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{{Infobox Former Country|native_name = 宋|conventional_long_name = Song|common_name = Song Dynasty|national_motto =|continent = Asia|region = China|country = China|era =|status = Empire|government_type = Monarchy|year_start = 960|year_end = 1279|p1 = Later Zhou Dynasty|s1 = Yuan Dynasty|event_start = Zhao Kuangyin taking over the throne of the Later Zhou Dynasty|event_end = [Battle of Yamen; the end of Song rule]|year_exile_start = 1276|year_exile_end = 1279|event1 = Jingkang Incident|date_event1 = 1127|event2 = Surrender of Hangzhou|date_event2 = 1276|event3 =|date_event3 =|event4 =|date_event4 =|event5 =|date_event5 =|image_map = China 11a.jpg|image_map_caption = Northern Song in 1111 AD|capital =
Kaifeng(960–1127)
Hangzhou(1127–1276)|common_languages = Chinese language|religion =
Buddhism, Taoism,
Confucianism, [Huizi (currency), copper coins etc.]|leader2 = Emperor Qinzong of Song|leader3 =
Emperor Gaozong of Song|leader4 =
Emperor Bing of Song|year_leader1 = 960–976|year_leader2 = 1126–1127|year_leader3 = 1127–1162|year_leader4 = 1278–1279|title_leader =
List of Song Emperors|legislature =|stat_year1 = Peak|stat_area1 =|stat_pop1 = 100,000,000-->The
Song Dynasty (; Wade-Giles: Sung Ch'ao) was a ruling Chinese 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, and the first Chinese polity to establish Naval history of China.
The population of China doubled in size between the 10th and 11th centuries. This growth came through expanded rice cultivation in central and southern China and the production of abundant food surpluses. Within its borders, the Northern Song Dynasty had a population of some 100 million people.Ebrey et al., 156. This dramatic increase of population fomented and fueled Economy of the Song Dynasty.
The Song Dynasty is divided into two distinct periods: the Northern Song and Southern Song. During the
Northern Song (, 960–1127), the Song capital was in the northern city of Kaifeng and the dynasty controlled most of inner China. The
Southern Song (, 1127–1279) refers to the period after the Song lost control of
Northern and southern China to the
Jin Dynasty, 1115–1234. During this time, the Song court retreated south of the
Yangtze River and established their capital at Hangzhou. Although the Song had lost control of the traditional birthplace of Chinese civilization along the Yellow River, the Song economy was not in ruins, as the Southern Song contained 60 percent of China's population and a majority of the most productive agricultural land. The Southern Song Dynasty considerably bolstered navy strength to defend its waters and land borders and to conduct Maritime history#Asia and the Far East missions abroad. To repel the Jin (and then the
Mongols), the Song developed revolutionary new military technology augmented by the use of gunpowder. In 1234, the Jin Dynasty was conquered by the Mongols, who subsequently took control of northern China and maintained uneasy relations with the Southern Song. Mongke Khan, the fourth
Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, was killed in battle; his successor was Kublai Khan, was perceived both as the new Great Khan of the Mongols and as the
Emperor of China.Rossabi, 115 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. People wore clothes that befit their social class, where high scholar-officials drafted through the Imperial examinations and posted in governmental offices were destinguished by their lavish
silken robes. From many surviving written sources, the daily diet and foods enjoyed by Song people from rich to poor has been well documented, even in surviving menus from medieval restaurants. 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 (philosopher) and
Zhu Xi reinvigorated Confucianism with new commentary, infused with Buddhism ideals, and emphasized a new organization of classic texts that brought out the core doctrine of Neo-Confucianism. Although the institution of the civil service had existed since the Sui Dynasty, it became much more prominent in the Song period, and was a leading factor in the shift of an
aristocratic elite to a
bureaucratic elite. Exam-drafted
Scholar-bureaucrats 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, state-sponsored, and state-employed architects, engineers, carpenters, and craftsmen erected thousands of bridges, pagoda towers, temple halls, palace halls, Ancestor worship, shops and storefronts, 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 followed standards published in state-sponsored building manuals.
History
Northern Song
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.Needham, Volume 3, 518. He also promoted groundbreaking science and technological innovations by supporting such works as the
astronomical clock clock tower designed and built by the engineer
Zhang Sixun.Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 469–471.
From its inception with the first emperor Taizu, the Song Dynasty was engaged in alternating states of warfare and diplomacy with the ethnic
Khitan peoples of the Liao Dynasty in the northeast and with the Tanguts of the Western Xia Dynasty in the northwest. The Song Dynasty used military force in an attempt to quell the Liao Dynasty and recapture the
Sixteen Prefectures, a territory under Khitan control that was traditionally considered to be part of the Chinese domain.Mote, 69. However, Song forces were repulsed by the Liao forces who engaged in aggressive yearly campaigns into northern Song territory until 1004 when the signing of the Treaty of Shanyuan ended these northern frontier border clashes. The Chinese were forced to pay heavy tribute to the Khitans, although the paying of this tribute did little damage to the overall Song economy since the Khitans were heavily dependent upon importing massive amounts of goods from the Song Dynasty.Ebrey et al., 154. More significantly, the Song state recognized the Liao state as its diplomatic equal.Mote, 70–71. The Song Dynasty managed to win several military victories over the Tanguts in the early 11th century, culminating in a campaign led by the polymath scientist, general, and statesman Shen Kuo (1031–1095).Sivin, III, 8. However, this campaign was ultimately a failure due to a rival military officer of Shen disobeying direct orders, and the territory gained from the
Western Xia was eventually lost.Sivin, III, 9.
teapot in the Qingbai style, from Jingdezhen, Song Dynasty.
During the 11th century, political rivalries thoroughly divided members of the court due to the ministers' differing approaches, opinions, and policies regarding the handling of the Song's complex society and thriving economy. The idealist Chancellor of China
Fan Zhongyan (989–1052) was the first to receive a heated political backlash when he attempted to make such reforms as improving the recruitment system of officials, increasing the salaries for minor officials, and establishing sponsorship programs to allow a wider range of people to be well educated and eligible for state service.Ebrey et al., 163. After Fan was forced to step down from his office, Wang Anshi (1021–1086) became chancellor of the imperial court. With the backing of
Emperor Shenzong of Song (1067–1085), Wang Anshi severely criticized the educational system and state bureaucracy. Seeking to resolve what he saw as state corruption and negligence, Wang implemented a series of reforms called the New Policies. These involved
land tax reform, the establishment of several government monopolies, the support of local militias, and the creation of higher standards for the Imperial examination to make it more practical for men skilled in statecraft to pass.Ebrey et al., 164. The reforms created political factions in the court with Wang Anshi's New Policies Group (Xin Fa), or the 'Reformers' in one camp, opposed by the ministers in the 'Conservative' faction led by Chancellor Sima Guang (1019–1086) in the other.Sivin, III, 3–4. As one faction supplanted another in the majority position of the court ministers, it would demote rival officials and exile them to govern remote frontier regions of the empire. One of the prominent victims of the political rivalry, the famous poet and statesman Su Shi (1037–1101), was jailed and eventually exiled for criticizing Wang's reforms.
polychrome wood-carved statue of
Guan Yin, Shanxi Province, China, (907–1125)While the central Song court remained politically divided and focused upon its internal affairs, alarming new events to the north in the Liao state finally came to its attention. The Jurchen, a subject tribe within the Liao empire, rebelled against the Liao and formed their own state, the Jin Dynasty (1115–1234) (1115–1234).Ebrey et al., 165. The Song official Tong Guan (1054–1126) advised the reigning
Emperor Huizong of Song (1100–1125) to form an alliance with the Jurchens and their joint military campaign toppled and completely conquered the Liao Dynasty by 1125. However, the poor performance and military weakness of the Song army was observed by the Jurchens, who immediately broke the alliance with the Song and launched an invasion into Song territory in 1125 and another in 1127 when the Jurchens managed to capture not only the Song capital at Kaifeng, but the retired emperor Huizong and the succeeding Emperor Qinzong of Song as well as most of his court. This took place in the year of Jingkang (Chinese language 靖康) and it is known as the Humiliation of Jingkang (
Chinese language 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.
Southern Song
Although 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.Wang, 14Sivin, III, 5.Paludan, 136. To protect and support the multitudes of ships sailing for maritime interests into the waters of the East China Sea and Yellow Sea (to
Korea and Japan), South East Asia, the Indian Ocean, and the
Red Sea, it was a necessity to establish an official standing navy.Shen, 159–161. The Song Dynasty therefore established China's first permanent navy in 1132, with the admiral's main headquarter stationed at Dinghai.Needham, Volume 4, Part 3, 476. With a permanent navy, the Song were prepared to face the naval forces of the Jin on the Yangtze River in 1161, in the Battle of Tangdao and the
Battle of Caishi. During these battles the Song navy employed swift paddle steamer naval crafts armed with trebuchet aboard the decks that launched gunpowder bombs. Although the Jin forces boasted 70,000 men on 600 warships, and the Song forces only 3,000 men on 120 warships,Levathes, 43–47 the Song Dynasty forces were victorious in both battles due to the destructive power of the bombs and the rapid assaults by paddle wheel ships.Needham, Volume 1, 134. The strength of the navy was heavily emphasized after that. A century after the navy was founded it had grown in size to 52,000 fighting marines. The Song government confiscated portions of land owned by the landed gentry in order to raise revenue for these projects, an act which caused dissension and loss of loyalty amongst leading members of Song society but did not stop the Song's defensive preparations.Ebrey, 239.Embree, 385.
statue,
Jin Dynasty, 1115–1234 (1115–1234).Although the Song Dynasty was able to hold back the Jin, a new considerable foe came to power over the steppe, deserts, and plains north of the Jin Dynasty. The
Mongols, led by Genghis Khan (r. 1206–1227), initially invaded the Jin Dynasty in 1205 and 1209, engaging in large raids across its borders, and in 1211 an enormous Mongol army was assembled to invade the Jin.Ebrey et al., 235. The Jin Dynasty was forced to submit and pay tribute to the Mongols as vassals; when the Jin suddenly moved their capital city from Beijing to Kaifeng, the Mongols saw this as a revolt.Ebrey et al., 236. Under the leadership of
Ögedei Khan (r.1229–1241), both the Jin Dynasty and Western Xia Dynasty were conquered by Mongol forces.Needham, Volume 1, 139. The Mongols were at one time allied with the Song, but this alliance was broken when the Song recaptured the former imperial capitals of Kaifeng, Luoyang, and
Chang'an at the collapse of the Jin Dynasty. As the Mongols invaded and conquered
Korea, the Abbasid
Caliphate of the Middle East, and
Kievan Rus' of
Russia, the Mongol leader
Mongke Khan was killed in 1259 during the Battle of Fishing Town in
Chongqing, China.Ebrey et al., 240. This prompted Hulagu Khan to pull the bulk of Mongol forces out of the Middle East where they were poised to fight the Egyptian Mamluks, instead they would face the Song. By 1276, most of the Song Chinese territory had been captured by Mongol forces. 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 Emperor Bing of Song, committed suicide along with the official Lu Xiufu.
Society and culture
The Song Dynasty was an era of administrative sophistication and complex social organization. Some of the largest cities in the world were found in China during this period (with Hangzhou boasting a population of one million).Ebrey et al., 167. People enjoyed various social clubs and entertainments in the cities, and there were numerous schools and temples to provide the public with education and religious services. The Song government supported multiple forms of social welfare programs, including the establishment of retirement homes, public clinics, and pauper's graveyards. Although women were on a lower social tier than men (according to
Confucian ethics), they enjoyed many social and legal privileges and wielded considerable power at home and in their own small businesses. They were equal in status to men in
inheritance.Ebrey et al., 170.Ebrey et al., 171. There were many notable and well-educated women and it was a common practice for women to write poetry and educate their sons during their earliest youth.Sivin, III, 1. The mother of the scientist, general, diplomat, and statesman
Shen Kuo, who taught him essentials of military strategy, and
Li Qingzhao (1084–1151), known for her elegant poetry are examples. Despite the disdain for trade and commerce exhibited by the highly cultured and elite exam-drafted Scholar-bureaucrats,
commercialism and
mercantilism played a prominent role in Song culture and society. Religion in China during this period had a great effect on people's lives, beliefs and daily activities, and
Chinese literature on spirituality was popular.Ebrey, 172. The major deities of Daoism and Buddhism,
ancestor worship and the many deities of
Chinese folk religion were worshiped with sacrificial offerings. The populace engaged in a vibrant social and domestic life, enjoying such public festivals as the Lantern Festival or the
Qingming Festival. There were entertainment quarters in cities such as Hangzhou, with a constant array of puppeteers, acrobats, Chinese folklore, Music of China, prostitutes, and places to relax including
tea houses, restaurants, and organized banquets.Ebrey et al., 167.China. (2007). In
Encyclopædia Britannica. From Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved on
2007-06-28 People attended social clubs in large numbers; there were tea clubs, exotic food clubs, antiquarian and art collectors' clubs, horse-loving clubs, poetry clubs and music clubs. At home they enjoyed activities such as the
go board game and the xiangqi board game.
Buddhist monk
Wuzhun Shifan, painted in 1238.During this period greater emphasis was laid upon the
civil service system of recruiting officials; this was based upon degrees acquired through competitive
Imperial examinations, in an effort to select the most capable individuals for governance. Selecting men for office through proven merit
Xiaolian. The civil service system became institutionalized on a small scale during the
Sui Dynasty and Tang Dynasty dynasties, but by the Song period it became virtually the only means for drafting officials into the government.Ebrey,
Cambridge Illustrated History of China, 145-146. The advent of widespread
printing helped to widely circulate Confucian teachings and to educate more and more eligible candidates for the exams.Ebrey,
Cambridge Illustrated History of China, 147. This can be seen in the number of exam takers for the low-level prefectural exams rising from 30,000 annual candidates in the early 11th century to 400,000 candidates by the late 13th century. The civil service and examination system allowed for greater
meritocracy,
social mobility, and equality in competition for those wishing to attain an official seat in government.Ebrey et al., 162. State-gathered
statistics suggested that having a father or other relative who had served as a high official of state did not guarantee an individual would obtain the same level of authority.Ebrey et al., 162. Nevertheless, many felt disenfranchised by what they saw as a bureaucratic system that favored the land-holding class able to afford the best education. One of the greatest literary critics of this was the official and famous poet Su Shi. Yet Su was a product of his times, as the identity of the
Scholar-bureaucrats itself had become less
aristocratic and more
bureaucratic with the transition of the periods from Tang to Song.Ebrey, 159.
The Song Judiciary retained most of the legal code of the earlier Tang Dynasty.Ebrey, 161. Official magistrates overseeing court cases were not only expected to be well-versed in written law but to promote morality in society. Song judges specified the guilty person or party in a criminal act and meted out punishments accordingly, often in the form of
caning. Roving sheriffs maintained law and order in the municipal juridsictions and occasionally ventured into the countryside.McKnight, 155–157. Shen Kuo's
Dream Pool Essays educated the Chinese in human anatomy, spurring an interest in the performance of post-mortem
autopsy in China during the 12th century.Sivin, III, 30–31Sivin, III, 30–31, footnote 27. The physician and judge known as
Song Ci (1186–1249) wrote a pioneering work of forensic science on the examination of corpses in order to determine cause of death (strangulation, poisoning, drowning, blows, etc.) and to prove whether death resulted from murder, suicide, or accidental death.Gernet, 170. Song Ci stressed the importance of proper coroner's conduct during autopsies and the accurate recording of the
inquest of each autopsy by official clerks.Sung, 12.Sung, 72.
The Song Dynasty supported a widespread
postal service that was modeled on the earlier
Han Dynasty postal system to provide swift communication throughout the empire.Needham, Volume 4, Part 3, 35. The central government employed thousands of postal workers of various ranks and responsibilities to provide service for post offices and larger postal stations. These post offices were placed along every major road at intervals of five
li (unit) in distance (one li in Song times = 323 m/1059 ft), while major postal stations were placed every 30 li.Needham, Volume 4, Part 3, 36.
Military
catapult, from the
Wujing Zongyao manuscript of 1044.Although the scholar-officials viewed Military history of China as lower members in the hierarchic social order,Graff, 25–26. a person could gain status and prestige in society by becoming a high ranking military officer with a record of victorious battles.Lorge, 43. At its height, the Song military had one million soldiers divided into platoons of 50 troops, companies made of two platoons, and one battalion composed of 500 soldiers.Lorge, 45.Peers, 130.
Crossbowmen were separated from the regular infantry and placed in their own units as they were prized combatants, providing effective missile fire against cavalry charges. Crossbowmen were also valuable when employed as long-range
snipers since the government was eager to sponsor new crossbow designs that could shoot at longer ranges.Peers, 130-131. Song cavalry employed a slew of different weapons, including halberds, swords, bows, spears, and 'fire lances' that discharged a
gunpowder blast of flame and
shrapnel.Peers, 131. Military strategy and military training were treated as science that could be studied and perfected; soldiers were tested in their skills of using weaponry and in their athletic ability.Peers, 129. The troops were trained to follow signal standards to advance at the waving of banners and to halt at the sound of bells and drums.Peers, 130. The Song navy was of great importance during the consolidation of the empire in the 10th century; during the war against the Southern Tang state the Song navy employed tactics such as defending large floating pontoon bridges across the
Yangtze River in order to secure movements of troops and supplies.Graff, 87. There were large naval ships in the Song that could carry 1,000 soldiers aboard their decks,Graff, 86-87. while the swift-moving Paddle steamer were viewed as essential fighting ships in any successful naval battle.Needham, Volume 4, Part 3, 422.
There were a total of 347 military treatises written during the Song period, as listed by the history text of the
Song Shi (compiled in 1345).Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 19. However, only a handful of these military treatises have survived, which includes the
Wujing Zongyao written in 1044. It was the first known book to have listed formulas for gunpowder;Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 119. it gave appropriate formulas for use in several different kinds of gunpowder bombs.Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 122-124. It also provided detailed description and illustrations of double-piston pump
flamethrowers, as well as insructions for the maintenance and repair of the components and equipment used in the device.Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 82-84.
Arts, literature, and philosophy
statue from the Song Dynasty (960–1279)The visual arts during the Song Dynasty were heightened by new developments such as advances in landscape and portrait painting. An aristocratic elite engaged in the arts as accepted pastimes of the cultured scholar-official, including
Chinese painting, composing
Chinese poetry, and
Chinese calligraphy.Ebrey, 81–83. The poet and statesman Su Shi and his associate
Mi Fu (1051–1107) enjoyed
antiquarian affairs, often borrowing or buying art pieces to study and copy. Poetry and
Chinese literature profited from the rising popularity and development of the ci (poetry), while enormous
encyclopedic volumes were compiled, such as works of
historiography and dozens of treatises on technical subjects. These included the
universal history text of the
Zizhi Tongjian, collected into 1000 volumes of 9.4 million written
Chinese characters. The genre of Chinese
travel literature also became popular with the writings of the geographer
Fan Chengda (1126–1193) and Su Shi, the latter of whom wrote the 'daytrip essay' known as
Su Shi#Travel record literature that used persuasive writing to argue for a philosophical point.Hargett, 74–76. The imperial courts of the emperor's palace were filled with his entourage of court painters, calligraphers, poets, and storytellers.
Emperor Huizong of Song was a renowned artist as well as a patron of the arts. A prime example of a highly venerated court painter was Zhang Zeduan (1085–1145) who painted an enormous panoramic painting,
Along the River During Qingming Festival.
Emperor Gaozong of Song initiated a massive art project during his reign, known as the
Eighteen Songs of a Nomad Flute from the life story of
Cai Wenji.In
Chinese philosophy,
Chinese Buddhism had waned in influence but it retained its hold on the arts and on the charities of monasteries. Buddhism had a profound influence upon the budding movement of Neo-Confucianism, led by Cheng Yi (philosopher) (1033–1107) and
Zhu Xi (1130–1200).Ebrey et al., 168.
Mahayana Buddhism influenced Fan Zhongyan and Wang Anshi through its concept of ethical
universalism,Wright, 93. while Buddhist metaphysics had a deep impact upon the pre–Neo-Confucian doctrine of Cheng Yi.Ebrey et al., 168. The philosophical work of Cheng Yi in turn influenced Zhu Xi and, although his writings were not accepted by his peers, his emphasis on the Confucian classics outlined by him in his Four Books formed the basis of the Neo-Confucian doctrine. Zhu Xi's Four Books and his commentary on them became standard requirements to study for students attempting to pass the Imperial examinations by the mid 13th century.Ebrey et al., 169. China adopted Neo-Confucianism, as did other countries of East Asia, including
Japan and Korea. Zhu Xi's teaching in both of these countries became known as the Shushigaku (朱子学, School of Zhu Xi) of Japan, and in Korea the Jujahak (주자학). Buddhism's continuing influence can be seen in painted artwork such as
Lin Tinggui's
Luohan Laundering. However, the ideology was highly criticized and even scorned by some. The statesman and historian
Ouyang Xiu (1007–1072) called the religion a "curse" that could only be remedied by uprooting it from Culture of China and replacing it with Confucian discourse.Wright, 88–89.
Cuisine and apparel
, showing the long robes and the official black-colored
silk headgear worn by the emperor.The food that one consumed and the clothes that one wore in Song China were largely dictated by one's status and social class. The main food staples in the diet of the lower classes remained rice, pork, and salted fish;Gernet, 136. their clothing materials were made of hempen or cotton cloths, restricted to a color standard of black and white.Gernet, 128.Gernet, 130. Pant trousers were the acceptable form of attire for farming peasants, soldiers, artisans, and merchants, although wealthy merchants chose to flaunt more ornate clothing and male-
blouses that came down below the waist. For the upper class of
scholar-bureaucrats, their choice in acceptable apparel was rigidly confined to a social hierarchic ranking system. However, as time went on this rule of rank-graded apparel for officials was not as strictly enforced as it was in the beginning of the dynasty. Each official was able to flaunt his awarded status by wearing different-colored traditional
Han Chinese clothing that hung to the ground around his feet, specific types of headgear, and even specific styles of
girdles that displayed his graded-rank of officialdom.Gernet, 127–128. The main difference in women's apparel was that it was fastened on the left, not on the right.Gernet, 129. Women in the Song period wore long dresses, blouses that came down to the knee, skirts and jackets with long or short sleeves, while women from wealthy families could wear purple scarf around their shoulders. There is a multitude of existing
restaurant and tavern
menus and listed
entrées for feasts, banquets, festivals, and carnivals during the Song period,Gernet, 133. all of which reveal a very diverse and lavish diet for those of the upper class. In their meals they could choose from a wide variety of meats, including
shrimp,
geese,
duck,
shellfish,
fallow deer,
hare,
partridge, pheasant, francolin, quail, and many others.Gernet, 134.Gernet, 136–137. Dairy products were absent from Chinese cuisine and culture altogether, beef was rarely consumed since the cattle was a valuable draft animal, and
dog meat was absent from the diet of the wealthy, although the poor could choose to eat dog meat if necessary (yet it was not part of their regular diet).Gernet, 135-136. People also consumed dates, raisins, jujubes,
pears, apricots, pear juice, lychee-fruit juice, honey and ginger drinks, pawpaw juice, spices and seasonings of Sichuan pepper,
ginger,
pimento,
soya sauce,
oil, salt, and
vinegar.Gernet, 134–135.Gernet, 138.
Economy
ship, 13th century; Chinese ships of the Song period featured
Hull (watercraft)s with Bulkhead (partition).The economy of the Song Dynesty was one of the most prosperous and advanced economies in the medieval world. The Song Chinese invested their funds in joint stock company with guild heads and in multiple sailing vessels at a time when monetary gain was assured from the vigorous overseas trade.Ebrey et al., 157. Prominent merchant families, private businesses, and government-operated monopoly shared the various industries that were developed to meet the many needs of a growing population.Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 23. The iron industry was pursued by both private entreprenuers who owned their own smelters as well as government-supervised smelting facilities.Wagner, 178–179.Wagner, 181–183. The Song economy was stable enough to produce over a hundred million kg (over two hundred million lb) of
iron product a year.Ebrey et al., 158. Large scale
deforestation in China would have continued if not for the 11th century innovation of the use of coal instead of charcoal in blast furnaces for smelting
cast iron.Ebrey, 158. Much of this iron was reserved for military use in crafting weapons and armoring troops, but some was used to fashion the many iron products needed to fill the demands of the growing indigenous market. The iron trade within China was furthered by the building of new canals which aided the flow of iron products from production centers to the large market found in the capital city.Embree 339. The annual output of minted copper currency in 1085 alone reached roughly six billion coins.Ebrey et al., 156. The most notable advancement in the Song economy was the establishment of the world's first government issued paper-printed money, known as Jiaozi (currency) (
see also Huizi (currency)). For the printing of
banknote alone, the Song court established several government-run factories in the cities of
Huizhou,
Chengdu,
Hangzhou, and Anqi.Needham, Volume 5, Part 1, 48. The size of the workforce employed in paper money factories was large; it was recorded in 1175 that the factory at Hangzhou employed more than a thousand workers a day.
blue-toned
ceramic glaze, from
Jingdezhen, 11th century;
Center item: A Northern or Southern Song qingbai-ware bowl with incised
lotus decorations, a metal rim, and a transparent blue-toned glaze, from Jingdezhen, 12th or 13th century;
Right item: A Southern Song
scale model of a storage
granary with removable top lid and doorway, qingbai porcelain with transparent blue-toned glaze, Jingdezhen, 13th century.The economic power of Song China heavily influenced foreign economies abroad. The Moroccan
Muslim geographer al-Idrisi wrote in 1154 AD of the prowess of Chinese merchant ships in the Indian Ocean and of their annual voyages that brought iron, swords, silk, velvet, porcelain, and various textiles to places such as Aden (Yemen), the
Indus River, and the
Euphrates River in modern-day Iraq.Shen, 159–161. Foreigners, in turn, had an impact on the Chinese economy. For example, many Muslims went to
China to trade, and dominated the import and export industry. Sea trade with the South East Pacific, the Hindu world, the Islamic world, and the East African world brought merchants great fortune and spurred an enormous growth in the
shipbuilding industry of Song-era
Fujian province. However, there was risk involved in such long overseas ventures. To reduce the risk of losing money on maritime trade missions abroad, the historians Ebrey, Walthall, and Palais write:
Technology
catapult from the
Wujing Zongyao manuscript of 1044. Trebuchets like this were used to launch the earliest type of explosive bombs.
Gunpowder warfare
Advancements in weapons technology enhanced by Greek fire and gunpowder, including the evolution of the early
flamethrower, explosive
grenade,
firearm, cannon, and
land mine, enabled the Song Chinese to ward off their militant enemies until the Song's ultimate collapse in the late 13th century.Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 80.Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 82.Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 220–221.Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 192. The
Wujing Zongyao manuscript of 1044 was also the first book in history to provide formulas for gunpowder and their specified use in different types of bombs.Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 117. While engaged in a war with the
Mongols, in the year 1259 the official Li Zengbo wrote in his
Kozhai Zagao, Xugaohou that the city of Qingzhou was manufacturing one to two thousand strong iron-cased bomb shells a month, dispatching to
Xiangyang and Yingzhou about ten to twenty thousand such bombs at a time.Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 173–174. In turn, the invading Mongols employed northern Chinese soldiers and used these same type of gunpowder weapons against the Song Chinese.Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 174–175. By the 14th century the firearm and cannon could also be found in Europe, India, and the Islamic Middle East, during the early age of gunpowder warfare.
Measuring distance and mechanical navigation
As in earlier periods (for example, in the
Han Dynasty), when the state needed to effectively measure distances traveled throughout the empire, the Song Chinese relied on the mechanical
odometer device. The Chinese odometer came in the form of a wheeled-carriage, its inner gears functioning off the rotated motion of the wheels, and specific units of distance marked by the mechanical striking of a drum or bell for auditory alarm.Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 281–282. An 11th century Song government minister (Chief Chamberlain Lu Daolong) writing about the Song era odometer's specifications is quoted extensively in the historical text of the
Song Shi (compiled by 1345). In the Song period, the odometer vehicle was also combined with another old complex mechanical device known as the South Pointing Chariot.Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 291. This device, originally crafted by
Ma Jun in the 3rd century, incorporated a differential (mechanical device) that allowed a figure mounted on the vehicle to always point in the southern direction, no matter how the vehicle's wheels' turned about.Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 287. The device concept of the differential gear for this navigational vehicle is now found in all modern
automobiles in order to apply the equal amount of torque to wheels rotating at different speeds.
Inventions and discoveries of polymaths
clocktower of Kaifeng featured in Su Song's book, written by 1092 and published in printed form by the year 1094.Polymath figures such as the statesmen Shen Kuo and Su Song (1020–1101) embodied advancements in all fields of study, including
biology,
botany,
zoology, minerology, mechanics,
horology,
astronomy,
pharmaceutical medicine,
archeology,
mathematics, cartography,
optics, art criticism, and more.Needham, Volume 1, 136.Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 446. Shen Kuo's writing is famous for many reasons, as he was the first to discern magnetic declination of
true north while using a compass,Mohn, 1.Embree, 843. his description of Bi Sheng's invention of
movable type printing, a theory of land formation involving concepts accepted in modern geomorphology,Sivin, III, 23–24. provided description of optical experiments with
camera obscura just decades after Ibn al-Haytham was the first to do so,Needham, Volume 4, Part 1, 98. and his descriptions of improved technological designs such as the widened astronomical sighting tube, which allowed Shen Kuo to fix the position of the pole star (which had shifted over centuries of time).Sivin, III, 17. Su Song was best known for his horology treatise written in 1092, which described and illustrated in great detail his hydraulic-powered, 12 m (40 ft) tall
astronomical clock clock tower built in Kaifeng. The clock tower featured large astronomical instruments of the armillary sphere and celestial globe, both driven by an
escapement mechanism (roughly two centuries before the verge escapement could be found in clockworks of Europe).Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 445.Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 448. In addition, Su Song's clock tower featured the world's first endless power-transmitting chain drive,Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 111. an essential mechanical device found in many practical uses throughout the ages, such as the
bicycle. Shen Kuo was also known for hydraulic clockworks, as he invented a new overflow-tank
clepsydra which had more efficient higher-order interpolation instead of linear interpolation in calibrating the measure of time.Sivin, III, 17. Although the endeavors of the polymaths Shen and Su represent perhaps the highest achievements in technology and science during the Song period, there were many other significant technical writers and inventions. For example, Qin Guan's book published in 1090, the
Can Shu (Book of
Sericulture), described a silk-reeling machine that employed the first known use of a Belt (mechanical).Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 107–108.
Movable type printing
s from Su Song's
Xin Yi Xiang Fa Yao published in 1092, featuring Mercator projection and the corrected position of the
pole star thanks to Shen Kuo's astronomical observations. Su Song's celestial atlas of 5 star maps is actually the oldest in printing form.Sivin, III, 32.The innovation of
movable type printing was made by the artisan Bi Sheng (990–1051), first described by the scientist and statesman Shen Kuo in his
Dream Pool Essays of 1088.Needham, Volume 5, Part 1, 201–203.Sivin, III, 27. The collection of Bi Sheng's original clay-fired typeface was passed on to one of Shen Kuo's nephews, and was carefully preserved.Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 33.Sivin, III, 27. Movable type enhanced the already widespread use of
woodblock printing thousands of documents and volumes of written literature, consumed eagerly by an increasingly literate public. The advancement of printing had a deep impact on education and the scholar-official class, since more books could be made faster while mass-produced, printed books were cheaper in comparison to laborious handwritten copies. The enhancement of widespread printing and print culture in the Song period was thus a direct
catalyst in the rise of
social mobility and expansion of the educated class of scholar elites, the latter which expanded dramatically in size from the 11th to 13th centuries.Ebrey, 160.
Civil engineering and nautics
There were considerable advancements in
civil engineering and nautical technology during the Song Dynasty. The 10th century invention of the
pound lock for canal systems allowed different water levels to be raised and lowered for separated segments of a canal, which significantly aided the safety of canal traffic and allowed for larger barges to pass through.Needham, Volume 4, Part 3, 350–351. There was the Song era innovation of Bulkhead (partition) for ships that allowed possible damage to the
Hull (watercraft) w
{{Infobox Former Country|native_name = 宋|conventional_long_name = Song|common_name = Song Dynasty|national_motto =|continent = Asia|region = China|country = China|era =|status = Empire|government_type = Monarchy|year_start = 960|year_end = 1279|p1 = Later Zhou Dynasty|s1 = Yuan Dynasty|event_start =
Zhao Kuangyin taking over the throne of the
Later Zhou Dynasty|event_end = [Battle of Yamen; the end of Song rule]|year_exile_start = 1276|year_exile_end = 1279|event1 = Jingkang Incident|date_event1 = 1127|event2 = Surrender of Hangzhou|date_event2 = 1276|event3 =|date_event3 =|event4 =|date_event4 =|event5 =|date_event5 =|image_map = China 11a.jpg|image_map_caption = Northern Song in 1111 AD|capital = Kaifeng(960–1127)
Hangzhou(1127–1276)|common_languages = Chinese language|religion =
Buddhism,
Taoism,
Confucianism, [Huizi (currency),
copper coins etc.]|leader2 = Emperor Qinzong of Song|leader3 = Emperor Gaozong of Song|leader4 = Emperor Bing of Song|year_leader1 = 960–976|year_leader2 = 1126–1127|year_leader3 = 1127–1162|year_leader4 = 1278–1279|title_leader =
List of Song Emperors|legislature =|stat_year1 = Peak|stat_area1 =|stat_pop1 = 100,000,000-->The
Song Dynasty (; Wade-Giles: Sung Ch'ao) was a ruling
Chinese 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, and the first Chinese polity to establish Naval history of China.
The population of China doubled in size between the 10th and 11th centuries. This growth came through expanded rice cultivation in central and southern China and the production of abundant food surpluses. Within its borders, the Northern Song Dynasty had a population of some 100 million people.Ebrey et al., 156. This dramatic increase of population fomented and fueled Economy of the Song Dynasty.
The Song Dynasty is divided into two distinct periods: the Northern Song and Southern Song. During the
Northern Song (, 960–1127), the Song capital was in the northern city of Kaifeng and the dynasty controlled most of inner China. The
Southern Song (, 1127–1279) refers to the period after the Song lost control of
Northern and southern China to the Jin Dynasty, 1115–1234. During this time, the Song court retreated south of the Yangtze River and established their capital at
Hangzhou. Although the Song had lost control of the traditional birthplace of Chinese civilization along the
Yellow River, the Song economy was not in ruins, as the Southern Song contained 60 percent of China's population and a majority of the most productive agricultural land. The Southern Song Dynasty considerably bolstered
navy strength to defend its waters and land borders and to conduct
Maritime history#Asia and the Far East missions abroad. To repel the Jin (and then the
Mongols), the Song developed revolutionary new military technology augmented by the use of
gunpowder. In 1234, the Jin Dynasty was conquered by the Mongols, who subsequently took control of northern China and maintained uneasy relations with the Southern Song. Mongke Khan, the fourth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, was killed in battle; his successor was Kublai Khan, was perceived both as the new Great Khan of the Mongols and as the Emperor of China.Rossabi, 115 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. People wore clothes that befit their social class, where high scholar-officials drafted through the
Imperial examinations and posted in governmental offices were destinguished by their lavish
silken robes. From many surviving written sources, the daily diet and foods enjoyed by Song people from rich to poor has been well documented, even in surviving
menus from medieval restaurants. 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 (philosopher) and
Zhu Xi reinvigorated Confucianism with new commentary, infused with Buddhism ideals, and emphasized a new organization of classic texts that brought out the core doctrine of
Neo-Confucianism. Although the institution of the
civil service had existed since the
Sui Dynasty, it became much more prominent in the Song period, and was a leading factor in the shift of an aristocratic elite to a bureaucratic elite. Exam-drafted Scholar-bureaucrats 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, state-sponsored, and state-employed architects, engineers, carpenters, and craftsmen erected thousands of bridges,
pagoda towers, temple halls, palace halls,
Ancestor worship, shops and storefronts, 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 followed standards published in state-sponsored building manuals.
History
Northern Song
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.Needham, Volume 3, 518. He also promoted groundbreaking science and technological innovations by supporting such works as the astronomical clock clock tower designed and built by the engineer Zhang Sixun.Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 469–471.
From its inception with the first emperor Taizu, the Song Dynasty was engaged in alternating states of warfare and diplomacy with the ethnic Khitan peoples of the Liao Dynasty in the northeast and with the Tanguts of the Western Xia Dynasty in the northwest. The Song Dynasty used military force in an attempt to quell the Liao Dynasty and recapture the
Sixteen Prefectures, a territory under Khitan control that was traditionally considered to be part of the Chinese domain.Mote, 69. However, Song forces were repulsed by the Liao forces who engaged in aggressive yearly campaigns into northern Song territory until 1004 when the signing of the Treaty of Shanyuan ended these northern frontier border clashes. The Chinese were forced to pay heavy tribute to the Khitans, although the paying of this tribute did little damage to the overall Song economy since the Khitans were heavily dependent upon importing massive amounts of goods from the Song Dynasty.Ebrey et al., 154. More significantly, the Song state recognized the Liao state as its diplomatic equal.Mote, 70–71. The Song Dynasty managed to win several military victories over the Tanguts in the early 11th century, culminating in a campaign led by the polymath scientist, general, and statesman Shen Kuo (1031–1095).Sivin, III, 8. However, this campaign was ultimately a failure due to a rival military officer of Shen disobeying direct orders, and the territory gained from the Western Xia was eventually lost.Sivin, III, 9.
teapot in the Qingbai style, from Jingdezhen, Song Dynasty.
During the 11th century, political rivalries thoroughly divided members of the court due to the ministers' differing approaches, opinions, and policies regarding the handling of the Song's complex society and thriving economy. The idealist
Chancellor of China Fan Zhongyan (989–1052) was the first to receive a heated political backlash when he attempted to make such reforms as improving the recruitment system of officials, increasing the salaries for minor officials, and establishing sponsorship programs to allow a wider range of people to be well educated and eligible for state service.Ebrey et al., 163. After Fan was forced to step down from his office,
Wang Anshi (1021–1086) became chancellor of the imperial court. With the backing of
Emperor Shenzong of Song (1067–1085), Wang Anshi severely criticized the educational system and state bureaucracy. Seeking to resolve what he saw as state corruption and negligence, Wang implemented a series of reforms called the New Policies. These involved land tax reform, the establishment of several government monopolies, the support of local
militias, and the creation of higher standards for the Imperial examination to make it more practical for men skilled in statecraft to pass.Ebrey et al., 164. The reforms created political factions in the court with Wang Anshi's New Policies Group (Xin Fa), or the 'Reformers' in one camp, opposed by the ministers in the 'Conservative' faction led by Chancellor Sima Guang (1019–1086) in the other.Sivin, III, 3–4. As one faction supplanted another in the majority position of the court ministers, it would demote rival officials and exile them to govern remote frontier regions of the empire. One of the prominent victims of the political rivalry, the famous poet and statesman
Su Shi (1037–1101), was jailed and eventually exiled for criticizing Wang's reforms.
polychrome wood-carved statue of
Guan Yin,
Shanxi Province, China, (907–1125)While the central Song court remained politically divided and focused upon its internal affairs, alarming new events to the north in the Liao state finally came to its attention. The
Jurchen, a subject tribe within the Liao empire, rebelled against the Liao and formed their own state, the
Jin Dynasty (1115–1234) (1115–1234).Ebrey et al., 165. The Song official Tong Guan (1054–1126) advised the reigning Emperor Huizong of Song (1100–1125) to form an alliance with the Jurchens and their joint military campaign toppled and completely conquered the Liao Dynasty by 1125. However, the poor performance and military weakness of the Song army was observed by the Jurchens, who immediately broke the alliance with the Song and launched an invasion into Song territory in 1125 and another in 1127 when the Jurchens managed to capture not only the Song capital at Kaifeng, but the retired emperor Huizong and the succeeding Emperor Qinzong of Song as well as most of his court. This took place in the year of Jingkang (Chinese language 靖康) and it is known as the
Humiliation of Jingkang (Chinese language 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.
Southern Song
Although 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.Wang, 14Sivin, III, 5.Paludan, 136. To protect and support the multitudes of ships sailing for maritime interests into the waters of the East China Sea and
Yellow Sea (to
Korea and
Japan),
South East Asia, the
Indian Ocean, and the
Red Sea, it was a necessity to establish an official standing navy.Shen, 159–161. The Song Dynasty therefore established China's first permanent navy in 1132, with the admiral's main headquarter stationed at Dinghai.Needham, Volume 4, Part 3, 476. With a permanent navy, the Song were prepared to face the naval forces of the Jin on the Yangtze River in 1161, in the Battle of Tangdao and the Battle of Caishi. During these battles the Song navy employed swift paddle steamer naval crafts armed with trebuchet aboard the decks that launched gunpowder
bombs. Although the Jin forces boasted 70,000 men on 600 warships, and the Song forces only 3,000 men on 120 warships,Levathes, 43–47 the Song Dynasty forces were victorious in both battles due to the destructive power of the bombs and the rapid assaults by paddle wheel ships.Needham, Volume 1, 134. The strength of the navy was heavily emphasized after that. A century after the navy was founded it had grown in size to 52,000 fighting marines. The Song government confiscated portions of land owned by the landed gentry in order to raise revenue for these projects, an act which caused dissension and loss of loyalty amongst leading members of Song society but did not stop the Song's defensive preparations.Ebrey, 239.Embree, 385.
statue,
Jin Dynasty, 1115–1234 (1115–1234).Although the Song Dynasty was able to hold back the Jin, a new considerable foe came to power over the steppe, deserts, and plains north of the Jin Dynasty. The Mongols, led by Genghis Khan (r. 1206–1227), initially invaded the Jin Dynasty in 1205 and 1209, engaging in large raids across its borders, and in 1211 an enormous Mongol army was assembled to invade the Jin.Ebrey et al., 235. The Jin Dynasty was forced to submit and pay tribute to the Mongols as
vassals; when the Jin suddenly moved their capital city from
Beijing to Kaifeng, the Mongols saw this as a revolt.Ebrey et al., 236. Under the leadership of
Ögedei Khan (r.1229–1241), both the Jin Dynasty and Western Xia Dynasty were conquered by Mongol forces.Needham, Volume 1, 139. The Mongols were at one time allied with the Song, but this alliance was broken when the Song recaptured the former imperial capitals of Kaifeng,
Luoyang, and
Chang'an at the collapse of the Jin Dynasty. As the Mongols invaded and conquered
Korea, the
Abbasid Caliphate of the Middle East, and
Kievan Rus' of Russia, the Mongol leader
Mongke Khan was killed in 1259 during the Battle of Fishing Town in
Chongqing, China.Ebrey et al., 240. This prompted
Hulagu Khan to pull the bulk of Mongol forces out of the Middle East where they were poised to fight the Egyptian Mamluks, instead they would face the Song. By 1276, most of the Song Chinese territory had been captured by Mongol forces. 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
Emperor Bing of Song, committed suicide along with the official Lu Xiufu.
Society and culture
The Song Dynasty was an era of administrative sophistication and complex social organization. Some of the largest cities in the world were found in China during this period (with Hangzhou boasting a population of one million).Ebrey et al., 167. People enjoyed various social clubs and entertainments in the cities, and there were numerous schools and temples to provide the public with education and religious services. The Song government supported multiple forms of social welfare programs, including the establishment of retirement homes, public clinics, and pauper's
graveyards. Although women were on a lower social tier than men (according to
Confucian ethics), they enjoyed many social and legal privileges and wielded considerable power at home and in their own small businesses. They were equal in status to men in inheritance.Ebrey et al., 170.Ebrey et al., 171. There were many notable and well-educated women and it was a common practice for women to write poetry and educate their sons during their earliest youth.Sivin, III, 1. The mother of the scientist, general, diplomat, and statesman
Shen Kuo, who taught him essentials of military strategy, and Li Qingzhao (1084–1151), known for her elegant poetry are examples. Despite the disdain for trade and commerce exhibited by the highly cultured and elite exam-drafted Scholar-bureaucrats, commercialism and mercantilism played a prominent role in Song culture and society. Religion in China during this period had a great effect on people's lives, beliefs and daily activities, and Chinese literature on spirituality was popular.Ebrey, 172. The major deities of Daoism and
Buddhism,
ancestor worship and the many deities of
Chinese folk religion were worshiped with sacrificial offerings. The populace engaged in a vibrant social and domestic life, enjoying such public festivals as the Lantern Festival or the
Qingming Festival. There were entertainment quarters in cities such as Hangzhou, with a constant array of puppeteers, acrobats, Chinese folklore,
Music of China, prostitutes, and places to relax including tea houses, restaurants, and organized banquets.Ebrey et al., 167.China. (2007). In
Encyclopædia Britannica. From Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved on
2007-06-28 People attended social clubs in large numbers; there were tea clubs, exotic food clubs,
antiquarian and art collectors' clubs, horse-loving clubs, poetry clubs and music clubs. At home they enjoyed activities such as the
go board game and the xiangqi board game.
Buddhist monk
Wuzhun Shifan, painted in 1238.During this period greater emphasis was laid upon the
civil service system of recruiting officials; this was based upon degrees acquired through competitive Imperial examinations, in an effort to select the most capable individuals for governance. Selecting men for office through proven merit Xiaolian. The civil service system became institutionalized on a small scale during the Sui Dynasty and
Tang Dynasty dynasties, but by the Song period it became virtually the only means for drafting officials into the government.Ebrey,
Cambridge Illustrated History of China, 145-146. The advent of widespread printing helped to widely circulate Confucian teachings and to educate more and more eligible candidates for the exams.Ebrey,
Cambridge Illustrated History of China, 147. This can be seen in the number of exam takers for the low-level prefectural exams rising from 30,000 annual candidates in the early 11th century to 400,000 candidates by the late 13th century. The civil service and examination system allowed for greater
meritocracy, social mobility, and equality in competition for those wishing to attain an official seat in government.Ebrey et al., 162. State-gathered statistics suggested that having a father or other relative who had served as a high official of state did not guarantee an individual would obtain the same level of authority.Ebrey et al., 162. Nevertheless, many felt disenfranchised by what they saw as a bureaucratic system that favored the land-holding class able to afford the best education. One of the greatest literary critics of this was the official and famous poet Su Shi. Yet Su was a product of his times, as the identity of the
Scholar-bureaucrats itself had become less
aristocratic and more
bureaucratic with the transition of the periods from Tang to Song.Ebrey, 159.
The Song
Judiciary retained most of the legal code of the earlier Tang Dynasty.Ebrey, 161. Official magistrates overseeing court cases were not only expected to be well-versed in written law but to promote morality in society. Song judges specified the guilty person or party in a criminal act and meted out punishments accordingly, often in the form of caning. Roving sheriffs maintained law and order in the municipal juridsictions and occasionally ventured into the countryside.McKnight, 155–157. Shen Kuo's
Dream Pool Essays educated the Chinese in human
anatomy, spurring an interest in the performance of post-mortem autopsy in China during the 12th century.Sivin, III, 30–31Sivin, III, 30–31, footnote 27. The physician and judge known as Song Ci (1186–1249) wrote a pioneering work of forensic science on the examination of corpses in order to determine cause of death (strangulation, poisoning, drowning, blows, etc.) and to prove whether death resulted from murder, suicide, or accidental death.Gernet, 170. Song Ci stressed the importance of proper
coroner's conduct during autopsies and the accurate recording of the
inquest of each autopsy by official clerks.Sung, 12.Sung, 72.
The Song Dynasty supported a widespread postal service that was modeled on the earlier
Han Dynasty postal system to provide swift communication throughout the empire.Needham, Volume 4, Part 3, 35. The central government employed thousands of postal workers of various ranks and responsibilities to provide service for post offices and larger postal stations. These post offices were placed along every major road at intervals of five
li (unit) in distance (one li in Song times = 323 m/1059 ft), while major postal stations were placed every 30 li.Needham, Volume 4, Part 3, 36.
Military
catapult, from the
Wujing Zongyao manuscript of 1044.Although the scholar-officials viewed
Military history of China as lower members in the hierarchic social order,Graff, 25–26. a person could gain status and prestige in society by becoming a high ranking military officer with a record of victorious battles.Lorge, 43. At its height, the Song military had one million soldiers divided into
platoons of 50 troops, companies made of two platoons, and one battalion composed of 500 soldiers.Lorge, 45.Peers, 130.
Crossbowmen were separated from the regular infantry and placed in their own units as they were prized combatants, providing effective missile fire against cavalry charges. Crossbowmen were also valuable when employed as long-range snipers since the government was eager to sponsor new crossbow designs that could shoot at longer ranges.Peers, 130-131. Song cavalry employed a slew of different weapons, including halberds, swords, bows, spears, and 'fire lances' that discharged a gunpowder blast of flame and shrapnel.Peers, 131. Military strategy and military training were treated as science that could be studied and perfected; soldiers were tested in their skills of using weaponry and in their athletic ability.Peers, 129. The troops were trained to follow signal standards to advance at the waving of banners and to halt at the sound of bells and drums.Peers, 130. The Song navy was of great importance during the consolidation of the empire in the 10th century; during the war against the Southern Tang state the Song navy employed tactics such as defending large floating pontoon bridges across the Yangtze River in order to secure movements of troops and supplies.Graff, 87. There were large naval ships in the Song that could carry 1,000 soldiers aboard their decks,Graff, 86-87. while the swift-moving Paddle steamer were viewed as essential fighting ships in any successful naval battle.Needham, Volume 4, Part 3, 422.
There were a total of 347 military treatises written during the Song period, as listed by the history text of the
Song Shi (compiled in 1345).Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 19. However, only a handful of these military treatises have survived, which includes the
Wujing Zongyao written in 1044. It was the first known book to have listed formulas for gunpowder;Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 119. it gave appropriate formulas for use in several different kinds of gunpowder bombs.Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 122-124. It also provided detailed description and illustrations of double-piston pump
flamethrowers, as well as insructions for the maintenance and repair of the components and equipment used in the device.Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 82-84.
Arts, literature, and philosophy
statue from the Song Dynasty (960–1279)The visual arts during the Song Dynasty were heightened by new developments such as advances in landscape and portrait painting. An aristocratic elite engaged in the arts as accepted pastimes of the cultured scholar-official, including
Chinese painting, composing
Chinese poetry, and
Chinese calligraphy.Ebrey, 81–83. The poet and statesman Su Shi and his associate
Mi Fu (1051–1107) enjoyed
antiquarian affairs, often borrowing or buying art pieces to study and copy. Poetry and Chinese literature profited from the rising popularity and development of the
ci (poetry), while enormous
encyclopedic volumes were compiled, such as works of historiography and dozens of treatises on technical subjects. These included the universal history text of the
Zizhi Tongjian, collected into 1000 volumes of 9.4 million written Chinese characters. The genre of Chinese
travel literature also became popular with the writings of the geographer
Fan Chengda (1126–1193) and Su Shi, the latter of whom wrote the 'daytrip essay' known as
Su Shi#Travel record literature that used
persuasive writing to argue for a philosophical point.Hargett, 74–76. The imperial courts of the emperor's palace were filled with his entourage of court painters, calligraphers, poets, and storytellers.
Emperor Huizong of Song was a renowned artist as well as a patron of the arts. A prime example of a highly venerated court painter was
Zhang Zeduan (1085–1145) who painted an enormous panoramic painting,
Along the River During Qingming Festival. Emperor Gaozong of Song initiated a massive art project during his reign, known as the
Eighteen Songs of a Nomad Flute from the life story of Cai Wenji.In
Chinese philosophy, Chinese Buddhism had waned in influence but it retained its hold on the arts and on the charities of monasteries. Buddhism had a profound influence upon the budding movement of Neo-Confucianism, led by
Cheng Yi (philosopher) (1033–1107) and
Zhu Xi (1130–1200).Ebrey et al., 168.
Mahayana Buddhism influenced Fan Zhongyan and Wang Anshi through its concept of ethical universalism,Wright, 93. while Buddhist
metaphysics had a deep impact upon the pre–Neo-Confucian doctrine of Cheng Yi.Ebrey et al., 168. The philosophical work of Cheng Yi in turn influenced Zhu Xi and, although his writings were not accepted by his peers, his emphasis on the Confucian classics outlined by him in his Four Books formed the basis of the Neo-Confucian doctrine. Zhu Xi's Four Books and his commentary on them became standard requirements to study for students attempting to pass the Imperial examinations by the mid 13th century.Ebrey et al., 169. China adopted Neo-Confucianism, as did other countries of East Asia, including
Japan and
Korea. Zhu Xi's teaching in both of these countries became known as the Shushigaku (朱子学, School of Zhu Xi) of Japan, and in Korea the Jujahak (주자학). Buddhism's continuing influence can be seen in painted artwork such as
Lin Tinggui's
Luohan Laundering. However, the ideology was highly criticized and even scorned by some. The statesman and historian Ouyang Xiu (1007–1072) called the religion a "curse" that could only be remedied by uprooting it from Culture of China and replacing it with Confucian discourse.Wright, 88–89.
Cuisine and apparel
, showing the long robes and the official black-colored silk headgear worn by the emperor.The food that one consumed and the clothes that one wore in Song China were largely dictated by one's status and social class. The main food staples in the diet of the lower classes remained rice, pork, and salted fish;Gernet, 136. their clothing materials were made of
hempen or cotton cloths, restricted to a color standard of black and white.Gernet, 128.Gernet, 130. Pant
trousers were the acceptable form of attire for farming peasants, soldiers, artisans, and merchants, although wealthy merchants chose to flaunt more ornate clothing and male-blouses that came down below the waist. For the upper class of scholar-bureaucrats, their choice in acceptable apparel was rigidly confined to a social hierarchic ranking system. However, as time went on this rule of rank-graded apparel for officials was not as strictly enforced as it was in the beginning of the dynasty. Each official was able to flaunt his awarded status by wearing different-colored traditional Han Chinese clothing that hung to the ground around his feet, specific types of headgear, and even specific styles of girdles that displayed his graded-rank of officialdom.Gernet, 127–128. The main difference in women's apparel was that it was fastened on the left, not on the right.Gernet, 129. Women in the Song period wore long dresses, blouses that came down to the knee, skirts and jackets with long or short sleeves, while women from wealthy families could wear purple scarf around their shoulders. There is a multitude of existing restaurant and
tavern menus and listed entrées for feasts, banquets, festivals, and carnivals during the Song period,Gernet, 133. all of which reveal a very diverse and lavish diet for those of the upper class. In their meals they could choose from a wide variety of meats, including shrimp, geese, duck, shellfish,
fallow deer, hare, partridge, pheasant, francolin,
quail, and many others.Gernet, 134.Gernet, 136–137. Dairy products were absent from Chinese cuisine and culture altogether, beef was rarely consumed since the
cattle was a valuable draft animal, and dog meat was absent from the diet of the wealthy, although the poor could choose to eat dog meat if necessary (yet it was not part of their regular diet).Gernet, 135-136. People also consumed dates,
raisins, jujubes,
pears,
apricots, pear juice,
lychee-fruit juice,
honey and ginger drinks, pawpaw juice, spices and seasonings of
Sichuan pepper, ginger, pimento, soya sauce, oil,
salt, and vinegar.Gernet, 134–135.Gernet, 138.
Economy
ship, 13th century; Chinese ships of the Song period featured
Hull (watercraft)s with
Bulkhead (partition).The economy of the Song Dynesty was one of the most prosperous and advanced economies in the medieval world. The Song Chinese invested their funds in joint stock company with
guild heads and in multiple sailing vessels at a time when monetary gain was assured from the vigorous overseas trade.Ebrey et al., 157. Prominent merchant families, private businesses, and government-operated monopoly shared the various industries that were developed to meet the many needs of a growing population.Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 23. The iron industry was pursued by both private
entreprenuers who owned their own smelters as well as government-supervised smelting facilities.Wagner, 178–179.Wagner, 181–183. The Song economy was stable enough to produce over a hundred million kg (over two hundred million lb) of iron product a year.Ebrey et al., 158. Large scale
deforestation in China would have continued if not for the 11th century innovation of the use of
coal instead of
charcoal in
blast furnaces for smelting cast iron.Ebrey, 158. Much of this iron was reserved for military use in crafting weapons and armoring troops, but some was used to fashion the many iron products needed to fill the demands of the growing indigenous market. The iron trade within China was furthered by the building of new canals which aided the flow of iron products from production centers to the large market found in the capital city.Embree 339. The annual output of minted copper currency in 1085 alone reached roughly six billion coins.Ebrey et al., 156. The most notable advancement in the Song economy was the establishment of the world's first government issued paper-printed money, known as Jiaozi (currency) (
see also Huizi (currency)). For the printing of
banknote alone, the Song court established several government-run factories in the cities of
Huizhou, Chengdu,
Hangzhou, and Anqi.Needham, Volume 5, Part 1, 48. The size of the workforce employed in paper money factories was large; it was recorded in 1175 that the factory at Hangzhou employed more than a thousand workers a day.
blue-toned ceramic glaze, from
Jingdezhen, 11th century;
Center item: A Northern or Southern Song qingbai-ware bowl with incised lotus decorations, a metal rim, and a transparent blue-toned glaze, from Jingdezhen, 12th or 13th century;
Right item: A Southern Song scale model of a storage
granary with removable top lid and doorway, qingbai porcelain with transparent blue-toned glaze, Jingdezhen, 13th century.The economic power of Song China heavily influenced foreign economies abroad. The Moroccan Muslim geographer al-Idrisi wrote in 1154 AD of the prowess of Chinese merchant ships in the Indian Ocean and of their annual voyages that brought iron, swords, silk, velvet, porcelain, and various textiles to places such as Aden (Yemen), the Indus River, and the
Euphrates River in modern-day Iraq.Shen, 159–161. Foreigners, in turn, had an impact on the Chinese economy. For example, many
Muslims went to
China to trade, and dominated the import and export industry. Sea trade with the South East Pacific, the Hindu world, the Islamic world, and the East African world brought merchants great fortune and spurred an enormous growth in the
shipbuilding industry of Song-era Fujian province. However, there was risk involved in such long overseas ventures. To reduce the risk of losing money on maritime trade missions abroad, the historians Ebrey, Walthall, and Palais write:
Technology
catapult from the
Wujing Zongyao manuscript of 1044. Trebuchets like this were used to launch the earliest type of explosive bombs.
Gunpowder warfare
Advancements in weapons technology enhanced by Greek fire and gunpowder, including the evolution of the early flamethrower, explosive
grenade, firearm, cannon, and
land mine, enabled the Song Chinese to ward off their militant enemies until the Song's ultimate collapse in the late 13th century.Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 80.Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 82.Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 220–221.Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 192. The
Wujing Zongyao manuscript of 1044 was also the first book in history to provide formulas for gunpowder and their specified use in different types of bombs.Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 117. While engaged in a war with the Mongols, in the year 1259 the official Li Zengbo wrote in his
Kozhai Zagao, Xugaohou that the city of
Qingzhou was manufacturing one to two thousand strong iron-cased bomb shells a month, dispatching to Xiangyang and Yingzhou about ten to twenty thousand such bombs at a time.Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 173–174. In turn, the invading Mongols employed northern Chinese soldiers and used these same type of gunpowder weapons against the Song Chinese.Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 174–175. By the 14th century the firearm and cannon could also be found in Europe, India, and the Islamic Middle East, during the early age of gunpowder warfare.
Measuring distance and mechanical navigation
As in earlier periods (for example, in the
Han Dynasty), when the state needed to effectively measure distances traveled throughout the empire, the Song Chinese relied on the mechanical odometer device. The Chinese odometer came in the form of a wheeled-carriage, its inner gears functioning off the rotated motion of the wheels, and specific units of distance marked by the mechanical striking of a drum or bell for auditory alarm.Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 281–282. An 11th century Song government minister (Chief Chamberlain Lu Daolong) writing about the Song era odometer's specifications is quoted extensively in the historical text of the
Song Shi (compiled by 1345). In the Song period, the odometer vehicle was also combined with another old complex mechanical device known as the
South Pointing Chariot.Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 291. This device, originally crafted by Ma Jun in the 3rd century, incorporated a
differential (mechanical device) that allowed a figure mounted on the vehicle to always point in the southern direction, no matter how the vehicle's wheels' turned about.Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 287. The device concept of the differential gear for this navigational vehicle is now found in all modern
automobiles in order to apply the equal amount of torque to wheels rotating at different speeds.
Inventions and discoveries of polymaths
clocktower of Kaifeng featured in
Su Song's book, written by 1092 and published in printed form by the year 1094.Polymath figures such as the statesmen Shen Kuo and
Su Song (1020–1101) embodied advancements in all fields of study, including biology, botany, zoology, minerology,
mechanics,
horology,
astronomy, pharmaceutical
medicine,
archeology, mathematics,
cartography,
optics, art criticism, and more.Needham, Volume 1, 136.Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 446. Shen Kuo's writing is famous for many reasons, as he was the first to discern magnetic declination of
true north while using a compass,Mohn, 1.Embree, 843. his description of Bi Sheng's invention of
movable type printing, a theory of land formation involving concepts accepted in modern geomorphology,Sivin, III, 23–24. provided description of optical experiments with
camera obscura just decades after
Ibn al-Haytham was the first to do so,Needham, Volume 4, Part 1, 98. and his descriptions of improved technological designs such as the widened astronomical sighting tube, which allowed Shen Kuo to fix the position of the pole star (which had shifted over centuries of time).Sivin, III, 17. Su Song was best known for his horology treatise written in 1092, which described and illustrated in great detail his
hydraulic-powered, 12 m (40 ft) tall astronomical clock
clock tower built in Kaifeng. The clock tower featured large astronomical instruments of the armillary sphere and celestial globe, both driven by an escapement mechanism (roughly two centuries before the
verge escapement could be found in
clockworks of Europe).Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 445.Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 448. In addition, Su Song's clock tower featured the world's first endless power-transmitting
chain drive,Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 111. an essential mechanical device found in many practical uses throughout the ages, such as the bicycle. Shen Kuo was also known for hydraulic clockworks, as he invented a new overflow-tank
clepsydra which had more efficient higher-order interpolation instead of linear interpolation in calibrating the measure of time.Sivin, III, 17. Although the endeavors of the polymaths Shen and Su represent perhaps the highest achievements in technology and science during the Song period, there were many other significant technical writers and inventions. For example, Qin Guan's book published in 1090, the
Can Shu (Book of
Sericulture), described a
silk-reeling machine that employed the first known use of a
Belt (mechanical).Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 107–108.
Movable type printing
s from Su Song's
Xin Yi Xiang Fa Yao published in 1092, featuring Mercator projection and the corrected position of the pole star thanks to Shen Kuo's astronomical observations. Su Song's celestial atlas of 5 star maps is actually the oldest in printing form.Sivin, III, 32.The innovation of movable type printing was made by the artisan Bi Sheng (990–1051), first described by the scientist and statesman Shen Kuo in his
Dream Pool Essays of 1088.Needham, Volume 5, Part 1, 201–203.Sivin, III, 27. The collection of Bi Sheng's original clay-fired
typeface was passed on to one of Shen Kuo's nephews, and was carefully preserved.Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 33.Sivin, III, 27. Movable type enhanced the already widespread use of woodblock printing thousands of documents and volumes of written literature, consumed eagerly by an increasingly literate public. The advancement of printing had a deep impact on education and the scholar-official class, since more books could be made faster while mass-produced, printed books were cheaper in comparison to laborious handwritten copies. The enhancement of widespread printing and
print culture in the Song period was thus a direct catalyst in the rise of
social mobility and expansion of the educated class of scholar elites, the latter which expanded dramatically in size from the 11th to 13th centuries.Ebrey, 160.
Civil engineering and nautics
There were considerable advancements in
civil engineering and nautical technology during the Song Dynasty. The 10th century invention of the pound lock for canal systems allowed different water levels to be raised and lowered for separated segments of a canal, which significantly aided the safety of canal traffic and allowed for larger barges to pass through.Needham, Volume 4, Part 3, 350–351. There was the Song era innovation of Bulkhead (partition) for ships that allowed possible damage to the
Hull (watercraft) w
Song Dynasty - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Song Dynasty (Chinese: 宋朝; pinyin: Sòng Cháo; Wade-Giles: Sung Ch'ao) was a ruling dynasty in China between 960–1279 CE; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten ...
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Song Dynasty (960-1279)
With a prosperous economy and radiant culture, the Song Dynasty was considered as another period of 'golden age' after the glorious Tang Dynasty.
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Zhao Kuangyin, a military general of the Latter Zhou Dynasty established the Northern Song Dynasty in Kaifeng. The development of science, culture, and art was advanced during the ...
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Those who say that it does can point to economic growth, commercialization, urbanization, the spread of printing, and the growth of literacy and education ...
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Hier beschreiben Sie mit ein, zwei Sätzen den Inhalt dieser Datei. ... Song Dynasty: Northern Song 北宋 (960-1126) Southern Song 南宋 (1127-1279)
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