As a dynasty with a highly developed commodity economy and a highly developed commodity economy, the Song Dynasty’s economic prosperity has been talked about a lot. But why are you so rich? Specifically, there are three reasons that are very important.

The first thing that must be acknowledged is that the Song Dynasty had good luck in founding the country.

For dynasties other than the Song Dynasty, such as the Han Dynasty, Tang Dynasty, Ming Dynasty and Qing Dynasty, the first major problem after the founding of the country was to face a dilapidated country that was waiting to be revitalized. But the Song Dynasty took advantage of this aspect. Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin, who was originally a minister of the Later Zhou Dynasty, ascended to the throne in a yellow robe without any bloodshed. Not only did he not suffer serious losses such as bloodshed in battles, but the Later Zhou Dynasty, which had been painstakingly managed for several generations, left him an initially prosperous country. The difficult reforms carried out by Emperor Shizong of the Later Zhou Dynasty made the country's economy stabilize. At that time, various separatist regimes during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, such as the Later Shu and the Southern Tang Dynasty, were all famous for their economic prosperity, and they almost surrendered without bloodshed, and almost all their good properties were taken over by the Song Dynasty.

So it is no exaggeration to say that if Liu Bang and Zhu Yuanzhang saw the great family fortune that was the founding of the Song Dynasty, they would probably be so envious that their eyes would fall down. It is precisely because of this family fortune that the economic production and construction after the founding of the Song Dynasty was much less difficult than that of the Han, Tang, and Ming dynasties, and it was natural for them to get rich faster.

But although the founding of the Song Dynasty was a big bargain, there were just as many cases of taking advantage and defeating the country in all dynasties. What is commendable about the Song Dynasty is that he made good use of this family fortune. One bright spot in particular is that technology comes first.

As a dynasty with highly developed industry and commerce, the Song Dynasty did not neglect agriculture. However, compared to other dynasties that focused on the land tax system, the Song Dynasty focused on the technical field. Especially during the Zhenzong period of the Song Dynasty, the state concentrated its power on many occasions to improve farm tools and rice seeds, and even used the palace's jewelry to introduce new rice seeds from Tianzhu and Champa. It was during this era that three-season rice, which was harvested three times a year, was launched. Therefore, when the Song Dynasty developed into the Song Zhenzong era, its agricultural output value had already surpassed that of the prosperous Tang Dynasty by more than three times, making it a truly wealthy dynasty.

The most important thing is the development philosophy of the Song Dynasty: other dynasties regarded agriculture as the foundation, but the Song Dynasty regarded industry and commerce as a growth point.

Since Song Taizu ascended the throne, the Northern Song Dynasty has attached great importance to industry and commerce, especially overseas trade. During the Northern Song Dynasty's war to pacify the south, whenever a coastal port was captured, the first thing to do was to restore the Shipping Department. Even from the time of Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty, the Song Dynasty built more giant ships and sent envoys to various countries in Southeast Asia to attract investment. This is in sharp contrast to the isolation of the country in a later dynasty. Even the coastal officials of the Song Dynasty had tasks, and the number of foreign merchant ships they recruited must be included in their performance assessment.

Under this concept, the overseas trade of the Song Dynasty developed prosperously, and the Song Dynasty benefited greatly from it. There were as many as twenty-seven countries that had trade relations with the Song Dynasty during the two Song Dynasties, and The Song Dynasty used its absolute advantage in the silk and porcelain trade in exchange for overseas wealth. A large number of Chinese porcelains have been unearthed from archaeological sites in East African countries. This also means that the Maritime Silk Road was the golden trade route of the Song Dynasty at that time.

Even on financial issues, even the dim-witted Emperor Gaozong of the Song Dynasty was more knowledgeable than the emperors of the Ming Dynasty. Song Gaozong himself once said that the wealth earned through overseas trade is enough to support the national finance, so why bother making money from agriculture? Although the Song Dynasty's military strategy was seriously unintelligent, its concepts in making money did far surpass those of many dynasties.

The development of science, correct ideas, and the good luck at the founding of the country, the prosperity of the Song Dynasty mainly came from these three reasons. Even for the development of any country, the Song Dynasty's economic success is an experience worth learning!