Ming Dynasty - Lessons from the Rise and Fall of Dynasties (Part 4)

Author: Zhao Yi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2007-02-01
Features: In the history of China, no dynasty has ever been as permeated with the aura of decline from the very beginning as the Great Song Empire, evoking a sense of oppression, indignation, and disappointment. The empire's foundations were successively threatened and impacted by the powerful military forces of northern states like Liao and Jin, remaining in a state of turmoil. Ultimately, it fell victim to the of the Mongol cavalry and met its demise. This book, with its profound historical perspective, spans nearly three centuries from the chaos of the Five Dynasties to the establishment of the Song Dynasty by its founding emperor and the eventual collapse of the Southern Song, uncovering the internal causes of the Great Song's decline: militarily, from unfavorable warfare to loss of confidence to unyielding pursuit of peace; politically, from determined reforms to impulsive actions to rampant self-interest; and psychologically, from benevolence and kindness to a sense of mediocrity to shamelessness—recreating the trajectory of the Great Song Empire's decline, characterized by its helplessness, incompetence, boredom, and ultimately, inaction, leaving readers with a sense of desolate melancholy akin to "crows urging the setting sun, the west wind withering green trees."