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Why is the culture of the Song Dynasty the pinnacle

The culture of the Song Dynasty inherited the essence of the culture of the Tang Dynasty, and gradually grew up in the brewing of loose politics and a good social atmosphere. It developed rapidly and achieved fruitful results. Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin asked his descendants never to kill literati. The status of literati in the Song Dynasty was unprecedentedly improved. The social atmosphere of emphasizing literature over military affairs reached its peak in the Song Dynasty.

All are scholars.”, “Everything is inferior, but reading is high.” “Punishment is not a doctor” and other common sayings all appeared in the Song Dynasty.

1. A large number of outstanding talents emerged in the Song Dynasty, most of whom were Chinese

Zhao Pu, a veteran of the four dynasties and a statesman, Ercheng and Zhu Xi, a master of Neo Confucianism and an ancient philosophical thinker; Liu Yong, a poet of the Grace School, and Bi Sheng, who invented movable type printing; Fan Zhongyan, a writer and politician who presided over the “New Deal in Qingli”; Shen Kuo, a natural scientist; Han Qi, a virtuous minister of the three dynasties;

Ouyang Xiu, a famous statesman, scholar, and master of a generation; Zhou Dunyi, a scholar who advocated “emerging from the mud without pollution”; Wang Anshi, a politician and writer; politician, writer, and historian Sima Guang; well-known virtuous official Lu Gong, Wen Yanbo, scholars Zeng Gong, Su Shi, Zhang Zai; scientist Su Song, etc. all came from the Song Dynasty. There are also discussions about the pioneer Mei Yaochen, the crazy Mi Fu, the famous female poet Li Qingzhao, the calligrapher Huang Tingjian, and the leading literati Xin Qiji are all famous for their Ci.

All the virtuous ministers in the Song Dynasty advocated appointing people on their merits, and Zhao Pu was an outstanding representative: Once, Zhao Pu recommended a virtuous man to be an official to Song Taizu. For two consecutive days, Song Taizu did not agree. When Zhao Pu went to court on the third day, he sent a memorial again, insisting that Song Taizu agree to his recommendation, which angered Song Taizu.

Song Taizu tore up the memorial and threw it on the ground. Zhao Pu’s expression didn’t change, he knelt on the ground, picked up the torn memorials calmly, and put them in his sleeves. After returning home, Zhao Pu glued the torn pieces together, and after a few days, he took it to the court and handed it to Song Taizu. Taizu just woke up and finally appointed the magi (recommended by Zhao Pu).

2. Unprecedented prosperity of Song Dynasty literature

The literature of the Song Dynasty not only included the Ci, poems, prose, story-based novels, opera scripts, etc. of the Song Dynasty, but also developed travel notes, scientific expository essays, and note-style novels. Second again.

There were many high-yield writers in the literature of the Song Dynasty. Lu You called it “thousands of poems in sixty years.” Lu You has preserved more than 9,300 poems. Yang Wanli wrote more than 20,000 poems. But only a small part remains.

It is estimated that there were more than 9,000 poets in the Song Dynasty, about 1,400 poets, and more than 20,000 poems. The scope and rich content of the poems are beyond the reach of the previous generations.

If it weren’t for the war-damaged, lost, and untraceable literature, I’m afraid this treasure house of literature would have been admired by all mankind long ago. What we can see today is only a small part of it, which can be described as rare. Song poetry reflects social phenomena from various aspects, with broad vision and profound strength. Many writers are eclectic and bold and innovative.

As an emerging literary genre, Song Ci is not only short and concise, easy to circulate, but also a popular literary and artistic carrier for the people in the streets and alleys. Its entertainment, mass, communication power are incomparable to poetry.

3. Emphasis on literature and despise martial arts, showing a trend of confluence of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism in thought

Since the Song Dynasty was poor and weak for a long time, the rulers of the Song Dynasty adopted a major political policy of emphasizing culture and despising military affairs, and there was a tendency to merge Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism in their thinking. Many temples are a concentrated reflection of this.Therefore, Song Ci has novel themes, unique techniques, and elegant writing style.

In the early Northern Song Dynasty, the main leaders of Ci were Yan Shu and his son, Ouyang Xiu, Fan Zhongyan, Liu Yong and others. In particular, a group of lyricists such as Yan Shu and Ouyang Xiu have created cis with novel genres, eclectic, natural and smooth reasoning, and easy to hum. Fan Zhongyan’s words are ups and downs, heroic, tragic, and inspiring; Liu Yong created his own tune, replacing small orders with long and slow words, adding a grassroots style, highlighting the style of pavilion teahouses and lingering emotions.

In the mid-Northern Song Dynasty, the most representative poet was Su Shi. He uses poetry as his Ci, which combines poetry with broad genre, substantial content, unrestrained and unrestrained, and is easy to be passionate. Lu You, the patriotic Ci School of the Southern Song Dynasty, and a group of Ci writers of the Xin Qiji School, were all influenced by Su Shi and created a large number of poems. A well-known and immortal work.

In the early Southern Song Dynasty, when the country was in crisis, many poets not only maintained the bold and unrestrained style of poetry, but also highlighted the distinctive characteristics of the times. The content was mostly generous, tragic, gloomy and desolate. Li Qingzhao, a female poet, is particularly outstanding. Her Ci turns vulgarity into elegance, is clear and sparse, delicate in language, profound in connotation, and natural and fresh in style, which is full of praise.

In the mid-Southern Song Dynasty, the main poets Xin Qiji, Chen Liang, Jiang Kui, etc. performed outstandingly. Xin Qiji created the patriotic Ci school – Jiaxuan Style, which uses prose as Ci, open-minded and popular, and full of artistic expression; , sometimes agitated, bold and unrestrained, inspiring. Jiang Kui’s Ci is exquisite in art, strong in melody, and free in tune, which is unique.

4. The imperial examination reform in the Song Dynasty had a great influence on the literature of the Song Dynasty

Many celebrities and cultural masters in the Song Dynasty were born in poverty, and the imperial examination provided them with a good opportunity to get ahead. Both Fan Zhongyan and Ouyang Xiu came from a single family and were poor since childhood. When Fan Zhongyan was one year old, his father died, and his mother, Xie, took Fan Zhongyan who was still breastfeeding and remarried to the Zhu family. Fan Zhongyan suffered from the hardships of the world since he was a child, eating porridge and studying hard. Ouyang Xiu couldn’t afford a pen and paper, so his mother taught him how to read by drawing on reed stalks. In the end, both of them had the courage to fight individually and became literary giants, admired by thousands of people. Wang Anshi, Su Xun, Su Shi, and Zeng Gong are all cultural elites cultivated by Ouyang Xiu. Su Shi also trained Huang Tingjian, Qin Guan, Huang Buzhi and Zhang Lai. Lu You is a student of Zeng Gong, and Lu You and Xin Qiji regard Ci as friends.

In short, the Song Dynasty was a gathering of literati with profound heritage and unprecedented development.