Discovering China - The Song Dynasty

After the collapse of the Tang Dynasty, over 50 years of Chaos followed, until a military general named Zhao Kuangyin founded the Song Dynasty, reigning as emperor Taizu.

The Song Dynasty started in the year 960 AD and lasted for over 300-years. It can be split into two periods the Northern Song starting in the year 960 and then from 1127 AD, after the north was invaded by the Jurchen tribes, the Southern Song.

When Emperor Taizu came to power, he expanded the civil service examination system and oversaw a project to map the entire empire. The Song saw a revival of Confucianism and greater prominence of the scholar official class.

But the Song wasn't as strong militarily as it's Tang dynasty predecessor, it couldn't establish it's self as the dominant power in Asia. Thus the Northern Song period was marked by frequent battles with neighboring kingdoms, these would eventually culminate with the Jurchen tribe to the north, who ruled the Liao dynasty, invading the Song and conquering the capital Kaifeng in 1127 AD, they then set up the Jin dynasty in the North of China.

So the Song dynasty moved south, and despite losing a large amount of territory, the Southern Song period was one of prosperity, with flourishing art and culture, as well as technological advancements.

During the Song, the government started to grant farmers ownership of land, which led to a huge increase in rice production. The economy started to change from a purely agricultural economy to a commercial one, with peasants selling their surplices to buy a wide range of goods, such as tea, coal, oil and wine. With the growth in the economy, so grew the population, hitting 100 million by the year 1100 AD.

Three of China's four great inventions originate from the Song Dynasty, namely: printing, the magnetic compass and gunpowder.