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“WEN TIANXIANG”
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(Chinese: 宋朝;
pinyin: Sòng cháo;
960–1279)
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(the Song dynasty 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 2 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”)
(cue the beatles’ “only a northern song”)
(as george martin audibly groans in the control room)
(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 2 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))
(the population of China doubled in size during the 10th and 11th centuries)
(this growth was made possible by expanded rice cultivation in central and southern ‘Song’, the use of early-ripening rice from south-east and southern ‘Asia’, and the production of widespread food surpluses)
(the ‘Northern Song’ census recorded a population of roughly 50 million, much like the ‘Han’ and ‘Tang’ dynasties)
(this data is found in the ‘Standard Histories’)
(however, it is estimated that the ‘Northern Song’ had a population of some 100 million people, and 200 million by the time of the ‘Ming’ dynasty)
(this dramatic increase of population fomented an economic revolution in pre-modern China)
(the expansion of the population, growth of cities, and the emergence of a national economy led to the gradual withdrawal of the central government from direct involvement in economic affairs)
(the lower gentry assumed a larger role in grassroots administration and local affairs)
(appointed officials in county and provincial centers relied upon the scholarly gentry for their services, sponsorship, and local supervision)
(social life during the ‘Song’ was vibrant)
(citizens gathered to view and trade precious artworks, the populace intermingled at public festivals and private clubs, and cities had lively entertainment quarters)
(the spread of literature and knowledge was enhanced by the rapid expansion of ‘woodblock printing’ and the 11th-century invention of ‘movable-type printing’)
(‘technology’, ‘science’, ‘philosophy’, ‘mathematics’, and ‘engineering’ flourished over the course of the ‘Song’)
(philosophers such as ‘Cheng Yi’ and ‘Zhu Xi’ reinvigorated ‘Confucianism’ with new commentary, infused with ‘Buddhist’ 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 examinations’ had existed since the ‘Sui’ dynasty, it became much more prominent in the ‘Song’ period)
(the officials who gained power by succeeding in the exams became a leading factor in the shift from a ‘military-aristocratic’ elite to a ‘bureaucratic’ elite)
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*👨🔬🕵️♀️🙇♀️*SKETCHES*🙇♂️👩🔬🕵️♂️*
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👈👈👈 ☜ *“LATER ZHOU”*
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*“JIN DYNASTY”* ☞ 👉👉👉
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👈👈👈☜*“MIDDLE IMPERIAL CHINA”* ☞ 👉👉👉
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💕💝💖💓🖤💙🖤💙🖤💙🖤❤️💚💛🧡❣️💞💔💘❣️🧡💛💚❤️🖤💜🖤💙🖤💙🖤💗💖💝💘
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*🌈✨ *TABLE OF CONTENTS* ✨🌷*
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🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥*we won the war* 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥