繁荣安定。而坏处则是令北宋在军事上接连挫败，连同南宋共三百多年，整个宋朝的历史重心，都是战事的挫败和退却。

宋太祖所面临的另外一项事业就是统一全国。赵匡胤在与赵普雪夜商讨后，决定以先南后北为统一全国之步骤。赵匡胤首先行假途灭虢之计，灭亡了南平和武平。之后又灭亡后蜀、南汉、南唐三国。太祖一心希望统一全国，还设立封桩库来储蓄钱财布匹，希望日后能够从辽朝手中赎买燕云十六州。开宝九年（976年）八月，太祖再次进行北伐。但十月十九日太祖忽然去世，其弟赵光义立刻即位，传光义谋杀兄长而篡位，是为烛影斧声之案，北宋统一事业暂告停止。赵光义即位，是为宋太宗。

太宗稳固统治地位后，继续国家统一事业，先是割据福建漳、泉两府的陈洪进及吴越王钱弘俶于978年归降，其后再于979年灭亡北汉。太平兴国四年（979年）五月，太宗不顾大臣反对，趁灭亡北汉的馀威，从太原出发进行北伐。起初一度收复易州和涿州。太宗志得意满，下令进攻燕京。结果在幽州外高粱河（今北京西直门外）遭遇惨败。此役之后，宋朝的战略便转为被动。雍熙三年（986年），太宗再次北伐，结果又败，著名的大将杨业也在此役中阵亡。之后四川又爆发王小波、李顺民变。太宗的施政不得不转为重内虚外。

太宗本人附庸风雅，喜好诗赋，政府也因此特别重视文化事业，宋朝重教之风因此而开。太宗还喜好书法，善草、隶、行、篆、八分、飞白六种字体，尤其是飞白体。连宋朝的货币淳化元宝上的字也是太宗亲题。

宋太祖有年长儿子，却由胞弟即位之事颇有疑云，是为「烛影斧声」事件，民间也一直传说赵匡胤是被赵光义谋杀的。为确保政权的合法性，赵光义抛出其母杜太后遗言之说，即「金柜之盟」（或作「匮」）。金柜之盟起源于杜太后临终时召赵普入宫记录遗命，杜太后称要赵匡胤死后先传光义，再传光美（后改名为廷美），再传德昭（赵匡胤长子）。这份遗书藏于金柜之中，因此名为金柜之盟。虽然有金柜之盟的说法，但是太宗却先后逼死太祖之子德昭和德芳，又贬黜廷美到房州，两年后廷美就死于谪所。太宗长子太子元佐也因为同情廷美而被罢为庶人，另一子元僖暴死，最后襄王元侃被立为太子，改名恒。至道三年（997年），太宗驾崩，李皇后和宦官王继恩等企图立元佐为帝。幸亏宰相吕端处置得当，赵恒才顺利即位，是为真宗。宋朝也开始进入全盛时期。

北御辽夏

太宗死后，真宗赵恒接替即位。真宗奉行太宗的黄老政治，无为而治。自从雍熙北伐之后，辽朝就经常在宋辽交界处抢劫杀掠，到景德元年终于演变成大规模侵宋战争。宰相寇准力主抗战，结果真宗亲征，宋军士气大振，与辽军相持在澶州城下，刚巧辽大将萧挞凛中了宋军的床子弩而亡, 辽军士气大挫, 辽见胜利无望, 便与北宋求和。经过几番交涉，两国议和成功。和约主要内容是：宋每年给辽绢廿万匹，银十万两，双方为兄弟之国。史称该和约为「澶渊之盟」。

后来，寇准渐渐失宠，最终被罢相。真宗开始信用一佞臣王钦若。王钦若擅长逢迎，深知真宗希望营造天下太平的氛围，于是极力鼓吹真宗封禅。王钦若本人也与另外一位宰相王旦联手，在各地制造很多「祥瑞」之象，深得真宗之意。结果真宗在大中祥符元年先后三次封禅。

真宗与皇后刘氏无子。一次真宗偶尔巡幸刘氏的一名侍女李氏，结果李氏与于大中祥符三年产下一子（赵受益），也就是后来的仁宗。后来刘氏与另外一名嫔妃杨氏共同抚养这名孩子。天禧二年中秋，真宗正式封赵受益为太子，并改名为赵祯。乾兴元年二月廿日，真宗驾崩。太子赵祯即位，刘皇后被尊为皇太后，在仁宗成年前代理军国大事。从此开始了刘太后十六年的垂帘听政时代。

仁宗执政早期一直处在刘氏的阴影之下，直到刘氏死后他才得以施展抱负。仁宗皇后虽是曹氏，但他一直特别宠爱一名张贵妃。但张氏出身低贱，一直未能成为皇后。皇佑六年正月初八，张氏去世。仁宗竟以皇后之礼处理丧事，并追封为温成皇后，结果出现的一生一死两皇后，可谓旷古未见。

北宋在仁宗时比较强盛，经济非常繁荣，开创了北宋的最顶峰，不过当时却要面对两大难题：朝廷架构膨胀和军人数目庞大，形成财政上非常拮据，同时因以经济手段解决边患，常要向外族赠送，消耗了大量财富。

党项人李元昊于大庆三年（1038年）独立称帝，建立西夏后，宋夏之间爆发了数年的战争，宋军屡战屡败，导致了重熙增币。尔后仁宗任用范仲淹、吕夷简、富弼、包拯、韩琦等能臣推行庆历新政，取得非常好的效果。国家进入建国以来最繁荣的阶段。但是一些守旧派人物指称这些改革派官吏拉帮结夥，互相吹捧，是为朋党。由于仁宗一向最厌恶结党营私，这些改革派官僚后来多被贬为地方官。短暂的庆历新政就此结束。在边疆上，仁宗任用大将狄青，先后弭平了南蛮侬智高的叛乱和西夏的挑衅。

仁宗死后，接替即位的是英宗赵曙。他是真宗之弟商王赵元份之孙。嘉佑七年被立为皇太子。英宗多病，最初朝政都由曹太后掌管。治平元年五月后，英宗才开始亲政。但是英宗亲政半个月后就爆发了濮议事件，这场争论长达十八个月。事件起因是宰相韩琦提请讨论关于英宗生父的名分问题。朝中因此分成两个派别，一派认为应称英宗生父濮王为皇伯，另外一派则认为应该称为皇考。最终曹太后下旨，称英宗之父为皇考。才平息了这场争论。但总体来说，英宗还是一位有为的君主。他继续任用前朝能臣，也大胆挖掘新人。英宗也非常重视书籍的编修，《资治通鉴》的写作就是英宗所提出发起的。

熙宁变法与新旧党争

英宗死后，他的长子神宗即位。神宗在位期间，宋朝初期制订的制度已经产生诸多流弊，民生状况开始倒退，而边境上辽和夏又虎视眈眈。神宗因此锐意改革。神宗启用著名改革派名臣王安石进行朝政改革，将其任命为参知政事。王安石推行的新法包括均输、青苗、免役、市易、保甲、保马、方田均税等。但是，新法的实行遭到了以司马光为首的保守派对新法强烈反弹。加上全国天灾不断，神宗的新法实行的决心也有所动摇。熙宁七年，华北大旱，一名名叫郑侠的官员向神宗上呈一幅流民图，图中景象惨不忍睹，神宗因此受到极大震撼。第二天神宗就下令暂罢青苗、方田、免役等十八项法令。尽管这些法令不久之后得到恢复，但神宗与王安石之间已经开始不信任。熙宁七年四月，王安石第一次被罢相，出知江宁府。后来变法派中的官员吕惠卿肆意妄为。王安石因此回京复职，但是他依然受到保守派的坚决阻挠。熙宁九年六月，王安石长子去世，王安石借机坚决求退，神宗于十月再次罢免王安石的相位，此后王安石便不问世事。

尽管后人对熙宁新法的评价非常两极，但毋庸质疑，新法的推行效果远不如王安石预想。新法的实行虽然大大增加了国家的财政收入和耕地面积，但是却增加了平民的负担。熙宁新法在军事上的改革也只是头痛医头，脚痛医脚，军队战斗力无明显改善。加上王安石操之过急，将需要很长时间社会演进才能完成的十馀项改革在短短数年内全盘推行，使变法陷入了欲速则不达的困境。而且，新法实施到了后期，条文与执行效果相差越来越大，一些措施从利民变成扰民。新法执行过程中用人不当也是最后失去民心的原因，变法派中如吕惠卿、曾布、李定和蔡京等都是人品相当有争议的人物。有的更被视为小人。对于这次改革，以「大历史」著称的史学家黄仁宇评论这次变法：「早我们之前九百年，中国即企图以金融管制的办法操纵国事，其范围与深度不曾在世界里其他地方提出。但现代金融是一种无所不至的全能性组织力量，它之统治所及概要全部包含，又要不容与它类似的其他因素分庭抗礼。」

王安石被罢相后，神宗继续改革事业，号为「元丰改制」。元丰改制虽与熙宁变法并称为「熙丰新法」，但改革力度无法同熙宁变法相提并论。伴随著国力的增强，神宗将焦点转移到外患上。他决心消灭西夏。熙宁五年五月，神宗开始西征西夏，取得了很大胜利，也大大鼓舞了神宗的信心。元丰四年四月，西夏发生政变，神宗藉此再次征讨西夏。结果却遭到惨败。神宗因此一病不起。元丰八年正月初，神宗立六子赵佣为太子。而神宗颁布的新法虽然曾短暂被其母高太后废，但不久又陆续恢复，不少甚至沿用到南宋时期。

神宗驾崩后，太后高氏垂帘听政，对刚即位的哲宗赵煦严加钳制。高太后信用以司马光为首的旧党，并冷落哲宗，结果引发严重的新旧党争，是为元佑党争。哲宗亲政后，贬斥旧党，信用新党，变法事业因此得到了持续。

宋江方腊民变

哲宗没有留下子嗣，死后由他弟弟赵佶即位，是为宋徽宗。徽宗专好享乐，对朝政毫无兴趣，即位初由向太后垂帘听政，向太后启用新旧两党人士试图重整融合朝中和谐，但随著向太后驾崩而告终。徽宗自幼爱好笔墨、丹青、骑马等。亲政后的徽宗的生活糜烂，喜好逛青楼。还大兴土木，听信道士所言，在开封东北角修建万岁山，后改名为艮岳。艮岳方圆十馀里，其中有芙蓉池、慈溪等胜地。里面亭台楼阁、飞禽走兽应有尽有。徽宗还在苏州设立应奉局，专门在东南搜刮奇石，是为花石纲，引得民怨沸腾。

徽宗宣和元年（1119年）宋江聚众三十六人起事，活动于山东、河北一带，后受招安。宣和二年（1120年）摩尼教教主方腊率众在歙县七贤村起事（一说在淳安万年乡帮源峒起事），其后攻占杭州，建立了横跨今日江苏、浙江、安徽、江西四省六州五十二县在内的农民政权，次年被宋将韩世忠镇压。

靖康之难

宋徽宗不理朝政，政务都交给以蔡京为首的六贼。蔡京以恢复新法为名大兴党禁，排斥异己。蔡京主政次日，就下达了一个禁止元佑法的诏书。此即谓元佑奸党案。正直的大臣因此全被排斥出政治中心。徽宗本人好大喜功，当他看到辽国被金国进攻后，便于重和元年春，派遣使节马政自登州渡海至金。双方商议两国共同攻辽，北宋负责攻打辽的南京和西京。灭辽后，燕云之地归宋，过去宋朝给辽国的岁币改缴金国。此即为海上之盟。但宋朝军队却被打得大败。最后金兵掠去燕京的人口，并克扣营、平、滦三州。虽然宋朝策反三州守将张觉甚至一度收回幽云十六州中的十一州，但宣和七年，金兵分两路南下攻宋，很快占领三州及幽云各州，直指宋都。赵佶吓得立刻传位其子钦宗，逃到江南。钦宗患得患失，在战和之间举棋不定。后来在万般无奈的情况下启用李纲来保卫东京。虽然一度取得了胜利，但是金朝并未死心，二度南下。靖康元年九月，太原沦陷。十一月，开封外城沦陷，金军逼迫钦宗前去议和。闰十一月卅日，钦宗被迫前去金营议和，三日后返回。金人要求索要大量金银。钦宗因此大肆搜刮开封城内财物。开封城被金军围困，城内疫病流行，饿死病死者不在少数。金人又迫使钦宗亲往议和，将其扣押，再以放还为条件勒索财物，但宋朝已拿不出其所需的财物。金人不曾攻克开封内城，但宋将范琼将徽宗及皇室成员押往金营。靖康二年二月六日，徽、钦二帝被金太宗所废，贬为庶人。金朝掠走北宋宫厅几乎所有皇室成员和财宝后，建立了一个名为「大楚」的傀儡政权，另立张邦昌为帝，稍后于1130年建立一个大齐政权，立刘豫为帝，史称「刘齐」。徽钦二宗及其兄弟全家被金人掠到五国城，史称「靖康之难」，仅钦宗弟康王赵构在外募兵勤王得以幸免。徽宗被封为昏德公，钦宗被封为重昏侯。最后两人皆客死异乡五国城内。

尽管徽宗在朝政上毫无建树，但毋庸置疑，他在书画上的造诣无与伦比。徽宗的书法和绘画都在中国艺术史上有重要地位。徽宗独创瘦金体，并重视书画事业。翰林书画院的地位大幅提高，著名画家，清明上河图的作者张择端就是其提拔。就连其子赵构也受到薰陶，成为杰出书法家。

赵构后来称帝建立南宋，但与北宋相比失去了河北、河南、山东，疆域大减。

政治

中央集权

宋朝集权中央，强干弱枝，地方官员都是由中央派遣，不得常驻。地方全部财富转运到中央去，地方更无存储（制钱谷）。平常就很艰苦，临时地方有事，更是不可想象。所谓宋代的中央集权，是军权集中，财权集中，而地方则日趋贫弱。地方贫弱，所以金兵南下，只要首都汴京（开封）攻占，全国瓦解，难以抵抗。唐朝的安史之乱，其军力并不比金人弱，唐朝两都（首都长安，东都洛阳）被攻破，可是州郡财富厚，每一座城池，都存有几年的米，军装武器都有储积，所以到处可以到处作战。宋朝则把财富兵力都集中到中央，不留一点在地方上，所以首都一被攻陷，全国随即瓦解。

考试制度

宋代考试制度，大体也沿袭唐代，但宋代科举所获影响，却与唐代不同。第一是唐代门第势力正盛，在那时推行考试，应考的还是有许多是门第子弟。门第子弟在家庭中有家教薰染，并已早懂得许多政治掌故，一旦从政，比较有办法。如是积渐到晚唐，大门第逐步堕落，应考的多数是寒窗苦读的穷书生。他们除却留心应考的科目，专心在文选诗赋，或是经籍记诵外，国家并未对他们有所谓教育。门第教训也没有了，政治传统更是茫然无知。于是进士轻薄，成为晚唐一句流行语。因循而至宋代，除却吕家韩家少数几个家庭外，门第传统全消失了。农村子弟，白屋书生，偏远的考童，骤然中试，进入仕途，对实际政治自不免生疏格，至于私人学养，也一切谈不上。

其次，唐代考试，有公卷通榜之制。所谓公卷，是由考生把平日诗文成绩，到中央时，遍送政府中能文章有学问的先进大僚阅看。此辈先进，看了考生平日作品，先为之揄扬品第，在未考以前，早已有许多知名之士，获得了客观的地位。通榜是考后出榜，即据社会及政府先辈舆论，来拔取知名之士，却不专凭考试之一日短长。甚至主考官谦逊，因其不了解这一次考场中的学术公评，不自定榜，而倩人代定榜次，并有倩及应考人代定，而应考人又自定为榜首状元的。但此等事在当时反成嘉话，不算舞弊。本来考试是为国家选拔真才，明白的此项制度之主要精神与本原意义，又何必在细节上一一计较。但有些人便要藉此制度之宽大处作弊，于是政府不免为要防弊而把制度严密化。这是一切制度皆然的。但制度逐步严密化，有时反而失却本义，而专在防弊上著想。宋代考试制度，是远比唐代严格了，那时则有糊名之制，所凭则真是考试成绩。其实考试成绩，只是一日之短长，故有主考官存心要录取他平日最得意的门生从学，而因是糊名，寻觅不出该人之卷，而该人终于落第的。如是则考试防制严了，有时反得不到真才。

考试只能选拔人才，却未能培养人才。在两汉有太学，在唐代有门第，这些都是培养人才的。社会培养出人才，政府考试始有选择。宋人颇想积极兴办教育，这是不错的。但此非咄嗟可望。第二是想把考试内容改变，不考诗赋，改考经义。这一层用意亦甚是。人人学诗赋，风花雪月，用此标准来为政府物色人才，终不是妥当办法。但改革后却所得不偿所失，考经义反而不如考诗赋。王荆公因此叹息，说本欲变学究为秀才，不料转变秀才为学究。

而且，恩荫补官、任子太滥，是宋代一大弊政；科举出身轻视恩荫出身，补官当中并不一定没有人才，但也使的宋代冗官过多，经济压力沉重。

军事

宋代军队分两种，一称禁军，一称厢军。在唐末五代时，藩镇骄横，兵乱频仍，当时社会几乎大家都当兵，读书人并不多见。开头军队还像样，以后都变成了老弱残兵。军队不能上阵打仗，便把来像罪犯般当劳役用。其时凡当兵的，都要面上刺花字，称为配军，防他逃跑。如《水浒传》里的宋江、武松一类人，脸上刺了字，送到某地方军营中当兵做苦工，人家骂他贼配军，这是远从五代起，直到宋朝，亦没有能彻底改。这样的军队，实际战斗力有限。其实这些军队，在汉是更役，在唐则是庸。而宋代之所谓役，在汉代却是地方自治之代表。这些兵，并不要他们上阵打仗，只在地方当杂差。地方政府有什么力役，就叫他们做。照理，宋代开国第一件该做的事，便是裁兵复员，而宋代却只照上面所说的这样裁，至于复员则始终复不了。这也因宋代得天下，并未能真的统一了全国，他们的大敌辽国，已经先宋立国有了五十多年的历史。

所谓燕云十六州，早被石敬瑭割让予辽人。当时辽宁乃及山西、河北的一部分疆土，都在辽人手里。北方藩篱尽撤，而宋代又建都开封，开封是一片平地，豁露在黄河边。太行山以东尽是个大平原，骑兵从北南下，三几天就可到黄河边。一渡黄河，即达开封城门下。所以宋代立国时没有国防的。倘使能建都洛阳，敌人从北平下来，渡了河，由现在的陇海线向西，还需越过郑州一带所谓京索之山，勉强还有险可守。若从山西边塞南下，五台山雁门关是那里的内险，可算得第二道国防线。要一气冲到黄河边，还不容易。所以建都洛阳还比较好。若能恢复汉唐规模，更向西建都长安，那当然更好。但宋太祖为何不建都洛阳，长安，二偏要建都开封呢？这也有他的苦衷。因为当时国防线早经残破，燕云失地未复，他不得不养兵。养兵要粮食，而当时的军粮，也已经要全靠长江流域给养。古代所谓大河中原地带，早在唐末五代残破不堪，经济全赖南方支持。由扬州往北有一条运河，这不是元以后的运河，而是从扬州往北沿今陇海线西达开封的，这是隋炀帝以来的所谓通济渠。米粮到了开封，若要再往洛阳运，那时汴渠已坏。若靠陆路运输，更艰难，要浪费许多人力物力。宋代开国，承接五代一般长期混乱黑暗残破的局面，没有力量把军粮再运洛阳去，长安一片荒凉，更不用提。为要节省一点粮运费用，所以迁就建都在开封。宋太祖当时也讲过，将来国家太平，国都还是要西迁的。

在当时本有两个国策，一是先打黄河北岸，把北汉及辽打平了，长江流域就可不打自下。这个政策是积极进取的，不过也很危险。假使打了败仗，连退路都没有。一个是先平长江流域，统一了南方，再打北方，这个政策比较持重稳健。宋太祖采了第二策，先平南方，却留著艰难的事给后人做。太宗即位，曾两次对辽亲征，但都打了败仗。一次是在今北平西直门外直去西山颐和园的那条高粱河边上交战，这一仗打败，他自己中了箭，回来因创伤死了。在历史上，这种事是隐讳不讲的。只因宋代开国形势如此，以后就不能裁兵，不能复员，而同时也不敢和辽国再打仗。因为要打就只能胜，不能败。败了一退就到黄河边，国本就动摇。在这种情形下，宋代就变成养兵而不能打仗，明知不能打仗而又不得不养兵。更奇怪的，养了兵又不看重他们，却来竭力提倡文治。想把这些兵队来抵御外患，一面提倡文治，重文轻武，好渐渐裁抑军人跋扈，不再蹈唐末五代覆辙。因此上养兵而愈不得兵之用，以后就愈养愈多。《水浒传》说林冲是八十三万禁军教头，实际上太祖开国时只有二十万军队，太宗时有六十六万，到仁宗时已经有了一百二十五万。所以王荆公变法行新政，便要著手裁兵。裁兵的步骤，是想恢复古代民兵制度，来代替当时的佣兵。但民兵制度，急切未易推行到全国，遂有所谓保甲制，先在黄河流域一带试行。保甲就是把农民就地训练，希望临时需要，可以编成军队，而又可免除养兵之费。

宋代的国防精神是防御性的，不敢主动攻击，用意始终在防守。把募兵制度与长期的防守政策相配合，这却差误了。宋人最怕唐末五代以来的骄兵悍卒，但宋代依然是兵骄卒悍。国家不能不给他们待遇，而且须时时加优，否则就要叛变。政府无奈何，加意崇奖文人，把文官地位提高，武官地位抑低。节度使闲来没事做，困住在京城，每年冬天送几百斤薪炭，如是种种，把他们养著就算。养了武的又要养文的，文官数目也就逐渐增多，待遇亦逐渐提高。弄得一方面是冗兵，一方面是冗吏，国家负担一年重过一年，弱了转贫，贫了更转弱，宋代政府再也扭不转这形势来。因养了许多无用兵，使宋代成为一个因养兵而亡国的朝代。

关于国防资源问题，这也是宋代一个最大的缺憾。在中国只有两个地方出产马。一在东北，一在西北。一是所谓蓟北之野，即今热察一带。一是甘凉河套一带。一定要高寒之地，才能养好马。养马又不能一匹一匹分散养，要在长山大谷，有美草，有甘泉，有旷地，才能成群养，才能为骑兵出塞长途追击之用。而这两个出马地方，在宋初开国时，正好一个被辽拿去，一个被西夏拿去，都不在宋朝手里。与马相关联的尚有铁，精良的铁矿，亦都在东北塞外，这也是宋代弱征之一。可马在温湿地带饲养不易，很容易生病死亡，因此马匹也成了宋代国防上所遭遇的大难题。

自宋辽两国讲和以后，宋朝的国防形势是很可怜的。两国既不正式开战，也不好正式布置边防。只奖励民间种水田，多开渠道，于渠旁多植榆杨。万一打仗，可以做障碍，稍稍抵御辽人之大队骑兵。

经济

农业

宋真宗大中祥符五年（1012年）引进占城稻后，亲自推广占城稻，从福建取占城稻三万斛，分给江淮、两浙种植，这是中国历史上水稻的一次大规模引种。宋神宗熙宁年间，进行大规模引浊放淤、改良农田，全国兴修水利10793处，溉田3600多万亩。长江下游出现稻麦一年二熟制，提高农田单位产量。农具也有很大改进，出现了拔秧工具—秧马。发现石灰、硫黄、钟乳粉等矿物可以作为农田肥料施用。油菜已成为江南地区的主要油料作物。南方各地普遍栽种茶树。川蜀、两广、两浙、福建是著名的甘蔗种植区。秦观作《蚕书》，是为中国现存最早的蚕业著作。

北宋全盛时，麻布产量比盛唐时期多二倍。棉织品在全部纺织品中的比重有所上升。两浙、川蜀地区成为丝织业中心。宋代制瓷窑户几乎遍布全国各地。定州（今属河北）定窑、汝州（今河南临汝）汝窑、颍昌府阳翟（今河南禹州）的钧瓷、饶州（今江西波阳）景德镇窑各有特色。随著雕版印刷业的兴盛，纸张的需要量激增，促使民间造纸业迅速发展。宋代造纸技术比前代大幅度提高。北宋已大量开采石炭（煤），用于冶金和民间日用燃料。在军事和医药上都已利用石油。

工商业

北宋工商业发达，北宋后期出现了总计50座户口在10万户以上的大城市。宋真宗天禧五年（1021年）川陕四路地区出现了世界上最早的纸币─—交子。内河航运和造船也极其发达。遍布各地的驿站网，除官府文书外，还可邮寄私人信件。北宋对外贸易也盛况空前。在四川出现最早的茶马互市。在海上，北自登州、密州，南到泉州、广州，总共开放了12个官方对外通商港口，设立市舶司，管理对外贸易。从泉州；广州等港口出发的船只，远达非洲的埃及和当时的东非诸国，将宋国瓷器和丝绸等工业产品出口到西洋，换回香料、药材、象牙及宝石等奢侈品。海上交通业的发达，也拉动了造船业的发展。沈括写道：「国初，两浙献龙船，长二十馀丈，上为宫室层楼，设御塌以备游幸。」

赋税制度

宋代赋税制度，大体也是由唐代两税制沿下。只讲一点较重要的。本来两税制度，把一切赋税项目，都归并了，成为单一的两税。宋代之差役，也如秦代之戍边，都是由前面历史沿袭下来，政府没有仔细注意，而遂为社会之大害。

文化

北宋时代的儒学复兴和重视文化正常，因而大力提拔文人，使文人得到自由发展的空间，其中较著名的文人有王安石、范仲淹、苏洵、苏轼、苏辙、司马光、欧阳修等人，他们擅于写词，并达到极高水平，与唐诗成为中国古典文学艺术的瑰宝。书法也是突出，国立故宫博物院典藏之黄庭坚、苏轼、米芾、蔡襄并列为北宋四大书家。张择端的《清明上河图》，这幅长卷通过描绘汴京的风物，使近六百人跃然纸上，成为中国绘画史上不朽的佳作。图画中显现出北宋宣和年间汴梁城经济和商业发达的景象，故有人认为宋朝时资本主义开始萌芽。

科技

中国四大发明之一的活字印刷术正式被发明，改良了书籍印刷的技术，对后世文化有很大推动作用。黑色火药在宋初首次应用于军事。指南针已经在北宋军队中用于辨明方向。北宋文人沈括撰写《梦溪笔谈》，乃中国历史上著名的科学著作之一。

北宋君主

同期世界历史

• 968年，丁部领建立大瞿越国。970年，丁部领自称皇帝，并且制定年号太平，由于丁朝统一越南北部，并且创有国号，所以丁朝是越南脱离中国之开始。

• 962年，德意志国王、萨克森王朝的奥托一世在罗马由教宗若望十二世加冕称帝，到973年在位，成为罗马的监护人和罗马天主教世界的最高统治者。1157年，这一帝国得到了「神圣帝国」的称号。

• 963年-1186年，伊斯兰加兹尼王国建立，统治遍及波斯东部、阿富汗、印度次大陆北部。

• 1055年，塞尔柱突厥人攻陷巴格达，解除了阿拔斯王朝哈里发的政治权力，仅让其保有宗教首领的地位。

• 1096年，欧洲第一次十字军东征。

History

The founding

Taizu, the first emperor of Song, Zhao Kuang Yin was a professional soldier. He was a Lifeguard in charge of the troops in front of the emperor's palace in the Later Zhou. Zhao had become an essential military figure during the reign of emperor Shizong owing to his outstanding military exploits. After Shizong died, the young Gongdi emperor ascended the throne. Zhao later seized power through the Chenqiao Mutiny, and established the Song. He adopted an authoritarian centralized system to uproot the potential dictatorship and autocracy of senior officials, which had long been a threat ever since the mid-Tang Dynasty, and to solidify the authoritarian central government, a contributing factor to the stability and growth of the feudal social economy. On the other hand, the redundant bureaucracy and unnecessary official posts led to a terrible decline in efficiency and subsequently financial difficulties.

In the field of military, the Northern Song expanded troops, weakened the military power of generals by separating the power to different persons, and shortened their service term at one official post so that they would not have the chance to accumulate that much power before it threatened the central. The constant change of the general, however, resulted in the decline of fighting capacity of the soldiers, and the Northern Song troops had suffered repeated defeats against minority groups like the Liao and Western Xia. The frontier defense thus became empty and feeble, which was detrimental to national security. Overall, the authoritarian centralized system had to some extents contributed to the unification and stability of the feudal state, preventing the local separatism and peasant revolts from happening, but it also foreshadowed the deepening impoverished and enfeebled from the mid Northern Song.

During the spring festival in 960, Zhao's partisan fellows made up false intelligence that the Liao state was to invade. The prime minister (in feudal China) then immediately commanded Zhao to go to the frontier to defend. On the third day of the first lunar month, Zhao arrived at Chenqiao, and was draped with the imperial yellow robe by his supporters (a ritual of admitting someone as the emperor, kind of like coronation) that night. The officials of the later Zhou deemed it as irreversible and did nothing but accepted the reality. The Gondi of later Zhou was forced to leave the throne, and Zhao subsequently became the Taizu of the Song dynasty.

In 961 and 969, during banquets, and while drunk (or pretending to be) Zhao threatened the generals twice not to rebel against the Song, just like he himself had done against the later Zhou, and deprived them of the power they used to have by assigning them to merely nominal positions while appointing civil officials as commanders of troops, to centralize the military power. The Northern Song dynasty was thus free from local military separatists, but at the same time the local resources were limited. It all led to its defeats in battles against the northern tribes.。

The national policy of the Northern Song Dynasty is principled on its "emphasis on the scholars and less on the military"(重文轻武). This has its advantages and disadvantages for the Song Dynasty; the advantage being stability would be brought upon the political and economic environments of the early Northern Song Dynasty, especially when there are no scourges such as eunuch's messing around or local governors seizing land. Even though most Song emperors performed mediocrely, the country remained prosperous and stable. The disadvantage, however, was that the Northern Song Dynasty had suffered military defeats successively. Alongside the Southern Song Dynasty, the 300 years of the Song Dynasty's history gravitated towards its military defeats and retreats.

Another task Song Taizu faced was to unify his country. After discussing with Zhao Puxue, Zhao Kuangyin decided to unify the whole country starting with south then to north. Zhao Kuangyin first resorted to a counterfeit plan to destroy Nanping and Wuping. He also annihilated the three kingdoms, Shu, Nanhan, and Nantang. Taizu wholeheartedly wished for successful unification, and also set up a warehouse to save money and silk, hoping it would help redeem the sixteen states of Yanyun from the Liao in the future. In August of the 9th year of Kaibao (976), Taizu went northward again. However, Taizu died abruptly on October 19, so his brother Zhao Guangyi immediately took the throne. It was rumored that Guangyi had murdered his elder brother to usurp the throne. The task for unifying the North and the South was temporarily suspended as Zhao Guangyi ascended the throne as Song Taizong.

After Emperor Taizong stabilized his rule, he continued the task of reunification. Chen Hongjin and self titled King Wuyue, Qian Hongling who seized the two provinces of Zhang and Quan in Fujian surrendered in 978, then the Northern Han was obliterated in 979. In May of the 4th year of Taiping Xingguo (979), Taizong disregarded his ministers' objections and took advantage of the demise of Northern Han to start a northern expedition from Taiyuan. At first, Yizhou and Zhuozhou were reclaimed. Taizong was complacent and ordered an attack on Yanjing, which resulted in a disastrous defeat in the Sorghum River outside Youzhou(now outside Xizhimen in Beijing). After this defeat, the Song Dynasty's military strategy turned passive. In the third year of Yongxi (986 years), Taizong headed north again, resulting in another defeat. The famous general Yang Ye was also killed in this battle. Later, Sichuan broke out with Wang Xiaobo and Li Shunmin's coups, leading to a shift in importance of Taizong's administration from focusing on external affairs to internal ones.

Taizong was a vassal and elegant man who liked poetry and literature. His government attached great importance to cultural undertakings, with the Dynasty highly stressing the people's education. Taizong also liked calligraphy, and was able to write in six types of fonts: Cao, Li, Xing, Zhuan, Bafen, and Feibai, and preferred Feibai over the rest. The characters on the ingots of the Song's currency were also the works of Taizong.

Song Taizu had a mature son, so his brother's ascension was quite suspicious, with folks claiming that Zhao Kuangyin was murdered by Zhao Guangyi. In order to ensure the legitimacy of the regime, Zhao Guangyi presented the will of his mother Empress Du, which is named the "Will of the Golden Cabinet"(金柜之盟)(or 匮). This originated when Empress Du called Zhao Pu into the palace to record her last words, in which she ordered that after Zhao Kuangyin's death, the throne would first pass to Guangyi, then Guangmei (later renamed Tingmei), before De Zhao, Zhao Kuangyin's eldest son. This testament was hidden in a golden cabinet, explaining its name's origin. Although there was such a statement in the will, Taizong imposed the death penalty on his father's sons, Dezhao and Defang, then demoted Tingmei to Fangzhou. Two years later, Tingmei died in exile. Taizong's eldest son, Yuan Zuo, was also dismissed from prince to peasant because of his sympathy for Ting Mei. Another son, Yuan Xi, died to unknown causes. Ultimately, Xiang Prince Yuan Kan was established as the heir and renamed Heng. In the third year of Zhidao (997), after Taizong died, Queen Li and Eunuch Wang Jien attempted to establish Yuanzuo as the emperor. Fortunately, Prime Minister Lu Duan properly handled the situation, helping Zhao Heng to succeed the throne, and the Song Dynasty began to enter its prime.

Northern wars against Liu and Xia

After Taizong's death, Zhao Heng ascended as Emperor Song Zhenzong. He pursued Taizong's Huang Lao policies and ruled with inaction. Ever since the Northern Expedition of Yongxi, the Liao often robbed and looted the Song at its borders. By the first year of Jingde, these hostilities had evolved into a large-scale invasion. The prime minister Kou Zhun led the resistance. Zhenzong headed to the battlefield in person and greatly boosted the morale of the Song army. The Song and the Liao entered a deadlock in the city of Tanzhou. Coincidentally, the Liao general Xiao Tieling was shot down by a crossbow of the Song army, greatly weakening the morale of the Liao army and crushing any hope of a Liao victory. The Liao then sought to reconcile with the Northern Song Dynasty and after several negotiations, the two countries agreed to a peace treaty. The main content of the peace treaty was as follows: Song would pay 20 million silks and 100,000 silvers tribute to Liao annually, and the treaty was historically named "The Treaty of Chanyuan".

Afterwards, Kou Zhun gradually fell out of Zhenzong's favor and was eventually dismissed. Wang Chinro, an eminent minister who was good at ingratiating, knew that Zhenzong hoped to enkindle an atmosphere of peace and harmony, and so advocated Zhenzong to Feng Shan. He also colluded with another prime minister, Wang Dan, to fabricate "auspicious" facades all over the nation. As a result, Zhenzong had Feng Shan a total of three times in the first year of Dazhongxiang Fu, and Wang Chiru had become Zhenzong's most trusted ministers.

Zhenzong and Queen Liu had no children. On one occasion, Zhenzong visited Li, a maid of Liu Concubine, and she gave birth to a son (Zhao Shouyi) in the third year of Yu Dazhong Xiangfu, who later became Renzong. Liu and another concubine, Yang raised the child. In the Mid-Autumn Festival of the second year of Tianxi, Zhenzong officially entitled Zhao as the heir and renamed him Zhao Zhen. On February 20, the first year of Qianxing, Zhenzong died. Crown Prince Zhao Zhen took the throne, and Queen Liu became the Queen Dowager ruling before Renzong became an adult. From then on began the sixteen years of Empress Liu's domination of the government.

At the beginning of Renzong's rule, Renzong was not able to carry out his ambitions as he was always under the shadow of Liu's. Although Emperor Renzong's queen was from the Cao family, he had always been particularly fond of Concubine Zhang. But as Zhang came from a lowly background, she could never be queen. Zhang died on the eighth day of the first lunar month in the sixth year of Huangyou, and Renzong treated her funeral as if she was the queen, and even bestowed her the title Queen Wencheng. The result was unprecedented in history, with a living and a dead queen.

The nation was relatively strong in the rule of Renzong with a prosperous economy, forming the peak of the Northern Song Dynasty. However, there were two major problems that had to be faced at the time: the expansion of the imperial court and the scaling number of soldiers, causing financial issues. At the same time, tributes and gifts were often needed to appease the Northern tribes, exhausting the nation's wealth.

Party leader Li Yuanhao announced himself the emperor in the third year of Daqing (1038) and established Xixia, causing several years of war between Song and Xia. Song was defeated numerous times. Renzong appointed Fan Zhongyan, Lu Yijian, Fu Bi, Bao Zheng, Han Qi and other talented ministers to implement the Qingli New Code, which achieved excellent results. The Dynasty had entered its most prosperous stage, but some conservative figures accused the reformist officials of ganging up. Since Renzong had always hated cronyism, these reformist officials were later demoted to provincial officials. This marked the end of the brief execution Qingli New Code. On the frontier, Renzong appointed general Di Qing first to annihilate the rebellion of Southern Non Chicco then the provocation of Xixia.

After Renzong's died, Song Yingzong, Zhao Shu succeeded him. He was the grandson of Zhao Yuanfen, the brother of Zhenzong, and was established as crown prince in the seventh year of Jiayou. Emperor Yingzong was frail, with Queen Cao handling all state affairs at first. Yingzong only began ruling after May of the first year of Zhiping. Half a month after he regained authority, a dispute broke out and lasted for 18 months. The cause of the incident was that Prime Minister Han Qi initiated a discussion on the status of Inzong's biological father. As a result, the government was divided into two factions; one faction believed that Yingzong's biological father, Monarch Pu, should be called Huang Bo(皇伯), the king's uncle, and the other faction believed that he should be called Huang Kao(皇伯). In the end, the empress dowager decided to call him Huang Kao, and only then did the argument subside. In general, Yingzong was still a propitious monarch. He continued to appoint talented former courtiers, also daring to unearth new talents. Yingzong also focused on the compilation of books; the creation of "Zizhi Tongjian" had been initiated by Yingzong.

New Policies

After Yingzong's death, his eldest son Shenzong ascended the throne. As he began his reign, he noticed the many malpractices that had arisen from the rules formulated in the early stages of the Song Dynasty, causing people's quality of lives to decline, and how Liao and Xia were ready to invade a weakened Song. Shenzong therefore was determined to reform, enabling Wang Anshi, a well-known reformist minister, to carry out political reforms, and appointed him as a politician. The new laws promoted by Wang Anshi included collective responsibility, the Green Sprouts program, exemption from military services, a trade management system, Baojia system, war horse breeding program, a new tax system and so on. However, the conservative party led by Sima Guang was strongly against the implementation of the new law. Coupled with the continuous occurrence of natural disasters in the country, Shenzong's determination to implement the reform had been shaken. In the seventh year of Xining, a drought occurred in North China, and an official named Zheng Xia presented an illustration of the suffering peasants to Shenzong. This shocked Shenzong and he ordered the suspension of all 18 laws from the reform the following day. Although these policies were restored soon, Shenzong had already begun to distrust Wang Anshi. In April of the seventh year of Xining, Wang Anshi was dismissed for the first time and sent out to Zhijiang Ningfu. Later, Lu Huiqing, a reformist official, acted recklessly, causing Wang Anshi to be reinstated in the capital, though still frustrated by the conservative party. In June of the ninth year of Xining, Wang Anshi's eldest son died. Wang Anshi took the opportunity to retire, so Shenzong dismissed Wang Anshi from his position again in October. After that, Wang Anshi did not engage in any stately affairs.

Although the opinions on Xining's New Policies were controversial, there was no doubt that Wang Anshi's intended effects from its implementation were never accomplished. Although the implementation of the new laws greatly increased the country's revenue and area of land cultivated, it also increased the burden on civilians. The military reforms were only a palliative effort, ultimately resulting in no advances in the military's effectiveness. Coupled with Wang Anshi's impatience, Wang Anshi hastily implemented the reforms, not allowing the necessary longer period of time for society to benefit the fruits of the New Policies. Moreover, after the new law had been implemented for a while, the differences between the clauses and the effect of the reform continued increasing, and some measures originally benefiting the people began to disturb them instead. Improper implementation of the new law was also a reason for its loss of support. Among the reformers, Lu Huiqing, Zeng Bu, Li Ding, and Cai Jing were quite contentious characters, some of them even being regarded as villains. For this reform, historian Huang Renyu commented on this reform: "As early as nine hundred years before us, China attempted to manipulate the state by means of fiscal policies. Its scope and depth have not been seen elsewhere in the world at the time. However, modern finance is an omnipresent and omnipotent organizational force. Its rule included everything, and it does not allow any other competitors to rival it."

After Wang Anshi was dismissed, Shenzong continued reforming; this was known as "Yuanfeng Reforms." Although the reform of Yuanfeng was also called "Xinfeng New Policies" alongside Xining Reform, the reform efforts could not measure up to those in the Xining Reform. With an increasing national military force, Shenzong shifted his focus to the Northern tribes, determined to destroy Xixia. In the fifth years of Xining, Shenzong began to march westward in Xiaxia in May, and won great victories, boosting his confidence. In April of the fourth year of Yuanfeng, a coup occurred within Xixia, and Shenzong took this opportunity to strike Xixia again. However, the expedition ended up as a fiasco. Shenzong couldn't bear it and therefore became bedridden. At the beginning of the first month of the eighth year of Yuanfeng, Shenzong named his sixtg son Zhao Mai as the heir. Although the new law promulgated by Shenzong was briefly abolished by his mother Empress Dowager Gao, it soon was restored, its execution continuing even to the Southern Song Dynasty.

After the death of Shenzong, the Empress Dowager Gao controlled the politics, strictly restraining Zhao Xu who had just assumed the throne as Zhezong. The Empress Dowager patronized the conservative party head, Sima Guang, and diminished Zhezong. This initiated a serious clash between the conservatives and the reformists, which was later known as the Yuanyou Conflicts. After Zhezong seized back authority, he denounced the conservative party and backed the reformist party, continuing employing the reforms.

Song Jiang, Fang La Civil Commotion

Zhezong did not leave any heirs so his brother Zhao Ji ascended the throne as Song Huizong after he died. Huizong was only interested in seeking enjoyment and had no interest in governing. In the beginning, the Empress Dowager helped rule the government, and tried to reharmonize the conservative and reformist party. This ended in absolute failure with the Empress Dowager's death. Huizong loved calligraphy, painting and horse riding since childhood. Huizong's reign was dissipated as he liked to visit the Qinglou. According to what the scholars said, he demanded massive construction projects like the Wansui Mountain built in the northeast corner of Kaifeng, which was then renamed Genyue. Genyue covered land with a radius more than ten miles, and had multiple sanctuaries like Hisbiscus Pond, "Furongchi"(芙蓉池) and Gentle Creek, "Cixi"(慈溪). It also housed pavilions, exotic birds and animals. Huizong also established the Yingfeng Bureau in Suzhou to plunder for peculiar gems, stones and minerals in the southeast, causing much social unrest.

In the first year of Xuanhe (1119), Song Jiang gathered thirty-six people and started commotions in Shandong and Hebei. He was later recruited as an official to resume peace. In the second year of Xuanhe (1120), the leader of the Manichaeism Fang La led the public to start a commotion in Qixian Village of She County (some said that the incident took place in Bangyuandong, Wannian Township, Chun'an). They later captured Hangzhou, and established a regime across the four provinces, six states and fifty-two counties of Zhejiang, Anhui, and Jiangxi, but was suppressed by the Song General Han Shizhong the following year.

Jingkang Incident

Song Huizong ignored politics, and the government affairs were handed over to Cai Jing, head of the Six Thieves. Cai Jing encouraged polarization of parties by banning other party members and rejecting dissidents in the name of restoring law and justice. The day after Cai Jing took office, he issued an edict prohibiting the Yuanyou New Policy, which was later named the Yuanyou Liaison. Virtuous ministers were ostracized from the political center. Huizong enjoyed grandiose feats, and so, when he saw Liao being attacked by Jin, quickly sent an ambassador to Jin in spring of the first year of Zhonghe. The two sides agreed to join forces and attack Liao, Song being responsible for attacking Nanjing and Xijing. After Liao was defeated, the land of Yan Yun would be restored to Song. This was historically the "Alliance Conducted at Sea". However, the Song army was defeated. The Jin Army looted the population of Yanjing and detained the three states, Ying, Ping and Luan. Although the Song's Cefan san state defender Zhang Jue and took back eleven out of the sixteen states of Youyun, in the seventh years of Xuanhe, the Jin attacked Song and soon occupied the three states and the states of Youyun, even reaching the capital of Song. Huizong was so frightened he passed on his position to Qinzong, his son, and fled to Jiangnan. Qinzong was indecisive in the negotiations and was not persuasive at all. Later, in desperate circumstances, Li Gang was enabled to defend Dongjing. Although the defence was victorious, the Jin Dynasty did not give up and advanced south twice. In September of the first year of Jingkang, Taiyuan fell. In November, the Kaifeng city wall fell, and the Jin forced Qinzong to reconcile. On November 30, Qin Zong was forced to go to the Jin's Camp to discuss the treatise, returning three days later. The Jin demanded a large amounts of precious stones, causing Qinzong to ransack away his belongings and property. Kaifeng City was besieged by the Jin Army, epidemic diseases seethed through the city, alongside the innumerable people dying of starvation. The Jin forced Qinzong to negotiate again, holding him captive, then attempted to extort more wealth on the condition of his return, but the Song's wealth had already been emptied. The Jin never conquered Kaifeng's inner city, but Song General Fan Qiong delivered Huizong and members of the royal family to the Jin. On February 6, the second year of Jingkang, the two emperors of Huizhou and Qin were abolished by Jin Taizong and degraded to peasants. After the Jin robbed almost all the royal treasures of the Northern Song Dynasty's Palace, a puppet regime, "Da Chu" was established, with Zhang Bangchang as the puppet emperor. Later, another puppet regime, Da Qi was established in 1130, with Liu Yu established as the emperor, which was known in history as "Liu Qi". The two emperors and their brothers were abducted by the Jin to the Five Kingdoms City, historically known as the "Jingkang Incidence". Only Qinzong's brother Kang Zhao Gou had been exempted this fate by being recruited abroad. Huizong was dubbed as Hunde Gong(muddle-headed duke)"昏德公", and Qinzong as Zhonghun Hou(fatuous lord)重昏候. In the end, both of them died in Jin.

Although Huizong did not have any political achievements, he has no doubt accomplished much in calligraphy and painting. Huizong's calligraphy and painting have an unparalleled position in the history of Chinese art, having created the Shoujin characters, and valuing the development of calligraphy and painting. The status of the Hanlin Academy of Painting and Calligraphy was greatly improved, and Zhang Zeduan, a famous painter and the author of the Qingming Shanghetu was promoted due to Huizong. Even his son Zhao Gou was influenced, later becoming an outstanding calligrapher.

Zhao Gou later reclaimed his position as emperor, establishing the Southern Song Dynasty, but compared to the Northern Song Dynasty, Hebei, Henan, and Shandong, had been lost, the territory greatly reduced.

Politics

Centralization

In the Song Dynasty, centralization of the government was promoted, the policy being named "strong trunk weak branches"(强干弱枝). Local officials were all dispatched by the central government and their positions often rotated. All local revenue was directly transferred to the central government with no safes (named "money valley",制钱谷). It therefore became impossibly difficult to help locals in need during disasters. The centralization drive in the Song Dynasty concentrated the military and financial power, while surrounding regions became impoverished increasingly. As most regions had weakened due to financial toils, when the Jin advanced south, the whole country would disintegrate as soon as the capital Bianjing (Kaifeng) had been captured with no chance of rebounding. In the Tang Dynasty's Anshi Rebellion, even though its military strength was not weaker than that of the Jin, two capitals(the capital Chang'an and the east capital Luoyang) were invaded, fortunately the prefectures and counties were wealthy with plentiful rations and armoury, so resistance could be enabled. In the Song Dynasty, its wealth and provisions were concentrated in the capital leaving none at the local regions, so as soon as the capital was invaded, the whole country collapsed.

Imperial Examination

The examination system in the Song Dynasty generally perused that of the Tang Dynasty, but the influence gained through the imperial examination system in the Song Dynasty was different from the Tang Dynasty. Firstly, the familial status(门第, Mendi) was at its peak in the Tang Dynasty. When the examination was carried out, many candidates writing it were students from great ancestry. As they had been greatly educated by the upbringing in their families, a lot of political anecdotes had already been ingrained in them. Entrenched in politics, they had more chances and opportunities to gain influence. In the late Tang Dynasty, the threshold gradually lowered, and most candidates where the poor who studied hard to increase their livelihoods. Other than self studying the subjects to be tested and devoting their attention to reciting anthology and poetry, the country had not established a formal education. As tutors vanished from family of great ancestry, the politicians became more ignorant. The phrase "Jinshi are frivolous"(进士轻薄) became a buzzword in the late Tang Dynasty. From the Song Dynasty, except for a few families including the Lu and the Han family, the Mendi traditions had disappeared. Rural schoolboys, poor scholars, and remote candidates were more frequently selected to enter their political careers. They were inevitably unfamiliar with politics as they could not afford private tutors, so their political ability was certainly out of question.

Secondly, the examinations in the Tang Dynasty had a system for self nomination, which meant the candidates could send their poems and achievements prior to the examination to erudite ministers in the government for review. As these ministers were well-respected, their appraisals after reading some works led to the fame of many candidates before the examination, securing well-off positions. The admission results are published after the examination, with the results decided according to the consensus from superiors in the government, who usually selected these well-known candidates, not only relying on the performances on the examination day. An examiner even self-depreciated that he did not understand the purpose of the imperial examination as it was the popularity of the candidates which defines the ranking, These words turned out not to be regarded as fraud, but rather as quite chivalrous at the time. Originally, the exam's purpose was to sort out the geniuses in the country, and people believed after understanding the main spirit and original meaning of this system they should not bother about the details of its procurement. However, some had taken advantage of the leniency of the system, so the government had to model a stricter system to prevent fraud, which is generally true for all systems. However, as the system became gradually stricter, the original purpose was lost, and the focus transformed into preventing fraud instead. The examination system had become much stricter in the Song Dynasty. A practice to cover the candidates names when marking to obtain fairer examination results had emerged. However, if an examiner deliberately wanted to admit his favorite disciple, he could not find the disciple's paper due to the hidden names, so the disciple would not be admitted. Because of these stricter examination rules, sometimes, candidates with potential would not be admitted.

The exam could only scout talents but could not cultivate any. There was the Taixue in the Han Dynasties and the Mendi in the Tang Dynasty, both involved in cultivating scholars. The Song people quite wanted to set up a formal education but these expectations had a bleak future. Secondly, the Song wanted to change the examination syllabus, testing the Jingyi(classics, "经义") instead of testing the poems and odes(诗赋). This intention was quite clear; poetry was too widespread and it was not proper to use this as a standard to identify brilliance for the government. But the New Policies did more harm than good, as the examination of the classics had not turned out as suitable as that of poetry and fu. Wang Jinggong lamented that the original intention of using scriptures to develop talented candidates, however, it had been turned on its heads.

Moreover, tactless admissions and flattering officials with gifts had become major malpractices in the Song Dynasty; the imperial examination background despised candidates with such backgrounds, but there were not many talented individuals to be elected. The Song Dynasty also had too many officials causing great economical pressure.

Military

The Song Army was divided into two groups, one being the forbidden army and the other is the Xiang army. At the end of the Tang Dynasty during the Five Dynasties, the feudal states were arrogant and constantly lead their soldiers into conflicts. At the time, nearly everyone was a soldier with not many scholars around in the society. The army, at first still decent, later turned into a group of old and weak troops. The army couldn't fight in battle, so they were used in hard labor as if they were slaves. Everyone who served as a soldier had to be branded on the face to prevent him from running away; they were called the Pei troops. For example, Song Jiang, Wu Song and several others from the "Water Margin" had tattoos on their faces and were sent to military barracks as soldiers to perform laborious tasks. Folks condemned the government for being a thief of the army forces, and these circumstances continued until the Song Dynasty. However, Song didn't completely reform the system, and as such, their army had limited combat effectiveness.

The Dynasty's army were more active in the Han Dynasty, and started turning into mediocrity in the Tang Dynasty, as the system for recruiting military services in the Song Dynasty was just a revision of that in the Han Dynasty. These soldiers were not needed for battles, only for miscellaneous tasks in local regions, doing whatever the local governments have ordered. It stands to reason that the first thing to be done after the founding of the Song Dynasty was to demobilize troops and dismiss old soldiers, but the Song Dynasty only ever did the first part. This is also the reason the Song Dynasty did not really unify the whole country. Their enemy, the Liao, had existed before the Song Dynasty for over 50 years.

The Yanyun sixteen states were ceded to the Liao people by Shi Jingyuan. Liaoning, which was part of the territory of Shanxi and Hebei, was all in the hands of Liao. The northern barriers had pulled back, and the Song Dynasty built their capital in Kaifeng, which was a flat land exposed by the Yellow River banks. To the east of Taihang Mountain was a great plain, cavalry soldiers could reach the Yellow River banks in a few days if they descended from the north. Across the Yellow River, they would have reached the gate of Kaifeng. There was no well-established national defense during the founding of the Song Dynasty. If they built their capital in Luoyang, the enemy would still have to cross the Jingsuo Mountain in Zhengzhou area from the Longhai in the west, even if they had crossed the river from Beiping. Song could then still barely manage to guard against the invasion. If the Liao went south from the west of Shanxi, Yanmen Pass of Wutai Mountain had a natural defensive geography that could be counted as the second national defence. Liao could easily cross the Yellow River, so the capital should have been built in Luoyang. If we can restore the scale of the Han and Tang Dynasties and build the capital of Chang'an to the west, of course it is better. Song Taizu did not build the capital in Luoyang or Chang'an, but insisted on building it in Kaifeng as he had his difficulties. The early defense line was broken before, losing the Yan Yun states, so he had to raise more troops. As the soldiers had to be fed, the rations had to be entirely supported by the Yangtze River basin.

The Great River Central Plains area had been dilapidated from the end of the Tang Dynasty to the Five Dynasties, so the economy relied entirely on the South. There was a canal from Yangzhou to the north, which differs from the canal in the Yuan Dynasty. This was the Tongji canal from Emperor Yang of Sui Dynasty, and started from Kaifeng to the north of Yangzhou along the Longhai line. If the rice grain were to be further transported to Luoyang from Kaifeng, it would not be possible as the Bian Canal was broken. As transport by land was difficult, a lot of manpower and resources would be wasted. The founding of the Song Dynasty undertook a chaotic and dilapidated society from the Five Dynasties, so had no resources lying around to transport the grains to Luoyang again, not to mention the desolation that remained of Changan. In order to save the freighting costs, Song Taizu moved the capital to Kaifeng, also professing that when the country is peaceful, it would then move west.

At that time, there were two military strategies. The first one was to attack the northern bank of the Yellow River first, vanquishing the Northern Han and Liao. This was an aggressive and risky strategy. If the Song was defeated, there would be nowhere to hide from being disintegrated. The other was to first conquer the Yangtze River Basin, unifying the south, before advancing the north, which was a relatively stable strategy. Song Taizu decided on the second strategy, first unifying the south, leaving the formidable tasks for later generations. After he ascended the throne, and had led his army against Liao twice, and was defeated in both instances. The first time he fought on the banks of the Sorghum River that ran from Xizhi Gate in Peiping to Xishan Summer Palace and was defeated. He was injured by an arrow, and later suffered to death from the trauma . Back in the days, this had to be concealed from the public as it was a disgrace to the nation. As the Song Dynasty was not in good shape after its founding, it was not possible to lay off troops or dismiss the elderly; at the same time, they did not dare to fight against Liao as Song could not afford to lose. If they lost, they would have to retreat to the Yellow River, shaking the country's foundations. And so the Song Dynasty had to raise and feed its soldier, even though they knew that they could not be used in battle. Strangely, after raising the army, the government did not paying them any heed, promoting scholars instead.The government advocated scholarly rule, emphasizing them in place of the military, as while they still wanted to retain troops for defending against foreign tribes they wanted to gradually reduce the power held by military generals, avoiding the mistakes of the late Tang and the Five Dynasties.

As troops were not mobilized, the state had accumulated an increasing number of soldiers that had to be fed. In the "Water Margin, Lin Chong was the head of the 830,000 forbidden army. In reality, Taizu had only 200,000 troops when he founded the country; Taizong had 660,000, and Renzong had 1.25 million. Therefore, Wang Jinggong reformed the policies, he started from dismissing troops. The procedure for layoffs attempted to restore the ancient militia system from the mercenary troops in place at the time. However, the militia system was too hastily implemented, so another system was implemented; this was first tried out in the Yellow River Basin. The system, Baojia, was to train farmers into soldiers, hoping that during incidents they could be formed into an emergency force, lowering the cost for raising soldiers.

The general military approach of the Song Dynasty was a defensive one, not daring to take the initiative to attack. However, to match the military recruiting program with the defensive approach was a miscalculation. The public were feared arrogant generals the most ever since late Tang and the Five Dynasties, but they were still arrogant in the Song dynasty. The country could do nothing but please them and constantly grant them merits, otherwise they might rebel. While the government reluctantly complied, they increased the influence of scholars and ministers to suppress the status of military generals. The generals had nothing to do, though every year in winter a few hundred catties of fuel would be sent to them. After raising soldiers the government raised scholars, gradually increasing the number of ministers, also having to elevate their merits. The situation spun out of hand, producing not only redundant soldiers and also redundant ministers, which added great burden to the nation's economy. The weakness drove Song into poverty, in turn driving a diminishing national power, until the situation was no longer reversible. Raising redundant soldiers was a major factor contribution to the downfall of the Song Dynasty.

The problem of insufficient resources for national defenses was also one of the major shortcomings of the Song Dynasty. Horses were only produced in two places in the country; one in the northeast and one in the northwest. The first was raised among the thistles in the wild north in an area around Reza; the second in the Ganlianghe area. The horse had to be raised in a cold place with high altitude, and they could not be kept scattered away from one another. They had to be raised in grand mountains and valleys, with young grass, sweet springs, and open fields, and in groups to be used by the cavalry for long-distance pursuit. However, when the two places found in early Song Dynasty was captured by foreign tribes, one by Liao and the other by Xixia. However, the Shangyou iron and other fine iron ores associated with horse gears, were all found out of Song's territory in the northeast, also becoming a weakness for the Song Dynasty. It was not easy to raise horses in warm and humid areas, as they would easily get sick and die. Thus, the lack of horses had become another major obstacle the national defense of the Song Dynasty had to face.

After the peace treatise between Song and Liao, the national defense of the Song Dynasty turned dire. The two countries never formally waged wars against each other nor established border defenses. The people were only encouraged to plant paddy fields, dig out more canals, and plant more poplars beside the canals. In case of war, they could obstruct the enemy and act as resistance against the cavalry of the Liao brigade.

Economy

Agriculture

After the introduction of Zhancheng rice in the fifth year of Dazhong Xiangfu (1012) during Song Zhenzong's reign, the rice was vastly promoted, with 30,000 Hu(斛, a measuring unit) of Zhancheng rice taken from Fujian and distributed to Jianghuai and Liangzhe. This was the first large-scale introduction of rice crops in Chinese history. During the Xining period of Song Shenzong, large-scale dredging, siltation and farmland improvement were carried out, with 10,793 water conservancy sites constructed nationwide, resulting in more than 36 million mu(亩, a measuring unit) of irrigation fields. In the lower part of the Yangtze River, rice and wheat were planted twice a year to increase farmland yield. The farm tools had also seen great improvements, with a tool for lifting sprouts being invented. It was discovered that powdered minerals such as lime, sulfur, and stalactite could be applied as fertilizers. Rapeseed became the main oil-producing crop in the Jiangnan region. Tea trees were widely planted throughout the South. Sichuan, Sichuan, Guangxi. Liangzhe and Fujian became popular sugarcane planting areas. Qin Guan's "Silkworm Book" was the earliest literature on sericulture in China.

During the prime of the Northern Song Dynasty, the output of linen production was twice that of the Tang Dynasty. The percentage of cotton products in all textile products increased. The two regions of Zhejiang and Sichuan had become industrial centers for silk and weaving. Porcelain kilns were made all over the country. Dingzhou (now Hebei) produced Ding kilns, Ruzhou (now Henan Linru) produced Ru kilns, Yingchang Prefecture Yangzhai (now Henan Yuzhou) produced Jun Porcelain and Raozhou (now Jiangxi Boyang) produced Jingdezhen kilns, all with their own distinctive characteristics. With the development of the wood-block printing industry, the demand for paper surged, prompting rapid growth in the private paper industry, greatly improving the paper-making skills of Song Dynasty. In the Northern Song Dynasty, a large amount of coal has been mined for metallurgy and as fuel for the public. Oil was used in both military and medicine.