Before this book was published, Yi Peixia had published some works related to Song Huizong. This book inherits the basic ideas of previous works and greatly supplements many parts that were not detailed in the past. In addition to the preface, conclusion and timetable, this book is divided into four parts: getting involved in national politics, winning glory, expecting great achievements and facing failure. It describes Hui Zong's early life and his political activities at the beginning of his succession, the relationship between Hui Zong and Taoism and art, Hui Zong's efforts to pursue the rule of the holy king, the demise of the Northern Song Dynasty and the end of Hui Zong's life. Taking time as a clue, the book covers many aspects such as politics, economy, culture and foreign relations in the late Northern Song Dynasty. It is meticulous, three-dimensional and rich in content. It can be said to be a masterpiece of Song Huizong's research.
There have been many discussions about Song Huizong and his times in academic circles. Before writing this book, Professor Yi Peixia has been engaged in the study of women's history and social and cultural history in Song Dynasty for many years, with fruitful results, and his academic background is quite different from that of traditional political history researchers. Therefore, her exposition of Hui Zong is different from the existing works and has distinctive features.
The novelty of this book is first reflected in the perspective. The author points out that in the past, most researchers used to judge Hui Zong's behavior from a bystander's point of view, but she tried to "observe his world from Hui Zong's point of view and tell his story in an unprecedented way, aiming at explaining, not excusing or condemning" (preface, page 5). In all fairness, the existing studies on Hui Zong do have the weakness of too many negative comments and poor explanations, which often make readers know something about related issues but don't know why. From the perspective of Hui Zong, this book aims at "explanation", which helps to make up for the defects of existing achievements.
The author emphasizes "Hui Zong perspective", and when dealing with various historical phenomena, he no longer uses hindsight to judge whether they are important or not, as previous researchers did. Some factors that are considered unimportant by later generations but valued by Hui Zong are highlighted in this book as never before. For example, as we all know, Hui Zong is an emperor who is keen on art and worships Taoism. However, in the past, most scholars simply regarded it as a plaything, and regarded Hui Zong's "love for art as indulgence and admiration for Taoism as self-deception" (preface, page 4). As for how Hui Zong became attached to art and religion, and what significance the latter two have for Hui Zong, it has not been really discussed in depth for a long time. At the expense of pen and ink, the author discusses these problems in great detail, especially Hui Zong's own thoughts, and points out that Hui Zong's enthusiasm for art and Taoism not only stems from his personal hobbies, but also contains very grand ideals; The active support of art and Taoism is an indispensable part of Hui Zong's "Saint Wang Zhiguo" blueprint. These views have deepened our understanding of Hui Zong and his times.
The author pays special attention to the relationship between Hui Zong and Taoism, which is the key to understanding Hui Zong. Through the repeated combing of historical facts, some existing cognitive biases have been corrected. For example, in previous discussions, researchers paid too much attention to the contacts between "left-wing" and "witchcraft" people such as Hui Zong and Lin Lingsu, and even regarded these magicians as symbols of the Taoist history of Hui Zong Dynasty to some extent. Taking this as a starting point, it is not difficult to draw a conclusion that Hui Zong's worship of Taoism is self-deception. Even some studies that emphasized Hui Zong's use of Taoism to enhance the legitimacy of its rule did not really draw a clear line with the traditional view. With a relatively fair eye, the author of this book comprehensively examines the long-term contacts between Hui Zong and Taoism, and points out that long before he knew Lin Lingsu, Hui Zong had quite frequent contacts with Taoist masters such as Liu Hunkang. Hui Zong always associates with Liu Hunkang as an ordinary scholar-bureaucrat, not as an emperor. In the discussion of Taoist classics and rituals, Hui Zong also invested more than ordinary literati. This shows that Huizong really has a sincere personal belief in Taoism. I am afraid that he uses political power to support Taoism, not only to fool the people, but also to fulfill his duties as a monarch through Taoism.
Is Hui Zong a devout Taoist, or is he just using Taoism to achieve the goal of "Shintoism"? In the past, academic circles held an either-or view. However, the author of this book believes that "people should not only see one aspect of Huizong's Taoist belief, or explain all other aspects with one aspect" and "he sometimes achieves political goals by supporting Taoism". However, we should not belittle the relationship between Hui Zong and Taoism as political expediency, artistic attraction, innocence or illusion "(page 136- 137), which is a very valuable point of view. People's attitude towards something is directly related to their social identity, and everyone usually has multiple identities, so the attitude is often complicated and changeable. Hui Zong, as a monarch, made strategic use of Taoism, but this did not hinder Hui Zong's religious belief in Taoism as an individual. Compared with the existing research, this book undoubtedly has a deeper discussion on the relationship between Hui Zong and Taoism, and scholars may learn from it when discussing similar issues in the future.
The study of Hui Zong in this book attempts to restore a living person rather than describe a symbolic emperor. This book pays unprecedented attention to many details that have not been paid attention to in existing research. For example, in the first chapter, the author tells in great detail the layout of Miyagi, court life, imperial clan system and the political evolution of the Northern Song Dynasty, which seems to be out of the theme, but actually reconstructs the early life scene of Hui Zong. As we all know, a person's childhood life experience will have a great influence on his character. The above description allows readers to see in an intuitive and three-dimensional way what kind of environment Hui Zong grew up in, and then to understand more thoroughly why Hui Zong has a distinctive personality.
In addition to being different from the existing research in perspective, the author is more cautious in thinking about problems, often taking into account the complex aspects of history, and can also put forward new opinions on some specific viewpoints. For example, during the reign of Hui Zong, he devoted himself to the so-called "ritual and music system" project. So, how should we understand Hui Zong's investment in rites and music? Some scholars have emphasized that Cai Jing is the driving force behind the "ritual and music system", and he used ritual and music to enhance the authority of Hui Zong, thus strengthening his own power. Some scholars also believe that the "rites and music system" was a means used by the literati to restrict the imperial power at that time, and induced the emperor to become the head of state who was busy with etiquette affairs, rather than the emperor who implemented administrative management. In view of the former viewpoint, the book points out that "Cai Jing was basically in a state of recollection when compiling the New Instrument, so it seems that Hui Zong was the main force to promote the revision of the Book of Rites". For the latter statement, it was pointed out that "not all emperors were at a loss about these ceremonies formulated by ministers." The more flexible they are politically, the more they can use these rituals to achieve their goals. Therefore, if an emperor like Hui Zong wants to have a more magnificent and colorful court life, he can use religious ceremonies to avoid the frugality advocated in Confucian classics "(page 2 18). It should be said that the above views are closer to historical facts than the existing ones.
In the use of historical materials, this book also has advantages. The author mobilized almost all the historical materials related to the Hui Zong era to the greatest extent, including common handed down documents such as The History of the Song Dynasty and The Compilation of the History of the Song Dynasty, as well as religious documents such as Taoist classics that traditional historians rarely dabble in. This book also uses a large number of pictures, which are not only numerous, but also far superior to previous similar works. Moreover, the author does not just regard pictures as decorations like previous researchers, but puts them in the same important position as written historical materials. The benefits of this approach are also obvious: many beautiful pictures not only enhance the readability of this book, but also make up for the lack of abstract words to a great extent, making readers feel like they are in Huizong era and gain an unprecedented sense of immersion.
While widely collecting and using historical materials, the author of this book is also wary of the limitations of various historical materials. In the appendix of the book, the author makes textual research on the stories such as "Hui Zong's Birthday", "Liu Hunkang and Gen Yue" and "Tong Guan and Cai Jing are in Hangzhou" recorded in the official history and notes, and explains why he doesn't use these stories. Facing the strong questioning spirit of historical materials, the author can often avoid the traps in historical materials and enhance the persuasiveness of the book.
For non-written historical materials, the author is more cautious when using them. Taking a portrait of Hui Zong in the National Palace Museum as an example, the author analyzes the information that can be mined from it, and points out: "It is at least as important for historians to realize what they should not infer from this portrait. This portrait was made after Song Huizong's death and hung in the court for ancestor worship ceremony. We can't infer any personal characteristics from the color or style of robes worn by Song Huizong, because this is one of a group of portraits of ancestors in the Song Dynasty, in which all the Song emperors wore red round-necked robes. The man in the portrait is sitting instead of standing. He hides his hands in his sleeves. We should not infer anything from these gestures, because it is not Song Huizong himself who wants to be painted like this. We are not even sure how similar this painting is to Hui Zong himself. This painting should have been made by Song Huizong's son Gao Zong after learning of his father's death in Hangzhou. But at that time, these painters in the south had not seen Song Huizong for at least ten years. Portraits may be drawn by court painters and Gao Zong and others according to their memories and what they want, but memories are never perfect. " (Preface page 7) In recent years, the proportion of new materials such as pictures in historical research is increasing day by day. However, when researchers use such materials, they often have the disadvantages of over-interpretation. The ideas in this book should inspire the academic circles.
The book "Song Huizong" gives people a refreshing feeling in many aspects, such as perspectives, methods and the use of historical materials, but its shortcomings cannot be ignored. The content of this book is uneven. Cultural issues such as art and religion are emphatically discussed, while political issues such as decision-making and power game are not fully discussed. At the beginning of the book's accession to the throne, it has spent a lot of space on political evolution, but the depth is limited, especially the key issue of why Jianzhong government changed into a policy of worshipping Ning, and it has not made a convincing explanation. Many important measures of Hui Zong's mid-decade rule, such as the use of soldiers in the northwest and the adjustment of salt and tea methods, are mostly vague or even touched upon in this book. What role did Hui Zong play in these important decisions, and there is a lack of detailed analysis. There is nothing new in the discussion about the late alliance of Jin and Liao and the demise of the Northern Song Dynasty, which is completely divorced from the previous model. As for the central power struggle of Hui Zong Dynasty, this book is very thin and does not show the unpredictable political situation at that time. Previous studies have paid too much attention to the political factors in the Hui Zong era and not enough attention to the cultural factors. This book does the opposite, but it is overkill. After all, Song Huizong is first and foremost a political figure. I'm afraid we should focus on the political level when we explore Hui Zong and his times.
For some political history conclusions, the author tried to subvert, but it was not convincing enough. For example, the book questioned the theory of supporting Empress Dowager Cixi to govern Yuan You. There are two main reasons: (1) According to historical records, Hui Zong's motion to remove the old legalist school at the beginning of his accession to the throne mainly came from the emperor and only echoed the Queen Mother; (2) Cai Jing, who belongs to the new school, insisted on retaining the Queen Mother. However, after careful observation, these two reasons can't stand scrutiny. After Hui Zong succeeded to the throne, she had a weak foundation and lacked political experience, so the real manipulator of imperial power was actually the long-term empress dowager. I learned from Empress Dowager Cixi that concubines were restricted by the "law of ancestors" in Zhao and Song Dynasties, so when I was in power, I often deliberately hid behind the scenes to convey my will through Hui Zong and others. As for Cai Jing, he seems to belong to the new school, but in fact he is a speculator with an uncertain position. It is a well-known fact that in the first year of Yuan You, he was appointed as Yin Ren of Kaifeng Prefecture, and he soon returned to the messenger to please Sima Guang. There is no conflict between retaining Cai Jing and supporting the old law. In many cases, Empress Dowager Cixi's inclination to govern Yuan You has been revealed. The most obvious thing is that she insisted on abolishing Queen Liu while restoring the Queen of Dreams. Meng and Liu are symbols of Shao Shu respectively, reflecting the political position of Empress Dowager Cixi. However, the author only regards it as a manifestation of personal relationship and thinks that "Empress Xiang doesn't care about her daughter-in-law Liu. Compared with Liu, she prefers Meng's. Montessori was born in a scholarly family and practiced women's morality as soon as he entered the palace "(page 43), which is superficial.
Perhaps because the author is familiar with social, cultural and historical history, this book often tries to explain some important political phenomena from a cultural perspective, but the effect is not ideal. For example, Cai Jing was the longest-serving prime minister of Hui Zong and the most trusted person of the emperor. Why can Cai Jing be favored by Hui Zong? The book claims that "the tacit understanding between Hui Zong and Cai Jing may be partly due to their cooperation in poetry, painting and calligraphy" (page 282). And used a lot of space to describe Hui Zong's high appreciation of Cai Jing's artistic skills such as calligraphy and poetry. In the author's view, the similarity in art makes Hui Zong rely most on Cai Jing among many Zaifu. This view seems novel, but it is superficial. In Hui Zong, there are many people whose artistic accomplishment is no less than or even better than that of Cai Jing. But Hui Zong only relies on Cai Jing, which proves that his affection for Cai Jing mainly comes from political considerations rather than cultural likes and dislikes. As for Hui Zong's praise of Cai Jing's courtiers' poems and calligraphy, it's just a trick used by kings of past dynasties to win people's hearts, so don't take it too seriously.
The relative deviation of the author's perspective has an influence on his interpretation of historical materials. When describing Hui Zong's childhood, the author quoted a piece of material in Volume 20 of Supplement to Xu Zitongzhi's Simplified Edition, saying: "Huizong once recalled that Zhezong was very friendly to his younger brother, and the tableware that Zhezong used with them was pottery, not more expensive metals and lacquerware." (page 13) to prove the close relationship between Zhezong and Hui Zong. The original text of the relevant materials is:
Imperial edict: "When Zhezong was founded, the treacherous court official really disagreed. I also personally heard the German voice of Empress Dowager Cixi. When God took the sleeping sickness test, the Queen Mother gave an order to keep attendance and ensure that the younger brother and master ensured the establishment of the philosopher. Xu Wang refused to leave the restricted area several times, and Wang Wei took his arm. Indeed, when the mother entered the forbidden area, Empress Dowager Cixi issued an imperial edict, entrusting the Lord Yan Da to the outside, and informed Cai Jing of Kaifeng House. When Zhezong ascended the throne, the ministers had many remarks and abolished the legislation. The queen mother said,' Zhang Shu has been burned.' The clothes needed were bought by Zhezong himself. I am young in fashion, and I am the friendliest in philosophy. When I was called to the middle, my diet was only pottery. "
In the context, Hui Zong's words are not intended to emphasize the simplicity of Zhezong's life and his "friendship" with himself, but to exaggerate the plight of Zhezong because of his "different opinions" from the traitor, so as to prepare for the subsequent large-scale political purge. In August, Hui Zong announced this, and in September, Song Ting ordered Zhongshu Province to publish the list of party member, which is relevant, so don't ask. Whether the so-called "diet is nothing but pottery" by Zhezong is true or not, I'm afraid there is a big question mark. The above-mentioned obvious "deviation" interpretation reflects that there is still a certain gap between the author of this book and China's historical materials, especially the lack of sufficient sensitivity to political information in historical materials.
The book's evaluation of Song Huizong is also unfair. In the past, academic circles regarded Hui Zong as a national subjugation and a bad king, but this book gave Hui Zong an unprecedented high evaluation, saying that he was "smart and knowledgeable in poetry" and "tolerant of other people's mistakes". "As an emperor, Hui Zong should be praised for his ambition and support for many lofty causes" (page 435). With regard to Hui Zong's various abuses criticized by people, such as large-scale construction and extravagant desires, this book lists many more extravagant examples of other Eurasian royal families to prove that Huizong's behavior is not out of line (page 439). It is inappropriate to deny Hui Zong blindly. Blindly praise goes to the other extreme. According to the evaluation of this book, it is difficult for readers to understand why Fang La Uprising, Gold Invasion and other unprecedented serious crises occurred. As for using comparative research to prove that Huizong is not so out of line, it is even more unacceptable. According to this line of thinking, many bad kings and tyrants in human history can be forgiven. The author thinks that it may be because the author of this book overemphasizes the observation of history from Hui Zong's point of view, resulting in excessive sympathy and deviating from the objective position. The author has repeatedly stressed that Hui Zong cannot be understood from the perspective of "inevitable failure", which is of course reasonable. However, should we regard Hui Zong's final failure as an accident? Is it necessary to separate Hui Zong's pervert from his pursuit of Excellence and glory? I'm afraid it's worth rethinking.
Finally, there are many omissions in this book when it tells the history of the Northern Song Dynasty. As the author said: "The closest advisers and ministers of the emperor-known as the two houses-appear in front of the emperor in Wende Hall every day." (Page 6) In fact, the ministers of the two houses appear in front of the emperor every day, and the place to report government affairs is the hanging palace rather than the Wende Hall. Another example is the author's statement: "When the founding emperor Song Taizu died, both sons were alive, but neither of them succeeded to the throne. Instead, his younger brother, Emperor Taizong, seized the throne and forced his mother to declare that Song Taizu wanted to pass the throne on to his younger brother. " (Page 34) This is very inaccurate. When Emperor Taizong ascended the throne, his mother Du Taihou had died. The so-called life of Du Taihou was the life of Taizong, but it was actually a lie made up by Taizong later. It is not that Emperor Taizong forced his mother to claim that Emperor Taizong wanted to preach to his younger brother. In addition, the Bianjing Miyagi Map used in this book (page 5) is not very accurate in describing the architectural location of Miyagi in the Northern Song Dynasty. Mr Fu Xinian once drew a more accurate map of the layout of Miyagi in the Northern Song Dynasty, but the author failed to adopt it.
In a word, Song Huizong is a book with both advantages and disadvantages. For the academic circles in China, its advantages are worth learning, and its disadvantages are also worth examining. In particular, the novelty of the book that is different from the existing research needs to be treated rationally.
(This article was originally published, the fifth edition of Historical Review of Tang and Song Dynasties edited by Liu, Social Science Literature Publishing House, 20 18, 12. Now the title is drawn up by the editor. )