Description

3 Cash Daguan 3rd era of Huizong 1107-1110 the 8th emperor of the Song Dynasty from 1100 to 1126 China ancient Bronze coins (G*53LM)

 The Song dynasty was an era of Chinese history that began in 960 and  continued until 1279. It succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period , and was  followed by the Yuan dynasty. It was the first government in  world history to nationally issue banknotes or true paper money, and the first  Chinese government to establish a permanent standing navy . This dynasty also  saw the first known use of gunpowder , as well as the first discernment of true north using acompass .

The Song dynasty is divided into two distinct periods: the Northern Song and  Southern Song. During the Northern Song (Chinese: 北宋, 960–1127), the Song capital was in the  northern city of Bianjing (now Kaifeng ), and the dynasty controlled most of inner China . The Southern Song(Chinese: 南宋, 1127–1279) refers to the period after  the Song lost control of northern China to the Jin dynasty in the Jin–Song wars . During this time, the Song court  retreated south of theYangtze River and established their capital at  Lin’an (now Hangzhou ). Although the Song dynasty had lost  control of the traditional birthplace of Chinese civilization along the Yellow River , the Song economy was not in  ruins, as the Southern Song Empire contained 60 percent of China’s population  and a majority of the most productive agricultural land. The Southern Song  dynasty considerably bolstered its naval strength to defend its waters and land borders and to conduct maritime missions abroad.

To repel the Jin, and later the Mongols , the Song developed revolutionary new  military technology augmented by the use of gunpowder. In 1234, the Jin dynasty  was conquered by the Mongols, who took control of northern China, maintaining  uneasy relations with the Southern Song. Möngke Khan , the fourth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, died in 1259  while besieging the city of Chongqing . His younger brother Kublai Khan was proclaimed the new Great Khan,  though his claim was only partially recognized by the Mongols in the west. In  1271, Kublai Khan was proclaimed the Emperor of China . After two decades of sporadic  warfare, Kublai Khan’s armies conquered the Song dynasty in 1279. China was  once again unified , under the MongolYuan dynasty (1271–1368).

The Song dynasty regained China’s unity after the fall of the Tang dynasty.  Creating China into a dominant empire, the Song made the most richest, skilled,  and populous known country on earth. The population of China doubled in size  during the 10th and 11th centuries. This growth came through expanded rice  cultivation in central and southern China, the use of early-ripening rice from  south-east and southern Asia, and the production of abundant food surpluses. The  Northern Song census recorded a population of roughly 50 million, much like the Han and Tangdynasties. This data is found in the Standard Histories . However, it is  estimated that the Northern Song had a population of some 100 million people,  and 200 million by the time of the Ming dynasty . This dramatic increase of  population fomented an economic revolution in pre-modern China . The  expansion of the population was partially the cause for the gradual withdrawal  of the central government from heavily regulating the market economy. A much  larger populace also increased the importance of the lower gentry’s role in  grassroots administration and local affairs. Appointed officials in county and  provincial centers relied upon the scholarly gentry for their services,  sponsorship, and local supervision.

Social life during the Song was vibrant. Citizens gathered to view and trade  precious artworks, the populace intermingled at public festivals and private  clubs, and cities had lively entertainment quarters. The spread of literature  and knowledge was enhanced by the earlier invention ofwoodblock printing and the 11th-century  invention of movable-type printing. Pre-modern technology,  science, philosophy, mathematics, engineering, and other intellectual pursuits  flourished over the course of the Song. Philosophers such as Cheng Yi and Zhu Xi reinvigoratedConfucianism with new commentary, infused with Buddhist ideals, and emphasized a new  organization of classic texts that brought out the core doctrine of Neo-Confucianism . Although the institution of  the civil service examinations had existed since  the Sui dynasty , it became much more prominent in  the Song period. This became a leading factor in the shift of an aristocraticelite to a bureaucratic elite.