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Song (Sung)
Dynasty
960-1279
Same dynasty but
when N. Song was
lost to N. tribes in
1127 the name
changes
Sui, Tang and Song China
Song Overview
• prosperous economy/ trade along
Silk Road
• radiant culture with goods and
entertainment from all over the
world
• Most urban Chinese culture
• Beginning of modern China
• Strongest empire in the world at
this time
Sui, Tang and Song China
Sui, Tang and Song China
Song Politics
• effective centralized
bureaucracy
• Elite families
important locally
• Official must pass the
Civil Service Exam
• the mercantile class
grew in power as
they became wealthy
Sui, Tang and Song China
Zhao Kuang-yin
founder of Song
Song Economics
• Agriculture improved = more food
• paper currency used regularly
• private trade grew, and a market
economy began to link the coastal
provinces and the interior.
• Much trade along Silk Road,
Grand Canal and coastal regions
of China and SE Asia
Sui, Tang and Song China
Song Grain Mill
Sui, Tang and Song China
Song Religion
• Confucianism remains the most
important official philosophy
• Neo-Confucianism added
metaphysical answers to many
Buddhist questions
• Buddhism continued
• Taoism also
• Ancestor worship
Sui, Tang and Song China
Song Social Life
• Poor farmers’ remain the same as
always; women still oppressed
• City life improves with better food,
music, art, and great
entertainment
• Many opportunities for travel
• Education increases in the city
• House and architecture improve
Sui, Tang and Song China
Sui, Tang and Song China
Song Intellectual Life
• magnetic compass and calculator
(the abacus) invented
• Education improved since schools
were abundant.
Woodblock printing made books
more widely available.
• Confucian scholars were
respected
• Military was not respected
Sui, Tang and Song China
Sui, Tang and Song China
Song Art
• monumental landscape painting
• often done in a watercolor/ink wash
style
• Great poetry continues
•
FYI (no notes)
•
First panting called Games in the Jinming Pool, by Chinese
artist Zhang Zerui, a silk painting with dimensions of 28.6 by
28.5 cm, dated to the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127 AD).
It depicts the imperial gardens of Kaifeng, the capital city of
China during the Northern Song
Sui, Tang and Song China
Sui, Tang and Song China
Sui, Tang and Song China
the artist captures the atmosphere
of the southern China
The trees in the foreground appear
as dark silhouettes against the
misty mountains in the distance
which are painted in pale ink
washes.
Mi Youren is a son of Mi Fu (10511107), one of the four great
Song masters.
Sui, Tang and Song China
Fall of the Song
• Heavy dependence
on growth of civilian
government at
expense of military
• By 1127, the Song
court could not push
back the Northern
nomadic invaders
• Cut the size of the
Song about in half
Sui, Tang and Song China
1279 Coming of the Mongols
(Yuan Dynasty)
• Empire fell because they stopped
emphasizing military and relied on
wealth
• Often hired N. tribes to defend China
• Corruption in govt lost confidence of
the peasants
Sui, Tang and Song China