Sung Dynasty

Type of Government

The Sung Dynasty was an imperial monarchy led by a hereditary line of emperors. The emperor, who served as head of state, head of government, and commander of the armed forces, was assisted by three appointed chancellors (prime ministers) and an executive cabinet supervising six executive ministries. At the regional level, the government established a system of joint administration with both civil and military leaders. The judicial system was based on Confucian legalism, a political philosophy that stressed adherence to imperial policy as an ethical and moral imperative, and which was administered by imperial courts with supervisory authority over lower provincial and district courts.

Background

For more than 2000 years before the first Chinese empire, Chinese culture evolved from loose confederations of tribal states into a succession of feudal monarchies. Historians divide pre-imperial China into three periods—the Hsia (2205–1766 BC), Shang (1766–1112 BC) and Chou (1112–221 BC). In 221 BC, Quin Shi Huang-Di (259–210 BC), the reigning king of the Qin monarchy, completed the military conquest of the rival kingdoms and established the nation’s first empire.

Quin Shi Huang-Di was viewed as a tyrant, and the empire was plagued by popular uprisings. Two prominent rebel leaders, Xiang Yu (232–202 BC) and Liu Pang (247–195 BC), joined forces to defeat the Qin Empire in 206 BC. A power struggle developed between Xiang and Liu, culminating in the Chu-Han War from 206 to 202 BC. After his victory, Liu Pang became the first emperor of the Han Dynasty.

The Han Dynasty lasted for more than four centuries and saw the emergence of countless cultural and administrative innovations that influenced all of China’s subsequent periods. The Han integrated Confucian philosophy into the administration of their holdings, leading to the development of an elite class of scholar-statesmen. In addition, the “Silk Road,” a series of trade routes that connected Asia to the Mediterranean, was developed during the Han period and brought the Chinese into contact with Western cultures.

In what would become a repeated pattern in imperial history, powerful military leaders and wealthy landowners began developing antigovernment movements in the nation’s peripheral territories. By AD 220 civil unrest and economic deterioration weakened the Han government beyond recovery. A civil war ensued that fractured the nation into three warlord kingdoms. In AD 265 Sima Yan (236–290) established the Jin Dynasty, uniting China’s three kingdoms under a single government.

For two centuries, the Jin Dynasty struggled against internal and external military threats. While popular dissent led to the formation of numerous rebel groups, nomadic tribes in the northern territories continually invaded and challenged the borders of the empire. The government collapsed in 316 after eight of the nation’s imperial princes broke from the emperor and vied for power. By 420 the last remnants of central control were eliminated, and the nation passed into a militaristic period marked by a succession of transient states.

In 581 the nation was again united by the powerful military of the Sui Dynasty. Like the Qin Dynasty, the Sui military regime was able to conquer the disparate states but unable to consolidate control. The empire descended into a period of civil war until Li Yuan (566–635) marshaled a military force sufficient to accomplish unification. The Tang Dynasty, established in 618 AD, fostered the nation’s second cultural renaissance after the Han Dynasty. Intellectual and political culture flourished under a stable imperial regime and a period of relative economic harmony.

Like the Han, the Tang Empire was weakened by power struggles within the government. Military leaders, wealthy landowners, and members of the imperial family competed for central control as the monarchy lost much of its support among the citizenry. By the early tenth century, the Tang government had been removed from power and the nation was split into northern and southern regions, each controlled by warring kingdoms.

In northern China, a succession of five dynasties controlled the capital region. The last of the dynasties, known as the Later Zhao Kingdom, eventually managed to unify a majority of the territory. In 960, a commission of military leaders installed General Chao K’uang-yin (927–976) as the first emperor of the Sung Dynasty.

During the period from 960 to 1126, known as the Northern Sung Dynasty, the imperial capital was located in the city of K’ai-feng. Upon the foundation of the empire, the Khitan ethnic group (from Manchuria) and the Later Han Kingdom (in northeast China) still controlled portions of the northern territory. In addition, southern China was divided into ten warring states. Between 960 and 980, Chao K’uang-yin and his successors invaded and eventually conquered the ten kingdoms of southern China.

To avoid the popular rebellions that had plagued previous dynasties, the Sung leaders initiated a new administrative system that reduced the power of regional civil and military leaders and created a stronger, more centralized administration. The emperor took direct control over the military and appointed trusted members of his inner circle to lead strategically important regions.

In the eleventh century, social reformer Wang Anshi (1021–1086), who led an elite group of scholar-statesmen, developed a series of reforms that strengthened central control over the economy, while simultaneously encouraging popular allegiance to the empire by allowing the populace to become more directly involved in local government. Though conservatives opposed many of Anshi’s initiatives, the reform movement progressed and led to a more stable administrative structure.

By the early twelfth century, the Sung Dynasty had achieved a level of political and social stability unparalleled in Chinese history. While the central government still faced military threats from foreign powers, intellectual, social, and cultural pursuits flourished.

Government Structure

Serving as head of state, head of government, and commander of the armed forces, the Sung emperor had the power to issue law by decree, to appoint and remove members from the government and military, to establish diplomatic and budgetary policy, and to name his successor from among the imperial lineage.

The central government was organized around three departments—the Chancellery, the Department of State Affairs, and the Supreme Secretariat—each led by an appointed chancellor (prime minister). Employees in the executive departments were drawn from a special imperial academy open to applications from the public and other branches of the civil and military service. Beneath the three departments was an executive cabinet composed of six executive ministries.

The Sung government used a system of dual authority in which most positions were headed by both a military and a civil leader in order to prevent either the military or civilian leadership from developing separatist factions. The military was under the authority of the Bureau of Military Affairs, an independent executive commission with leaders appointed by the emperor.

The Sung legal system was based on Confucian law, modified with elements of Buddhist and Taoist philosophy. The central government operated nine imperial courts, each of which was responsible for administering civil and criminal judgments. Beneath the imperial courts were prefectural and district courts. Justices were expected to interpret the law for each case rather than administering a rigidly defined legal code.

During the Sung period, the Chinese territory was divided into prefectures led by appointed prefects. Each prefecture also had a controller-general who reported directly to the executive and functioned to ensure that the local government was responsive to central authority. Prefectures were grouped with several neighbors into a “circuit” and were expected to work together to exercise executive and judicial functions. Within the prefectures, the territory was divided into districts, each led by an appointed magistrate and a military supervisor. Prefectures near the capital region were known as Superior Prefectures and were administered directly by the central government. In frontier zones, military prefectures were established under the control of the Bureau of Military Affairs.

Political Parties and Factions

Throughout imperial China, from the Qin Dynasty (221–206 BC) to the beginning of the Sung Dynasty in AD 960, Chinese society comprised a loose and changing system of social castes. The higher levels of society included an intellectual elite made up of scholar-statesmen and artisans, a social elite composed of wealthy landowners, and a military elite. Members of this elite class exerted influence over administrative policy.

Before the Sung Dynasty, government posts were filled by candidates who were nominated by their friends and relatives, resulting in an ineffective bureaucracy built on nepotism rather than effectiveness. During the Sung period, the government developed a new civil service examination system to reform the recruitment process. Members of any social class were allowed to sit for the regional or national examinations and thereby have an opportunity to take part in the government.

The civil service system accomplished several simultaneous goals. First, by allowing for popular involvement, the government enhanced allegiance to the empire. Second, by establishing the curriculum of the examinations, the government was able to dictate the ethical and moral education of civil servants to create a more harmonious and functional administration. Third, as the service examinations gained in popularity and government employees became the most influential social class, the influence of the wealthy and military elite waned.

Major Events

The greatest threat to the Sung empire was the encroachment of warlord armies from Manchuria and Mongolia. In 946 the Manchurian Khitan ethnic group invaded portions of northern China and established the Liao Dynasty. The Sung and Liao armies fought a series of engagements that resulted in a stalemate until a peace treaty in 1005 brought a temporary end to hostilities.

The tentative peace between the Sung and the Liao lasted until the twelfth century when a competing ethnic group, the Juchen from Manchuria, conquered the Liao to found the Jin Dynasty (1115–1234). Jin emperor Wanyan Aguda (1068–1123) then challenged the Sung for possession of northern China. In 1126 the Jin armies pushed the Sung from the northern capital of K’ai-feng. The Sung government fled south and established a secondary capital at Hangzhou, thus beginning the period known as the Southern Sung Dynasty.

In 1141 the Sung government signed a peace treaty that temporarily ended hostilities but forced the Sung to pay annual tributes to the Jin government. Though intermittent conflict continued, political and social development took root in the southern territories and the Sung again developed into a prosperous empire.

The decline of the Sung can be attributed to a combination of factors. Popular rebellions against the central authority weakened the military while continued tributes paid to the Jin Empire reduced government revenues. In the thirteenth century, the Jin Empire came into conflict with the Mongolian warriors of Genghis Khan (c. 1167–1227). Realizing that the Jin Empire was consumed by the Mongolian threat, the Sung government refused to pay annual tributes. When the Jin government responded by invading Sung territories, the Sung signed treaties with Mongol kings in return for military support against the Jin Empire in K’ai-feng. The Jin were defeated by a joint Chinese/Mongolian army and were forced to flee to Manchuria

The peace between the Sung and the Mongols quickly deteriorated, leading to military conflict. From 1235 to 1279, the Sung military was under continual threat from Mongolian invasion. Though the Sung managed some crucial victories, the military could not compete with the growing Mongol army. In 1273 the Mongols gained control of the Yangtze River and were able to launch a naval assault on Sung territories. The government was eventually forced to abandon the capital, and although fighting continued for several years, the Sung government was ultimately defeated. The Mongolians took control of China, founding the Yuan Dynasty in 1279.

Aftermath

Administrative innovations developed during the Sung Dynasty remained part of Chinese culture into the modern period. The civil service system and other reforms aimed at reducing the power of the military and wealthy elite were adopted and modified by all subsequent dynasties. The greatest accomplishments of the Sung Dynasty were cultural, including painting, sculpture, philosophy, literature, and music.

Bao, Yuheng, Ben Liao, and Letitia Lane. “Renaissance in China: The Culture and Art of the Song Dynasty.” Lewiston: Edwin Mellen, 2007.

Bol, Peter K. “Emperor Huizong and Late Northern Song China: The Politics of Culture and the Culture of Politics.” Cambridge: Harvard University Asia Center, 2006.

Lorge, Peter. “War, Politics, and Society in Early Modern China, 900–1795.” New York: Routledge, 2005.