#139- N. Song 7: The Heavenly Text Affair

The History of China

Chris Stewart

History

4.6 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 1 April 2018

⏱️ 46 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

After feeling forced to sign the costly and humiliating Treaty of Chanyuan with the Liao Dynasty to end the Liao-Song War, Emperor Zhenzong needs a pick-me-up to make himself feel better. He thinks that a ritual that hasn't been performed in 3 centuries might be the way... and that's when the text messages from Heaven start popping up in his inbox... Time Period: 1004-1022 CE Major Historical Figures Emperor Zhenzong of Song (Zhao Heng)[r. 997 - 1022] Wang Qinruo, Minister of Grand Ritual [c. 962 – 1025] Chancellor Kou Zhun [c. 961 – 1023] Du Hao, Imperial Antiquarian. Minister Sun Shi, Grand Imperial Buzzkill. Major Works Cited: Cahill, Suzanne E. "Taoism at the Sung Court: The Heavenly Text Affair of 1008" in Bulletin of Sung and Yüan Studies, No. 16. Choi, Mihwa. Death Rituals and Politics in Northern Song China. Lau Nap-Yin and Huang K'uang-Chung. "Founding and Consolidation of the Sung Dynasty" in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 5: The Sung Dynasty and Its Precursors, Part 1. Li, Tao. Xu Zizhi Tongjian Changbian ("The Extended Continuation of the Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Government") Sima, Guang. Sushui Jiwen ("Records of Rumors from Sushui"). Toqto'a and Alutu. Songshi ("The History of the Song"). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	You're listening to an airwave media podcast.
0:04.0	Hello and welcome to the history of China.
0:10.0	Hello and welcome to the history of China.
0:14.0	Episode 139, the Heavenly Text Affair.
0:22.0	Last time we ended off with the final conclusion of the Finally, permanent border between the two empires, reopened the border trade cities between them,
0:34.3	saw both states formally acknowledge one another as effective equals,
0:38.0	and forced China to pay a large annual indemnity to the Liao,
0:41.4	as well as effectively giving up on its longstanding goals to reclaim the lost
0:45.2	16 prefectures of Yan Yun.
0:47.8	We talked about how, in spite of it being a bitter pill that was indeed difficult for the Chinese
0:52.1	court to swallow. In the end it wasn't
0:54.8	actually all that bad, since after all Song had not actually lost any new territory.
1:01.1	It had concluded what proved to be an enduring peace at a relatively
1:05.6	minimal cost to itself, and the territorial claims it had been forced to cede were, well,
1:11.1	let's be honest, already in Kitan hands. It did however look really bad and
1:17.5	especially at the time. So today we're going to be following Emperor Junzon as he tries to wash that taste of defeat out of his mouth by any and all means available.
1:30.0	So first off, regarding that treaty, as the initial glow of having conducted a final piece with the Liao started to wear off, the idea that it was an imperial diplomatic victory began to fade as well.
1:43.7	From Suzanne Cahill, quote,
1:45.8	The peace treaty guaranteed the Kitan Liao dynasty an annual payment and pseudo- familial
1:50.4	relations between the two families were established.
1:54.0	The Liao history, undoubtedly reflecting terminology current at the time, calls the song payments
1:59.0	which arrived annually from 1005 on as tribute or gong.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Chris Stewart, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Chris Stewart and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.