A Study On Zhengzhou In The Song Dynasty

In the Song Dynasty,there were five countries under the jurisdiction of Zhengzhou.They were Guancheng,Xinzheng,Xingyang,Xingze and Yuanwu.During the reign of Emperor Huizong,Zhengzhou was built as West-Fu twice.Mixian,which belonged to Xijing for a long time,switched over to be subordinate to Zhengzhou in this period.The eastern part of Zhengzhou was next to Dongjing,while the western part was close to Xijing and the imperial tombs which were in Gongxian.This suggested that Zhengzhou was located among the two capitals.What is more,it was in the center of the national transportation,whether by river or land.Due to its unique geographic situation,the administrative division of Zhengzhou was not rigid throughout the Song Dynasty.In summary, this kind of change had been experienced three different stages.Before the Xifeng Reform,the administrative division of Zhengzhou was relatively stable. In the meantime, the political status of Zhengzhou was improved gradually,from Fangyuzhou to Fujun.Under the reign of Emperor Shenzong, this city was abolished because of its economical backwardness.However, after his death,the city was re-established.The political status of Zhengzhou changed follow the development of the political situation.Be very different from nowadays,there were many rivers and lakes in this region.The lifeblood of the Northern Song Dynasty,the Bian River,as well as other important rivers,such as the Yellow River, Huimin River and Jinshui River flowed through Zhengzhou.These rivers, linked with the outside, contributed to the development of Zhengzhou's economy.Nevertheless,the flood brought huge disaster. The residents gave much attention to harness these rivers.The sights of the city,for instance,the Puye Reservoir, the Lingxianwang Temple,the Liezi Ziarat, the Fubo Pavilion, the Xiyang Tower,attracted a large attendance and were chanted by many famous poets.In addition,we can see local conditions and customs of Xinzheng in the artiicles which wrote by the scholar Zhubian.As the nearest city from the capital, Zhengzhou obtained great attention from the Song government.The magistrates, selected elaborately, either the patriarch or the young talented. Vast majority of them, did a good job during their tenures. In view of this city's specific condition, they constructed hydraulic engineering, cut taxes,established school,chose the outstanding teachers to educate the students and so on.Consequently,they made remarkable achievements and stamped their names on the page of history. Nevertheless,a smaller percentage of the magistrates were in a state of inertia and neglect their duties.What is more,some of them broke the law and made corruption.During the war time,two magistrates abandoned the city and escaped alone.Ultimately, they went down in history as a symbol of infamy.Professor Li Zhiliang,known as a leading authority on the literature of the Song Dynasty, have documented the magistrates of Zhengzhou in his book, Bei Song Jing Shi Ji Dong Xi Lu Da Jun Shou Chen Kao. Nevertheless, other magistrates, such as Linwei, Xin Weiqing, Wangyu, were not embodied in his treatise. Meanwhile, there are a few arguable statements on some magistrates' tenure in this work..Be profoundly nurtured by two capitals,Zhengzhou was prosperous in culture.The gifted scholars,either on their official travel or temporary lived in this city, created many works that are now regarded as masterpieces. With more emphasis on education at the time, the official school in Zhengzhou had accomplished a great deal.The natives,such as Liang Zhouhan,Yangpu,Bi Zhongyou,may fairly claime a place in the history of ancient Chinese literature.In summary,the learning environment of Zhengzhou was conducive to study and the masters come forth in large numbers and significant achievements.Compared with the prosperous culture, the economy of this city was inferior. For most of that time,this area was sparsely populated and had a wasted landscape.But here the products , such as Jinquan wine, Yuer pear, gordon euryale seed, were accorded a warm welcome in market.The government institutions,for example,Yuanwujian,the water tank,the water mill,the stone pit,were supposed to provide material to Dongjing.Be compared to the Tang Dynasty,the economy of Zhengzhou in the Song Dynasty declined.Matched with other same sized cities around Dongjing,Zhengzhou was mostly at a moderate level. The major impediment to economic growth was its special geographic situation, harnessing rivers, offering the royal tombs and the garrison, entertaining the passing officials, saddling the sabotage from the senior officers, for example.The attention focus for the government was its political function on protecting the capital.Before and after the period of Jingkang, this area had gone through too many wars between Song and Jin.The two belligerents relapsed for this city continuously.Ultimately, Zhengzhou appertained to the Jin Dynasty.