Soong Dynasty

Song
宋
960–1279
Northern Song in 1111. The largest territory of the Song dynasty at that period.
Capital		Bianjing (960–1127) Jiangning (1129–1138) Lin'an (1138–1276)
Languages		Middle Chinese
Religion		Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Chinese folk religion
Government		Monarchy
Emperor
•	960–976	Emperor Taizu (Northern Song)
•	1127–1162	Emperor Gaozong (Southern Song)
Historical era		Postclassical Era
•	Established	February 4, 960
•	Alliance with Jin	1115–1125
•	Jingkang Incident	1127
•	Beginning of Mongol invasion	1235
•	Fall of Lin'an	1276
•	Battle of Yamen (end of dynasty)	March 19, 1279
Area
•	958 est.	800,000 km2 (310,000 sq mi)
•	980 est.	3,100,000 km2 (1,200,000 sq mi)
•	1127 est.	2,100,000 km2 (810,000 sq mi)
•	1204 est.	1,800,000 km2 (690,000 sq mi)
Population
•	1120 est.	118,800,000
Currency		Jiaozi, Guanzi, 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

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 ʈʂʰǎu] 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 was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of Later Zhou, ending the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. The Song often came into conflict with the contemporary Liao and Western Xia dynasties in the north and was conquered by the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Song government was the first 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. To repel the Jin, and later 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 took control of northern China, maintaining uneasy relations with the Southern Song. Möngke Khan, the fourth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, died in 1259 while besieging the city of Chongqing. His younger brother Kublai Khan was proclaimed the new Great Khan, though his claim was only partially recognized by the Mongols in the west. In 1271, Kublai Khan was proclaimed the Emperor of China. After two decades of sporadic warfare, Kublai Khan's armies conquered the Song dynasty in 1279. The Mongol invasion led to a reunification under the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368).