Sung Dynasty

Hello, I am Qin and I am a teacher in rural China. Today I will being telling you about the Sung Dynasty. The Sung Dynasty was a ruling dynasty in China between 960 and 1279 A.D. It was the first government in world history to issue banknotes, or paper money, and the first Chinese government to establish a permanent standing navy. This dynasty also saw the first known use of gunpowder, as well as first discernment of true north, using a compass. The Song Dynasty is divided into two distinct periods: the Northern Song and Southern Song. During the Northen Sung, the capital was in the northern city of Bianjing and the dynasty controlled most of inner China. The Southern Sung  refers to the period after the Song lost control of northern China to the Jin Dynasty. First, I will start by telling you about the northern Sung. The Northern Sung was the first, most advanced, and longest period of the Sung history. The increase in education carried the literature advancements from the Tang Dynasty into the Sung period. With this rise in culture came a new religion, called Neo-Confucianism. This religion was thought of by a scholar named Chu Hsi. He combined three religions from the Tang period and put them into the Neo-Confucianism that became the orthodox state doctrine. Governmental positions were based on exams over the teachings of Confucius. This was much better than the aristocrats ruling due to family linage rather than knowledge. The economy rose by putting these newly educated people into positions of authority. The only bad part of the period was the weak military directly under the emperor's control. He feared that power hungry generals might want to rebel. When small barbarian tribes or nations would attack then the Sung would try to sign treaties with them. After Wang’s death most of his work was repealed, until after the Mongols took over. The Juchens, who had made an alliance with the Sung, rebelled and forced the Sung to flee south. This was the beginning of the Southern Period. Wang’s death came at the end of the Northern Sung period. When the Southern period started, reformers and antireformers fought for power making this government unstable for a short time. During this period there were no trade routes by land that could be used due to hostile patrols by opposing forces. The creation of a ship called a junk was what people used for their trading ventures. Gunpowder was created and the pottery industry advanced with the creation of porcelain with a celadon glaze. With these new creations came dramatic increases in agriculture and production based economies. The Sung Dynasty ended when a group of Mongols under the command of Kublai Khan overthrew the Sung. The Sung did not have much of a military to defend themselves against the Mongol force that was sweeping across the Asia.