Study On The Soldiers' Dependents In Song Dynasty

The Song Dynasty established the Mercenary System, and carried out the policy of raising army. Once a soldier joined in the army, his whole family would live in the camp. So, a large number of Soldiers'Dependents appeared within the army. The Soldiers'Dependents lived on soldier's salary and took the barracks for shelter. Because the soldier's salary was paid by the country, their main cost of living came from the imperial finance. To conciliate the soldier's morale, the court took series of consoling measures, for example: obliging the official position to the soldier's descendant, fostering solitary and young, being sent in the neighborhood and etc. These measures ensured the steady of military families'life, so, the soldier could fight for country without burden. In this situation, the soldier could do his job responsibly, and it also had a positive meaning to the stability of Song Dynasty's political power. The Soldiers'Dependents could be divided into two parts, staying in the camps and ccompanying the army. When soldiers guarded the frontier, the soldiers'families stayed in the barracks, relying mainly on the monthly gain of the soldiers. When the dependant went out or transferred with army, their living expenses for transportation costs and transfer fees were also parts of the national fiscal revenues. The soldier's dependents in Song Dynasty were closely related to the state finance, they also had important implications to the military. Their impact to military could be divided into positive and negative aspects. They could participate directly in a war or engaged in logistics support to protect the supply and encourage the military, it was a beneficial side. But when they accompanied the army or transferred, they covered a large number of elite troops to protect them, and this dispersed the army's battle effectiveness, it was a negative side. In short, the soldier's dependents of Song Dynasty was an important group in the country's economic and military life .The study of this group could help us to gain a deeper understanding of Song Dynasty financial and military situation, and we could have a more-in-depth study of complete picture about the Song Dynasty's history.