並列摘要
Basing upon the writings of Sung scholars the writer attempts to trace the development of the military service of the Sung Empire from sources other than the Military Section of the History of the Sung Dynasty (宋史兵志). Characteristics and the course of evolution of the service are discussed without duplicating the History. Reviewing the categories of armies-the central army, local army, country troops, foreign legions, etc.,-discussions on their interrelationships and shifts of main forces are more emphasized than on the descriptions of organization, units and stations. Regarding the volunteer forces and paochia (保甲), their legal basis, origin and impacts are treated as more essential than the citation of statutes. With this fresh approach the writer has arrived at the following conclusions: (1) Northern Sung's military service was initiated by Emperor T'ai Tsu (太祖 960-976) and corrupted during the reign of Emperor Chen Tsung (眞宗 998-1023) and Jen Tsung (仁宗 1023-1064). Although there were some improvements by Emperor Shen Tsung (神宗 1068-1086), the service was again ruined in the time of Emperors Hui Tsung (徽宗 1101-1126) and Ch'in Tsung (欽宗 1126-27). (2) The service inititated by T'ai Tsu was considered by the people of Sung as most practical for that dynasty. The blames on the supernumerary recruitment and high percentage of infirm soldiers should be attributed to deterioration of service, rather than to the service itself. (3)The deterioration of service invited serious border troubles while the frequency of clashes further weakened the service. Thus a vicious circle was formed. (4) Two kinds of people were responsible for the worsening changes in service: the civil officials and emperor's escorting eunuchs. When the former had power over the government, the spirit of military service was destroyed. When the latter got the upper hand of all levels in the court, the service was destroyed both in spirit and in form.