The Song Dynasty (Chinese: 宋朝; pinyin: Sòng Cháo; Wade-Giles: Sung Ch'ao) was a ruling dynasty in China between 960–1279 AD; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms era, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty. It was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or paper money, After years of war, Kublai Khan's armies conquered the Song Dynasty in 1279. China was once again unified, but this time as part of the vast Mongol Empire.
The Song Dynasty was a culturally rich period for the arts, philosophy, and social life. Landscape art and portrait paintings reached new levels of maturity and complexity after the heights reached by the Tang Dynasty. The social life was vibrant; social elites gathered to view and trade precious artworks, the populace intermingled at public festivals and private clubs and cities had lively entertainment quarters. Philosophers such as Cheng Yi and Zhu Xi reinvigorated Confucianism with new commentary, infused with Buddhist ideals, and emphasized a new organization of classic texts that brought out the core doctrine of Neo-Confucianism. Exam-drafted scholar-officials viewed themselves as the preeminent members of society, scorning any emphasis or favor shown to the growing merchant class and those of petty commercial vocations. Nonetheless, mercantilism was heavily embedded into Song culture and society. Independent and state-sponsored architects, engineers, carpenters, and craftsmen erected thousands of bridges, pagoda towers, temple halls, palace halls, and other buildings throughout the empire. Literature on architecture was widely distributed and read throughout China, while the central state agencies responsible for building and construction used standard codes published in building manuals.
Republic of China (on Taiwan)
History
Emperor Taizu of Song (r. 960–976) unified China through military conquest during his reign, ending the upheaval of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. In Kaifeng, he established a strong central government over the empire. He ensured administrative stability by promoting the Imperial examination system of drafting state bureaucrats by skill and merit (instead of aristocratic or martial status) and promoted projects that ensured efficiency in communication throughout the empire. One such project was the creation by cartographers of detailed maps of each province and city which were then collected in a large atlas. This took place in the year of Jingkang (Chinese 靖康) and it is known as the Humiliation of Jingkang (Chinese 靖康之恥). The remaining Song forces rallied under the self appointed Emperor Gaozong of Song (1127–1162), fleeing south of the Yangtze River to establish the Song Dynasty's new capital at Lin'an (in modern Hangzhou). This Jurchen conquest of northern China and shift of capitals from Kaifeng to Lin'an marks the period of division between the Northern Song Dynasty and Southern Song Dynasty.
Northern SongAlthough weakened and pushed south along the Huai River, the Southern Song found new ways to bolster their already strong economy and defend their state against the Jin Dynasty. They had able military officers such as Yue Fei and Han Shizhong. The government sponsored massive shipbuilding and harbor improvement projects, and the construction of beacons and seaport warehouses in order to support maritime trade abroad and the major international seaports, including Quanzhou, Guangzhou, and Xiamen that were sustaining China's commerce. With the Battle of Yamen on the Pearl River Delta in 1279, the Mongols finally crushed the Song resistance, and the last remaining ruler, the child emperor Duanzong, committed suicide along with the official Lu Xiufu.
Southern Song
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