A Study On The Group Of Military Guards In The Northern Front States Of The Early Northern Song Dynasty

In the early Song Dynasty,the Northern Border States was charged with the important duty of defending the country.The personal qualities and the duration tenure of the guards were related to the security of the frontier defense.Out of the need for border defense construction and national security,the emperors of the three generations of the early Song Dynasty attached great importance to the selection and appointment of the generals of the border state,and the selection of the guards of the border state reflected the emperor’s personal will and strategic considerations.During the period of the Song Taizu,due to the control of skill,the border security was guaranteed.During the period of Song Taizong and Song Zhenzong,with the change of the thought of governing the country,the duration tenure of the guards of the border states was affected to a certain extent,and then affected the border defense construction and border security.The three generations emperor in the early Song Dynasty,the main body of the guards of the northern border states was mainly northerners.In the Song Taizu dynasty,the northerners,especially near the border states,the martial guards accounted for the majority.This situation changed as follows during the periods of Song Taizong and Song Zhenzong: first,although the mainstay of the northern border state guards was still mainly northerners,the place of origin showed a trend of development towards JingDong lu and JingXi lu.This has much to do with the change in the political environment.Second,the guards of the northern border states have appeared literati with relatively high cultural qualities.This kind of change reflected that the ruling thought of "worshiping Wen and suppressing Wu" in the early Song Dynasty has began to infiltrate into the selection and appointment of the border states guards.At the beginning of the Song Dynasty,the guards group of the northern border states was closely related to the three generations emperor.In the Song Taizu dynasty has served as the guards of the northern border states,mostly has been followed SongTaizu and making contributions to the founding country.During the days of the Song Taizong and the Song Zhenzong,the guards of the northern border states mostly came from the old ministers of the Song Taizong and the Song Zhenzong Dynasty;Such groups as the second generation of meritorious deeds and relatives,they were more likely to gain the trust of emperors because of their political relations,which embodies the trust and the admire to their abilities form emperors.The Northern border states guards of Song Taizu were generally has a long term,more than 3 years.With the completion of the three-year tenure system for officials in the Northern Song Dynasty,the term of office of the Northern border states guards in the three generations was gradually shortened.In the Song Taizong and Song Zhenzong times,most of the northern border states guards has served less than three years,while a few of them served longer terms,but they were also limited to those guards who kept the border for generations or were familiar with border matters.