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59-689: The territory of present-day Yuanping was held by Zhao during the Warring States Period of Chinese history . Under the Qin dynasty , it was part of Taiyuan Commandary. It became Yuanping County in 114   BC under Emperor Wu of the Han . It became Xinxing County in Jian'an 15 during the Eastern Han . Three years later, its name was restored as Yuanping County, but it was moved to Yanmen Commandery . Yuanping

118-569: A 1096 invasion by the restored Zhang Dun. Sima Guang is best remembered for his masterwork, Zizhi Tongjian , and the Australian sinologist Rafe de Crespigny describes him as "perhaps the greatest of all Chinese historians" ( de Crespigny 1973 :65). In 1064, Sima presented to Emperor Yingzong of Song the five-volume Liniantu ("Chart of Successive Years"). It chronologically summarized events in Chinese history from 403 BCE to 959 CE and served as

177-418: A framework for the replacement system should be formulated first. Su Shi, Su Che's older brother, formed a third faction and proposed that the funds from the labor recruitment law should be used to buy up public lands to grant to volunteer laborers in addition to their wages. Sima did not accept dissent from either group. The green sprouts law was intended to give low-interest loans to farmers but, like many of

236-584: A more detailed eight-volume Tongzhi ( 通志 ; 'Comprehensive Records'), which chronicled Chinese history from 403 BCE to 207 BCE (the end of the Qin dynasty). The emperor issued an edict for the compilation of a groundbreaking universal history of China, granting full access to imperial libraries, and allocating funds for the costs of compilation, including research assistance by experienced historians such as Liu Ban (劉攽, 1022–88), Liu Shu (劉恕, 1032–78), and Fan Zuyu (范祖禹, 1041–98). After Yingzong died in 1067, Sima

295-463: A policy critic, raised the issue between performing rituals for Zhao Yurang , Emperor Yingzong's biological father, and Emperor Renzong. This issue would dominate Yingzong's reign and cause political gridlock. Sima himself believed that priority should be given to Renzong since he was the emperor's ritual father. Yingzong overruled this belief and, partly due to personal affection for his biological father, gave Zhao Yurang high ritual honors in 1066. In

354-564: A prospectus for sponsorship of his ambitious project in historiography . These dates were chosen because 403 BCE was the beginning of the Warring States period, when the ancient State of Jin was subdivided, which eventually led to the establishment of the Qin dynasty —959 CE was the end of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period and the beginning of the Song dynasty. In 1066, he presented

413-415: A scholar. For 40 years following the death of Shenzong, the reformist and conservative factions alternated control over the Song government. Both factions engaged in "ethical factionalism" as they engaged in ruthless purges against each other. An attempted coup by the reformist faction (including Cai Que , Zhang Dun , Xing Shu , and Cai Jing ) intended to dethrone Emperor Zhezong failed and aggravated

472-474: A way that promotes these theories. Sima and the other Yuanyou faction conservatives (except for Su Shi , who had an unorthodox interpretation of the Tao ) would be positively associated with Neo-confucianism . Liu Anshi , an important Neoconfucian, was Sima's disciple. Emperor Shenzong died in 1085, shortly after Sima had submitted Zizhi Tongjian to the throne. Sima was recalled to court and appointed to lead

531-587: A wider level, a society with clear inferior-superior roles would be stable. His deeply anti-change perspective made him a political conservative (in contrast with Wang Anshi's reformism). For Sima, to be ethical was to accept one's social status, and personal cultivation meant exercising restraint; indeed Sima interpreted the "investigation of things", a fundamental tenet of the Cheng-Zhu school of Neo-confucianism , as "restraining things". He also agreed with Xunzi's postulation that humans were inherently evil and wrote

590-474: A work called "Doubting Mencius " that criticized Mencius' encouraging of the overthrow of hierarchy. After the failure of the Qingli Reforms under an unenthusiastic Emperor Renzong , the future reformist Wang Anshi submitted a 10,000-word memorial in 1058 detailing a system of comprehensive reform. Sima Guang did the same thing in 1061, but his proposals were more conservative. In 1064, Sima, then just

649-405: A work of reference and guidance, indicating that Shenzong accepted Sima as his guide in the study of history and its application to government. The emperor maintained his support for the compilation of this comprehensive history until its completion in 1084. From the late 1060s, Sima came to assume a role as leader of what has been identified as a conservative faction at court, resolutely opposed to

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708-582: Is also at the junction of the Beijing–Yuanping Railway and the Datong–Puzhou Railway . This Shanxi location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . State of Zhao Zhao ( traditional Chinese : 趙 ; simplified Chinese : 赵 ) was one of the seven major states during the Warring States period of ancient China. It emerged from the tripartite division of Jin , along with Han and Wei , in

767-507: Is located nearly due north of Taiyuan , the provincial capital. Yuanping has a monsoon -influenced, continental semi-arid climate ( Köppen BSk ), with cold and very dry winters, and hot, humid summers. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from −7.0 °C (19.4 °F) in January to 23.7 °C (74.7 °F) in July, and the annual mean is 9.55 °C (49.2 °F). Nearly half of

826-615: The Hu and Xiongnu . Its capital was Handan , in modern Hebei province. Zhao was home to the administrative philosopher Shen Dao , Confucian Xun Kuang , and Gongsun Long , who is affiliated to the school of names . The Zhao clan within Jin had been accumulating power for centuries, including annexing the Baidi state of Dai in the mid-5th century BC. At the end of the Spring and Autumn period, Jin

885-630: The New Policies of Chancellor Wang Anshi . Sima presented increasingly critical memorials to the throne until 1070, when he refused further appointment and withdrew from court. In 1071, he took up residence in Luoyang , where he remained with an official sinecure, providing sufficient time and resources to continue the compilation of Zizhi Tongjian . Though the historian and the emperor continued to disagree on policies, Sima's enforced retirement proved essential for him to complete his chronological history over

944-446: The Qin dynasty and made himself and seventeen other lords kings , appointing Zhao Xie the king of Dai. Chen Yu helped Zhao Xie reclaim the land of Zhao from Zhang Er, so Zhao Xie created Chen Yu as Prince of Dai. In 205 BC, Chen Yu's subordinate in Dai, Xia Yue ( 夏說 ), was defeated by Liu Bang 's generals Han Xin and Zhang Er. Chen Yu was defeated by Han Xin in 204 BC, and later Zhao Xie

1003-531: The Secretariat and the Chancellery , arguing that the latter was redundant: "[The Chancellery] serves no purpose except to double the number of clerks and multiply paperwork." The two departments would be combined in 1129. Cai Que and Zhang Dun would lead the reformist opposition against the conservative restoration. The compulsory Baojia village defense system trained and enrolled nearly 7 million men across

1062-462: The 3rd century Cao Wei official Sima Fu . A famous anecdote relates the young Sima Guang saving a playmate who had fallen into an enormous vat full of water. As other children scattered in panic, Sima calmly picked up a rock and smashed a hole in the base of the pot. Water leaked out, and his friend was saved. At the age of 6, Sima heard a lecture concerning the Zuo Zhuan , a work of history dating to

1121-498: The 412 millimetres (16.2 in) of precipitation occurs in July and August alone. Due to the high elevation and dry climate, the diurnal temperature variation easily exceeds 15 °C (27 °F) in winter and spring. With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 50% in July to 62% in four months, and the average annual total is 2,585 hours. The city lies on the G55 Erenhot–Guangzhou Expressway . Yuanping

1180-458: The 4th century BC. Fascinated, he was able to retell the stories to his family when he returned home. He became an avid reader, "to the point of not recognizing hunger, thirst, coldness or heat". Sima obtained early success as a scholar and officer. When he was barely twenty, he passed the Imperial examination with the highest rank of jìnshì ( 進士 ; 'metropolitan graduate'), and spent

1239-454: The 5th century BC. Zhao gained considerable strength from the military reforms initiated during the reign of King Wuling , but suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Qin at the Battle of Changping . Its territory included areas in the modern provinces of Inner Mongolia , Hebei , Shanxi and Shaanxi . It bordered the states of Qin, Wei, and Yan , as well as various nomadic peoples including

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1298-534: The Chinese states and tactics of the steppe nomads, Zhao's cavalry became a powerful force. As a result, the newly empowered Zhao were more evenly matched with their greatest threat, Qi. Zhao demonstrated its increased military prowess by conquering the state of Zhongshan in 295 BC after a protracted war and annexing territory from the neighbouring states of Wei, Yan, and Qin. During this time, Zhao cavalry also occasionally intruded into Qi during latter campaigns against Chu . Several brilliant military commanders of

1357-511: The Qin army captured him and defeated his forces at Dai. A rebel named Wu Chen , following the example of Chen Sheng and Wu Guang in Chu , proclaimed himself King of Zhao. Wu was later killed by his subordinate Li Liang ( 李良 ), Zhang Er ( 張耳 ) and Chen Yu ( 陳餘 ), former officials of Zhao, created the Zhao royal Zhao Xie ( 趙歇 ) as King of Zhao. In 206 BC, the rebel lord Xiang Yu of Chu defeated

1416-526: The Song dynasty's defeat at Yongle City during the war with the Western Xia on poor, glory-oriented leadership, while presenting himself as the "savior of the dynasty". As the conservative leader, he headed his coalition to demote reformist leaders to lowly prefectural -level posts (while promoting conservatives into high positions and, one by one, abolished many of the New Policies. He also wanted to combine

1475-462: The Song dynasty's problems, factions developed around how to solve these issues. Conservatives like Sima Guang advocated for a smaller government budget and gradual reform. As such, Sima opposed the New Policies of Wang Anshi , which increased government authority and spending. Sima argued that more state revenue would mean less money for farmers and that the government was immoral for competing with merchants. Somewhat counterintuitively, he emphasized

1534-429: The administrator of Chenzhou . Zhang Dun continued to resist and pointed out Sima's hypocrisy regarding the law: in early 1086, Sima said that rich households were harmed by the law, while just 14 days later he said that rich households benefitted from their preferential treatment under the law. Zhang also criticized Sima's demand to abolish the law country-wide in a mere 5 days. Indeed, Sima was impressed when Cai Jing ,

1593-493: The aforementioned policies, became a method of revenue extraction. Conservative opposition to this policy was unified and Fan Chunren, the son of Fan Zhongyan , was the only dissenter. His argument that the law could boost the dynasty's base revenue annoyed Sima Guang and he was only saved by Wang Yansou's intervention. This incident revealed the deepening divisions within Sima's coalition that would exacerbate after his death. Following

1652-442: The bloodiest battle of the entire period, the Battle of Changping in 260 BC. Zhao's forces were utterly defeated by Qin. Although the forces of Wei and Chu saved Handan from a subsequent siege by the victorious Qin, Zhao would never recover from the enormous loss of troops in the battle. In 229 BC, invasions led by the Qin general Wang Jian were resisted by Li Mu and his subordinate officer Sima Shang ( 司馬尚 ) until 228 BC. Li Mu

1711-457: The capital as tribute. Other texts also discussed these regional differences in culture and physical environment. One such text was Wuzi (The Book of Master Wu), a military treatise of the Warring States, written in response to a request from Marquis Wu of Wei for advice on how to deal with the other states. Wu Qi , to whom work is attributed, explained that the government and nature of

1770-529: The conservative faction. Sima was an old and tired man in Luoyang and was reluctant to return to the capital, but Cheng Hao convinced him to do so. When Sima arrived in Kaifeng , a large crowd swarmed to touch his horse, and palace guardsmen saluted him as "Prime Minister Sima". He encouraged people to openly express their grievances about the New Policies. Sima was soon made chief councilor by Empress Dowager Gao ,

1829-478: The conservative restoration of 1085. However, Sima was not restored to power following the unpopular Wang's retirement in 1076 since Shenzong took personal control over the New Policies. Cai Que , a semi-reformist leader, blocked Sima's re-appointment to power despite the failure of the war against the Western Xia . Cai nonetheless ingratiated him to the influential Sima by appointing Sima's disciple, Xing Shu , as

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1888-567: The death. To defeat them, we must concentrate large numbers of troops in our attacks to present them with certain peril. When they counterattack, we must be prepared to defend our positions vigorously and make them pay dearly. When they retreat, we must pursue and give them no rest. This will grind them down. There are two opinions about the representing star of Zhao in Chinese astronomy . The opinions are : Sima Guang Sima Guang (17 November 1019 – 11 October 1086), courtesy name Junshi ,

1947-399: The dynasty. Sima criticized the system's detracting from agricultural productivity and its potential for creating bandits. Wang Yansou criticized the unnecessary brutality of the system. In mid-1085, an imperial edict abolished the system in the capital and its surrounding areas, with more restrictions imposed on this system in the following months. Reformist opposition to the system's abolition

2006-429: The established agencies cornered the market in staple goods and became focused on generating revenue. Throughout 1085, executive orders forgave debt owed to the agencies and abolished loan bureaus before abolishing the law altogether. This signaled the turning point for the reformist-conservative conflict. The labor recruitment law replaced corvée labor with professional laborers funded by service exemption fees paid by

2065-461: The following one and a half decades. Contemporary accounts relate that, in order to work more and sleep less when he was writing his great opus, the Zizhi Tongjian, he had a wooden pillow made from a log that was designed to slip from under his head whenever he rolled over. He called this Jingzhen 警枕 (Alert Pillow), and used it throughout the period of Zizhi Tongjian 's compilation. Sima rejected

2124-635: The government more effective and argued that his views were in accord with history (in contrast with Wang Anshi 's emphasis on the Classics ) and Heaven-and-Earth . A static and well-maintained country would, according to him, last forever. Accordingly, he disliked commercial growth (which he believed encouraged social change) and preferred a recommendation-based imperial examination system. Rulers were supposed to only determine official assignments, reward achievement, punish failure, care about their servants, have good morals, and be immune to outside influence. On

2183-545: The government under Emperor Zhezong of Song . He used this time in power to repeal many of the New Policies , but he died the following year, in 1086. His death fractured the conservative coalition, which split into the Shuo ( Hebei ) faction, the Luo ( Henan ) faction, and the Shu ( Sichuan ) faction. This ushered in a period of political gridlock from 1086 to 1093. As well as his achievements as

2242-603: The mayor of Kaifeng , was the only one who abolished the law in under 5 days. 21 days after Cai Que resigned, Zhang Dun was demoted to a prefectural-level post after offending Empress Gao during a debate. In spring 1086, Wang Anshi died. The conservative restoration was complete. Nonetheless, the debate over how to remove the labor recruitment law revealed cracks in the conservative coalition. For example, Su Che (and many other conservatives who were typically closely aligned with Sima) argued that "an entire system could not be abolished overnight without serious repercussions" and that

2301-401: The next several years in official positions. Sima believed that civilization was created when the sage kings transformed humans from their original animal state using hierarchical order, property rights, moral instruction, and penal law. He believed that the problem with government was not in its structure, but rather in the people that ran it. He wrote multiple memorials detailing how to make

2360-566: The office but continued to accept Sima's counsel. By 1070, Sima was part of the Hanlin Academy , the Bureau of Military Affairs , and the Council of State . Frustrated with Wang Anshi's dominance over court and despite Shenzong's urging for him to stay, Sima retired to Luoyang in 1071, which would become the center of the conservative opposition. This made Wang largely unopposed in government. Sima

2419-620: The people are linked to the physical environment and territory in which they live. Of Zhao, he said: The two states of Han and Zhao train their troops rigorously but have difficulty in applying their skills to the battlefield. Han and Zhao are states of the Central Plain. Theirs are a gentle people, weary from war and experienced in arms, but have little regard for their generals. The soldiers' salaries are meager and their officers have no strong commitment to their countries. Although their troops are experienced, they cannot be expected to fight to

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2478-643: The period served Zhao contemporaneously, including Lian Po , Zhao She , and Li Mu . Lian Po was instrumental in defending Zhao against Qin. Zhao She was most active in the east, leading the invasion of Yan . Li Mu defended Zhao against the Xiongnu in the Zhao–Xiongnu War and later against Qin. By the end of the Warring States period, Zhao was the only state strong enough to oppose the mighty Qin . An alliance with Wei against Qin began in 287 BC, but ended in defeat at Huayang in 273 BC. The struggle then culminated in

2537-429: The plot: on the false advice of disloyal court officials and Qin infiltrators, he ordered Li Mu's execution and relieved Sima Shang of his duties. Li Mu's replacement, Zhao Cong, was promptly defeated by Wang Jian. Qin captured King Youmiu and defeated Zhao in 228 BC. Prince Jia, half-brother of King Qian, was proclaimed King Jia at Dai and led the last Zhao forces against the Qin. This regime lasted until 222 BC, when

2596-446: The protracted, expensive, and ultimately disappointing war against the Western Xia , the conservatives wanted to appease the Western Xia for peace. The concession of Lanzhou to the Xia was highly controversial and, along with 4 fortresses that were ostensibly ceded to Xia, remained a source of border tension for the following decades. The official truce was signed in 1089 and was broken by

2655-526: The regent for Emperor Zhezong and herself a staunch conservative. He and other recalled conservatives like Su Shi , Su Che , Cheng Yi , Cheng Hao , Wang Yansou , Fan Chunren , Wen Yanbo , and Lü Gongzhu formed the Yuanyou faction, named after the current era . Sima made ad hominem denunciations against Wang Anshi, saying: "[Wang] was self-satisfied and self-righteous, and considered himself to be unparalleled by figures past and present." Sima also blamed

2714-411: The richest rural households. Similar to the market exchange law, this law primarily became a method for revenue extraction. Sima argued that the law was simply another tax imposed on the commoners. Cai Que's refusal to remove the labor recruitment law led to his character assassination by the conservatives Liu Chi and Su Che; this pushed him to resign as chancellor of the right and he was reappointed as

2773-449: The roles of the dynastic cycle and Five Phases in legitimizing dynastic succession. For Sima, dynastic succession was instead a result of power struggles; dynasties rose and fell according to consistent factors. He believed that history was a "mirror" for the present and could provide the government with historical context for their current situation. Literati could thus use history as an aid to governance. His histories are structured in

2832-471: The same year, Sima sponsored Su Zhe for a special decree examination . Emperor Shenzong promoted Sima to chief censor in late 1067. He opposed Shenzong's irridentism and favored a defensive stance towards the Uyghurs , Tibetans , Western Xia , and Liao dynasty . Sima hoped that the "barbarians" would commend the Song dynasty's good government. Since the end of the Qingli Reforms in 1045 did not end

2891-571: The unifying role of the emperor more than the reformists; he wanted the emperor to manage the bureaucracy and control officials with rewards and punishments, while the reformists wanted to implement new policies for new problems. In response to Emperor Shenzong of Song appointing him as head of the new Office of Expenditure Reduction, Sima released a scathing report that criticized the oversized bureaucracy, imperial extravagance, and an inefficient army and which called for imperial discussion rather than offering specific solutions. Shenzong quickly dissolved

2950-450: Was divided between three powerful ministers, one of whom was Zhao Xiangzi , patriarch of the Zhao family. In 403 BC, the Zhou king formally recognised the existence of the Zhao state along with two other states, Han and Wei. Some historians, beginning with Sima Guang , take this recognition to mark the beginning of the Warring States period. At the beginning of the Warring States period, Zhao

3009-592: Was a Chinese historian, politician, and writer. He was a high-ranking Song dynasty scholar-official who authored the Zizhi Tongjian , a monumental work of history. Sima was a political conservative who opposed the reforms of Wang Anshi . Sima Guang was named after Guang Prefecture , his birthplace, and where his father Sima Chi ( 司馬池 ) served as a county magistrate . The Sima family were originally from Xia County in Shǎn Prefecture , and claimed descent from

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3068-412: Was a major victory for Qi, reducing the threat to Zhao's southern border. Zhao remained relatively weak until the military reforms of King Wuling of Zhao (325–299 BC). Zhao soldiers were ordered to dress like their Hu neighbours and to replace war chariots with cavalry archers ( 胡服骑射 ; 胡服騎射 ; húfúqíshè ). This reform proved to be a brilliant and pragmatic strategy. With the advanced technology of

3127-542: Was disturbed by the New Policy's control over the dynasty's people and resources. Sima had multiple objections to the New Policies. He believed that: Sima retired in Luoyang from 1071 to 1085. While there, he wrote the Zizhi Tongjian and cultivated friendships with Shao Yong , Cheng Yi , and Cheng Hao . Massive famines and droughts fueled resentment towards Wang Anshi and garnered support for Sima, contributing to

3186-577: Was identical throughout. In the Yu Gong (Tribute of Yu) chapter of the Book of Documents – probably written in the 4th century BC – China is described as divided into nine regions, each with its own distinctive peoples and products. The central theme of this section is that these nine regions are unified into one state through the travels of the eponymous sage, Yu the Great , and the sending of each region's unique goods to

3245-462: Was invited to the palace to introduce his work-in-progress to Emperor Shenzong of Song . The new emperor not only confirmed the interest his father had shown, but showed his favor by bestowing an imperial preface in which he changed the title from Tongzhi ("Comprehensive Records") to Zizhi Tongjian ("Comprehensive Mirror to Aid in Government"). Scholars interpret the "Mirror" of the title to denote

3304-521: Was killed by Han forces. Liu Bang gave the state of Zhao to Zhang Er. In 154 BC, an unrelated Zhao , led by Prince of Zhao Liu Sui ( 劉遂 ), participated in the unsuccessful Rebellion of the Seven States ( Chinese : 七國之亂 ) against the newly installed sixth emperor of the Han dynasty . Before Qin Shi Huang unified China in 221 BC, each region had its own customs and culture, although elite culture

3363-469: Was one of the finest generals of the Warring States period, and although he was unable to defeat Wang Jian (also one of the best generals of the period), Wang Jian was unable to make any headway. The invasion ended in a stalemate. The Qin emperor, Qin Shihuang , realised that he needed to get rid of Li Mu in order to conquer Zhao, and tried to sow discord among the Zhao leadership. The Zhao king Youmiu fell for

3422-484: Was one of the weaker states. Despite its extensive territory, its northern border was frequently harassed by the Eastern Hu , Forest Hu, Loufan , Xiongnu , and other northern nomadic peoples. Zhao lacked the military might of Wei or the wealth of Qi, and became a pawn in the struggle between them. This struggle came to a head in 354 BC when Wei invaded Zhao, forcing Zhao to seek help from Qi. The resulting Battle of Guiling

3481-559: Was weak and primarily logistical rather than ideological. Zhang Dun's call for moderate abolition was reasonable considering the shock that followed the rapid abolishment of the Baojia system. The equal tax law was a system of land evaluation and taxation that was probably the most successful of the New Policies. The law was removed with little opposition in late 1085. The market exchange law established government monopolies that were intended to buy cheap products and sell dear products. However,

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