Song dynasty

Song 宋
960–1279
The Song dynasty at its greatest extent in 1111
Capital	Bianjing (960–1127) Yingtian (1127–1128) Yangzhou (1128–1129) Jiangning (1129–1138) Lin'an (1129, 1138–1276)
Common languages	Middle Chinese
Religion	Chinese Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Chinese folk religion, Islam, Nestorian Christianity
Government	Monarchy
Emperor
• 960–976	Emperor Taizu (founder of Northern Song)
• 1127–1162	Emperor Gaozong (founder of Southern Song)
• 1278–1279	Zhao Bing (last)
Historical era	Post-classical
• Established	4 February 960[1]
• Signing of the Chanyuan Treaty with Liao	1005
• Alliance with Jin	1115–1125
• Jingkang incident	1127
• Beginning of Mongol invasion	1235
• Fall of Lin'an	1276
• Battle of Yamen (end of dynasty)	19 March 1279
Area
958 est.[2]	800,000 km2 (310,000 sq mi)
980 est.[2]	3,100,000 km2 (1,200,000 sq mi)
1127 est.[2]	2,100,000 km2 (810,000 sq mi)
1204 est.[2]	1,800,000 km2 (690,000 sq mi)
Population
• 1120s	Northern: 80–110 million[3] Southern: 65 million[4]
GDP (nominal)	estimate
• Per capita	26.5 taels[5]
Currency	Jiaozi, Guanzi, Huizi, Chinese cash
Preceded by Succeeded by Later Zhou Jingnan Later Shu Southern Han Southern Tang Wuyue Northern Han Jin dynasty Yuan dynasty

Song dynasty
"Song dynasty" in Chinese characters
Chinese	宋朝
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Sòng cháo Bopomofo ㄙㄨㄥˋ ㄔㄠˊ Gwoyeu Romatzyh Sonq chaur Wade–Giles Sung4 chʻao2 Tongyong Pinyin Sòng cháo IPA [sʊ̂ŋ ʈʂʰǎʊ] Wu Romanization Son zau Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Sung chìuh Jyutping Sung3 ciu4 IPA [sʊŋ˧ tsʰiw˩] Southern Min Tâi-lô Sòng tiâu Middle Chinese Middle Chinese /suoŋH ʈˠiᴇu/

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The Song dynasty (/sʊŋ/) was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Ten Kingdoms, ending the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. The Song often came into conflict with the contemporaneous Liao, Western Xia and Jin dynasties in northern China. After retreating to southern China following attacks by the Jin dynasty, the Song was eventually conquered by the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty.

The dynasty's history is divided into two periods: during the Northern Song (北宋; 960–1127), the capital was in the northern city of Bianjing (now Kaifeng) and the dynasty controlled most of what is now East China. The Southern Song (南宋; 1127–1279) comprise the period following the loss of control over the northern half of Song territory to the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty in the Jin–Song wars. At that time, the Song court retreated south of the Yangtze and established its capital at Lin'an (now Hangzhou). Although the Song dynasty had lost control of the traditional Chinese heartlands around the Yellow River, the Southern Song Empire contained a large population and productive agricultural land, sustaining a robust economy. 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 mountain castle Diaoyucheng in Chongqing. His younger brother Kublai Khan was proclaimed the new Great Khan and in 1271 founded the Yuan dynasty.^[6] After two decades of sporadic warfare, Kublai Khan's armies conquered the Song dynasty in 1279 after defeating the Southern Song in the Battle of Yamen, and reunited China under the Yuan dynasty.^[7]

Technology, science, philosophy, mathematics, and engineering flourished during the Song era. The Song dynasty was the first in world history to issue banknotes or true paper money and the first Chinese government to establish a permanent standing navy. This dynasty saw the first surviving records of the chemical formula for gunpowder, the invention of gunpowder weapons such as fire arrows, bombs, and the fire lance. It also saw the first discernment of true north using a compass, first recorded description of the pound lock, and improved designs of astronomical clocks. Economically, the Song dynasty was unparalleled with a gross domestic product three times larger than that of Europe during the 12th century.^[8][9] China's population doubled in size between the 10th and 11th centuries. This growth was made possible by expanded rice cultivation, use of early-ripening rice from Southeast and South Asia, and production of widespread food surpluses.^[10][11] The Northern Song census recorded 20 million households, double that of the Han and Tang dynasties. It is estimated that the Northern Song had a population of 90 million people,^[12] and 200 million by the time of the Ming dynasty.^[13] This dramatic increase of population fomented an economic revolution in pre-modern China.

The expansion of the population, growth of cities, and emergence of a national economy led to the gradual withdrawal of the central government from direct intervention in the economy. The lower gentry assumed a larger role in local administration and affairs. Song society was vibrant, and cities had lively entertainment quarters. Citizens gathered to view and trade artwork, and intermingled at festivals and in private clubs. The spread of literature and knowledge was enhanced by the rapid expansion of woodblock printing and the 11th-century invention of movable type printing. 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 established the doctrine of Neo-Confucianism. Although civil service examinations had existed since the Sui dynasty, they became much more prominent in the Song period. Officials gaining power through imperial examination led to a shift from a military-aristocratic elite to a scholar-bureaucratic elite.