The fourth month in lunar calendar this year
Is the 1010th birthday of Renzong emperor of the Song dynasty
我写了一部新书《宋仁宗：共治时代》 I published a new book “Emperor Renzong of Song: the age of co-governance”
And the protagonist in the new hit TV show “Serenade of Peaceful Joy”
Is also the Renzong emperor
It’s no coincidence that people want to commemorate him
The Song dynasty, in the 3,000 years of Chinese history
Is the most extraordinary dynasty
Three of the four great inventions appeared during the Song dynasty
Ceramics and paintings of the Song dynasty
Furniture, clothing, all of them are beautiful
To a lot of us
Renzong emperor is not special at all
He didn’t seem to have made creditable contributions
But during his reign, the 42 years
Many stars shone
Including Fan Zhongyan
Sima Guang
Yan Shu
They are now known as the “Must-Memorize Superband”
And they were not just good at verses
They were politicians
Great politicians to be fair
Renzong emperor respected the literati and officialdom
He almost treated them as equals
The situation was nothing like the Ming and Qing dynasty
Where the emperors tend to be strong and aggressive
The relation between the emperor and his ministers during the Song dynasty was rather harmonious
More often than not he was able to contain his personal desires
He obeyed the constraints imposed on him
Concubine Zhang was the love of his life
So he was determined to make her empress
Which means he had to annul Empress Cao
But the whole court suggested him not to
They condemned him for the motive
So he could only make her a high ranking concubine
And she never became the empress
The royal family of the Song dynasty
Has a preference for lamb
Once Renzong emperor was hungry at night
He wanted some braised lamb
But according to the court rules
It’s not common to serve the emperor with lamb at night
So Renzong emperor couldn’t do anything but hold back his thirst
The citizens of the Song dynasty had the highest income in history
They made about 100 wen daily
It’s 2 to 3 times that of Ming dynasty
In “All Men Are Brothers”
Wu Dalang is a bun seller
And he makes enough money to marry a pretty wife
And he can afford a two-storey house
Shops on streets, not constrained by time and location
Did not appear until the Song dynasty
The Song dynasty also lifted curfew
They had various entertainment at night
We have a deep-rooted bias
That the Song dynasty under the influence of Neo-Confucianism
Must be very conservative on the dressing code
They must have to covered up everything
Even their necks
It’s far from the truth
The most common outfit of Song dynasty women was tube top
And they would wear a “Beizi” over it
It’s basically a long jacket without button
It’s similar to the fashion of today, underwear worn outside
As a Song dynasty citizen,
You are free to go anywhere as long as you can pay for it
Whether it’s travelling or business trip
But it’s not possible during the Han, Tang or even Ming dynasty
You would be caught
If you travelled back in time and landed in Song dynasty
It would be easier for you to adopt than other dynasties
Nowadays people worry less and less about materials
And you pursue spiritual existence
You want to have class, better taste
More freedom
A more open and tolerate society
And law is safeguarding the bottom line
If you believe in the values above
You will find the Song dynasty accommodates the need of modern human quite well