Wen Tianxiang Temple in Beijing
Once upon a time historians mocked the Song (960-1279). There was this idea that after the Tang, which had always seemed a little — muscular, the Song era was too effeminate, too concerned with arts and philosophy.
The territorial reach of the Song was never great, and it was surrounded by hostile neighbors kept at bay only through bribes and official admissions that maybe the Chinese emperors weren’t so supreme after all — a tough cookie to swallow for later Chinese historians.
Over time, things went from bad to worse. In 1127 the armies of the Jurchen took the northern half of the empire and by the middle of the 13th century the great hordes of the Mongol khans threatened to take the rest.
But if you think about: the Song get a bad rap. They held out long after most of Eurasia had fallen before the Mongol horseman and it took the near total depopulation of Sichuan and losing control of the Yangzi to finally topple the Song.
In 1275, with the Mongol armies threatening the Song capital of Lin’an (today’s Hangzhou) a panicked throne asked all loyal officials to rush to the emperor’s aid. One of those who