Origins
The Song Dynasty emerged from the chaos of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (907-960) that followed the Tang collapse. Zhao Kuangyin, a military commander, was proclaimed emperor by his troops in 960 and proceeded to reunify China through a combination of military campaigns and diplomatic absorption of southern states. Crucially, he then demilitarized China’s government, establishing civilian supremacy over the military that would characterize the Song and distinguish it from previous dynasties.
The founding emperor and his successors deliberately weakened military power to prevent the coups that had plagued the Five Dynasties. Generals were rotated frequently, troops separated from their commanders, and civil officials given authority over military affairs. The examination system expanded dramatically, creating a meritocratic bureaucracy that displaced the hereditary aristocracy of earlier eras. Song China would be governed by scholar-officials selected through rigorous examinations in Confucian classics, poetry, and policy essays.
The Song never controlled all of traditional Chinese territory. The Khitan Liao dynasty held northern territories including the strategic Sixteen Prefectures around Beijing. Later, the Jurchen Jin dynasty conquered the Liao and then northern China itself in 1127, forcing the Song court to flee south and establish the Southern Song with its capital at Hangzhou. This reduced Song remained commercially vibrant and culturally creative until Mongol conquest completed in 1279.
Structure & Function
The Song government represented the fullest development of Chinese bureaucratic rule. The examination system became the dominant path to office, selecting perhaps 200,000 candidates during the dynasty. Three levels of examinations—prefectural, provincial, and palace—winnowed aspirants through competitions in classical knowledge, literary composition, and policy analysis. The emperor himself examined top candidates in the palace examination. Success brought prestige, office, and tax exemptions; the examination elite became China’s governing class.
Administration was centralized and professionalized. The chancellor and vice chancellors headed the civil bureaucracy; separate bureaus handled military affairs, finance, and censorship. Provincial administration was reorganized to prevent regional autonomy: fiscal, judicial, and military functions were separated among different officials reporting to different capital bureaus. This elaborate division of authority prevented any single official from accumulating dangerous power but also created coordination problems and bureaucratic inertia.
The Song state was actively involved in the economy. Government monopolies on salt, tea, and alcohol generated substantial revenues. The state issued paper money—the world’s first government-issued currency—and operated a sophisticated fiscal system. Government policies promoted commerce, manufacturing, and agricultural improvement. The result was an economic revolution: iron production, textile manufacturing, and agricultural output reached levels not matched in Europe for centuries. Population doubled; cities grew to unprecedented size; commerce flourished.
Historical Significance
Song China achieved technological advances that would later transform the world. Gunpowder, known earlier, was developed into weapons—fire arrows, bombs, rockets, and primitive guns. Printing, invented in Tang times, was refined with movable type (invented by Bi Sheng around 1040). The magnetic compass, first used for geomancy, was adapted for navigation, enabling the ocean voyages that would later connect the world. These inventions reached Europe via the Mongol routes and Islamic intermediaries, contributing to the transformation of European warfare, knowledge diffusion, and exploration.
The Song economy was the world’s most advanced. Urbanization rates approached modern levels; Hangzhou may have reached one million inhabitants. Paper money facilitated commerce; sophisticated financial instruments developed. Maritime trade expanded dramatically: Song ships reached India, Persia, and East Africa. Chinese exports—silk, porcelain, tea—were exchanged for spices, ivory, and precious metals. Some historians argue that Song China was on the verge of an industrial revolution, interrupted by Mongol conquest.
Neo-Confucianism, synthesized by Zhu Xi (1130-1200), became the dominant ideology of later Chinese civilization. Zhu Xi integrated Buddhist and Daoist concepts into Confucian philosophy, creating a comprehensive worldview explaining cosmic order, human nature, and proper conduct. His commentaries on the Four Books became the standard curriculum for examinations, shaping Chinese education for seven centuries. Neo-Confucianism spread to Korea, Japan, and Vietnam, influencing East Asian thought into modern times.
Key Developments
- 960: Zhao Kuangyin founds Song Dynasty; begins reunification
- 976: Emperor Taizong succeeds; completes reunification
- 1004: Treaty of Shanyuan; Song pays tribute to Liao
- c. 1040: Bi Sheng invents movable type printing
- 1044: First known formula for gunpowder published
- 1069-1085: Wang Anshi reforms; controversial state activism
- 1100: Huizong becomes emperor; artistic patronage, political weakness
- 1115: Jurchen establish Jin dynasty
- 1125: Jin conquer Liao
- 1127: Jin capture Kaifeng; Northern Song ends
- 1127: Southern Song established at Hangzhou
- c. 1130: Compass adapted for maritime navigation
- 1130-1200: Zhu Xi develops Neo-Confucianism
- 1141: Treaty with Jin; Song acknowledges vassal status
- 1206: Mongols unite under Genghis Khan
- 1234: Mongols and Song destroy Jin
- 1268-1273: Mongol siege of Xiangyang
- 1276: Mongols capture Hangzhou
- 1279: Battle of Yamen; last Song emperor dies; dynasty ends