"Song History Trilogy" Author: Xia Jianyong Publisher: Yilin Press

Introduction · · · · · ·
Xia Jianyong, the winner of the first Lu Xun Literature Award, has devoted more than ten years to the study of Song history and has written a masterpiece

Reading history is ultimately about reading human nature

"Xia Jianyong understands human nature. The emperor and his subjects are all human beings. If you understand human nature, you will naturally understand the emperor. It's just a matter of putting yourself in their shoes and understanding their psychology."

The Twelve Years of Shaoxing, the first part of the "Song History Trilogy"

A deep look back at the 12th year of Shaoxing: the Jingkang Shame, the Song-Jin Peace Talks, the killing of Yue Fei, and the "Zhongxing Prosperity"

"Autumn of the Fourth Year of Qingli" Part Two of the "Song History Trilogy"

Starting from the Qingli New Deal, we can dispel the fog of the rise and fall of the Northern Song Dynasty and reproduce the lost glory of the scholars' spirit.

The latest long historical essay "Dream Search Records of the Eastern Capital", the final work of the "History of the Song Dynasty Trilogy"

The Eastern Enshrinement, Western Sacrifice, and Southern Audience reveal the secret truth of "the emperor and his ministers were like crazy" during the reign of Emperor Zhenzong of the Northern Song Dynasty

Started with Yue Fei's murder, the Qingli New Deal, and Emperor Zhenzong of Song's Eastern Enthronement

From the treacherous political struggles and the checks and balances between the monarch and his subjects, to the various aspects of the market life of brothels, teahouses and carts selling pulp

Clarify the behavioral logic of insiders and easily understand the complexity and eternal nature of human nature!

The set of books comes with an exquisite metal bookmark with Song Dynasty elements, recreating the glory of the Song Dynasty thousands of years ago!

【Editor's recommendation】

▲ This is a masterpiece by Xia Jianyong, the winner of the first Lu Xun Literature Award, who has devoted more than ten years to the study of Song history.

Including "The Twelfth Year of Shaoxing", "The Autumn of the Fourth Year of Qingli" and "Dream Search in Tokyo"

It starts with the killing of Yue Fei, the New Policies of the Qingli Period, and the Eastern Envoy of Emperor Zhenzong of Song, and goes through the turbulent political struggles and the checks and balances between the monarch and his ministers, to the brothels, taverns, and even the life of prostitutes and men and women in the market. It covers astronomy and geography, royal relatives, and ordinary people, as well as peddlers and porters, and covers everything, bringing you close to the history of the Song Dynasty without any obstacles.

▲ "Xia Jianyong understands human nature. Emperors and their subjects are all human beings. If you understand human nature, you will naturally understand the emperor."

Clarify the behavioral logic of insiders and easily understand the eternal nature of human beings!

History is the history of people, and reading history is ultimately about reading human nature. "The reason why Xia Jianyong's 'History of the Song Dynasty Trilogy' attracted me to read it is largely because of his 'understanding of human nature'. Emperors and ministers are all human beings. If you understand human nature, you will naturally understand emperors. It's just a matter of putting yourself in their shoes and getting closer to each person's psychology."

He "searches for new aesthetic objects in the grand coordinates of nature, history and life, and also for a new territory to promote individual souls and reflect on national spirit": the silent competition between the monarch and his ministers, the rise and fall of the reformists and conservatives, and the prime minister who put aside his reputation and took the overall situation into consideration in response to current events...

Kaiwenyi is a must-read for the workplace. It clarifies the behavioral logic of insiders and helps you easily understand the complexity and subtlety of human nature and its eternal nature!

▲ Along the River During the Qingming Festival, Dreams of the Eastern Capital, a text version of “Along the River During the Qingming Festival” spanning the two Song dynasties

To understand the Song Dynasty, it is enough to read this:

The Eastern Feng of Mount Tai during the reign of Emperor Zhenzong, the Qingli New Deal during the reign of Emperor Renzong, and the assassination of Yue Fei during the reign of Emperor Gaozong provide an in-depth understanding of the iconic events that cannot be avoided during the Song Dynasty;

Immerse yourself in the Bianjing style and street snacks such as Xuanzhao and Taiping Biluo in "Dreams of the Capital";

Focusing on China's transition period and "golden age" (in the words of American scholar Rhodes Murphy), the film enters the highly developed scholar class, including Fan Zhongyan, Ouyang Xiu, Su Dongpo... and experiences their unparalleled literary talent and elegance.

Chen Yinke believed that "the culture of the Chinese nation, after thousands of years of evolution, reached its peak during the Zhao Song Dynasty. It gradually declined, but will eventually revive." Xia Jianyong has been immersed in the history of the Song Dynasty for more than ten years and has read more than 40 ancient books on the history of the Song Dynasty. From the official history of the court to the notes of the Song people and then to the unofficial history, he has turned laughter, anger and scolding into articles. The storytelling and fun are comparable to "Those Things in the Ming Dynasty". He has drawn a text version of "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" with the brilliant writing of an essayist and playwright.

▲ Describe the political ecology of the Song Dynasty and restore the atmosphere of the times;

Enriching social texture and recreating the dynasty

Xia Jianyong unravels the political ecology of the Song Dynasty, outlining the rise and fall of the prosperity and progress of the urban economy and the autocratic democracy. The two "giving up military power with a cup of wine" mixed the prosperity of economy and culture with the decline of martial spirit, becoming the two most important tones of the Song Dynasty, recreating the dynasty atmosphere at the turning point of history.

Xia Jianyong explores the folds of Song Dynasty history and excavates rich humanistic significance. He penetrates the historical maze with the eyes of a contemporary person, writes about the literati and intellectual class of the Song Dynasty from a modern perspective, restores the atmosphere of the times and social texture, pursues the mental journey and behavioral logic of the characters, and moves towards a deeper historical time and space and spiritual world.

▲ Excellent reputation, won many awards

From "The Twelve Years of Shaoxing" to "The Autumn of the Fourth Year of Qingli" and then to "Dreams of the Eastern Capital", the first two works have received excellent reputations and have won the "Sun Li Prose Award" biennial award, the Purple Mountain Literature Award, the "Zhongshan" Literature Award, the "Yangtze River Review" annual prose first place, the Soochow Literature Award, the Taihu Literature Award... The final battle is highly anticipated by thousands of readers.

▲ The set of books comes with an exquisite metal bookmark with Song Dynasty elements, recreating the glory of the Song Dynasty thousands of years ago

【Media Reviews】

"Spring of the fourth year of the Qingli period", this is the immortal time fixed by the first sentence of Fan Zhongyan's "Yueyang Tower Inscription". In the fourth year of the Qingli period, from spring to autumn, how many extraordinary stories and characters are condensed in this seemingly short timeline? The author discusses the past from the present, and observes the present from the past. The novel's writing style, subtle words and profound meanings, open and close in the folds of history, and excavate rich humanistic significance.

——Award Speech for the Second Sun Li Prose Prize Biennial

Xia Jianyong uses rich historical materials, delicate writing, exquisite structure and broad vision to unfold for us a picture of the various aspects of court politics before and after the New Deal of Qingli in the Northern Song Dynasty. He narrates the profundity of politics and the purity of the spirit of scholars in prose. The imperial power is closely related to society, but it is high above, cold and harsh.

——Zhongshan Magazine

Xia Jianyong's interest is not limited to court struggles. He vividly reproduces the brothels, the peddlers and even the romantic men and women. Such reproduction is certainly not an objective record of "seeing is believing" - it is precisely the literary imagination that makes his works full of fresh breath.

——Writer Shi Yifeng

Xia Jianyong jumped out of the works to comment on them, with jokes, anger and scolding, creating a new field of great prose and a precedent for commenting on prose.

——Critic Ding Fan

The Twelve Years of Shaoxing is a combination of historical and literary works to the greatest extent. Behind the narrative of the Twelve Years of Shaoxing is a deep understanding of the entire history of the Song Dynasty. The writing is swaying and varied, and the delicate inner texture and small suspense scattered throughout make it very attractive to read.

——Critic Nan Fan

Xia Jianyong focused on Shaoxing for twelve years. He read and verified a large amount of data and documents, chewed them over and over again, but he was definitely not expressing his nostalgic feelings. In such a search and combing, he always had a very clear critical consciousness and consciousness of the times, and of course, he also had a historical consciousness close to historical figures, placing everything only in the historical context of the time.

——Critic Lei Yu

There is always a surging spirit between the lines of Xia Jianyong's works. The temperament of the text is swayed by the spirit, and the historical facts and materials are agile and fly with the help of the spirit. The spirit brings strength with the historical facts and materials. The article is beautiful and fun to read because of the spirit, and the words are swaying, and the poetry and historical facts are naturally formed.

——Critic Chen Xingeng

Xia Jianyong has enough self-confidence, the character of a scholar, the wisdom of an intellectual, a modern stance and the value appeal of facing reality.

——Critic Xiaohua

In Xia Jianyong's writing, the turbulence of history is infused with the fireworks of human life. History is no longer cold, and the hypothermic history has regained its body temperature.

——Critic Li Xiang

The charm of Xia Jianyong's Song Dynasty History Trilogy that attracted me to continue reading it is largely due to his "understanding of human nature". Emperors and ministers are all human beings. If you understand human nature, you will naturally understand the emperor. It's just a matter of putting yourself in their shoes and getting close to their psychology. Therefore, the wonderful thing about the Song Dynasty History Trilogy is that it grasps the subtle human nature. The considerations of various people before historical events are really wonderful. - Reviewer Di Mei

A black cat on the windowsill, a nursery rhyme in the streets, a rumor, the twists and turns of people's hearts, the manipulation of the world of fame and fortune, a beam of light suddenly leaking from a gap in the clouds, a hidden clue, are all a detail of history, a section of time, and the cause and effect of an event. - Douban reader

Reading Mr. Xia's historical prose is like watching a historical drama. The depth of the historical sky, the twists and turns of the court struggle, and the complexity of human nature make readers see more than just a fragment of historical debris. - Douban reader

【Content Introduction】

The "Song History Trilogy" includes "The 12th Year of Shaoxing", "The 4th Year of Qingli" and "The Dream of the Capital". The three representative historical periods of the 12th year of Shaoxing of Emperor Gaozong of the Southern Song Dynasty, the 4th year of Qingli of Emperor Renzong of the Northern Song Dynasty and the 1st year of Xiangfu of Emperor Zhenzong of the Northern Song Dynasty are used as narrative nodes. Starting from the three meaningful historical events of Yue Fei's killing, the Qingli New Deal and Emperor Zhenzong's Eastern Enfeoffment, it enters the cross-section of history, expounds on the subtleties and unravels the mystery.

The work's narrative time spans the two Song Dynasties, covering customs, prices, imperial examinations, arts and literature, official system, reforms, tea policy, horse policy, certificates of ordination, post stations, geography, climate, astronomical phenomena, industries, foreign trade, royal family, relatives by marriage, and officials. It vividly reflects the political situation and social life of the two Song Dynasties, and can be called a text version of "Along the River During the Qingming Festival".

Xia Jianyong has been deeply engaged in the history of the Song Dynasty for more than ten years. He "looks for new aesthetic objects in the grand coordinates of nature, history and life, and also looks for new territories to promote individual souls and reflect on national spirit." Song Gaozong, Song Renzong, Song Zhenzong, Song Taizong, Song Huizong, etc., emperors and ministers are all human beings. If you understand human nature, you naturally understand emperors. He profoundly reveals the inner world and behavioral logic of the parties involved, deeply explores the subtle and common aspects of human nature behind the events, and understands the eternal nature of human nature.

The Twelve Years of Shaoxing

The first part of Xia Jianyong's "Song History Trilogy". The work uses the twelve years of Shaoxing as a historical cross-section, from the "Little New Year's Eve" of the eleventh year of Shaoxing to the "New Year's Eve" of the twelfth year of Shaoxing, with the twelve months of the year as the longitude and a series of major events that occurred in that year as the latitude, to re-examine the Jingkang Shame, the Song-Jin Peace Talks, the killing of Yue Fei, the return of the coffin to the throne, and the "Rejuvenation of the Prosperous Era", vividly showing the political structure of the Southern Song court, the internal texture of the operation of the regime, and the power game between various political forces, as well as the detailed description of the society at that time, from court etiquette to market customs, deeply observing the mentality, behavior logic and social world of the people at that time, and writing the eternal human ethics with "Dao in Daily Life".

Autumn of the Fourth Year of Qingli

The second part of Xia Jianyong's "Song History Trilogy". A small dinner party for the gods caused a great uproar in the court, with the background of the Qingli New Deal in the middle of the Northern Song Dynasty. The work shows a wide range of life from the palace to the market, including the political society, military diplomacy, and the intricate court affairs; the power struggles, conspiracies and human disasters, and the turbulent undercurrents are thrilling. The twists and turns of the court's new policies are placed in the description of daily life. It not only has a detailed and subtle insight into human feelings, the spirit of the broad-minded and clear-minded scholars, but also a macro grasp of the general trend of the world, which makes people think deeply.

Tokyo Dream Search

Xia Jianyong's final work of the "Song History Trilogy". "Dream Search Records in the Eastern Capital" is derived from a sentence in "Song History·Zhenzong Benji", "When the Chanzhou Alliance was signed, the Fengshan ceremony was carried out, auspicious signs appeared one after another, the Heavenly Book was repeatedly descended, and the king and his ministers were like crazy. Alas, it's strange." In the fourth year of Jingde (1007 AD), Zhao Heng, the Emperor Zhenzong of Song who had signed the "Chanyuan Alliance", had been on the throne for ten years. On the last day of the year, Zhenzong gave a banquet and summoned the prime minister Wang Dan to "drink in the inner room". During the banquet, he rewarded him with a jar of jewels; on the third day of the first lunar month after the new year, Zhao Heng summoned all the ministers in Chongzheng Hall. An official reported that a bundle of yellow silk was hung on the chiwen at the south corner of the left palace gate, which was called the Heavenly Book. Thus, a historical drama of frequent descent of Heavenly Books and auspicious signs for seven or eight years slowly began...

[Author’s statement]

About "The Twelve Years of Shaoxing":

The inspiration for some works starts from the ending. When I was writing "The Twelve Years of Shaoxing", the first thing that came to my mind was the last sentence at the end of the book: "Has the snow stopped in Shaoxing in the twelfth year?" With this sentence, the atmosphere of the whole book was set, and it became possible to capture the shadows in my writing.

About "Autumn of the Fourth Year of Qingli":

I just used the Qingli New Deal as a background, and focused more on the trivialities of the world. I think it is interesting to write about the trivialities well, from which you can feel the texture and temperature of that era. ... The autumn colors are pleasant. If "autumn colors" refers to the overall tone of "Autumn of the Fourth Year of Qingli", then the "people" here refers to the world.

About Tokyo Dreams:

Regarding "Dreams of the Eastern Capital", I was touched by a sentence in the conclusion of "History of the Song Dynasty: Chronicle of Emperor Zhenzong". When summarizing the national turmoil that lasted for more than ten years during the Dazhong Xiangfu period, the author sighed: It is strange that the monarch and his ministers are as crazy as a disease.