THE SUNG DYNASTY, 960-1280 A. D.
(18 Emperors)
_The Five Philosophers--Wang Ngan-shi, Economist--The Kin Tartars--The
Southern Sungs--Aid of Mongols Invoked to Drive Out the Kins--Mongols
Exterminate Sungs_
On the fall of the house of T'ang, a score of factions contended for
the succession. During the fifty-three years preceding the establishment
of the Sungs, no less than five of them rose to temporary prominence
sufficient to admit of being dubbed a "dynasty." Collectively they
are spoken of as the "Five Dynasties" (907-960).
Their names are without exception a repetition of those of former
dynasties, Liang, T'ang, Ts'in, Han, Chou with the prefix
"Later"--suggesting that each claimed to be a lineal successor
of some previous imperial family. Their struggles for power, not
more instructive than a conflict of gladiators, are so devoid of
interest that the half-century covered by them may be passed over
as a blank. It may, however, be worth while to remind the reader
that as the House of Han was followed by the wars of the "Three
Kingdoms," and that of Ts'in by a struggle of North and South under
four states, so the House of T'ang was now
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succeeded by five short-lived "dynasties," with a mean duration of
scarcely more than ten years. The numerical progression is curious;
but it is more important to notice a historical law which native
Chinese writers deduce from those scenes of confusion. They state
it in this form: "After long union the empire is sure to be divided;
after long disruption it is sure to be reunited."
So deep an impression has this historical generalisation made on
the public mind that if the empire were now to be divided between
foreign nations, as it has been more than once, the people would
confidently expect it to be reintegrated under rulers of their
own race.
The undivided Sung dynasty held sway from 960 to 1127; that of
the southern Sungs from 1127 to 1280. The founder of the house was
Chao-kwang-yun, an able leader of soldiers and an astute politician.
So popular was he with his troops that they called him to the throne
by acclamation. He was drunk, it is said, when his new dignity was
announced, and he had no alternative but to wear the yellow robe
that was thrown on his shoulders. Undignified as was his debut,
his reign was one continued triumph. After a tenure of seventeen
years, he left his successor in possession of nearly the whole of
China Proper together with a fatal legacy of lands on the north.
The two main features of the Sung period are the rise of a great
school of philosophy and the constant encroachment of the Tartars. The
two Chengs being brothers, the names of the five leading philosophers
fall into an alliterative line of four syllables, _Cheo,
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Cheng, Chang, Chu_. Acute in speculation and patient in research,
they succeeded in fixing the interpretation of the sacred books,
and in establishing a theory of nature and man from which it is
heresy to dissent. The rise of their school marks an intellectual
advance as compared with the lettered age of the T'angs. It was an
age of daring speculation; but, as constantly happens in China,
the authority of these great men was converted into a bondage for
posterity. The century in which they flourished (1020-1120) is
unique in the history of their country as the age of philosophy.
In Europe it was a part of the Dark Ages; and at that time the
Western world was convulsed by the Crusades.
The most eminent of the five philosophers was Chu Fu-tse. Not the
most original, he collected the best thoughts of all into a system;
and his erudition was such that the whole range of literature was
his domain. Chu Hi, the Coryphæus of mediæval China, stands next
in honour after that incomparable pair, Confucius and Mencius.
Contemporary with the earlier members of this coterie appeared Wang
Ngan-shi, an economist, of rare originality. His leading principle
was the absorption by the state of all industrial enterprises--state
ownership of land, and in general a paternal system to supersede
private initiative. So charming was the picture presented in his
book "The Secret of Peace" (still extant) that the Emperor gave him
_carte blanche_ to put his theory into practice. In practical
life however it was a failure--perhaps because he failed to allow
for the strength or weakness of materials and instruments. His
book is a Chinese
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Utopia, nearly akin to those of Plato and Sir John More.
In the northeast beyond the Wall were two Tartar kingdoms, one
of which was the Kin or "Golden Horde"--remote ancestors of the
Manchu dynasty. A constant menace to the settled population of the
"inner land," they obtained possession of Peking in 1118. For a
time they were kept at bay by a money payment which reminds one of
the _Danegeld_ paid by our forefathers to the sea-robbers of
northern Europe. Payments not being punctual, the Tartars occupied
portions of the northern provinces, and pushed their way as far south
as K'ai-fung-fu, the capital of the Empire. The Emperor retired
to Nanking, leaving in command his son, who, unable to resist the
Tartars, made a disgraceful peace. A heavy ransom was paid to avert
the sacking of the city; and all the region on the north of the
Yellow River passed under Tartar sway.
Repenting of their hard bargain, the Chinese provoked a renewal
of hostilities, which resulted in a heavier downfall. The capital
surrendered after a severe siege, and the Emperor with his court
was carried into captivity. The next emperor acknowledged himself
a vassal of the Tartars; but peace on such conditions could not
be of long duration. An intermittent warfare was kept up for more
than a century, in the course of which Nanking was pillaged, and
the court fell back successively on Hangchow and Wenchow. When
there was no longer a place of safety on the mainland the wretched
fugitives sought refuge on an island. Fitting out a fleet the Tartars
continued the
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pursuit; but more used to horses than ships, the fleet was annihilated,
and the expiring dynasty obtained a new lease of life.
This was about 1228. The Mongols under Genghis Khan and his successors
had carried everything before them in the northwest. Thirsting for
revenge, the Chinese appealed for aid to this new power--and the
Mongols found an opportunity to bag two birds instead of one. As
a Chinese fable puts it: "A sea-bird failing to make a breakfast
on a shellfish was held in its grip until a fisherman captured
both."
The Kins were driven back into Manchuria; and the Chinese without
asking leave of their allies reoccupied their old capital. But
the revival of the Sungs was no part of the Mongol programme. The
Sungs declining to evacuate K'ai-fung-fu and to cede to the Mongols
the northern half of the empire, the latter resolved on a war of
extermination. After a bitter struggle of fifteen years, the infant
emperor and his guardians again committed their fortunes to the sea.
The Mongols, more lucky than the other Tartars, were victorious
on water as well as on land; and the last scion of the imperial
house drowned himself to escape their fury (1280).
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