An Attempt to Reunifying the Nation
1 min readWhen the Song Dynasty was first established, the country was still in a situation of disunity. There were the State of Northern Han and the Khitan Empire(Liao Dynasty) in the north casting covetous eyes at the Central Plains, and a number of separatist regimes(including the states of Wuyue, Jingnan, Southern Tang, Southern Han, and Later Shu) contending for supremacy over the south.
Starting from 962, Zhao Kuangyin launched a series of campaigns trying to bring China national reunification. During his lifetime, he subjugated the Jingnan, Later Shu, Southern Han, and Southern Tang in succession, whilst leaving the Wuyue and the Northern Han for his successor Zhao Guangyito wipe out in 978 and 979 respectively. Nonetheless, the Khitan Empire and the later rising Kin Kingdom(1115-1234) established by the Jurchen peoplelll in the northeast, as well as the Western Xia Dynasty(1038-1227) founded by the Tangut peoplel2l in the northwest, had remained great menaces to the Song Dynasty throughout its 300-year history.
The Garden of Pure Brightness on the River
Zhang Zeduan was a painter of the Northern Song Dynasty known for his masterpiece The Festival of Pure Brightness on the River. The scenes depicted in Zhangs long scroll are vividly reproduced in this garden, which is located in the northwestern corner of Kaifeng–the capital of the Northern Song, and covers an area of 510 mu.
