The Mysterious Death and Contested Legacy On the night of October 20, 976 CE, Emperor Taizu of Song, the founding […]
The Rise of a Folk Hero: Zhao Kuangyin in Popular Imagination Few figures in Chinese history have captured the public […]
Introduction: A Paradox of Prudence and Privilege Emperor Taizu (Zhao Kuangyin), founding ruler of the Song Dynasty (960–1279), is celebrated […]
From Chaos to Clarity: The Making of a Thrifty Monarch Emerging from the social turmoil of the Five Dynasties and […]
The Shadow of the Five Dynasties: A Legacy of Lawlessness The founding of the Song Dynasty in 960 marked the […]
The Legend of the Hidden Oath In the annals of Chinese history, few periods shine as brightly for scholars as […]
A Dynasty Born from Chaos The founding of the Song Dynasty in 960 marked the end of the tumultuous Five […]
A Dynasty’s Fateful Night On the night of October 20, 976, in the imperial palace of the Northern Song Dynasty, […]
The Political Landscape of Early Song Dynasty The founding years of the Song Dynasty (960-1279) represented a pivotal transition in […]
The Southern Consolidation and Strategic Patience Following the conquest of the Southern Tang in 975, only two nominally independent regimes […]
The Siege of Jinling: A Nine-Month Standoff In the spring of 975 AD, the Song Dynasty’s armies, under the command […]
The Road to Unification: Song’s Grand Strategy In the late 10th century, Emperor Taizu of Song embarked on his ambitious […]
The Grand Strategy of Unification In the wake of his ascension as Emperor Taizu of the Song Dynasty, Zhao Kuangyin […]
The Golden Age and Ambitious Beginnings The Southern Tang dynasty (937–975) emerged during the tumultuous Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms […]
A Fateful Birth and the Weight of Destiny On the Qixi Festival (Chinese Valentine’s Day) in 937, in the ancient […]
The Fragmented Landscape of 10th Century China In the turbulent aftermath of the Tang Dynasty’s collapse (907 CE), China fractured […]
A Fractured Empire: The Birth of Southern Han In the chaotic aftermath of the Tang Dynasty’s collapse (907 CE), the […]
A Change in Plans: From Southern Expansion to Northern Campaign In the early years of the Song Dynasty, Emperor Taizu […]
A Fragile Kingdom on the Edge In the grand chessboard of 10th-century China, the Northern Han kingdom was always a […]
A Mysterious Bronze Mirror in the Imperial Palace In May 966 CE, nearly a year after the death of Meng […]
The Swift Conquest and Protracted Rebellion In the winter of 966 CE, nearly two years of violent unrest in the […]
The Fall of a Kingdom: Meng Chang’s Surrender In the third year of the Qiande era (965 CE), the Later […]
