He was a spokesman of the south who was a democratic leader
song dynasty in china had two parts: first part was the "north song" dynasty. it ruled most of china n time was good. it followed long time of civil wars n ppl were tired of wars. so the emperor consolidated his power n ruled over a large n stable empire.
but it grew weak n was attacked by enemies from north. it lost most of its northern territories n ruled only southern china. it was called the "south song" dynasty. due to limited resources, time was tough. it had to maintain a large army to protect against the north which required heavy taxation of ppl.
Since there was a rise of Chinese national spirit at that time, the foreign imports were reduced, but merchants exported many goods and the Ming dynasty was one of the biggest traders in the world, if not the biggest. This period is known as one of the three golden ages of China.
It reinforced segregation and discrimination