历史学外文翻译.docVIP

the Song Dynasty.Foollwing the Tang collapse warlords ruled China until he Song Dynasty reimposed centralized imperial rule in the ate tenth century.Though survived for more than three centuries, the Song dynasty(960-1279C.E.)never built a very powerful state.Song rulers mistrusted military leaders,and they placed much more emphasis on civil administration,industry ,education,and the arts than on military affairs. The first Song emperor,Song Taizu(reigned 960-1279C.E.),himself inaugurated this policy. Song Taizu began his career a a junior military officer serving one of the most powerful warlords in northern China.He had a reputation for honesty and effectiveness,and in 960 his troops proclaimed him emperor.During the next several years,he and his army subjected the warlords to their authority and consolidated Song control throughout China.He then persuaded his generals to retire honorably to a life of leisure so that they would not seek to displace him,and he set about organizing a centralized administration that placed military forces under tight supervision. Song Taizu regarded all state officials,even minor functionaries in distant provinces,as servants of the imperial government.In exchange for their loyalty,Song rulers rewarded these officials handsomely.They vastly expanded the bureaucracy based on merit by creating more opportunities for individuals to seek a Confucian education and take civil service examinations.They accepted many more candidates into the bureaucracy than their Sui and Tang predecessors,and they provided generous salaries for thos who qualified for government appointments.They even placed civil bureaucrats in charge of military forces. The song approach to administration resulted in a more centralized imperial government than earlier Chinese dynasties had enjoyed.But it caused two mig problems that weakened the dynasty and eventually brought about its fall.The first prolem was financial:the enormous Song bureaucracy devoured China’s surpl