在中国历史发展中,北宋至明中叶,是中国封建社会的繁荣与鼎盛时期。这个时期,科学技术的发展仍处于世界领先地位,火药、指南针、活字印刷等技术成果得到了广泛运用。农民与手工业者的人身依附关系比以前松驰;在明代,大部分奴婢获得了人身自由。农业生产有了一定发展,但由于地主阶级特别是大官僚地主的残酷剥削,广大劳动人民的生活仍然十分贫困。封建社会的基本矛盾日趋 In the historical development of China, the Northern Song Dynasty to the mid-Ming Dynasty was the prosperity and heyday of China’s feudal society. During this period, the development of science and technology was still in a leading position in the world. The technical achievements such as gunpowder, compass and movable type printing were widely used. The attachment of peasants and handicraftsmen was more relaxed than before; in the Ming Dynasty, most of the slaves enjoyed personal freedom. Agricultural production has made some progress. However, due to the brutal exploitation of the landlord class, especially the big bureaucratic landlords, the working-class life of the vast majority of working people remains extremely poor. The basic contradictions in feudal society are becoming more and more frequent