宋朝出现了士大夫与天子“共治天下”的政治思潮和政治局面。这一政治现象的出现,在政治、经济、思想文化上都有着深刻的时代背景。在宋朝,“君权神授”观念淡薄,儒学复兴、政治文化回向“三代”,庞大的科举出身士大夫群体崛起,政治文化政策宽松与“以天下为己任”士风盛行,士大夫与天子“共治天下”政治制度架构基本形成。正是在这一时代背景下,宋朝不但兴起了士大夫与天子“共治天下”的政治思潮,而且出现了士大夫与天子“共治天下”的政治局面。

In the Song Dynasty, there emerged the political trend of thought and the political situation concerning the co-governance over the country (共治天下) by the emperor and the scholar-officials. The emergence of this political phenomenon had a profound epochal background in politics, economy, ideology and culture. In the Song Dynasty, the view of “divine right of emperors” (君权神授) was weak, Confucianism was revived, political culture “was restored as it was in the Xia (夏), Shang (商) and Zhou (周) Dynasties”, there arose a large batch of scholar-officials from the imperial examinations, political and cultural policies were loosened and the scholars' morality to “serve the country as their own responsibility” prevailed, and the framework of the political system with the co-governance over the country by the emperor and the scholar-officials was basically formed. It was just under this epochal background that there arose the political trend of thought and the political situation about the co-governance over the country by the emperor and the scholar-officials in the Song Dynasty.