Despite the relative modernisation of China and its great economic wealth during the period, the Song court was so plagued with political factions and conservatism that the state could not withstand the challenge of the Mongol invasion and collapsed in 1279 CE. The dynasty was established by Emperor Taizu of Song with his usurpation of the throne of Later Zhou, ending the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. The Song is considered a high point of classical Chinese innovation in science and technology, an era that featured prominent intellectual figures such as Shen Kuo and Su Song and the revolutionary use of gunpowder weapons. However, it was also a period of political and military turmoil, with opposing and often aggressive political factions formed at court that impeded political, social, and economic progress.
Publication Information
- Hstorical : Song Dynasty
- Chinese : 宋朝
- Type : Dynasty
- Year : 960–1279 CE
- Capital :
- Bianjing : 960–1127
- Jiangning : 1129–1138
- Lin'an : 1138–1276
- Languages : Middle Chinese
- Religion :
- Buddhism
- Taoism
- Confucianism
- Chinese folk religion
- State Devided : 2
- Government : Monarchy
- Emperor :
- 960–976 : Emperor Taizu
- 1127–1162 : Emperor Gaozong
Historical era :
- Postclassical Era
- Established : February 4, 960[1]
- Alliance with Jin : 1115–1125
- Jingkang Incident : 1127
- Beginning of Mongol invasion : 1235
- Fall of Lin'an : 1276
- Battle of Yamen (End of dynasty) : March 19, 1279
- Population :
- 118,800,000
- 1120 est
- Currency :
- Jiaozi
- Guanzi
- Huizi
- Chinese cash
- Chinese coin
- copper coins
- Area :
- 958 est. : 800,000 km2 (310,000 sq mi)
- 980 est. : 3,100,000 km2 (1,200,000 sq mi)
- 1127 est. : 2,100,000 km2 (810,000 sq mi)
- 1204 est. : 1,800,000 km2 (690,000 sq mi)
- Preceded by : Liao dynasty (907–1125)
- Succeeded by : Yuan dynasty (1271–1368)
Timeline
- 960 CE - 976 CE : Reign of Emperor Taizu, founder of the Song dynasty in China.
- 960 CE - 1,125 CE : The Northern Song Dynasty in China.
- 960 CE - 1,279 CE : Song Dynasty in China.
- 976 CE - 997 CE : Reign of Emperor Taizong of the Song dynasty in China.
- c. 990 CE - 1,030 CE : Life of Chinese painter Fan Kuan.
- 997 CE - 1,022 CE : Reign of Emperor Zhenzong of the Song dynasty in China.
- 1,004 CE : Treaty of Shanyuan which brings peace between the Liao dynasty and Song dynasty of China with the latter compelled to pay annual tribute.
- 1,021 CE - 1,086 CE : Life of Wang Anshi, influential chancellor during the Song dynasty.
- 1,022 CE - 1,063 CE : Reign of Emperor Renzong of the Song dynasty in China.
- 1,037 CE - 1,101 CE : Life of Song dynasty poet Su Dongpo.
- 1,044 CE : Defeat to the Xia state results in China's Song dynasty paying tribute.
- 1,054 CE - 1,126 CE : Life of Song dynasty general Tong Guan.
- 1,063 CE - 1,067 CE : Reign of Emperor Yingzong of the Song dynasty in China.
- 1,067 CE - 1,085 CE : Reign of Emperor Shenzong of the Song dynasty in China.
- 1,084 CE : Sima Guang writes his 'Zizhi tongjian' (Comprehensive Mirror for Aid to Government), a history of China.
- 1,085 CE - 1,100 CE : Reign of Emperor Zhizong of the Song dynasty in China.
- 1,100 CE - 1,126 CE : Reign of Emperor Huizong of the Song dynasty in China.
- 1,103 CE : Lie Jie in China writes his 'Yingzao fashi', a treatise on architecture.
- 1,125 CE : The Jin state attacks Song China.
- 1,125 CE : The Jurchen Jin state invades Song China necessitating the latter to move south and form the Southern Song dynasty.
- 1,125 CE - 1,279 CE : The Southern Song Dynasty in China.
- 1,127 CE - 1,162 CE : Reign of Emperor Gaozong of the Song dynasty in China.
- 1,138 CE : Hangzhou (aka Linan) is made the capital of the Song Dynasty, now known as the Southern Song.
- 1,141 CE : A peace treaty is signed betwwen the (southern) Song Dynasty and Jin state.
- 1,142 CE : The Jurchen Jin dynasty and Southern Song dynasty sign a formal peace treaty.
- 1,162 CE - 1,189 CE : Reign of Emperor Xiaozong of the Song dynasty in China.
- 1,189 CE - 1,194 CE : Reign of Emperor Guangzong of the Song dynasty in China.
- 1,194 CE - 1,224 CE : Reign of Emperor Ningzong of the Song dynasty in China.
- 1,224 CE - 1,264 CE : Reign of Emperor Lizong of the Song dynasty in China.
- 1,264 CE - 1,274 CE : Reign of Emperor Duzong of the Song dynasty in China.
- 1,273 CE : Xiangyang falls into Mongol hands.
- 1,274 CE - 1,275 CE : Reign of Emperor Gongzong of the Song dynasty in China.
- 1,275 CE - 1,277 CE : Reign of Emperor Duanzong of the Song dynasty in China.
- 1,275 CE - 1,279 CE : The Mongols led by Kublai Khan attack and conquer Song China.
- 1,278 CE - 1,279 CE : Reign of Emperor Dibing of the Song dynasty in China.
The chaos and political void caused by the collapse of the Tang Dynasty led to the break-up of China into five dynasties and ten kingdoms, but one warlord would, as had happened so often before, rise to the challenge and collect at least some of the various states back into a resemblance of a unified China. The Song dynasty was, thus, founded by the Later Zhou general Zhao Kuangyin who was endorsed as emperor by the army in 960 CE.
His reign title would be Taizu. Making sure no rival general ever became too powerful and gained the necessary support to take his throne, the emperor introduced a system of rotation for army leaders and swept away all opposition. Further, he ensured that the civil service henceforth enjoyed a higher status than the army by acting as their supervisory body.
Taizu was succeeded by his younger brother, Emperor Taizong (‘Grand Ancestor’), who reigned from 976 to 997 CE. The stability provided by the long reigns of the first two emperors (at least compared to the chaotic previous centuries) gave the Song dynasty the start it needed to become one of the most successful in China’s history.
Consolidation and Goverment
Taizu may have conquered much of central China but neither he nor his successors could manage to conquer the Khitan Liao dynasty in the north, who still controlled the vital defensive area of the Great Wall of China. Indeed, so superior were the Khitan horsemen that they invaded Song China at will and Song emperors were compelled to pay their neighbours annual tribute in the form of silver and silk. They also recognised the Khitan ruler as an emperor in his own right.
A similar situation arose with the Tangut Xia state to the north-west. Following a defeat in 1044 CE tribute was paid to them, too, so that the Song emperors could maintain a peaceful border and concentrate on consolidating their rule of central China and managing their 100 million subjects. The tribute payments were huge but less than the costs of a war or maintaining a constant military presence in the region. In addition, as trade thrived between these states, much of the value of the tribute, in any case, came back to China as payment for Chinese exports.
Economy
If Song politics was somewhat troublesome for the emperors, at least the economy was booming. Kaifeng, already a capital in earlier dynasties, was one of the great metropolises of the world under the Song. With a population of around one million, the city was benefiting from industrialisation and was well-supplied by nearby mines producing coal and iron. A major trade centre, Kaifeng was especially famous for its printing, paper, textile, and porcelain industries. Such goods were exported along the Silk Road and across the Indian Ocean, along with tea, silk, rice, and copper. Imports included horses, camels, sheep, cotton cloth, ivory, gems, and spices.
Arts and Science
China under the Song developed into a more modernised and industrialised nation thanks to innovations in machinery, agriculture, and manufacturing processes. Significant inventions or improvements on existing ideas included paddle-wheel ships, gunpowder, paper money, the fixed compass, the sternpost rudder, lock gates in canals, and the moveable-type printing press. Iron armour was mass-produced, and swords were made from high-quality steel made possible by water-powered bellows creating super-heated furnaces. Literature boomed during the Song dynasty. Lie Jie wrote a famous treatise on architecture, his Yingzao fashi and encyclopedias were written.
Famous works of history were written such as Sima Guang’s Zizhi tongjian which, published in 1084 CE, covered Chinese history from 403 BCE to 959 CE. The period saw a great many works of poetry published. One of the most famous poets is Su Dongpo who wrote, as many of his contemporaries did, about love, loneliness, and sorrow. Women in the Song period may well have fared less well than their predecessors, and such practices as foot-binding, in particular, became more common, but one female poet of renown was Li Qingzhao who famously described her family’s exile in 1127 CE and her sorrow at her husband’s early death.
Territorial Threats
By the early 12th century CE China’s position as master of East Asia was coming under increasing threat from attacks in the north by the Liao and Xia states again. Even more dangerous were the Jurchen, tribes people in the north-eastern part of China. The ancestors of the Manchurians, they spoke the Tungusic language and had declared their own state, the Jin in 1115 CE. The Song took advantage of their territorial ambitions, and the two states joined forces to defeat the Liao.
Unfortunately, despite achieving their goal, the Song were rather shown up for their own military weakness. Thus, in 1125 CE the Jin state attacked parts of northern China which even the great general Tong Guan (1054-1126 CE) could not stop. The emperor Huizong (r. 1100-1126 CE) was captured along with thousands of others and besides the loss of a huge swathe of territory, the Song were compelled to pay the Jurchen a massive ransom to avoid any more loss of life.
Mongol Invasion
Just when the Song had become accustomed to their new state following the tremendous upheaval caused by the Jurchen, an even greater menace appeared, and once again, it was from the north. The nomadic Mongol tribes had been assembled under the leadership of Genghis Khan, and they repeatedly attacked and plundered the Xia and Jin states in the first three decades of the 13th century CE. The Song thought they were next and so made ready their armies, largely funded by confiscated wealth from the landed aristocracy - a policy which did nothing for internal unity. There was to be a reprieve, though, for the Mongols were busy enough expanding their empire into western Asia.
It was not until 1268 CE that the Mongol leader Kublai Khan set his sights on the lands south of the Yangtze River. First, the strategically important city of Xiangyang was besieged, and it fell in 1273 CE thanks to the Mongol’s persistence and superior catapults. The invaders crossed the Yangtze in 1275 CE and proved unstoppable. With many Song generals defecting or surrendering their armies, a court beset by infighting between the child emperor’s advisors, and the ruthless slaughter of the entire city of Changzhou, the end of the Song dynasty was definitely nigh.
The empress dowager and her young son Emperor Gongzong surrendered and were taken prisoner to the northern city of Beijing. Some groups of loyalists fought on for three more years, installing two more young emperors in the process (Duanzong and Dibing) but the Mongols swept all before them and then moved on down to Vietnam. The Song state, rich enough but paying dearly for its lack of political unity, military investment, and weapons innovation, became part of the vast Mongol empire which now covered one fifth of the globe.
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