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Northern Song dynasty

Song dynasty
宋朝
960–1279
A map showing the territory of the Song, Liao, and Western Xia dynasties. The Song occupies the east half of what constitutes the territory of the modern People's Republic of China, except for the northernmost areas (modern Inner Mongolia and above). Western Xia occupies a small strip of land surrounding a river in what is now Inner Mongolia and Ningxia, and the Liao occupy a large section of what is today north-east China.
Northern Song in 1111
Capital Bianjing (汴京)
(960–1127)

Lin'an (臨安)
(1127–1276)
Languages Chinese
Religion Buddhism
Taoism
Confucianism
Heaven worship
Chinese folk religion
Chinese Manichaeism
Christianity
Islam
Government Monarchy
Emperor
 •  960–976 Emperor Taizu
 •  1126–1127 Emperor Qinzong
 •  1127–1162 Emperor Gaozong
 •  1278–1279 Emperor Bing
Historical era Postclassical Era
 •  Established by Zhao Kuangyin, Emperor Taizu of Song 960
 •  Alliance Conducted at Sea 1115–1125
 •  Jingkang Incident 1127
 •  Beginning of Mongol invasion 1235
 •  Surrender of Lin'an 1276
 •  Battle of Yamen marks end of Song rule March 19, 1279
Area
 •  958 est. 800,000 km² (308,882 sq mi)
 •  980 est. 3,100,000 km² (1,196,917 sq mi)
 •  1127 est. 2,100,000 km² (810,815 sq mi)
 •  1204 est. 1,800,000 km² (694,984 sq mi)
Population
 •  1120 est. 118,800,000 
Currency Jiaozi, Huizi, Chinese cash, Chinese coin, copper coins, etc.
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Later Zhou
Jingnan
Later Shu
Southern Han
Southern Tang
Wuyue
Northern Han
Yuan dynasty
Today part of  China
 Hong Kong
 Macau
Song dynasty
Song dynasty (Chinese characters).svg
"Song dynasty" in Chinese characters
Chinese 宋朝

The Song dynasty (Chinese: 宋朝; pinyin: Sòng cháo; 960–1279) was an era of Chinese history that began in 960 and continued until 1279. It succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, coincided with the Liao and Western Xia dynasties, and was followed by the Yuan dynasty. It was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or true paper money nationally and the first Chinese government to establish a permanent standing navy. This dynasty also saw the first known use of gunpowder, as well as the first discernment of true north using a compass.

The Song dynasty is divided into two distinct periods, Northern and Southern. During the Northern Song (Chinese: 北宋; 960–1127), the Song capital was in the northern city of Bianjing (now Kaifeng) and the dynasty controlled most of what is now Eastern China. The Southern Song (Chinese: 南宋; 1127–1279) refers to the period after the Song lost control of its northern half to the Jurchen Jin dynasty in the Jin–Song Wars. During this time, the Song court retreated south of the Yangtze and established its capital at Lin'an (now Hangzhou). Although the Song dynasty had lost control of the traditional "birthplace of Chinese civilization" along the Yellow River, the Song economy was still strong, as the Southern Song Empire contained a large population and productive agricultural land. The Southern Song dynasty considerably bolstered its naval strength to defend its waters and land borders and to conduct maritime missions abroad.


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