Реферат: Song Dynasty Essay Research Paper The Song

Song Dynasty Essay, Research Paper

The Song Dynasty

The Song dynasty lasted over 300 years, from 960 to 1279. Their history

is divided into two periods of Northern and Southern Song. The Song period was

one of China’s most peaceful and prosperous era. However the Song government was

corrupt and weak.

The Song Dynasty, or Sung Dynasty was a period in which the Chinese

government was very weak. In the beginning General Chao K’uang-yin, also known

as Sung T’ai Tsu, was forced to become emperor in order to unify China. Sung

T’ai Tsu created a national army under his direct control. He, and only he had

control of the military. Once he had passed away his less competent successors

were unable to keep the military under control, the military increasingly lost

prestige. The weakening of China’s military, coincided with the rise of strong

nomadic nations on the boarders.

During the same time of the military’s loss of prestige, the civil

service rose in dignity. This was an examination system that had been restored

in Sui and T’ang and was further elaborated and regularized. Selection

examinations were help every three years at the district, provincial, and

metropolitan levels.

Only 200 out of thousands of applicants were granted the jinshi degree.

This was the highest degree and appointed on government posts. From this time on,

civil servants became China’s most envied elite, replacing the hereditary nobles

and landlords.

The Song dynasty only extended over to the parts of earlier Chinese

empires. The Khitans controlled the northeastern territories and the His Hsia

controlled the northwestern territories. The Song emperors were unable to

recover these lands so they were forced to make peace with the Khitans and the

Hsi Hsia. They gave massive amounts of payments to the barbarians, under these

peace terms, it depleted the state treasury and cause heavy payments on

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