The Relationship Between Imperial Power and Phantom Power in The Song Dynasty from A Psychological Point of View

Abstract

From 221 B.C., when Emperor Qin Shi Huang claimed the title of Emperor, to 1911, when the Xinhai Revolution overthrew the Qing Dynasty, the period of feudal empire in China lasted more than two thousand years. To consolidate their rule, emperors of all dynasties continued to strengthen the centralization of power and put as much power as possible into their own hands. Therefore, during the two thousand years from the Qin to the Qing Dynasty, the centralization of China’s imperial autocracy was constantly strengthening. As an essential period in China’s history, the Song Dynasty profoundly impacted the later generations of society in all aspects of politics, economy, and culture. The relationship between imperial and relative power in the Song Dynasty has been a point of endless debate among scholars of later generations. In recent years, with the continuous development of psychohistory, more historians have begun to pay attention to more internal development. This paper combines historiography and psychology, exploring the inner of the emperor himself to conclude the relationship between imperial power and relative power in the Song Dynasty.