Song Sung Dynasty 960 1279 Same dynasty but

Song (Sung) Dynasty 960 -1279 Same dynasty but when N. Song was lost to N. tribes in 1127 the name changes

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

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 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

Song Grain Mill

Song Religion • Confucianism remains the most important official philosophy • Neo-Confucianism added metaphysical answers to many Buddhist questions • Buddhism continued • Taoism also • Ancestor worship

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

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

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

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.

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

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