介绍:
It was during the 1270s, when Italian merchant Marco Polo, the most celebrated western explorer on the Silk Road, travelled to Hangzhou, the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty.
Once he arrived, this wide-travelled trader was beguiled by the prosperity, refinement and magnificence of this Chinese Watertown and was not chary of praising this "finest and most splendid city in the world" later in his great travelogue.
However, as Marco Polo's words and memory have been gradually obliterated through time, the Tang Dynasty, instead of Song, has been generally recognized as the golden age in Chinese history.
But Chen Zhou, a history graduate from Peking University, voices her retort.
"In fact, compared with the Tang Dynasty, the secular culture during the Song period was much more developed. Particularly after the abolishment of Lifang, an urban planning system that separated residential areas with marketplace, the commerce, mundane life and mass entertainment of Chinese people had been improved tremendously. "
Her latest book, The Time Traveler's Guide to the Song Dynasty, or in Chinese, 'Chuan Yue Bai Shi Tong: Song Chao Bu Ke Bu Zhi De Li Shi Xi Jie', is a fitting testimony for her claim. Instead of emphasizing on the merits and vices of emperors and intellectuals, like most of todays' history books do, Chen Zhou focuses on the lifestyle of ordinary folks, such as Cuju, the most flourishing sport of that time and the earliest form of football games.
"Compared with modern football, Cuju is far less competitive. It's a kind of performance or stage show. On the field, two groups of contestants would mimick the movements of vaudeville. The game was always played at the royal court to entertain ministers and foreign envoys. Of course, the game was popular among the common people as well. There was even a club named 'Qi Yun She', which was the equivalent of today's football association. "
Browsing through pages, readers may be surprised by those less-known facts being present. For example, men could wear flora headdress without being questioned about their masculinity. Unmarried women actually enjoyed equal right of inheritence with their male siblings. While the term "Xiang Gong" (相公),which is frequently heard in period dramas as the appellation of husband, was in fact exclusive to chancellors during the Song Dynasty.
The writer says she has no intension to drown readers into the depth of history, but rather, to showcase the diversity and fun of those long-gone days.
"As a time traveler, when you embrace a new social life, food, clothing, housing and transportation will become your priorities. Then things like social engagement and entertainment should be taken into account, which are the advanced demands in life. "
Written in a humorous yet meticulous manner, "The Time Traveler's Guide to the Song Dynasty" flicks off the cobwebs and dust of history and connects the dots between the past and present. Here you will know how a recipe invented by literary giant Su Dongpo has overturned people's dietary habit and why the ways of drinking tea could affect the development of Chinese porcelain industry.
As a fierce history lover, the author admits that compared with other periods of Chinese history, Song is a vulnerable dynasty in terms of its military might and political sophistication, but its impact should not be overlooked.
"When you look at the history of the Song Dynasty, the relationships among the intellectuals was not hostile as we expect. Although they may not share the same political opinion at the court, people of that time respected the personality and knowledge of each other. In my opinion, it was an open, inclusive and lively society."
As renowned British historian Joseph Needham once commented that China during the Song period was "frequently superior to anything which Europe could show", after reading Chen Zhou's "The Time Traveler's Guide to the Song Dynasty", you may feel the same way.
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