On the context that leads to Wang Anshi’s New Policies in the Northern Song dynasty

Abstract

Historically, Wang Anshi’s New Policies was named after his reformed initiative that was conducted between 1069 and 1085 under the reign of Song Shenzong Emperor in China. This is one of the important reforms of the Song dynasty as well as in the history of feudal China. At that time, the Northern Song dynasty, after about 100 years of establishment, faced many internal and external challenges that led to the decline of national power. That context created an urgent need to carry out reforms to save thedynasty from the danger of collapse. This study focuses on analyzing the internal and external circumstancesthat were responsible for the Northern Song Court's reformed policies that were promoted by Wang Anshi.