Song Dynasty

Song Dynasty (960-1279). General Zhao Kuangyin became the founder of the Song Dynasty after leading the mutiny of the troops in 960 and ending the situation of division of the country during the time of the Five Dynasties and the Ten Kingdoms . The Song Dynasty was exterminated by the Mongols in 1279. The dynasty lived for 319 years in which two periods are distinguished: Northern Song, which faced the kingdoms of Liao, Xia, and Jin; and Southern Song, which was responsible for maintaining sovereignty in the south of the country.

History

After the fall of the Tang Dynasty , a long period of complex conflict ensued. Zhao Kuangyin founded the Song Dynasty in 960 and went down in history as Emperor Taizu of the Song. The Song Dynasty lasted two periods: the Northern Song Dynasty and the Southern Song Dynasty (so called because the capital of the empire was moved to Jiankang, now Hangzhou , in Zhejiang Province). The move of the capital gave a major boost to the economic and cultural development of the southern regions. Astronomy , science , technology and printing all made world-class discoveries during this period. For example, Bi Sheng invented movable type printing, which revolutionised the history of printing.

The Song Dynasty lasted for over 300 years ( 960–1279), although its reign is divided into the Northern Song (960–1127 ) and Southern Song (1127–1279) periods . Like its predecessor , the Tang Dynasty , the Song Dynasty is regarded as a golden age of Chinese civilization, a period of major advances in literature , philosophy , and science. Many aspects of life often associated with traditional China —including rice cultivation, sophisticated civil service entrance examinations, and major technological innovations—made advances during the Song Dynasty.

The end of the Tang Dynasty was followed by 53 years of turmoil and war, a period referred to by historians as the “Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms.” In 960, Zhao Kuangyin and his brother unified the southeastern and central plain regions of China. They established the Song Dynasty, and Zhao became Emperor under the name Taizu. He oversaw the expansion of the civil service examination system and a detailed mapping project of all provinces and cities.

The Northern Song era that he initiated was also marked by periodic battles with neighbouring kingdoms and nationalities. This culminated in the Jurchens, a tribe within the neighbouring Liao Dynasty, invading Song territory and conquering the capital city Kaifeng in 1127. They also captured Emperor Qinzong and his father Huizong, along with much of the royal court. The military defeat was later labelled “The Humiliation of Jingkang”.

But Huizong’s son Zhao Goudu escaped and crossed the Yangtze River , where he founded the Southern Song Dynasty in the region that is now Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province. For a century and a half the people enjoyed economic, religious and social prosperity.

Governments

During this same period, the nomadic Qidan people established the Liao Kingdom (947–1125) north of the Song, the Dangxiang founded the Western Xia Kingdom (1038–1127) northwest of the Song, and the Jin Kingdom (1115–1234), founded by the Nuzhen, destroyed the Liao in 1125. Two years later, they managed to capture the Song capital, Kaifeng, and kidnap its two emperors. Thus ended the history of the Northern Song.

Zhao Gou crowned himself Emperor Gaozong at Yingtianfu (now Shangqiu, Henan Province ), then took refuge in Lin’an (now Hangzhou, Jiangsu Province), contenting himself with retaining his exercise of sovereignty in the south, with no ambition to recover the northern territories. The famous General Yue Fei launched several expeditions against the Jin, but for the rulers, he had no right to overstep the limit of “self-defense.” On the other hand, the authoritarianism and corruption of an important minister, Jia Sidao, accelerated the destruction of the dynasty.

After the northern region was reunited, the Northern Song’s economy, society, culture, and foreign trade all developed substantially. The reforms carried out by politicians such as Fan Zhongyan and Wang Anshi did indeed resolve some social contradictions, although they failed to achieve sustainable prosperity for the dynasty. During Emperor Huizong’s rule, two large-scale peasant uprisings occurred: the Fang La uprising and the Song Jiang uprising .

The Song governors were comparatively flexible in their style of governance. The social status of the class of officials and scholars rose to unprecedented levels; they were largely responsible for local administration. Economic prosperity, freedom of speech, and the invention of the printing press provided scholars with an environment to contemplate, debate, and propagate their thoughts freely.

Northern Song Period

Northern Song Dynasty

Because China was now surrounded by other states, Song China was smaller than Tang China. In the northwest were the Xixia, a Tibetan people; in the northeast was the Liao dynasty, dominated by the Khitan Mongols; in the southeast was Nan Chao, a Thai state; and in the south was Annam, a Vietnamese kingdom.

The Song emperors strove to maintain peaceful relations with all of them. Agriculture expanded and the population increased, especially in the south, which was now rich and important. By the end of the Song period, China had about one hundred million inhabitants.

Southern Song Period

Southern Song Dynasty

In 1068, the prime minister, Wang Anshi, reformed the government. He simplified the tax system and reduced the size of the huge army. Although these cuts saved money, they also made invasions easier. In 1127, northern China was attacked by the Jin and the Song capital, Kaifeng, was lost.

The Song retreated to Hangzhou, south of the Yangtze, and the Jin ruled the north until Genghis Khan’s Mongols conquered them in 1234. Hangzhou grew into a large and beautiful city, with canals, parks, and fine buildings. The southern Song lasted until 1279, when southern China was conquered by Kublai Khan’s Mongols.

The Song period saw great prosperity and great advances in new technology, arts and literature. Gunpowder, clocks, movable type printing, paddle-driven ships, magnetic compasses and water-powered machinery were all invented during this period. Landscape painting, fine porcelain, poetry and drama flourished. Banking and trade became very important, cities prospered and new crops were introduced. Song China might have prospered much more had it not been defeated by the Mongol invaders

Characteristics

The Song Dynasty was a dynasty of both reunification and separation. The centralized bureaucratic organization and the replacement of regional military governors with civil servants led to a greater concentration of power in the hands of the Emperor. The improvement of several earlier innovations, as well as new ones, made the Song an influential dynasty of its time. The first Chinese paper currency called the jiaozi was used. Porcelain became an important export good. A printer named Bi Sheng invented a portable printing machine, something that spawned the practice of reading and writing. A crude precursor of the modern compass , though pointing south, was also used during this dynamic period of development.

Confucian influence increased and one of the most influential Confucian philosophers was Zhu Xi (1130-1200). His influence should last as an imperial ideology from the late Song to the late 19th century .

A distinguishing feature of this period was the disorder of the northern border, constant fighting leading to time-consuming negotiations to secure the border and prevent invasion or war. Until 1127 the Song dynasty controlled all of China. It was then that the Jurchen tribe invaded the northern part of China and established the Jurchen Jin dynasty which forced the Song court to withdraw from the capital Dongjing (Kaifeng) south of the Yangtze River. The Song then established its capital at Hangzhou. In 1234 however, the Mongols who now threatened the southern Song dynasty, invaded the Jurchen dynasty and in 1279 – the Song dynasty. The Mongol Yuan dynasty (proclaimed 1271) once again unified China, now as part of a vast Mongol empire.

Notable figures

Several notable figures are especially associated with the achievements of the Song Dynasty:

• Poet Su Shi (1037–1101): Su Shi was a prominent writer, poet, and statesman of the Song Dynasty. He was a master of ci poetry, one of the pillars of Chinese literature that reached its peak during the Song Dynasty. More than 4,000 of his poems have been preserved, known for their bold, expressive, and passionate style. Many Chinese people still recite some of these poems today.
• General Yue Fei (1103–1142): Yue Fei was a military general best known for defending the Southern Song Dynasty against repeated invasions by the Jurchen. He is widely recognized as a national hero and a symbol of loyalty. One of Shen Yun’s most popular dances, “Yue Fei’s Loyalty,” conveys the legend of how he resolved the dilemma of being torn between defending his country and staying home to care for his elderly mother.
• Characters from The Marsh Bandits: This novel is one of the Four Classics of Chinese Literature, and many of its characters and stories are based on historical figures from the Song Dynasty. Shen Yun’s dances “Wu Song Fights the Tiger” and “The Heroic Lu Zhishen” are inspired by this novel.

Unlike other eras, the Song Dynasty was not plagued by separatist rebellions, eunuch conspiracies, or strife within the royal family. But in the end, Genghis Khan’s grandson Kublai Khan defeated the Southern Song Dynasty in 1279. Economy

The Song Dynasty is known as the most economically prosperous dynasty in Chinese history. During its reign, China transitioned from an agrarian to a commercial economy, and its population increased dramatically. In addition to urbanization and the growth of a merchant class, government policies granting land ownership to farmers proved successful. As a result, agricultural production skyrocketed, and even the later Ming and Qing dynasties were unable to surpass the Song Dynasty’s performance.

Science and technology

The Song Dynasty dates back to the time of China’s ancient history, when much of the discoveries of science and technology were made. It was during this period that three of the four most important inventions of Chinese civilization were discovered and put into practice: the compass , the printing press , and black powder . It is noteworthy that Bi Sheng invented the printing press 400 years before the Europeans. Su Song built the world’s first astronomical clock.

Technology also developed rapidly. Three of the “four great inventions” of ancient China originated in the Song Dynasty: the magnetic compass, printing, and gunpowder. Firearms began to be widely used in military combat, and shipbuilding improved greatly. To protect its growth in foreign trade, the Song Dynasty established China’s first permanent navy. Printing, paper manufacturing, silk production, and porcelain crafts also thrived. In the 12th century , the Song became the first government in the world to print its own paper money.

Religion

During this period, Neo-Confucianism flourished, with Zhu Xi and Lu Jiuyuan as its leading exponents. Taoism , Buddhism and other foreign religions were in vogue. The New Book of Tang, compiled by Ouyang Xiu , who was considered one of the greatest prose masters of his time, contributed much to the preservation of the history of that dynasty, while the Mirror of History , compiled by Sima Guang, became the model for chronicle history. Ci , poetry written to certain melodies with a fixed number of lines and words, was fully developed in the Song Dynasty. The most representative writers of this literary form were Yan Shu, Liu Yong, Zhou Bangyan, Li Qingzhao, and Xin Qiji. Librettos for operas and plays also became very popular. Painting in this period was characterized by depicting themes such as mountains and rivers or flowers and animals. Zhang Zeduan’s large canvas painting Scenes on the Shore at the Qingming Festival was an immortal masterpiece of Chinese artistic history.

Architecture

The Song Dynasty (960-1279) was a period of political and military decline. However, the economy, crafts, trade and scientific techniques experienced enormous development. The architecture of this period is characterized by its beauty and fine decorations.

The layout of cities in the Song Dynasty featured rows of shops on both sides of the streets. Buildings such as fire stations, roads and transportation, shops and bridges took on a new look. The Northern Song Dynasty capital Bianliang (present-day Kaifeng City in Henan Province) was presented as a commercial city. In this period, Chinese architecture focused on spaces, decorations and colors. The main hall and Yuzhaofeiliang beam of Jinci Temple in Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province, are typical buildings of this period.

The standard of brick and stone construction in the Song Dynasty gradually improved. The main works are Buddhist towers and bridges. The tower of Lingyin Temple, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province; Fanta Tower in Kaifeng City, Henan Province; and Yongtong Bridge in Zhao County, Hebei Province are good examples.

With the development of China’s economic society, garden construction became popular in the Song Dynasty. Classical gardens combine natural and artificial beauty. They show a certain artistic sense through architectural techniques through artificial hills, water, rocks and plants. Representative gardens are Su Shunqin’s Canglang Pavilion and Sima Guang’s Dule Garden.

At this time, a book entitled “Methods and Forms of Construction (Yingzaofashi)” was published , indicating that Chinese architecture had reached a new technical level of construction.

Chinese porcelain

Pottery around the world was made from clay , which had a rough, coarse finish. Around 900, the Chinese Song Dynasty invented porcelain , which was made from kaolin , a fine white clay. Their craftsmen created a beautiful, smooth, delicate porcelain that could be decorated with beautiful designs created with special style glazes and paints, making each piece a work of art.

During this period, Chinese emperors had factories built especially to create porcelain for their palaces. Porcelain production soon became a huge industry in China.

This stoneware vessel with a butterfly and a leaf and flower design is typical of Song period porcelain. Europe did not master these artistic techniques until several centuries later.

The invention of the printing press, which is not European but Chinese, dates back to 960, during the Song period (960 – 1279), when movable wooden type was used in China, a use that spread to Turkestan in 1280. The fact is that Central Europe at the beginning of the Renaissance was already aware of the invention.

The Song emperors built factories that supplied them with fine porcelain. Porcelain vessels, placed on a hot stove, were used to make a hot punch of wine and spices .