How should we study the social history of the Song Dynasty, and how can beginners systematically stu

Historiography was particularly developed compared to its predecessors. Historian Chen Yinke said: "Chinese historiography is not prosperous in the Song Dynasty", and "Song Xian historiography is rare in ancient and modern times".

In the Song Dynasty, there were a number of official historical revision institutions, such as the Living Academy, the Calendar Office, the Record Academy, the National History Academy, and the Guild Hall. The most famous historiographical work is the Zizhi Tongjian, edited by Sima Guang. The compilation process of Zizhi Tongjian lasted 19 years (plus more than 20 years for the Tongzhi), with a total of 294 volumes, and the narrative began in the 23rd year of King Lie of Zhou (403 BC) and ended in the 6th year of Emperor Shizong of Zhou (959).

It is written in a chronological style, providing a systematic and extensive history book for future generations. Subsequently, another historian, Yuan Shu, made a comprehensive collation of the "Zizhi Tongjian" and wrote the "Tongjian Chronicle", which is the first chronicle in Chinese history. Zhu Xi also wrote a "Tongjian Compendium", a total of 59 volumes, which can be described as an abbreviated version of the "Zizhi Tongjian".

The historian Zheng Qiao wrote the "General Chronicles", which together with Tang Duyou's "General Dictionary" and Yuan Ma Duanlin's "General Examination of Literature" are collectively known as the "Three Links".

In addition, important historiographical works include the "History of the Old Five Dynasties" edited by Xue Juzheng and others in the Twenty-fourth History, and the "History of the New Five Dynasties" written by Ouyang Xiu. and Wang Pu's "Tang Hui Yao" and "Five Generations Hui Yao". Famous local chronicles include "Taiping Huanyu Ji", Fan Chengda's "Wu County Chronicles", Meng Yuanlao's "Tokyo Menghualu", and Zhou Mi's "Wulin Old Things" and so on.

Due to the rapid rise of epigraphy and archaeology, there are also some related historical books, such as Ouyang Xiu's "Jigulu", Lu Dalin's "Archaeological Map", Zhao Mingcheng's "Jinshi Lu", etc.

1. Know the framework of Song history.

In order to systematically study the history of the Song Dynasty, it is necessary to know what the history of the Song Dynasty contains and have an overall framework. With the overall framework, it is good to split it into parts, carry out targeted learning, and finally break each one.

2. Split the framework of Song history and carry out partial learning.

Because the history of the Song Dynasty is relatively large, there are many things to learn, and there are also many books that need to be referred to and referenced, so when splitting, first split the section, and then subdivide the section as much as possible when studying, so that it will be more convenient to learn.

3. Consult a teacher who specializes in Song history.

There is a specialization in the art industry, and at the same time, because it is a beginner, it is often lacking in the learning time, so it is particularly important to consult this kind of teacher, after all, learning the history of the Song Dynasty requires a long process, and consulting a famous teacher can save a lot of time.

4. Consult relevant books and related materials.

Fifth, the last is to string together, after all, many things do not exist in isolation, when they can be strung together, learning and comprehension have improved a lot.

Among them, because it is a history book, it is necessary to respect historical facts, so there are many things that need to be memorized, which requires mastering some memory methods suitable for oneself to assist memory.

In fact, each work is written in classical Chinese or vernacular; Whether it is a professional expression or a popular expression; whether it is typeset in traditional or simplified characters; Whether it is a horizontal arrangement that conforms to the reading habits of modern people, or a vertical arrangement that conforms to the reading habits of ancient people, that is just a formality. And the content of the book will not be much different because of this different form. The hardest thing for a person who studies history is to have a huge amount of reading; And if you want to have a huge amount of reading, you have to keep reading for many years.

Therefore, the first books we read should be those historical works that are easier to read. In general, looking at this kind of historical work makes us keep reading it for many years. When we have enough reading of history, and then look at the more primitive classics and professional **, we will find that most of the content is déjà vu, or even very familiar.

In this context, in the face of original classics and professional **, it will be easier to read and understand. When a person who has read through the history of the Song, Jin, Liao, and the continuation of the capital and governance of Tongjian (although he has read the literal translation of the vernacular), the knowledge of relevant Song history should be relatively sufficient.

The rest of the matter is to choose a piece of Bu Na Tang that I like more, or the content of Song history that I have more feelings about, and concentrate on reading it carefully. The Song Dynasty is relatively close to us, and there are many researchers, so the historical materials of the Song Dynasty have been abundant, and it is by no means a situation where human beings can grasp all of them. In fact, there is a Song historian who once said that a person who spends his whole life studying Song history may not be able to read all the materials of Song history.

Therefore, after we are more familiar with the history of the Song Dynasty, we can only choose a piece of content that we like or have more feelings about, and concentrate on studying it in depth. If we are more interested in the history of the early Southern Song Dynasty. Then we will extract the original texts of the Song History, Jin History, Liao History, and Continuation Tongjian of this time period, and then spend a while reading through it again.