The four major centers of engraving in the Song Dynasty were Kaifeng, Hangzhou, Lin 'an, and Jianyang.

In the Song Dynasty, there were three major centers of book engraving, namely Hangzhou, Chengdu, and Jianyang. Hangzhou was the center of the engraving printing industry in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and was considered the most important center of book engraving. Chengdu was the main area where Shu books were carved, mainly with grand and simple Yan characters. Jianyang was the center of Jianben's engraving, and its font style was between Yan and Liu. These three centers played an important role in the development of the printing industry in the Song Dynasty.
The four great calligraphers of the Song Dynasty were Su Shi, Huang Tingjian, Mi Fu, and Cai Xiang. These four calligraphers represented the highest achievements of calligraphy in the Northern Song Dynasty. They each had their own unique calligraphy style and characteristics. Su Shi was good at running script and regular script. His strokes were vigorous and natural. Huang Tingjian's calligraphy works were elegant, vigorous, and hearty. Mi Fu had a weird personality, he liked to wear traditional Chinese clothes and was obsessed with cleanliness. His calligraphy style was bold and lively. Cai Xiang was also very accomplished in calligraphy, but there was controversy. Some people thought that it should have been Cai Jing and not Cai Xiang. In general, the works of these four calligraphers represented the style of calligraphy in the Song Dynasty, and their achievements were highly praised by later generations.
Official engraving, private engraving, and workshop engraving were the three major systems of ancient book engraving. Official engraving referred to the book engraving activities funded or hosted by the central and local governments. It originated from Feng Dao's engraving of the Nine Classics during the Five Dynasties. Privately carved books generally referred to officials, scholars, and squires, as well as monasteries, Taoist temples, and family ancestral halls. The workshop engraving referred to the book shop merchants engraving books, their purpose was to sell and profit. Among these three types of book engraving, besides the workshop engraving, the other two did not aim for profit, or only pursued a small profit. The classification system of official engraving, private engraving, and workshop engraving first appeared in Ye Dehui's "Book Forest Qinghua" and was widely used in the research and classification of ancient book engraving.
Engraving and carving both had the meaning of carving and remembering. " Engraving " emphasized on being deeply engraved in one's heart. It could be used for abstract things, such as memories, emotions, and so on. It could also be used for specific things, such as engraving certain deeds in the long river of history." Engraving " mainly focused on using carving tools to carve words, patterns, and so on on hard objects. It was more about specific carving actions and behaviors, such as engraving names on stone tablets. The novel " The Name Engraved in the Stars of Destiny " is equally exciting. Everyone is welcome to click and read it!
The four capitals of the Northern Song Dynasty were Kaifeng Prefecture in Tokyo, Henan Prefecture in the Western Capital, Yingtian Prefecture in Nanjing, and Daming Prefecture in Beijing.
The four capitals of the Northern Song Dynasty were Kaifeng Prefecture in Tokyo, Henan Prefecture in the Western Capital, Yingtian Prefecture in Nanjing, and Daming Prefecture in Beijing.
The four great masterpieces of the Song Dynasty were Water Margins, Journey to the West, Dream of the Red Chamber, and Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The Water Margins described the story of 108 uprising heroes, depicting their heroic deeds against the ruling class. The Journey to the West described the journey of Sun Wukong and the other demons, as well as the journey of Tang Sanzang and the others to the Western Paradise to obtain Buddhist scriptures. 'Dream of the Red Chamber' depicted the love story of Jia Baoyu, Lin Daiyu, and others, as well as the decline of feudal society. Romance of the Three Kingdoms described the struggles between various forces and the heroic deeds of heroes during the Three Kingdoms period.
The four great writers of the Northern Song Dynasty were Su Shi, Su Xun, Su Zhe, and Wang Anshi. They were known as the "Four Scholars of Su School". They were famous in the history of literature for their profound literary foundation and unique artistic style.
The four great essayists of the Northern Song Dynasty were Su Xun, Su Shi, Su Zhe, and Wang Anshi.