(1) The Song Dynasty is the most special dynasty among all dynasties in China. The reason why it is special is that its governance method is almost the same as modern times: it is a literati politics, party politics, and centralized power. Politics, agriculture, industry and commerce are both equally important.

The Song Dynasty had the most thoroughgoing literati politics. The appointment of literati as the Minister of Defense (Privy Council) was a new thing that only appeared in the modern West, but in the Song Dynasty, this was a common practice. The reform of the army is that the army cannot always be led by its commander, and the commander cannot be replaced by the army. This is also the basic system for commanding and managing the army in modern countries. According to historical records, after Taizu founded the country, he carved ancestral precepts in the Taizu Temple. Only the emperor himself was guided by an illiterate eunuch to recite these precepts in front of Taizu's oath stele when he was offering sacrifices to the Taizu Temple. On the day when the city of Kaifeng was destroyed, a curious person went to the Ancestral Temple to learn what was written on it (which can be said to be the most immortal quote in Chinese history): "The descendants of the Chai family will not be punished if they are guilty; if they are guilty of treason, they will be punished in prison." After all the gifts have been given, no one can kill Cao Cao, nor can he kill his relatives." "No scholar-bureaucrats, or those who write letters to others, can be killed." "Any descendant who takes this oath will be killed by Heaven." What is commendable is that the emperors of the Song Dynasty were still obedient. These policies of Taizu, the most enlightened in Chinese history so far, have been effectively implemented for three hundred years. It can be said that this is the Magna Carta of the Song Dynasty for more than three hundred years, and it is also the most enlightened policy among all countries in the world at the same time. The enlightened Magna Carta fundamentally ensured that the Song Dynasty became the highest peak of Chinese civilization. The Song Dynasty was the true era of scholar-bureaucrats, that is, an era in which literati praised what they said and practiced it. In the temples, monarchs and ministers argued endlessly; in the rivers and lakes, scholars gave advice. May I ask, in which dynasty and generation did literati have such status and status? In the court hall, Bao Zheng was spitting, and Emperor Renzong had to test his face with silk, but Lao Bao just pretended not to see him and was still making impassioned speeches; Jianghu (this Jianghu is not Jin Yong's Jianghu, but a local government relative to the central government) Above, Fan Zhongyan's wonderful pen is full of flowers: "Be worried about the worries of the world first, and be happy after the joys of the world." Mr. Chen Yinke, a master of Chinese studies, commented on the Song Dynasty: "The culture of the Chinese nation has evolved over thousands of years and reached its peak. During the Zhao and Song Dynasties, it gradually declined and eventually recovered. "The Song Dynasty was the most prosperous period for Chinese intellectuals. It is also a society where Chinese intellectuals have political ideals, cultural innovation, moral pursuits, and a secure life. We do not deny that there were political struggles in the Song Dynasty, but political struggles were often just differences in political opinions. Although there were parties that agreed with each other and opposed dissenters, they were not physically eliminated. At most, it would be relegation. Although Wang Anshi, Ouyang Xiu, Sima Guang and Su Shi had different political views, they had good personal friendships. After Ouyang Xiu's death, the person who gave Ouyang Xiu the highest praise was not his party comrades, but his political enemy Wang Anshi. It can be seen that it was an era of gentlemen. There are so many celebrities in Chinese history who appeared in the Renzong Dynasty (six of the eight great masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties appeared in the Renzong Dynasty at the same time), which is no accident. It is the fruit of the suitable political and political environment. The relatively mature party politics in Chinese history is a typical political phenomenon of this period. The Reform Party with Wang Anshi as its idol and the Conservative Party with Sima Guang as its idol have taken turns in power for nearly a hundred years. This is a miracle in world history. What needs to be pointed out here is that what I am talking about here are political parties, not cronies that people have often criticized in history. There were many dynasties in Chinese history where ministers formed cliques and supported each other, causing harm to the country and the country. Ouyang Xiu once discussed this: "Gentlemen share the same ideals, and villains share the same interests." In history, cronies often colluded with each other purely for their own benefit and relied on each other. Political parties are different. Although there are interests between them, the important thing is that they have ideals and demands, and they hope to have the opportunity to realize this morality. To paraphrase today, a political party must first have lofty ideals, specific and realistic goals, a program, an organization, and a leader. These realistic and fashionable things were implemented as early as the Renzong era. Although the effect was not good and ultimately failed to save Beizong from collapse, its advanced nature as a political system cannot be ignored, let alone obliterated.

(2) After the founding of the Song Dynasty, the problem that those in power needed to face was what kind of political structure could be established to overcome the shortcomings of various dynasties and dynasties since Qin. Establishing a talent selection and appointment mechanism based on the imperial examination system not only breaks the political pattern of powerful families, but also solves the shortcomings of the hereditary bureaucratic system.

Although the imperial examination system has been in existence since the Sui Dynasty, this system as the basic system for talent selection was still established in the Song Dynasty. The admission conditions were lowered and the number of candidates increased (the Tang Dynasty admitted Jinshi, each time Only 20 to 30 people were admitted, ranging from a few to a dozen people at a time. In the Song Dynasty, as many as 200 to 300 people were admitted, or even 500 to 600 people were admitted. Soon we entered the era of scholar-bureaucrats. What is a scholar-official? Sit down and talk about the Tao, and practice it with your body. From then on, those who excelled in learning, whether they were poor scholars or farmers, could enter and leave the temple. Civilians serve as the top chief executives of the central government and various regions, placing the status of civilians above those of military attachés. The main responsibilities of local officials are herdsmen, and the responsibility of defending the territory is handled by full-time military commanders appointed by the central government (aren't these systems modern political systems). Both are dispatched by the central government and are not subordinate to each other. This completely eliminated the political tradition of warlord separatism since the Tang Dynasty, and also completely eliminated the political basis for the frequent replacement of dynasties in the Five Dynasties.