The Study On The Captive Policy Of The Song Dynasty

Captives are those who were captured by or were forced to surrender to the other side during the wartime. As a special class of human being, the captives existed in each historical periods and each has different destiny. In Song Dynasty, the government was troubled by invasions of various enemies as well as domestic uprisings and mutinies. As a result, a large amount of people with different status was capture by Song government. It became an important job to deal with these captives for the country.Proceeding from the previous stipulation, the Song government had formulated the ritual of offering captives. Through this kind of military salute ceremony, the government publicized its national prestige. The place of offering captive ritual was unfixed, as well as the attending staff. According to the status of the captives, the degree of this ceremony was varied. When holding the ritual, the government would reward the soldiers who captured the captives. It was scarcely to kill captives after the ritual of offering captives.There were plenty of detailed regulations on how to disposal captives during the wartime. These regulations, along with the reward standard, enriched the content of the military law. From the experience of previous dynasties, the Song government, according to the political situation, adopted flexible methods to disposal captives.Appropriate policies, accelerated the process of unity in the early Northern Sony Dynasty, and stabled the social order of the new occupied areas. In addition to this, there were a portion of talents found from the captives. Besides, it is a proper way to improve the relationship between Song government and other countries by exchange captives.Meanwhile, some captives were still abused even killed in Song Dynasty. These uncivilized phenomenons could be used as strategy and tactics by the government to maintain its domination. Nevertheless, the action of mass killings on captives had been rare throughout Song Dynasty. This was a reflection of Song Dynasty governing the country by Confucianism and enlightened policy.