The Relationship between China and the History of Song Dynasty

The Relationship between China and the History of Song Dynasty

Song Dynasty is an important dynasty in the ancient history of China, which experienced two stages, the Northern Song Dynasty and the Southern Song Dynasty, and lasted for 320 years (960- 1279). In the Northern Song Dynasty (960- 1 127), the capital was Bianliang (now Kaifeng, Henan Province), while in the Southern Song Dynasty (960- 127), the territory of the Song Dynasty was relatively small. The great regimes that tied with the Song Dynasty were Khitan (Liao), Xia (Xixia), Jin and Mongolia (Yuan) in turn. The Song Dynasty was also another period of great ethnic integration in the history of China.

There have always been different understandings about the position of the Song Dynasty in the ancient history of China and the cultural development history of China. One view is that the feudal society in China had four prosperous times: Han, Tang, Ming and Qing, while the Song Dynasty was "poor and weak". Another view is that although the Song Dynasty was not a prosperous time, its society continued to develop. One view is that the peak of China's ancient cultural development was in the Tang Dynasty; Another view is that in the Song Dynasty. One view is that the policy of Song Dynasty was conservative, the society was relatively closed, and there was not much progress. Another view is that the Song Dynasty was a turning point in China's feudal society.

As far as academic circles are concerned, they have always paid more attention to the history of Song Dynasty, and in recent decades, their research has been more extensive and in-depth, and many achievements have been made. But generally speaking, there is a lack of necessary and true understanding of the history of the Song Dynasty and the relationship between the society of the Song Dynasty and the cultural development of China. As for foreign countries, this situation is even more so. For example, look at the Chengdu Evening News on August 2 1, 1, 997: "A Japanese youth daily recently conducted a survey on more than 800 Japanese college students, asking them to name the five famous people in China, ancient and modern, whom they are most familiar with". Statistics show that among the top 25 China celebrities they are most familiar with, in ancient China, Confucius, Li Bai, Mencius, Du Fu, Liu Bei, Qin Shihuang, Zhuge Liang, Yang Guifei, Guan Yu, Lao Zi, Liu Bang, Sima Qian, Xiang Yu, Cao Cao, Zhang Fei and so on. None of this 15 people is from the Song Dynasty. From one aspect, it can be seen that these Japanese college students are not familiar with China's understanding of the Song Dynasty at least.

So, what was the social development of the Song Dynasty, and what was its height? What position should it occupy in the history of China's cultural development? This is related to a correct understanding of the history of the Song Dynasty, the history of China and the traditional culture of China, as well as a correct understanding of China's national conditions and a better promotion of the excellent traditional culture of the Chinese nation.

Second, the height of social development in Song Dynasty.

In the feudal society of China, the four great powers were Han, Tang, Ming and Muslim. The Song Dynasty had a small territory, many frontier affairs, weak national strength and relatively closed, which was not comparable to Han, Tang, Ming and Qing Dynasties. However, the social development of Song Dynasty was not lower than that of Han and Tang Dynasties, but continued to develop on the basis of Han and Tang Dynasties. Generally speaking, its development degree is higher than that of Han and Tang Dynasties.

In all stages of feudal society in China, historians generally regard the Tang Dynasty as a period of "the prosperity of feudal society" and the Song Dynasty as a period of "the further strengthening of national integration and the continued development of feudal society". I think this stage is in line with historical reality. Regardless of material culture and spiritual culture (including institutional culture), the Song Dynasty continued to develop on the basis of the Tang Dynasty, and on the whole, its development degree was higher than that of the Tang Dynasty.

Material and cultural aspects

Agriculture. According to Mr. Meng's research, the yield per unit area of crops in Tang Dynasty was about 0.5 stone per mu/kloc-0 (50% higher than that in Han Dynasty), and it was about 2 stone in Song Dynasty, which was about 30% higher than that in Tang Dynasty. Cash crops, whether tea, sugar cane, mulberry, sericulture or cotton, are more developed than in the Tang Dynasty. In particular, the popularity of cotton planting and wheat planting in the south is particularly remarkable.

Handicraft industry is more advanced than that of Tang Dynasty in many aspects. Such as salt making, tea making, shipbuilding, paper making, sugar making, textile and porcelain making. In addition to the expansion of production area and the increase of output, technical improvements are also obvious, such as the excavation of "single well"; Production technology of "sugar ice" (rock sugar); Excellent Song porcelain, and so on.

Business. Further development of commodity economy and urban development. The breakthrough of "Fang system", the rise of market towns, the emergence of the world's earliest paper money "Jiaozi", and so on.

From a regional perspective, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Sichuan are the most economically developed and sustainable areas in the Song Dynasty. During this period, the social, economic and cultural development of mountainous areas and ethnic minority areas was also greater than that of the Tang Dynasty.

Technology.

1. Three items in four great inventions of ancient china were completed in the Song Dynasty, namely compass, gunpowder and movable type printing.

2. astronomy. "Water-borne instrument image watch", which is well-made and scientific, is the earliest astronomical clock in the world. The astronomical map of Huang Shang, with the north pole as the center and engraved with 1440 stars, is the oldest existing astronomical map of stone carvings in the world.

3. Mathematics. Famous mathematicians include Shen Kuo, Jia Xian, Qin and Yang Hui. The late Southern Song Dynasty was the peak of the development of ancient mathematics in China. Jia Xian's "Multiply-Multiply-Divide" was 800 years earlier than the algorithm proposed by Italian Rufini and British Horner. Qin's Nine Chapters of Mathematics is a famous mathematical work. His theory of large extension integer and the solution of the first congruence in the first operation are 500 years earlier than the related research of Euler and Gauss in Europe.

4. Medicine In the Song Dynasty, the division of medicine was more detailed. Previously, it was divided into three branches: pulse diagnosis department (internal medicine), acupuncture department and elective department (surgery). The Song Dynasty was divided into nine branches, namely: Dafang pulse branch, Xiaofang pulse branch, rheumatism branch, ophthalmology, obstetrics, sores and swelling analysis branch, stomatology, acupuncture branch and cymbals branch. Song Ci's Record of Remembering Injustice also appeared, which is the earliest forensic work in the world. Acupuncture has made great progress, such as Wang's Illustration of Acupuncture at Tongren Point and Acupuncture Model at Tongren Point. In pharmacology, Emergency Materia Medica compiled according to historical data collected 65,438 0,558 kinds of drugs, 476 kinds more than the authoritative pharmaceutical work Tang Materia Medica before Compendium of Materia Medica came out.

Others, such as architecture and earth science, have reached a new level. For example, "Hongqiao" (Flying Bridge) is a wooden beam arch bridge without columns, which has reached the highest level of ancient wooden bridge structure in China.

(2) spiritual and cultural aspects

1. Completed the revival of Confucianism. Traditional Confucian classics has entered a new stage of "Song Studies". Neo-Confucianism, or Neo-Confucianism, came into being. It also promoted the in-depth development of the intersection of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism.

2. Completed the ancient prose movement. Among the eight masters in Tang and Song Dynasties, Song people accounted for six.

3. Song Ci. Ci rose in the late Tang Dynasty and reached its peak in the Five Dynasties to the Song Dynasty.

4. textbooks. Storytelling, which originated in the Song Dynasty, opened a new era in the history of China literature, and was the first in the development of vernacular novels in Ming and Qing Dynasties.

5. history There were many schools of historiography in Song Dynasty, and local chronicles and epigraphy rose. Rich historical works; Famous scholars came forth in large numbers, reaching the peak of the development of ancient historiography in China.

Others, such as calligraphy, sculpture and painting, have all reached a new level. Buddhism and Taoism have made new progress. The formation and development of the academy occupies an important position in the history of education in China.

(3) Institutional culture

Institutional culture can also be included in spiritual culture. In the political system of the Song Dynasty, "learning from the Tang Dynasty", "keeping the weak from the outside" and "being strong and weak from the inside" not only had their own characteristics, but also developed compared with the Tang Dynasty.

1. Strengthen the autocratic centralization system centered on imperial power and strive to divide the power of prime ministers.

2. Strengthen the governance and control of officials. A more perfect imperial examination system, official selection system, assessment system, retirement system and supervision system for local officials have been established.

3. More effectively prevent the autocratic power of civil servants, military commanders, queens, consorts, imperial clan and eunuchs.

4. Carry out the traditional policy of "don't kill scholar-officials" and be more lenient to Confucian scholars politically.

As can be seen from the above, on the basis of the development of Han and Tang Dynasties, the society of Song Dynasty made new progress in both material culture and spiritual culture, and it was unprecedented in many aspects. It can be said that the height of social development in Song Dynasty generally surpassed that in Tang Dynasty. Some scholars believe that before the founding of New China, China culture had three climaxes, namely, a hundred schools of thought contended in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the cultural revival in the Song Dynasty and the May 4th New Culture Movement. Mr. Deng Guangming once pointed out: "The height of material civilization and spiritual civilization achieved in the Song Dynasty can be said to be lacking in the whole feudal social and historical period." Mr. Chen Yinque also pointed out: "The culture of the Chinese nation has developed for thousands of years, which is the peak of the Zhao and Song Dynasties." These evaluations deserve attention.

Thirdly, the position of the society in the Song Dynasty in the history of China's cultural development.

Scholars who study the ancient history of China and the cultural history of China have always paid more attention to the study of the Song Dynasty because:

First, the Song Dynasty has a rich history.

Second, there are many first-hand written materials about the history of the Song Dynasty, and the historical materials are of high value. According to the statistics of modern people, there are 4,855 works of Song people, and 74/kloc-0 works are collected.

Thirdly, the society of Song Dynasty was the turning point of China's feudal society, and the factors of feudal society were mature, which also gave birth to the factors of modern China society in some aspects.

As far as the existing research is concerned, it is appropriate and feasible to pay special attention to the above two items. Because of this, many scholars have been dissatisfied with the History of the Song Dynasty compiled in the Yuan Dynasty, thinking that it does not fully and truly reflect the history of the Song Dynasty, and they want to rebuild it, that is, the so-called "many generations want to rebuild it." From Zhou Yili in the late Yuan Dynasty to Yan Song, Wang Zhu, Ke Weiqi, Wang Weijian, Qian Shi Sheng and Tang Xianzu in the Ming Dynasty, to Chen Huangzhong, Gu, Zhu Yizun, Quan, Hang Shijun, Shao Jinhan, Zhang Xuecheng and Lu Xinyuan in the Qing Dynasty, to Liu Xianxuan in the Republic of China, and even to the Institute of Ancient Books of Shanghai Normal University after the founding of New China. But most of them have not been realized, and some books are considered by scholars to be very unsatisfactory. Only a few books such as Song Shiyi can make up for the lack of Song history.

Scholars intend to reconstruct the history of the Song Dynasty. First of all, they think that the History of Song Dynasty was written in a hurry, with messy contents and poor textual research. Second, the content is not comprehensive enough to reflect the great changes of a generation. That's exactly what happened. Since the mid-Tang Dynasty, social changes have been completed or even obvious in the Song Dynasty. According to the existing research results, the following aspects are listed.

(1) Economic aspects

Land system: the land equalization system was completely disintegrated, and the land ownership of private landlords gradually developed. By the Song Dynasty, it had become the main land ownership system, forming a situation of "800 landlords for thousands of years". At the same time, the tenancy system has also developed generally. This situation lasted until the end of the Qing Dynasty.

Feed: Tang Dezong abolished the tenancy system and implemented the "two tax laws". The Song Dynasty continued to implement and improve the "two taxes". It evolved from the middle and late Ming dynasty to the "one whip" method until the "custom-made" in the early Qing dynasty.

Commodity economy: With the development of cities and towns, the functions of some cities and towns have changed from military cities to industrial and commercial cities. Due to the relative development of commodity economy, the world's earliest paper money "Jiaozi" appeared in the early Northern Song Dynasty, and then became popular, followed by "Huizi" and "Guanzi", which had a great influence on the monetary system of later generations.

The seeds of capitalism. There are different opinions about whether there was a bud of capitalism in the Song Dynasty, or whether there was no bud of capitalism. Or think that there has been a relatively obvious bud of capitalism; Or think that there are weak buds of capitalism; Or think that the germination of capitalism has social conditions, but it is restrained if it fails to sprout or is weak due to the influence of war and other aspects. I agree with the last view.

(b) Social structure

Ruling basis: from gentry landlords to big bureaucrats and big landlords. Due to the development of tenancy system, the personal attachment of workers is relatively loose.

(3) Political system

Political system: from the political system of emperors and gentry landlords to the political system of emperors, bureaucrats and landlords.

Prime minister system: extreme differentiation and weakening of prime minister's power. There was no prime minister in the Ming Dynasty, only a "cabinet". It remained in the Qing dynasty and developed into a "military department" to discuss state affairs.

Military system: from the official military system to the recruitment system, until the Qing Dynasty.

Local administrative divisions: The establishment of "Dao" in the Tang Dynasty was a military division. Because of this, the Song Dynasty established "Tao". First, it was an institution of the central dynasty, and then it developed into a first-class administrative institution. In the Yuan Dynasty, provinces were formally established.

(D) Peasant Uprising

At the end of the Qin Dynasty, Chen Sheng and Guangwu revolted, shouting out the aspiration that "governors would rather have seeds". At the end of the Tang Dynasty, Huang Chao held high the banner of "General Ping", which reflected the demands of the insurgents for personal equality. Wang Xiaobo's Li Shun Uprising in the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty put forward the idea of "equal wealth" and explicitly demanded economic average for the first time; In the early years of the Southern Song Dynasty, the uprising of Zhong Xiang and Yang Yao put forward the requirement of "equal wealth", which pushed the peasant uprising in ancient China to a new stage. Since then, it has developed into the idea of "even land and free grain" put forward by Li Zicheng Uprising in the late Ming Dynasty and the Land System of China drafted by Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Uprising. From these developments, we can see the historical position of the last peasant uprising.

(5) Ideological and cultural aspects

The completion of the ancient prose movement, the revival of Confucianism, the emergence of Neo-Confucianism and the rise of Song Ci are all the results of the development and change of academic culture since the middle Tang Dynasty, which also has great influence on later generations.

The formation of local chronicles, the rise of epigraphy and the emergence and development of characters are all the results of the development and changes of academic culture since the middle Tang Dynasty, which opened up a new situation of academic culture for later generations.

The above examples are the research results of scholars, especially China scholars in recent decades. This shows that scholars attach importance to the study of Song history, not only because it is rich in content and contains a large number of historical materials, but also because it is a turning point in the great development and transformation of China feudal society, with many aspects connecting the preceding with the following. But on the whole, some factors of modern society are not paid enough attention.

In the past, some scholars also analyzed the modern social factors in the Song Dynasty. For example, Liang Qichao's Comments on Wang Anshi (World Bookstore, 1933 edition) compares the seedling method to a commercial bank and the municipal reform to a commercial bank. Wang Anshi's reform measures are considered to be "good in law and good in meaning" ... and effective in all countries in the East and the West. Ke Changyi's Comments on Wang Anshi (Commercial Press, 1933 edition) also believes that the exemption law "completely has two essences of liberating people's life shackles and breaking social stereotypes", namely, relieving the oppressed and overthrowing feudal forces. In addition, the works of Hu Shi and Lin Yutang have similar views. Of course, these views need to be further discussed, but it shows that some scholars in China have long been concerned about the modernity factors in Song society. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, this kind of research has developed obviously, such as the discussion of historical stage, land ownership, historical development momentum, peasant uprising, capitalist germination and other issues. Some scholars have been involved in the analysis of modernity factors in Song society, and this kind of research is still going on and developing in depth. Among them, it also includes a lot of work done by scholars in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Next, let's talk about the historical position and familiarity of scholars from all over the world with the society of the Song Dynasty.

Japanese scholars have always attached importance to the study of China's ancient history and made many achievements. Kyoto University has a great influence on the study of Song history. Professor Naito Hunan of this school (1866— 1934) divided the history of China into three periods, namely: ancient times, from ancient times to Han Dynasty; Middle Ages, from Wei and Jin Dynasties to the end of Tang Dynasty; Modern times, after the Song Dynasty. In his view, the Tang and Song Dynasties were a great turning point for China from the Middle Ages to modern times. Since then, Professor Hayashi Miyazaki, Professor Sang Yuan, Professor Saburofu and Professor Meiyuan have done a lot of research on the history of the Song Dynasty. As far as the historical stage is concerned, Professor Kaoru Miyazaki developed the thoughts of his teacher, Professor Naito of Hunan Province. In addition to the three periods divided by Professor Naito Hunan, he classified the period of the Republic of China as "modern times" and clearly believed that the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties belonged to "modern times", which was also equivalent to the historical period from Renaissance to industrial revolution in Europe. It is not only the bud of capitalism, but also much more progressive than the bud of capitalism.

Japanese scholars' views on the above stages have great influence in the world. 1975, the United States published the anthology Crisis and Prosperity of China Song Dynasty. In the introduction of the book, it is written: "The beginning of China's' modern' history can be traced back to the eighth, ninth and tenth centuries, that is, the so-called transitional period between Tang and Song Dynasties, which has now become almost self-evident." Britain has a similar view. For example, the book "Historical Patterns of China" published by 1973 divides the history of China into three periods, namely, the early empire (Qin to Han), the middle empire (Tang) and the late empire (Northern Song to Qing).

Thirdly, the position of the society in the Song Dynasty in the history of China's cultural development.

Scholars who study the ancient history of China and the cultural history of China have always paid more attention to the study of the Song Dynasty because:

First, the Song Dynasty has a rich history.

Second, there are many first-hand written materials about the history of the Song Dynasty, and the historical materials are of high value. According to the statistics of modern people, there are 4,855 works of Song people, and 74/kloc-0 works are collected.

Thirdly, the society of Song Dynasty was the turning point of China's feudal society, and the factors of feudal society were mature, which also gave birth to the factors of modern China society in some ways.

As far as the existing research is concerned, it is appropriate and feasible to pay special attention to the above two items. Because of this, many scholars have been dissatisfied with the History of the Song Dynasty compiled in the Yuan Dynasty, thinking that it does not fully and truly reflect the history of the Song Dynasty, and they want to rebuild it, that is, the so-called "many generations want to rebuild it." From Zhou Yili in the late Yuan Dynasty to Yan Song, Wang Zhu, Ke Weiqi, Wang Weijian, Qian Shi Sheng and Tang Xianzu in the Ming Dynasty, to Chen Huangzhong, Gu, Zhu Yizun, Quan, Hang Shijun, Shao Jinhan, Zhang Xuecheng and Lu Xinyuan in the Qing Dynasty, to Liu Xianxuan in the Republic of China, and even to the Institute of Ancient Books of Shanghai Normal University after the founding of New China. But most of them have not been realized, and some books are considered by scholars to be very unsatisfactory. Only a few books such as Song Shiyi can make up for the lack of Song history.

Scholars intend to reconstruct the history of the Song Dynasty. First of all, they think that the History of Song Dynasty was written in a hurry, with messy contents and poor textual research. Second, the content is not comprehensive enough to reflect the great changes of a generation. That's exactly what happened. Since the mid-Tang Dynasty, social changes have been completed or even obvious in the Song Dynasty. According to the existing research results, the following aspects are listed.

(1) Economic aspects

Land system: the land equalization system was completely disintegrated, and the land ownership of private landlords gradually developed. By the Song Dynasty, it had become the main land ownership system, forming a situation of "800 landlords for thousands of years". At the same time, the tenancy system has also developed generally. This situation lasted until the end of the Qing Dynasty.

Feed: Tang Dezong abolished the tenancy system and implemented the "two tax laws". The Song Dynasty continued to implement and improve the "two taxes". It evolved from the middle and late Ming dynasty to the "one whip" method until the "custom-made" in the early Qing dynasty.

Commodity economy: With the development of cities and towns, the functions of some cities and towns have changed from military cities to industrial and commercial cities. Due to the relative development of commodity economy, the world's earliest paper money "Jiaozi" appeared in the early Northern Song Dynasty, and then became popular, followed by "Huizi" and "Guanzi", which had a great influence on the monetary system of later generations.

The seeds of capitalism. There are different opinions about whether there was a bud of capitalism in the Song Dynasty, or whether there was no bud of capitalism. Or think that there has been a relatively obvious bud of capitalism; Or think that there are weak buds of capitalism; Or think that the germination of capitalism has social conditions, but it is restrained if it fails to sprout or is weak due to the influence of war and other aspects. I agree with the last view.

(b) Social structure

Ruling basis: from gentry landlords to big bureaucrats and big landlords. Due to the development of tenancy system, the personal attachment of workers is relatively loose.

(3) Political system

Political system: from the political system of emperors and gentry landlords to the political system of emperors, bureaucrats and landlords.

Prime minister system: extreme differentiation and weakening of prime minister's power. There was no prime minister in the Ming Dynasty, only a "cabinet". It remained in the Qing dynasty and developed into a "military department" to discuss state affairs.

Military system: from the official military system to the recruitment system, until the Qing Dynasty.

Local administrative divisions: The establishment of "Dao" in the Tang Dynasty was a military division. Because of this, the Song Dynasty established "Tao". First, it was an institution of the central dynasty, and then it developed into a first-class administrative institution. In the Yuan Dynasty, provinces were formally established.

(D) Peasant Uprising

At the end of the Qin Dynasty, Chen Sheng and Guangwu revolted, shouting out the aspiration that "governors would rather have seeds". At the end of the Tang Dynasty, Huang Chao held high the banner of "General Ping", which reflected the demands of the insurgents for personal equality. Wang Xiaobo's Li Shun Uprising in the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty put forward the idea of "equal wealth" and explicitly demanded economic average for the first time; In the early years of the Southern Song Dynasty, the uprising of Zhong Xiang and Yang Yao put forward the requirement of "equal wealth", which pushed the peasant uprising in ancient China to a new stage. Since then, it has developed into the idea of "even land and free grain" put forward by Li Zicheng Uprising in the late Ming Dynasty and the Land System of China drafted by Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Uprising. From these developments, we can see the historical position of the last peasant uprising.

(5) Ideological and cultural aspects

The completion of the ancient prose movement, the revival of Confucianism, the emergence of Neo-Confucianism and the rise of Song Ci are all the results of the development and change of academic culture since the middle Tang Dynasty, which also has great influence on later generations.

The formation of local chronicles, the rise of epigraphy and the emergence and development of characters are all the results of the development and changes of academic culture since the middle Tang Dynasty, which opened up a new situation of academic culture for later generations.

The above examples are the research results of scholars, especially China scholars in recent decades. This shows that scholars attach importance to the study of Song history, not only because it is rich in content and contains a large number of historical materials, but also because it is a turning point in the great development and transformation of China feudal society, with many aspects connecting the preceding with the following. But on the whole, some factors of modern society are not paid enough attention.

In the past, some scholars also analyzed the modern social factors in the Song Dynasty. For example, Liang Qichao's Comments on Wang Anshi (World Bookstore, 1933 edition) compares the seedling method to a commercial bank and the municipal reform to a commercial bank. Wang Anshi's reform measures are considered to be "good in law and good in meaning" ... and effective in all countries in the East and the West. Ke Changyi's Comments on Wang Anshi (Commercial Press, 1933 edition) also believes that the exemption law "completely has two essences of liberating people's life shackles and breaking social stereotypes", namely, relieving the oppressed and overthrowing feudal forces. In addition, the works of Hu Shi and Lin Yutang have similar views. Of course, these views need to be further discussed, but it shows that some scholars in China have long been concerned about the modernity factors in Song society. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, this kind of research has developed obviously, such as the discussion of historical stage, land ownership, historical development momentum, peasant uprising, capitalist germination and other issues. Some scholars have been involved in the analysis of modernity factors in Song society, and this kind of research is still going on and developing in depth. Among them, it also includes a lot of work done by scholars in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Next, let's talk about the historical position and familiarity of scholars from all over the world with the society of the Song Dynasty.

Japanese scholars have always attached importance to the study of China's ancient history and made many achievements. Kyoto University has a great influence on the study of Song history. Professor Naito Hunan of this school (1866— 1934) divided the history of China into three periods, namely: ancient times, from ancient times to Han Dynasty; Middle Ages, from Wei and Jin Dynasties to the end of Tang Dynasty; Modern times, after the Song Dynasty. In his view, the Tang and Song Dynasties were a great turning point for China from the Middle Ages to modern times. Since then, Professor Hayashi Miyazaki, Professor Sang Yuan, Professor Saburofu and Professor Meiyuan have done a lot of research on the history of the Song Dynasty. As far as the historical stage is concerned, Professor Kaoru Miyazaki developed the thoughts of his teacher, Professor Naito of Hunan Province. In addition to the three periods divided by Professor Naito Hunan, he classified the period of the Republic of China as "modern times" and clearly believed that the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties belonged to "modern times", which was also equivalent to the historical period from Renaissance to industrial revolution in Europe. It is not only the bud of capitalism, but also much more progressive than the bud of capitalism.

Japanese scholars' views on the above stages have great influence in the world. 1975, the United States published the anthology Crisis and Prosperity of China Song Dynasty. In the introduction of the book, it is written: "The beginning of China's' modern' history can be traced back to the eighth, ninth and tenth centuries, that is, the so-called transitional period between Tang and Song Dynasties, which has now become almost self-evident." Britain has a similar view. For example, the book "Historical Patterns of China" published by 1973 divides the history of China into three periods, namely, the early empire (Qin to Han), the middle empire (Tang) and the late empire (Northern Song to Qing).