Research On Southern Song Dynasty Imperial Guards

Before made changes in the military laws during the years of Xifeng in NorthSung Dynasty, the implementation of alternate garrison and the establishment oflocal custodian guard strengthened the local military forces. But on the other hand,this also affected the ideology “internal armies interact with external ones” and“strengthen the central forces and weaken the local ones”. With the implementationof the law, the custodian guard divided into two parts: custodian guard with generaland custodian guard without general. In this way, the monarch and his subjects ofNorth Sung were in interaction with each other. Otherwise, the armies’ officers werelazy in training. Besides, military affairs and affairs of state were disorganized andemperor Huizong did not know how to make proper use of personnel, which madethe quality of the custodian guard with general and custodian guard without general.In this point of view the state had difficulty in expanding boundary and localgovernments were difficult to keep peace relying on the custodian guard. Until theEvent of Jingkang, the custodian guard suffered a crushing defeat, and routed troopsbecame robbers, leaving a legacy of trouble to local places.As he had witnessed themiserable situation of the local people being harmed by the robbers turned from thecustodian guards,Emperor Gaozong of Sung established Yuying Army without theinterfere of chinscie to manage both the army and the government, the custodianguards had a little fighting power, as some of them were defeated and dispersed,some were in the Yuying Army, so that they could be well managed by Shuaichen ofall the branches of the custodian guards. Since then, it was made clear from the lawthat the custodian guards with generals and the ones without generals all belongedto the local military during the period of the Southern Sung dynasty. But at that time,the residual custodian guards with generals from the branches of Xihe, Qinfeng,Shanxi and Hedong were led by Wujie, they played an important role at the front lineof the fighting against Jin Dynasty, In the fifth year of Shaoxing, the army led byWujie were in Xingying troops, which marked that the position as the nationalstanding army of the custodian guards was replaced by Tunzhu common soldier. Although some custodian guards with generals were put under Three Official fromthen on, the legal status of the custodian guards as the local army specially was notchanged. During the Southern Sung Dynasty, the custodian guards were no longerthe formal garrison of the nation, because both of the reasons in military and politics.But the value of the existing of the custodian guards was primarily its militaryfunction.The custodian guards played an important role in keeping local places inorder. Besides, as an armed force they also fought with other countries. Thecustodian guard interacted with many coexisting local armies and the formal armies,which well proved the global significance of its military function for the imperialcourt. At that time, lots of local armed forces were denounced by manyscholar-bureaucrats. They also put forward some doubt about the existence of theimperial guards. This would have to take into account of the factors influencing theimperial guards to display its military function during Southern SungDynasty.However, the everlasting existence of imperial guards during the wholeSouthern Sung Dynasty was the best footnote of its status.