Song Dynasty (960-1279)

Song dynasty
宋朝
960–1279
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" in Chinese characters
Chinese	宋朝
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Sòng cháo Gwoyeu Romatzyh Sonq chaur Wade–Giles Sung4 ch'ao2 IPA [sʊ̂ŋ ʈʂʰǎu̯] Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Sung chìuh Jyutping Sung3 ciu4 Southern Min Tâi-lô Sòng tiâu

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.