The Fragility of Peace
Song China's Northwestern Frontier and Erosion of the Chanyuan Paradigm in the Mid-Eleventh Century
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21877892 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Paul Jakov Smith (0000-0001-5295-6272, Haverford College, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 9 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 112-140 |
| Publication date | 2025-01-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Chinese History (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2059-1632 • E-ISSN: 2059-1640 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/jch.2023.18 |
| OpenAlex | W4386440986 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 10 |
The Chanyuan Covenant of 1005 that ended decades of war between Song and Liao precipitated a new political model that, from the Song perspective, exchanged wealth, territory, and dynastic pride in return for peace along the northern frontier, civilian sovereignty over a long-dominant military class, and the replacement of a culture of arms with the love of books. That “Chanyuan Paradigm” survived the Qingli war of 1040–1044 with the Tangut Xi Xia, but was steadily overturned in the expansionist wars promoted by Shenzong and his sons from 1068 through the fall of the Northern Song in 1127. This article argues that the fragility of the Chanyuan-style peace did not stem from the aspirations of a revanchist emperor and his confidantes, but was rather the consequence of the intrinsic difficulties of maintaining peace in a world of new players, internecine political contests, and shifting geopolitical alliances that characterized the mid-eleventh century
Ancient history · China · Covenant · Diplomacy · Economic history · Eleventh · Expansionism · Frontier · Geopolitics · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Sovereignty · Asian Studies and History · Chinese history and philosophy · Eurasian Exchange Networks · History · Law
Structures of Governance in Song Dynasty China, 960–1279 CE
Warfare in Chinese History
From War to Diplomatic Parity in Eleventh-Century China
The Reunification of China
Emperor Huizong and Late Northern Song China
Recent Japanese Scholarship on the Multi-State Order in East Eurasia from the Tenth to Thirteenth Centuries
Land and People
A Crisis in the Literati State
Order, Culture, and Local Administration on the Northern Border
Tsongkha History and Historiography
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |