Song Dynasty regional culture

Author: Cheng Minsheng
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 1997-01-01
Features: Prior to this, Kou Zhun, a native of Xi Zhou's Xiang Bang (now Weinan, Shaanxi), served as a governing minister and openly expressed his dissatisfaction with the southerners, stating, "I particularly dislike the lightness of southerners." In the eighth year of the Zhensheng era of Emperor Zhenzong (1015 AD), after the imperial examination, when determining the top candidate, the court followed the rule of selecting the "most suitable in talent and character" as the top scholar. After observation, two candidates emerged as the best: Cai Qi from Jingdong and Xiao Guan from Jiangxi. Cai Qi was considered "handsome in appearance, dignified in demeanor, and of great integrity," and was favored by Emperor Zhenzong. Kou Zhun, the head of the Bureau of Military Affairs, further stated: "Southerners from Xiang Bang are not suitable to be the top scholars." Thus, Cai Qi was chosen as the top scholar. After the court session, Kou Zhun happily said, "The south has snatched a top scholar from the central plains!" Viewing the south as inferior and disliking the lightness of southerners; this could be said to represent the views of many northern scholars. Yan Shu, a native of Fuzhou (now Jiujiang), Jiangxi, was summoned to the court as a child prodigy and received the title of Tong Jinshi from the emperor. However, Kou Zhun again expressed dissatisfaction, saying, "Shu is a foreigner from the Jiang River region," meaning he should not have been granted such favor to a southerner. In the early Northern Song Dynasty, southerners held very few positions in the court, mainly because many southern regions were still outside the Song Dynasty's territory. After the gradual unification of the south, a large number of southerners began to enter the court. By the time of Emperor Zhenzong, southerners in the court had become quite influential, forming a significant power bloc; they intentionally or unintentionally competed with northern officials for power and profit. Wang Qinruo and others successively sidelined northern scholars like Kou Zhun and Zhao Anren, allying themselves with Liu Chenggui from Chuzhou (now Huai'an, Jiangsu), Chen Pengnian from Jianchang (now Nanfang, Jiangxi), Lin Te from Nanjian (now Nanping, Fujian), and Ding Wei from Suzhou (now Suzhou, Jiangsu), forming a faction known as the "Five Ghosts" in contemporary discussions. This "contemporary discussion" likely represented the northern perspective, showing strong resentment toward the conduct of these southern officials. Wang Zeng, Ma Zhiji from Kaifeng, and Emperor Zhenzong held such views. In the selection of local officials, the early Northern Song Dynasty had regional biases against southerners. Familiarity with or adaptation to local customs was crucial for local officials to govern effectively. Sima Chi from Xian County (now Xian County, Shanxi) once served as the governor of Hangzhou and was known for being "frank and straightforward" but "unfamiliar with Wu customs," leading to accusations and demotion to the neighboring prefecture of Guo (now Lingbao, Henan). The most familiar with local customs were those from the region or nearby areas. "The best service as an official is to govern one's own homeland, understanding the people and customs, and thus governing with ease." Therefore, the Song government generally did not avoid appointing officials from their hometowns and sometimes even specifically selected locals for local posts. For example, in the sixth year of the Xianping era (1003 AD), an imperial decree stated: "Imperial officials in the capital and provinces should be appointed as deputy governors of various prefectures in Hebei, salt production offices, and other administrative posts, with candidates selected from those with local backgrounds and no criminal records in their previous terms." However, in the early Song Dynasty, the court remained wary of the newly conquered southern regions politically and prohibited southerners from holding local posts in the south. In the seventh year of the Taiping Xingguo era (982 AD), Emperor Taizong decreed: "People from Western Sichuan, Linghai, Jinghu, Jiang, and Zhejiang shall not hold the positions of prefects, deputy prefects, transport commissioners, or other administrative roles in their respective regions." This prohibition covered most southern regions, including Sichuan, Guangnan, Jinghu (North and South), Jiangnan (East and West), and the two Zhejiangs. Additionally, due to the slighting of southerners as "weak," an official in Emperor Zhenzong's era submitted a memorial requesting that local patrol officials responsible for maintaining order be selected from "brave and strong individuals from Fujian, Jinghu, Jiang, Zhejiang, Sichuan, and the Hua River region," avoiding those with literary backgrounds. With the long-standing division between the north and south and the consolidation of centralized power, the court gradually reduced its vigilance toward the south. It became both inconvenient and unrealistic to appoint only northerners to southern posts, so by the time of Emperor Zhenzong, the prohibition was gradually relaxed. In the first year of the Tianxi era (1017 AD), an imperial decree stated: "Candidates from Jiangnan, Zhejiang, and Fujian are allowed to be appointed to posts within 300 li of their hometowns." In the fifth year of the Tianxi era (1021 AD), the Imperial Examination Office further proposed: "Imperial officials from Jinghu and Jiangnan are to be treated similarly to those from Fujian and Huainan, allowing them to hold posts in their respective regions." The court agreed to this suggestion. When appointing southerners to govern their hometowns, the court sometimes explicitly emphasized the intention of understanding local customs. For example, in the imperial decree appointing Zhang Xun as the chief justice of Western Zhejiang, it was stated: "People from Wu and Yue are clever and profit-driven, and many prisons are better managed by those familiar with local conditions than by outsiders. You will be responsible for upholding the law and expanding justice." Sichuan was an exception. Due to its rugged terrain and history of separatism, as well as its "light and easily swayed customs," the Song government remained cautious. The selection of key local officials in Sichuan's prefectures was extremely careful, and locals were generally not appointed. Take the imperial decrees from the Xining era of Emperor Zhenzong as an example. The number of books in Jingdong was not inferior to that in Jingxi. Nanjing's Yingtian Prefecture (now Shangqiu, Henan) had two great book collectors. Wang Mingqing listed five "scholarly families" during the Chengping era that had "the reputation of book collecting," with the first being the "Cui family of Nan Du," referring to the Cui Tongwen family. The other was Wang Qinchen, the son of Wang Zhu, who participated in compiling the Chongwen Zongmu. Xu Du said: "The richest book collections I have seen belong to the Wang family of Nan Du, the respected Vice Minister Wang Zhongzhi. Their collection contains 43,000 volumes, excluding extensive encyclopedias like the Taiping Guangji. Even the imperial libraries cannot surpass them." Among them, the so-called "treasure trove books" include over 5,000 volumes. The book collection of Yunzhou (now Dongping, Shandong) was also rich, with Zhu Xuanyan, a Wenlin scholar in the early Southern Song Dynasty, stating: "My family has a collection of 10,000 volumes, all in Dongping. Zhou Zizhi once saw our catalog, which included books on the Five Classics, the Hundred Schools, and other works, all personally annotated and in fine condition. Other rare books and fiction were beyond my knowledge, but there were still thousands of volumes of literary works from the Qin and Han dynasties to the Tang Dynasty, as well as encyclopedias and collected works. How wealthy that is!" The abundance, quality, and variety of these collections naturally drew Zhou Zizhi's admiration. Dong Di of Yunzhou was also a book collector, author of the Guangchuan Shuzhi (26 volumes), which examined and commented on the origins and development of the classics, history, and philosophy in his collection, not to mention the collected works. It can be inferred that his collection was quite extensive. Jingdong had several other prefectures with rich book collections. Zhang Zhao from Puzhou (now Junceng, Shandong) had a collection of tens of thousands of volumes; Zhou Qi from Zibo (now Zibo, Shandong) had over 10,000 volumes; Zhang Chunchen from Juye (now Juye, Shandong) built a grand hall for book collecting, "surrounded by bookshelves," and had a lifelong passion for collecting books "without regard for cost," amassing thousands of volumes; Zhang Ping from Qingzhou (now Qingzhou, Shandong) was a history enthusiast, often lovingly acquiring rare books in his youth, even trading clothes for them. After entering public service, he had collected thousands of volumes; the Jiang family of Xuzhou (now Xuzhou, Jiangsu) was also a book-collecting family, as recorded in the Song Shi·Yiwenzhi San (Volume 3) with the Xuzhou Jiang Family Catalog (2 volumes); and Zhao Mingcheng of Zhucheng (now Zhucheng, Shandong), as mentioned by his wife Li Qingzhao, carried 20,000 valuable books and 2,000 inscriptions and calligraphy when the Southern Song capital fled north during the Jianyan era, while his former home in Qingzhou still held a vast collection, "locked in ten rooms." These families had extremely rich book collections. In the northwest, some book collectors were also recorded. For example, Song Da, a native of Huazhou (now Huaxian, Shaanxi) in the early Song Dynasty, became a scholar after passing the imperial examination and served as the chief clerk of Qingcheng (now Guanxian, Sichuan). He copied a large number of books and, after completing his term, "returned with thousands of volumes." During his 30 years in public service, he "only collected books to pass them on to his descendants," ensuring they remembered the essence of scholarship. Li Pixin, the son of Li Shiheng from Chang'an (now Xi'an, Shaanxi), had "a wealthy family of books," and collected hundreds of volumes of inscriptions from various dynasties. Another Chang'an native, Shi Caisu, "had a very rich collection of books." Song Bai from Daming (now Daming, Hebei) had a collection of tens of thousands of volumes. Another great figure, Guo Yong, served as the chief justice during the Northern and Southern Song period and died in a disaster. He was a knowledgeable scholar who bought books as soon as he had money, amassing a collection of over 10,000 volumes. The northwest had many military officials, but even among them, some were book collectors. For example, Wu Tingzuo, a military official from Taiyuan (now Taiyuan, Shanxi), was fond of reading and had a collection of over 10,000 volumes, which was quite remarkable. Outside Kaifeng in the northern regions, there was little information on printing, but it still revealed some insights. In the fourth year of the Zhenghe era (1114 AD), an imperial decree revealed: "Counties in Hebei widely spread heretical teachings, despite harsh punishments, they remain unrepentant. They have other scriptures that they spread, inciting trouble. Some even have printed boards and stone carvings, which should be seized and destroyed by officials." This shows that the heretical scriptures spread among the people in Hebei were printed products, belonging to illegal publications. Therefore, normal book printing in Hebei must have been quite extensive. Bi Zhongyou, in a poem, provided information on book printing in Dingzhou (now Ding County, Hebei): "Dingzhou's poetry carvings are excellent, modeled after the southern gold. They express the feelings of travelers and the hearts of authors. The frontier city's prosperity is a fine achievement, and the art of poetry is entrusted to those who appreciate it. From Dingzhou's poetry collections, Bi Zhongyou saw the prosperity of the frontier city." Even in the Southern Song Shaoxing era, the already dilapidated Jingxi Circuit's transport office still printed Cheng Ma's Lunyu Shuo, suggesting that during the Chengping era of the Northern Song, there were even more printing activities. During Emperor Huizong's reign, Huang Bosi borrowed the Yuxi Ji from Wang Jinwu's family in Luoyang, which was a "Lü family edition from Dongping," indicating that at least one family-owned printing industry existed in Yuncheng (now Dongping, Shandong) in the Jingdong Circuit. In the early years of Emperor Renzong's Hehe era, Pang Ji, who governed Yuncheng, handed over Wang Yuci's poems to Sima Guang and requested: "Print Wang Gong's poems for me in Shangluo." This shows that there was a printing industry in Shang County (now Shang County, Shaanxi). Ye Dehui, in Shulin Qinghua (Volume 3, The Prosperity of Song Dynasty Publishing), listed "Xianyang's Shuyin Zhai" and "Fenyang's Bojietang," indicating that Shaanxi and Hedong had famous printing workshops. These examples show that northern printing had a certain scale. In the early Northern Song Dynasty, Suzhou's education was backward, with "only a few people teaching literature." Changzhou, the county of its prefecture, was "fond of sacrificing to ghosts and gods, and of, the school of poetry and books had long been abandoned" during Emperor Taizong's reign. Perhaps for this reason, Hu Yuan, after studying at Tai Mountain in Jingdong, came to Suzhou to promote education and establish private schools, "teaching Confucian classics in Wu." In the second year of the Jingyou era (1035 AD), Fan Zhongyan, the prefect of Suzhou, applied to establish a prefectural school, but only over 20 students enrolled. Thus, Hu Yuan was appointed to oversee the school, which gradually developed. Over 50 years later, in the Yuanyou era of Emperor Zhezong, "the number of students had doubled compared to then," estimated to be around 40. The school expanded accordingly, with 22 pavilions and 150 rooms. The situation in Xiu Prefecture (now Jiaxing, Zhejiang) was similar. Its Huating County (now Songjiang, Shanghai) was "in a land of barrenness and water, with, the people lacked integrity, and the world valued cunning. They sacrificed to gods to seek blessings and believed in Buddha to escape disaster. The teachings of the ancient kings were unknown, and the spirit of Confucius should have been abandoned." The status of Confucianism was negligible here. This was the situation during Emperor Zhenzong's reign, and by Emperor Zhezong's time, little had changed. "Huating is a large county, with smaller counties nearby all having schools, but only Huating lacks one. This is because the western part of Zhejiang is fond of Buddhism, and Huating is particularly so. The people, with surplus wealth, spend it all on Buddhist monasteries, so other constructions are difficult to achieve." Their devotion to Buddhism and disdain for Confucianism made the development of county schools impossible. For example, in the late years of Emperor Renzong, there were few scholars in Haiyan County (now Haiyan, Zhejiang), "only a few people engaged in Confucian studies." This was due to frequent famines and the exhaustion of people's resources, making it insufficient to alleviate suffering, let alone establish schools. From an economic perspective, this explained the backwardness of education. In Taitai County (now Tiantai, Zhejiang) of Taizhou during Emperor Renzong's Huangyou era, "the people of this county did not recognize Confucian learning." At the same time, in Xianju County (now Xianju, Zhejiang), Chen Xiang, the local official, pointed out: "Since I took office, I have often felt pity for the people of your county not studying, and siblings and neighbors do not show filial piety or friendship. The people are eager for wealth and profit. Two years ago, official documents were issued to order the people to send their children to school. Yet, after two years, no one has responded!" Despite having schools and official documents urging enrollment, no one responded! In Chuzhou, such as Jinyun County (now Jinyun, Zhejiang), according to Mao Weizhan in the eighth year of the Qingli era (1048 AD), the county had a population of 9,000, most of whom were skilled workers and not rooted in Confucian studies, with only five or six scholars. The customs were rough and unrestrained, and they were easily influenced by sorcery and ghosts, competing to build high shrines and grand halls, exaggerating their influence. They were diligent and earnest in seeking wealth and profit, and this became their nature, even the best teachers could not change it." This nearly desperate tone pointed out that superstitious customs severely hindered the development of education.