Picking up the pieces of the collapsed Tang Dynasty, the Chinese Song Dynasty would soon rise to establish the most robust economy of its time, fueled partially by history-altering inventions. The Song Dynasty revived Chinese culture based on Confucianism and civil service examinations. Chinese society, economy, and culture flourished during the Song Dynasty, but ever-present threats from the north and political turmoil tainted any hopes of a lasting and stable state. Globalized trade, northern wars, emperors, and fireworks are the history of the Song Dynasty.
Song Dynasty Time Period
The Song Dynasty was a Medieval (5th to 15th century CE) Chinese Dynasty that lasted from 960 to 1279, with over 300 years of rule. The Song Dynasty's history can be neatly split into the Northern Song Period (960-1127) and the Southern Song Period (1127-1279).
It can be both fun and helpful to contextualize unconnected yet contemporary historical events. For example, during the reign of the Song Dynasty, England was experiencing the growing pains of Viking invasions and occupation of their land. Meanwhile, every major Crusade was fought between the forces of Christianity and Islam between Europe, the Middle East, and Africa during the Song Dynasty's rule in China. The Crusades affected China's economy as they traded with the Middle East. What other major historical events occurred during the Song Dynasty's reign?
The timeline below provides a brief progression of events related to the history of the Song Dynasty:
960 CE: Chinese General Zhao Kuangyin conquered the disparate states of China and established the Song Dynasty.
1044: The first recorded recipe for gunpowder is written in the Song military manual Wujing Zongyao.
11th century: Innovations in the movable printing press are made by Song artisan Bi Sheng.
1115: The Jin Dynasty is established by rebels of the Liao Dynasty.
1127: The Song capital is moved to Lin'an following the Jin-Song Wars, ending the Northern Song Period and beginning the Southern Song Period.
1132: China's first permanent navy is established by the Song Dynasty to combat its enemies and protect trade.
1227: The Western Xia Dynasty falls after invasions from Genghis Khan's Mongol armies.
1234: The Jin Dynasty falls under further Mongol invasions.
1279: The last remnants of the Song Dynasty fall to the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty.
Song Dynasty Map
The Song Dynasty was located in East Asia within modern-day China. Its broad access to the East China Sea and the South China Sea ensured that maritime trade with the Indian Ocean would always flourish, even when the Song Dynasty's more northern provinces came under attack. The map below depicts the Song Dynasty's height during the Northern Song Period.
Fig. 1- Map depicting the territorial boundaries of the Song Dynasty during the Northern Song Period.
The map below depicts the momentous change in the Song Dynasty's boundaries after the rise of the Jin Dynasty in the 12th century. During this time, the Song Dynasty's capital relocated to Lin'an (seen on the map below), otherwise known as Hangzhou or Hang.
Fig. 2- Map depicting the territorial boundaries of the Song Dynasty during the Southern Song Period.
Medieval East Asia was a conglomerate of different tribal ethnic groups that gave rise to powerful kingdoms. The chart below helps break down the political and cultural shape of East Asia during the reign of the Song Dynasty. The names of dynasties and ethnic groups may be used interchangeably throughout this article.
| Dynastical State Name: | Tribal Ethnic Group: |
| Song Dynasty | Han-Chinese (a dominant ethnic group of modern-day China) |
| Xi Xia/ Western Xia Dynasty | Tangut (Tibeto-Burman) |
| Liao Dynasty | Khitan |
| Jin Dynasty | Jurchen (ancestors of the Manchu people) |
Song Dynasty Facts
The Song Dynasty rose from the fallen Tang Dynasty's ashes thanks to General Zhao Kuangyin's aggressive efforts, who named himself Emperor Taizu at his empire's inception in 960 CE. In many ways, Emperor Taizu set the blueprint for the ideal future of the Song Dynasty. He implemented political changes to protect his power, promoted a focus on Confucianism and traditional Chinese culture, and supported technological and scientific advancement. During his role, China began reshaping itself as a global economic force.
Fig. 3- Art depicting Song Emperor Taizu.
Song Dynasty Politics
The greatest successes and worst downfalls of the Song Dynasty can be drawn to its government. Through the revival of Confucian-based civil service examinations, the Song Dynasty ensured that its leaders had an excellent education and a strong understanding of Chinese tradition and social hierarchy. It also meant that those who weren't wealthy enough to be instructed in rigorous Confucian education had no chance of landing a job in the Song government.
Civil service examination:
Imperial examinations were based on Confucian principles, Chinese history, and writing to determine one's candidacy for appointment to government service.
Song officials often struggled to manage their booming economy, leading to state financial issues. But they did achieve some successes. By establishing a standing Chinese navy in 1132 to protect maritime assets and introducing paper money around the same time, Chinese officials ensured a strong and steady growth of the Chinese economy, even despite the Song Dynasty's warring and tributary payments to hostile kingdoms in the north.
Confucianism is more than a traditional Chinese religion. Beyond its spiritual foundations, Confucianism's more philosophical offer fairly precise solutions to societal problems. Perhaps the most significant aspect of Confucianism, followers of the faith hold that government should be structured like a family and family like a government; children and wives should be subservient to fathers and husbands, as subjects should be subservient to their lords. Confucianism bled into many dimensions of Chinese life.
But the Song Dynasty's government was also wracked by political turmoil. The introduction of the reformative New Policies by 11th century Song Chancellor Wang Anshi further divided Song politics into reform-minded and conservative-minded groups. Political dissension manifested in violent revolts and political corruption. Often, the Song Censorate, an inquisitorial branch of the government, did more harm than good. Wars within Song courts often distracted the dynasty from its more severe external threats, that of the Liao Dynasty, then the Jurchens, and inevitably the Mongol Empire.
The Liao Dynasty was the Song Dynasty's first significant threat from the north. But when a small rebel group led by Jurchens sought to bring the Liao Dynasty low, the Song Dynasty supported them. Ironically, the Song Dynasty helped establish the Jurchen Jin Dynasty in the 12th century, a dynasty that would continue to assail the Song Dynasty for a decade. The Jurchens invaded the Song north, capturing the capital of Kaifeng and forcing a relocation of the Song's capital to Lin'an in 1127.
Song Dynasty Economy
As previously stated, China's economy flourished under the Song Dynasty. Trade with the Indian Ocean and abroad brought a wealth of goods, from cotton, gems, and spices to camels and textiles. China could produce over 200 million pounds of iron annually, and its infrastructure supports its metallurgy and trade economy. Blast furnaces were often fueled by hydropower, and ships could travel through an extensive network of rivers and canals.
Fig. 4- Drawing of a Song Chinese banknote.
Moving into its later years, multiple Song Dynasty cities boasted over a million inhabitants. The early Northern Song Period had a population of 90 million, which would only continue to grow during the Southern Song Period. The mass creation of wealth and quantity of transactions forced the Song government to implement paper money. This monetary system only proved easier to track and easier to tax.
Song Dynasty Art and Culture
Aligning itself with the success of the Song Dynasty's economy, culture, and art in Song China were given new life. Influenced by Neo-Confucian ideals and the traces of Buddhism in Song culture, poetry experienced its revival in the Chinese courts. Song Dynasty art focused on landscape paintings that often portrayed a sense of emptiness, such as the piece by artist Fan Kuan seen below:
"Travelers Among Mountains and Streams", by Song Chinese artist Fan Kuan. (Figure 5)
Song Dynasty Inventions
China's Song Dynasty is renowned for its inventions, including the movable printing press, the magnetic compass, and the invention of gunpowder. These inventions would soon spread throughout the world along Chinese trade routes, but they all originated in Medieval China. Although gunpowder was technically discovered during the Tang Dynasty, the Song Dynasty first harnessed its potential. Shortly after writing the recipes for gunpowder, Song China began producing a myriad of gunpowder-based weaponry, from rocket launchers to hand grenades.
Song Dynasty Achievements
Although the Jin Dynasty stripped away the northern half of the Song Dynasty's territories, the Song Dynasty continued to flourish for many years. Its economy and population continued to grow, sustaining its level of cultural and social progress. The Jin Dynasty had its bully, however: the Mongol Empire. The Mongols crushed China during the 13th century, and the joint efforts of Mongol warlords Mongke Khan and Kublai Khan led to the fall of the Song Dynasty and the establishment of the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty within China by the 1270s.
The Fall of the Song:
The Song Dynasty's fall did not culminate in a glorious siege or the beheading of a mighty leader. Few empires end in such a simple fashion. In reality, China had been under a slow and dreadful Mongol invasion for decades preceding the Song Dynasty's undoing. The Song were fierce defenders, so Kublai Khan of the Yuan Dynasty (established in 1271, eight years before the Song's end) implemented propaganda tactics to overtake all of China.
But Kublai Khan's propaganda was not based on fear alone, as the Mongol image is classically portrayed. Instead, the Mongol warlord Kublai Khan adopted many Chinese customs, essentially campaigning the idea that he was more Chinese than the Chinese Song Dynasty. Political corruption and military failure on behalf of the Song Dynasty did not help their case; soon enough, farmers, army regiments, and entire cities began defecting to the Yuan Dynasty. By 1279, the Song Dynasty was nothing but a fractured skeleton of its former glory.
But much like its first leader, Emperor Taizu, the Song Dynasty set a precedent for the future successful management of China. With many of its inventions and innovations, from sustainable infrastructure to paper money, global trade, and gunpowder weaponry, the Chinese Song Dynasty defined the shape of Chinese progress. In many ways, the hallmarks of the Song Dynasty represent the ingredients of a prosperous state during our modern era.
Song Dynasty - Key takeaways
- The Song Dynasty was a Medieval Chinese Dynasty that ruled from 960 CE to 1279. Its history can be divided into two periods, the Northern Song Dynasty from 960 to 1127 and the Southern Song Dynasty from 1127 to 1279.
- The Song Dynasty is renowned for its incredible economy and inventions. The empire had expansive cities, flourishing ports, and powerful industries, all well connected with the more fantastic Medieval world.
- The Song Dynasty revitalized traditional Chinese culture and Confucianism in politics, society, and culture. An example of this is the reintroduction of the civil service examinations.
- The Song Dynasty was constantly threatened by Northern invasions, whether by the Tanguts of the Xi Xia Dynasty, the Khitans of the Liao Dynasty, the Jurchens of the Ji Dynasty, or the Mongols of the Mongol Empire. The Jurchens were responsible for the fall of the northern Song Dynasty, while the Mongol Yuan Dynasty caused the complete fall of the Song in 1279 CE.
References
- Figure 1, China during the Northern Song Dynasty, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/69/China_-_Song_Dynasty-en.svg, by Mozzan, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Mozzan, Licensed by CC-BY-SA-3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:China_-_Song_Dynasty-en.svg.
- Figure 2, China during the Southern Song Dynasty, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/China_-_Southern_Song_Dynasty-en.svg, by Mozzan, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Mozzan, Licensed by CC-BY-SA-3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:China_-_Southern_Song_Dynasty-en.svg.
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