本书根据著名历史学家邓广铭在北京大学授课时的讲义编写。内容包括：辽宋的先后建国及其对立与斗争；第十一世纪的宋帝国；辽与北宋的衰亡和女真族的崛兴与建国；南宋与金的对立和斗争；宋代的国民经济；宋代的文化。(This book edits the renowned historian Deng Guangming's lecture notes when he was teaching at Peking University, including such topics as: the successive establishment, rivalry and conflict of Liao and Song; the Song Empire in the eleventh century; the decline of Song and Liao and the simultaneous rise and state-building of the Jurchen; the rivalry and conflict of Southern Song and Jin; the Song national economy; the culture of Song. )