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157-703: During the Mongol invasions and conquests , which began under Genghis Khan in 1206–1207, the Mongol army conquered most of continental Asia , including parts of the Middle East , and parts of Eastern Europe . The efforts of Mongol troops and their allies enabled the Mongol Empire to become the contemporarily largest polity in human history . Today, the former Mongol Empire remains the world's largest polity to have ever existed in terms of contiguous land area and

314-642: A Chinese official, with a new batch of settlers, to serve as judge of the Kyrgyz and Tuvan basin areas ( 益蘭州 and 謙州 ). Ogedei's grandson Kaidu occupied portions of Central Siberia from 1275 on. The Yuan dynasty army under Kublai's Kipchak general Tutugh reoccupied the Kyrgyz lands in 1293. From then on the Yuan dynasty controlled large portions of Central and Eastern Siberia. The Mongols invaded and destroyed Volga Bulgaria and Kievan Rus' , before invading Poland , Hungary , Bulgaria , and other territories. Over

471-521: A Jin general named Wanyan Eke. He had lost the defense of Hezhong to the Mongols and fled on ships with 3,000 of his men. The Mongols pursued them with their ships until the Jin broke through by using thunder crash bombs that caused flashes and flames. During the siege of 1232, the Mongols protected themselves with elaborate screens of thick cowhide while they attacked the city walls but the Jin defenders lowered

628-578: A Kipchak-speaking populace which came to be known as Tatar, and which eventually absorbed Armenians , Italians , Greeks , and Crimean Goths in Crimea , the origin of the current Crimean Tatars . The Mongols conquered, by battle or voluntary surrender, the areas of present-day Iran, Iraq, the Caucasus , and parts of Syria and Turkey , with further Mongol raids reaching southwards into Palestine as far as Gaza in 1260 and 1300. The major battles were

785-411: A bureaucratic system that favored the land-holding class able to afford the best education. One of the greatest literary critics of this was the official and famous poet Su Shi . Yet Su was a product of his times, as the identity, habits, and attitudes of the scholar-official had become less aristocratic and more bureaucratic with the transition of the periods from Tang to Song. At the beginning of

942-479: A cache of these bombs three centuries later in the Xi'an area and described their appearance: they were made of cast iron and looked like two bowls that came together to form a ball that had a small hole at the top about the width of a finger. He wrote that that iron shrapnel came out when the bombs exploded and that was how they killed. Heaven-shaking-thunder bombs, also known as thunder crash bombs , were used in 1231 by

1099-491: A couple of thousand a month. In one arsenal he found "no more than 85 iron bomb-shells, large and small, 95 fire-arrows, and 105 fire-lances. This is not sufficient for a mere hundred men, let alone a thousand, to use against an attack by the ... barbarians." Blocking the Mongols' passage south of the Yangtze were the twin fortress cities of Xiangyang and Fancheng . What resulted was a siege that lasted from 1268 to 1273. For

1256-849: A decrease in the elite's numerical skills , and has been postulated as a root of the Great Divergence . From 1221 to 1327, the Mongol Empire launched several invasions into the Indian subcontinent . The Mongols occupied parts of NW South Asia for decades. However, they failed to penetrate past the outskirts of Delhi and were repelled from the interior of India. Centuries later, the Mughals , whose founder Babur had Mongol roots, established their own empire in India. Kublai Khan's Yuan dynasty invaded Burma between 1277 and 1287 , resulting in

1413-436: A departure from the earlier Tang dynasty (618–907), when the government strictly regulated commercial markets and local affairs; now the government withdrew heavily from regulating commerce and relied upon a mass of local gentry to perform necessary duties in their communities. The gentry distinguished themselves in society through their intellectual and antiquarian pursuits, while the homes of prominent landholders attracted

1570-708: A great effect on people's lives, beliefs, and daily activities, and Chinese literature on spirituality was popular. The major deities of Daoism and Buddhism , ancestral spirits , and the many deities of Chinese folk religion were worshipped with sacrificial offerings. Tansen Sen asserts that more Buddhist monks from India traveled to China during the Song than in the previous Tang dynasty (618–907). With many ethnic foreigners travelling to China to conduct trade or live permanently, there came many foreign religions; religious minorities in China included Middle Eastern Muslims ,

1727-412: A high level of suspicion by the judge. Due to costly court expenses and immediate jailing of those accused of criminal offenses, people in the Song preferred to settle disputes and quarrels privately, without the court's interference. Shen Kuo's Dream Pool Essays argued against traditional Chinese beliefs in anatomy (such as his argument for two throat valves instead of three); this perhaps spurred

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1884-451: A large turned-up brim, reversible in winter, and earmuffs. Whether a soldier's helmet was leather or metal depended on his rank and wealth. Mounted archers were a major part of the armies of the Mongol Empire, for instance at the 13th-century Battle of Liegnitz , where an army including 20,000 horse archers defeated a force of 30,000 troops led by Henry II , Duke of Silesia, via demoralization and continued harassment. The primary weapon of

2041-569: A literary flourishing in the Song period, which saw the publication of several major classical koan collections which remain influential in Zen philosophy and practice to the present day. A true revival of Buddhism in Chinese society would not occur until the Mongol rule of the Yuan dynasty, with Kublai Khan's sponsorship of Tibetan Buddhism and Drogön Chögyal Phagpa as the leading lama . The Christian sect of Nestorianism , which had entered China in

2198-461: A lower social tier than men according to Confucian ethics, they enjoyed many social and legal privileges and wielded considerable power at home and in their own small businesses. As Song society became more and more prosperous and parents on the bride's side of the family provided larger dowries for her marriage, women naturally gained many new legal rights in ownership of property. Under certain circumstances, an unmarried daughter without brothers, or

2355-438: A massive explosion that a team of inspectors at the site a week later deduced that some 100 guards had been killed instantly, with wooden beams and pillars blown upward and landing at a distance of over 10 li (~2 mi. or ~3 km) away from the explosion, creating a crater more than ten feet deep. One resident described the noise of the explosion as if it "was like a volcano erupting, a tsunami crashing. The entire population

2512-503: A million a century later. This economic power also heavily influenced foreign economies abroad. In 1120 alone, the Song government collected 18,000,000 ounces (510,000 kg) of silver in taxes. The Moroccan geographer al-Idrisi wrote in 1154 of the prowess of Chinese merchant ships in the Indian Ocean and of their annual voyages that brought iron, swords, silk, velvet, porcelain, and various textiles to places such as Aden ( Yemen ),

2669-600: A new organization of classic texts that established the doctrine of Neo-Confucianism . Although civil service examinations had existed since the Sui dynasty , they became much more prominent in the Song period. Officials gaining power through imperial examination led to a shift from a military-aristocratic elite to a scholar-bureaucratic elite. After usurping the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty , Emperor Taizu of Song ( r.  960–976 ) spent sixteen years conquering

2826-456: A philosophical point. Although an early form of the local geographic gazetteer existed in China since the 1st century, the matured form known as "treatise on a place", or fangzhi , replaced the old "map guide", or transl.  zho  – transl.  tujing , during the Song dynasty. The imperial courts of the emperor's palace were filled with his entourage of court painters, calligraphers, poets, and storytellers. Emperor Huizong

2983-617: A powerful and relatively efficient bow to be made small enough that it can be used easily from horseback. Quivers containing 60 arrows were strapped to the backs of their cavalrymen and to their horses. Mongol archers typically carried 2 to 3 bows (one heavier and intended for dismounted use, the other lighter and used from horseback) that were accompanied by multiple quivers and files for sharpening their arrowheads. These arrowheads were hardened by plunging them in brine after first heating them red hot. The Mongols could shoot an arrow over 200 metres (660 ft). Targeted shots were possible at

3140-458: A raid on Guangxi , the Song commander Guo Kui (1022–1088) penetrated as far as Thăng Long (modern Hanoi ). Heavy losses on both sides prompted the Vietnamese commander Thường Kiệt (1019–1105) to make peace overtures, allowing both sides to withdraw from the war effort; captured territories held by both Song and Vietnamese were mutually exchanged in 1082, along with prisoners of war. During

3297-409: A range of 150 or 175 metres (492 or 574 ft), which determined the tactical approach distance for light cavalry units. Ballistic shots could hit enemy units (without targeting individual soldiers) at distances of up to 400 metres (1,300 ft), useful for surprising and scaring troops and horses before beginning the actual attack. Shooting from the back of a moving horse may be more accurate if

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3454-424: A small scale during the Sui and Tang dynasties, but by the Song period, it became virtually the only means for drafting officials into the government. The advent of widespread printing helped to widely circulate Confucian teachings and to educate more and more eligible candidates for the exams. This can be seen in the number of exam takers for the low-level prefectural exams rising from 30,000 annual candidates in

3611-412: A storm at sea. The whole city was terrified, thinking that an army was approaching, and panic soon spread among the people, who could not tell whether it was near or far away. Even at a distance of a hundred li tiles shook and houses trembled. People gave alarms of fire but the troops were held strictly to discipline. The disturbance lasted a whole day and night. After order had been restored an inspection

3768-535: A suicide bombing and set off a huge iron bomb when it became clear defeat was imminent. Lou asked the Mongols for food in return for their surrender because they were starving. However after receiving the food and having a meal, the soldiers made noise with horn and drum as if to do battle, and set up off a large bomb that split the wall and killed many Mongol soldiers. In 1280, a large store of gunpowder at Weiyang in Yangzhou accidentally caught fire, producing such

3925-541: A surviving mother without sons, could inherit one-half of her father's share of undivided family property. There were many notable and well-educated women, and it was a common practice for women to educate their sons during their earliest youth. The mother of the scientist, general, diplomat, and statesman Shen Kuo taught him essentials of military strategy. There were also exceptional women writers and poets, such as Li Qingzhao (1084–1151), who became famous even in her lifetime. Religion in China during this period had

4082-588: A tribute to Song. Champa rice was drought-resistant and able to grow fast enough to offer two harvests a year instead of one. Song restaurant and tavern menus are recorded. They list entrees for feasts, banquets, festivals, and carnivals. They reveal a diverse and lavish diet for those of the upper class. They could choose from a wide variety of meats and seafood, including shrimp, geese, duck, mussel, shellfish, fallow deer , hare, partridge, pheasant, francolin, quail, fox, badger, clam, crab, and many others. Dairy products were rare in Chinese cuisine at this time. Beef

4239-532: A type of bomb called the "Elipao," a type of local pear probably in reference to the shape of the weapon. The Anfeng defenders were also equipped with a type of small arrow to shoot through eye slits of Mongol armour, as normal arrows were too thick to penetrate. In 1257 the Song official Li Zengbo remarked during a frontier arsenal assessment of Jinjiang that they were not well equipped. Li considered an ideal city arsenal to include several hundred thousand iron bombs and also its own production facility to produce at least

4396-683: A type of solid-propellant rocket. Another interpretation of the passage suggests they were fire lances that shot off flames. Jin scholar Liu Qi (劉祈) mentions the defenders using a type of bomb known as the heaven-shaking-thunder bomb (震天雷) that caused “many casualties, and when not wounded by the explosions were burnt to death by the fires they caused.” A description of the bomb in the History of Jin describes it as an iron container filled with gunpowder that could be heard from an extreme distance when it landed and caused fires that could penetrate iron armour. The Ming dynasty official He Mengchuan encountered

4553-515: A variety of courtiers , including artisans, artists, educational tutors, and entertainers. Despite the disdain for trade, commerce, and the merchant class exhibited by the highly cultured and elite exam-drafted scholar-officials, commercialism played a prominent role in Song culture and society. A scholar-official would be frowned upon by his peers if he pursued means of profiteering outside of his official salary; however, this did not stop many scholar-officials from managing business relations through

4710-435: A while before the conflict, also to exaggerate their manpower. The Mongols very commonly practiced the feigned retreat, perhaps the most difficult battlefield tactic to execute. This is because a feigned rout amongst untrained troops can often turn into a real rout if an enemy presses into it. Pretending disarray and defeat in the heat of the battle, the Mongols would suddenly appear panicked and turn and run, only to pivot when

4867-609: Is divided into two periods: during the Northern Song ( 北宋 ; 960–1127), the capital was in the northern city of Bianjing (now Kaifeng ) and the dynasty controlled most of what is now East China . The Southern Song ( 南宋 ; 1127–1279) comprise the period following the loss of control over the northern half of Song territory to the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty in the Jin–Song wars . At that time, the Song court retreated south of

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5024-428: Is possible that between 20 and 57 million people were killed between 1206 and 1405 during the various campaigns of Genghis Khan, Kublai Khan, and Timur. The havoc included battles, sieges, early biological warfare, and massacres. Song dynasty The Song dynasty ( / s ʊ ŋ / ) was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song , who usurped

5181-463: Is the Battle of Baghdad , during which many diverse people fought under Mongol lordship. Despite this integration, the Mongols were never able to gain long-term loyalty from the settled peoples that they conquered. In all battlefield situations, the troops would be divided into separate formations of 10, 100, 1,000 or 10,000 depending on the requirements. If the number of troops split from the main force

5338-467: The Eighteen Songs of a Nomad Flute from the life story of Cai Wenji (b. 177). This art project was a diplomatic gesture to the Jin dynasty while he negotiated for the release of his mother from Jurchen captivity in the north. In philosophy, Chinese Buddhism had waned in influence but it retained its hold on the arts and on the charities of monasteries. Buddhism had a profound influence upon

5495-412: The Battle of Yamen , and reunited China under the Yuan dynasty. Technology , science, philosophy, mathematics, and engineering flourished during the Song era. The Song dynasty was the first in world history to issue banknotes or true paper money and the first Chinese government to establish a permanent standing navy . This dynasty saw the first surviving records of the chemical formula for gunpowder,

5652-860: The Fatimid Caliphate of Egypt, Srivijaya , the Kara-Khanid Khanate in Central Asia , the Goryeo Kingdom in Korea, and other countries that were also trade partners with Japan . Chinese records even mention an embassy from the ruler of "Fu lin" (拂菻, i.e. the Byzantine Empire ), Michael VII Doukas , and its arrival in 1081. However, China's closest neighbouring states had the greatest impact on its domestic and foreign policy. From its inception under Taizu,

5809-750: The Indus River , and the Euphrates . Foreigners, in turn, affected the Chinese economy. For example, many West and Central Asian Muslims went to China to trade, becoming a preeminent force in the import and export industry, while some were even appointed as officers supervising economic affairs. Sea trade with the South-west Pacific, the Hindu world, the Islamic world, and East Africa brought merchants great fortune and spurred an enormous growth in

5966-916: The Kaifeng Jews , and Persian Manichaeans . The populace engaged in a vibrant social and domestic life, enjoying such public festivals as the Lantern Festival and the Qingming Festival . There were entertainment quarters in the cities providing a constant array of amusements. There were puppeteers, acrobats, theatre actors, sword swallowers, snake charmers, storytellers , singers and musicians, prostitutes, and places to relax, including tea houses, restaurants, and organized banquets. People attended social clubs in large numbers; there were tea clubs, exotic food clubs, antiquarian and art collectors' clubs, horse-loving clubs, poetry clubs, and music clubs. Like regional cooking and cuisines in

6123-477: The Mongol invasions of Europe . "Fire catapults", " pao ", and "naphtha-shooters" are mentioned in some sources. However, according to Timothy May, "there is no concrete evidence that the Mongols used gunpowder weapons on a regular basis outside of China." Shortly after the Mongol invasions of Japan in the late 13th century, the Japanese produced a scroll painting depicting a bomb. Called tetsuhau in Japanese,

6280-487: The Pearl River Delta in 1279, the Yuan army, led by the general Zhang Hongfan , finally crushed the Song resistance. The last remaining ruler, the 13-year-old emperor Zhao Bing , committed suicide, along with Prime Minister Lu Xiufu and 1300 members of the royal clan. On Kublai's orders, carried out by his commander Bayan, the rest of the former imperial family of Song were unharmed; the deposed Emperor Gong

6437-555: The Yangtze and established its capital at Lin'an (now Hangzhou ). Although the Song dynasty had lost control of the traditional Chinese heartlands around the Yellow River , the Southern Song Empire contained a large population and productive agricultural land, sustaining a robust economy. In 1234, the Jin dynasty was conquered by the Mongols , who took control of northern China, maintaining uneasy relations with

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6594-574: The Yangtze to establish a new capital at Lin'an (modern Hangzhou). The Jurchen conquest of North China and shift of capitals from Kaifeng to Lin'an was the dividing line between the Northern and Southern Song dynasties. After their fall to the Jin, the Song lost control of North China. Now occupying what has been traditionally known as "China Proper", the Jin regarded themselves the rightful rulers of China. The Jin later chose earth as their dynastic element and yellow as their royal color. According to

6751-411: The go and xiangqi board games. During this period greater emphasis was laid upon the civil service system of recruiting officials; this was based upon degrees acquired through competitive examinations , in an effort to select the most capable individuals for governance. Selecting men for office through proven merit was an ancient idea in China . The civil service system became institutionalized on

6908-417: The shipbuilding industry of Song-era Fujian . However, there was risk involved in such long overseas ventures. In order to reduce the risk of losing money on maritime trade missions abroad, wrote historians Ebrey, Walthall, and Palais: [Song era] investors usually divided their investment among many ships, and each ship had many investors behind it. One observer thought eagerness to invest in overseas trade

7065-598: The siege of Baghdad , when the Mongols sacked the city which had been the center of Islamic power for 500 years, and the Battle of Ain Jalut in 1260 in south-eastern Galilee , when the Muslim Bahri Mamluks were able to defeat the Mongols and decisively halt their advance for the first time. One thousand northern Chinese engineer squads accompanied the Mongol Hulagu Khan during his conquest of

7222-461: The universal history text of the Zizhi Tongjian , compiled into 1000 volumes of 9.4 million written Chinese characters . The genre of Chinese travel literature also became popular with the writings of the geographer Fan Chengda (1126–1193) and Su Shi, the latter of whom wrote the 'daytrip essay' known as Record of Stone Bell Mountain that used persuasive writing to argue for

7379-460: The 10th and 11th centuries. This growth was made possible by expanded rice cultivation , use of early-ripening rice from Southeast and South Asia, and production of widespread food surpluses. The Northern Song census recorded 20 million households, double that of the Han and Tang dynasties. It is estimated that the Northern Song had a population of 90 million people, and 200 million by

7536-473: The 11th century, political rivalries divided members of the court due to the ministers' differing approaches, opinions, and policies regarding the handling of the Song's complex society and thriving economy. The idealist Chancellor , Fan Zhongyan (989–1052), was the first to receive a heated political backlash when he attempted to institute the Qingli Reforms , which included measures such as improving

7693-405: The 11th-century innovation of the use of coal instead of charcoal in blast furnaces for smelting cast iron . Much of this iron was reserved for military use in crafting weapons and armouring troops, but some was used to fashion the many iron products needed to fill the demands of the growing domestic market. The iron trade within China was advanced by the construction of new canals, facilitating

7850-675: The 14th century under the Yuan dynasty , while Mongol rule in Persia persisted into the 15th century under the Timurid Empire . In India , the later Mughal Empire survived into the 19th century. Genghis Khan forged the initial Mongol Empire in Central Asia , starting with the unification of the nomadic tribes of the Merkits , Tatars , Keraites , Turks , Naimans and Mongols . The Buddhist Uighurs of Qocho surrendered and joined

8007-618: The Confucian classics of the Four Books as an introductory corpus to Confucian learning formed the basis of the Neo-Confucian doctrine. By the year 1241, under the sponsorship of Emperor Lizong , Zhu Xi's Four Books and his commentary on them became standard requirements of study for students attempting to pass the civil service examinations. The neighbouring countries of Japan and Korea also adopted Zhu Xi's teaching, known as

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8164-423: The Jin dynasty. It had able military officers such as Yue Fei and Han Shizhong . The government sponsored massive shipbuilding and harbor improvement projects, and the construction of beacons and seaport warehouses to support maritime trade abroad, including at the major international seaports , such as Quanzhou , Guangzhou , and Xiamen , that were sustaining China's commerce. To protect and support

8321-580: The Liao forces, who engaged in aggressive yearly campaigns into Northern Song territory until 1005, when the signing of the Shanyuan Treaty ended these northern border clashes. The Song were forced to provide tribute to the Khitans, although this did little damage to the Song economy since the Khitans were economically dependent upon importing massive amounts of goods from the Song. More significantly,

8478-577: The Mamluk armies and helped them fight off the Mongols. Hungary became a refuge for fleeing Cumans. The decentralized, stateless Kipchaks only converted to Islam after the Mongol conquest, unlike the centralized Karakhanid entity comprising the Yaghma, Qarluqs, and Oghuz who converted earlier to world religions. The Mongol conquest of the Kipchaks led to a merged society with a Mongol ruling class over

8635-930: The Middle East. Genghis Khan and his descendants launched progressive invasions of China , subjugating the Western Xia in 1209 before destroying them in 1227, defeating the Jin dynasty in 1234 and defeating the Song dynasty in 1279. They made the Kingdom of Dali into a vassal state in 1253 after the Dali King Duan Xingzhi defected to the Mongols and helped them conquer the rest of Yunnan, forced Korea to capitulate through nine invasions , but failed in their attempts to invade Japan , their fleets scattered by kamikaze storms. The Mongols' greatest triumph

8792-447: The Mongol forces was their composite bows made from laminated horn , wood, and sinew . The layer of horn is on the inner face as it resists compression, while the layer of sinew is on the outer face as it resists tension. Such bows, with minor variations, had been the main weapon of steppe herdsmen and steppe warriors for over two millennia; Mongols (and many of their subject peoples) were skillful archers. Composite construction allows

8949-441: The Mongols as vassals ; when the Jin suddenly moved their capital city from Beijing to Kaifeng, the Mongols saw this as a revolt. Under the leadership of Ögedei Khan (r.1229–1241), both the Jin dynasty and Western Xia dynasty were conquered by Mongol forces in 1233/34. The Mongols were allied with the Song, but this alliance was broken when the Song recaptured the former imperial capitals of Kaifeng, Luoyang , and Chang'an at

9106-519: The New Policies and pursued political opponents, tolerated corruption and encouraged Emperor Huizong (1100–1126) to neglect his duties to focus on artistic pursuits. Later, a peasant rebellion broke out in Zhejiang and Fujian, headed by Fang La in 1120. The rebellion may have been caused by an increasing tax burden, the concentration of landownership and oppressive government measures. While

9263-651: The Shushigaku (朱子學, School of Zhu Xi) of Japan, and in Korea the Jujahak (주자학). Buddhism's continuing influence can be seen in painted artwork such as Lin Tinggui 's Luohan Laundering . However, the ideology was highly criticized and even scorned by some. The statesman and historian Ouyang Xiu (1007–1072) called the religion a "curse" that could only be remedied by uprooting it from Chinese culture and replacing it with Confucian discourse. The Chan sect experienced

9420-664: The Song dynasty alternated between warfare and diplomacy with the ethnic Khitans of the Liao dynasty in the northeast and with the Tanguts of the Western Xia in the northwest. The Song dynasty used military force in an attempt to quell the Liao dynasty and to recapture the Sixteen Prefectures , a territory under Khitan control since 938 that was traditionally considered to be part of China proper (Most parts of today's Beijing and Tianjin ). Song forces were repulsed by

9577-409: The Song dynasty was able to hold back the Jin, a new foe came to power over the steppe, deserts, and plains north of the Jin dynasty. The Mongols , led by Genghis Khan (r. 1206–1227), initially invaded the Jin dynasty in 1205 and 1209, engaging in large raids across its borders, and in 1211 an enormous Mongol army was assembled to invade the Jin. The Jin dynasty was forced to submit and pay tribute to

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9734-519: The Song dynasty, but also the last instance where a war elephant corps was employed as a regular division within a Chinese army. There was a total of 347 military treatises written during the Song period, as listed by the history text of the Song Shi (compiled in 1345). However, only a handful of these military treatises have survived, which includes the Wujing Zongyao written in 1044. It

9891-416: The Song forces only 3,000 men on 120 warships, the Song dynasty forces were victorious in both battles due to the destructive power of the bombs and the rapid assaults by paddlewheel ships . The strength of the navy was heavily emphasized following these victories. A century after the navy was founded it had grown in size to 52,000 fighting marines. The Song government confiscated portions of land owned by

10048-527: The Song navy that could carry 1,000 soldiers aboard their decks, while the swift-moving paddle-wheel craft were viewed as essential fighting ships in any successful naval battle. In a battle on January 23, 971, massive arrow fire from Song dynasty crossbowmen decimated the war elephant corps of the Southern Han army. This defeat not only marked the eventual submission of the Southern Han to

10205-530: The Song state recognized the Liao state as its diplomatic equal. The Song created an extensive defensive forest along the Song-Liao border to thwart potential Khitan cavalry attacks. The Song dynasty managed to win several military victories over the Tanguts in the early 11th century, culminating in a campaign led by the polymath scientist, general, and statesman Shen Kuo (1031–1095). However, this campaign

10362-492: The Song, the era was known for its regional varieties of performing arts styles as well. Theatrical drama was very popular amongst the elite and general populace, although Classical Chinese —not the vernacular language —was spoken by actors on stage. The four largest drama theatres in Kaifeng could hold audiences of several thousand each. There were also notable domestic pastimes, as people at home enjoyed activities such as

10519-520: The Southern Song. Möngke Khan , the fourth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire , died in 1259 while besieging the mountain castle Diaoyucheng in Chongqing . His younger brother Kublai Khan was proclaimed the new Great Khan and in 1271 founded the Yuan dynasty. After two decades of sporadic warfare, Kublai Khan's armies conquered the Song dynasty in 1279 after defeating the Southern Song in

10676-526: The Tang era, would also be revived in China under Mongol rule. Sumptuary laws regulated the food that one consumed and the clothes that one wore according to status and social class. Clothing was made of hemp or cotton cloths, restricted to a color standard of black and white. Trousers were the acceptable attire for peasants, soldiers, artisans, and merchants, although wealthy merchants might choose to wear more ornate clothing and male blouses that came down below

10833-813: The Uriankhai, the Oirats , Barga, Khakas , Buryats , Tuvans , Khori-Tumed, and Yenisei Kyrgyz . He then organized the Siberians into three tumens . Genghis Khan gave the Telengit and Tolos along the Irtysh River to an old companion, Qorchi. While the Barga, Tumed, Buriats, Khori, Keshmiti, and Bashkirs were organized in separate thousands, the Telengit, Tolos, Oirats and Yenisei Kirghiz were numbered into

10990-547: The animal. The Mongols protected their horses in the same way as did they themselves, covering them with lamellar armor . Horse armor was divided into five parts and designed to protect every part of the horse, including the forehead, which had a specially crafted plate which was tied on each side of the neck. Lamellar armor was worn over thick coats. The armor was composed of small scales of iron, chain mail, or hard leather sewn together with leather tongs and could weigh 10 kilograms (22 lb) if made of leather alone and more if

11147-455: The arrow is loosed in the phase of the gallop when all four of the horse's feet are off the ground. The Mongols have also used crossbows (possibly acquired from the Chinese), also both for infantry and cavalry, but these were rarely used in battle. In the Battle of Xiangyang , both the Song and Mongol forces used siege crossbows against each other. According to Juvayni , Hulagu Khan brought with him 3,000 giant crossbows from China, for

11304-528: The arts as accepted pastimes of the cultured scholar-official, including painting , composing poetry , and writing calligraphy . The poet and statesman Su Shi and his associate Mi Fu (1051–1107) enjoyed antiquarian affairs, often borrowing or buying art pieces to study and copy. Poetry and literature profited from the rising popularity and development of the ci poetry form . Enormous encyclopedic volumes were compiled, such as works of historiography and dozens of treatises on technical subjects. This included

11461-579: The assault against the Song, gaining a temporary foothold on the southern banks of the Yangtze. By the winter of 1259, Uriyangkhadai's army fought its way north to meet Kublai's army, which was besieging Ezhou in Hubei . Kublai made preparations to take Ezhou , but a pending civil war with his brother Ariq Böke —a rival claimant to the Mongol Khaganate—forced Kublai to move back north with

11618-417: The bomb is speculated to have been the Chinese thunder crash bomb. Japanese descriptions of the invasions also talk of iron and bamboo pao causing "light and fire" and emitting 2–3,000 iron bullets. A commonly used Mongol tactic involved the use of the kharash . The Mongols would gather prisoners captured in previous battles and would drive them forward in sieges and battles. These "shields" would often take

11775-412: The bombs using iron cords until they reached the place where the miners worked. The protective leather screens were destroyed along with the excavators. Another weapon the Jin employed was a version of the fire lance called the flying fire lance or “flying-fire spears”. The History of Jin describes the gunpowder weapon as a tube made of sixteen layers of “chi-huang paper” around two feet in length. It

11932-482: The bows known to have been used by the Mongol Empire. Mounted archery had fallen into disuse and has been revived only in the 21st century. The Mongols encountered and used gunpowder weapons during their wars against the dynasties of China. In 1232 the Mongols laid siege to the Jin capital of Kaifeng and deployed gunpowder weapons along with other more conventional siege techniques. The Jin defenders also deployed gunpowder weapons such as fire arrows launched using

12089-447: The brunt of enemy arrows and crossbow bolts, thus somewhat protecting the ethnically Mongol warriors. Commanders also used the kharash as assault units to breach walls. As they were conquering new people, the Mongols integrated into their armies the conquered people's men if they had surrendered - willingly or otherwise. Therefore, as they expanded into other areas and conquered other people, their troop numbers increased. Exemplifying this

12246-461: The budding movement of Neo-Confucianism , led by Cheng Yi (1033–1107) and Zhu Xi (1130–1200). Mahayana Buddhism influenced Fan Zhongyan and Wang Anshi through its concept of ethical universalism , while Buddhist metaphysics deeply affected the pre–Neo-Confucian doctrine of Cheng Yi. The philosophical work of Cheng Yi in turn influenced Zhu Xi. Although his writings were not accepted by his contemporary peers, Zhu's commentary and emphasis upon

12403-528: The bulk of his forces. In Kublai's absence, the Song forces were ordered by Chancellor Jia Sidao to make an immediate assault and succeeded in pushing the Mongol forces back to the northern banks of the Yangtze. There were minor border skirmishes until 1265, when Kublai won a significant battle in Sichuan . From 1268 to 1273, Kublai blockaded the Yangtze River with his navy and besieged Xiangyang ,

12560-414: The capital of Russia; after they had besieged the city for a long time, they took it and put the inhabitants to death. When we were journeying through that land we came across countless skulls and bones of dead men lying about on the ground. Kiev had been a very large and thickly populated town, but now it has been reduced almost to nothing, for there are at the present time scarce two hundred houses there and

12717-556: The capitulation and disintegration of the Pagan Kingdom . However, the invasion of 1301 was repulsed by the Burmese Myinsaing Kingdom . The Mongol invasions of Vietnam ( Đại Việt ) and Java resulted in defeat for the Mongols, although much of Southeast Asia agreed to pay tribute to avoid further bloodshed. The Mongol invasions played an indirect role in the establishment of major Tai states in

12874-463: The central Song court remained politically divided and focused upon its internal affairs, alarming new events to the north in the Liao state finally came to its attention. The Jurchen , a subject tribe of the Liao, rebelled against them and formed their own state, the Jin dynasty (1115–1234) . The Song official Tong Guan (1054–1126) advised Emperor Huizong to form an alliance with the Jurchens, and

13031-464: The cities of Huizhou , Chengdu , Hangzhou , and Anqi. The size of the workforce employed in paper money factories was large; it was recorded in 1175 that the factory at Hangzhou employed more than a thousand workers a day. The economic power of Song China can be attested by the growth of the urban population of its capital city Hangzhou. The population was 200,000 at the start of the 12th century and increased to 500,000 around 1170 and doubled to over

13188-436: The cities, they found the Mongol fleet to have spread themselves out along the entire width of the Yangtze without any gaps. A chain was stretched out across the water. The two fleets engaged in combat, and the Song opened fire with fire-lances, fire-bombs, and crossbows. The Song forces suffered heavy casualties trying to cut through the chains using axes, pulling up stakes, and hurling bombs. They ultimately succeeded in reaching

13345-420: The city walls but in 1273, the Mongols enlisted the expertise of two Muslim engineers, one from Persia and one from Syria, who helped in the construction of counterweight trebuchets . These new siege weapons resulted in the surrender of Xiangyang in 1273. During the siege of Shaoyang in 1274, the Mongol general Bayan waited for the wind to change to a northerly course before ordering his artillerists to bombard

13502-405: The city with molten metal bombs, which caused such a fire that "the buildings were burned up and the smoke and flames rose up to heaven." Shaoyang was captured and its inhabitants massacred. Bayan used bombs again in 1275 during the siege of Changzhou before storming the walls and massacring the inhabitants due to their refusal to surrender. In 1277, 250 Song defenders under Lou Qianxia conducted

13659-469: The collapse of the Jin dynasty. After the first Mongol invasion of Vietnam in 1258, Mongol general Uriyangkhadai attacked Guangxi from Hanoi as part of a coordinated Mongol attack in 1259 with armies attacking in Sichuan under Mongol leader Möngke Khan and other Mongol armies attacking in modern-day Shandong and Henan . On August 11, 1259, Möngke Khan died during the siege of Diaoyu Castle in Chongqing . His successor Kublai Khan continued

13816-520: The course of battle, so long as the battle unfolded according to the general directive and the opponents were defeated. The Mongols used deception and terror by tying tree branches or leaves behind their horses. They dragged the foliage behind them in a systematic fashion to create dust storms behind hills to appear to the enemy as a much larger attacking army, thereby forcing the enemy to surrender. Because each Mongol soldier had more than one horse, they would let prisoners and civilians ride their horses for

13973-508: The course of the 13th century through a series of victorious campaigns throughout Eurasia. At its height, it stretched from the Pacific to Central Europe . In contrast with later "empires of the sea" such as the European colonial powers , the Mongol Empire was a land power , fueled by the grass-foraging Mongol cavalry and cattle. Thus most Mongol conquest and plundering took place during

14130-645: The course of three years (1237–1240), the Mongols razed all the major cities of Russia with the exceptions of Novgorod and Pskov . Giovanni da Pian del Carpine , the Pope's envoy to the Mongol Great Khan, traveled through Kiev in February 1246 and wrote: They [the Mongols] attacked Russia, where they made great havoc, destroying cities and fortresses and slaughtering men; and they laid siege to Kiev,

14287-470: The court. Wang Anshi's "New Policies Group" ( Xin Fa ), also known as the "Reformers", were opposed by the ministers in the "Conservative" faction led by the historian and Chancellor Sima Guang (1019–1086). As one faction supplanted another in the majority position of the court ministers, it would demote rival officials and exile them to govern remote frontier regions of the empire. One of the prominent victims of

14444-428: The cuirass was made of metal scales. The leather was first softened by boiling and then coated in a crude lacquer made from pitch, which rendered it waterproof. Sometimes the soldier's heavy coat was simply reinforced with metal plates. Helmets were cone shaped and composed of iron or steel plates of different sizes and included iron-plated neck guards. The Mongol cap was conical in shape and made of quilted material with

14601-453: The death of the Jin emperor in 1234, a Jin loyalist gathered all the metal he could find in the city he was defending, including gold and silver, and made explosives to lob at the Mongols. In 1237, the Mongols attacked the Song city of Anfeng (modern Shouxian , Anhui Province ) with bombs so large they required several hundred men to hurl. Towers that were hit by the bomb were immediately destroyed. The Song defenders, led by Du Gao, also used

14758-413: The dynasty, government posts were disproportionately held by two elite social groups: a founding elite who had ties with the founding emperor and a semi-hereditary professional elite who used long-held clan status, family connections , and marriage alliances to secure appointments. By the late 11th century, the founding elite became obsolete, while political partisanship and factionalism at court undermined

14915-511: The early 11th century to 400,000 candidates by the late 13th century. The civil service and examination system allowed for greater meritocracy , social mobility , and equality in competition for those wishing to attain an official seat in government. Using statistics gathered by the Song state, Edward A. Kracke, Sudō Yoshiyuki, and Ho Ping-ti supported the hypothesis that simply having a father, grandfather, or great-grandfather who had served as an official of state did not guarantee one would obtain

15072-591: The educational system and state bureaucracy. Seeking to resolve what he saw as state corruption and negligence, Wang implemented a series of reforms called the New Policies . These involved land value tax reform, the establishment of several government monopolies, the support of local militias, and the creation of higher standards for the Imperial examination to make it more practical for men skilled in statecraft to pass. The reforms created political factions in

15229-596: The empire. He then continued expansion via conquest of the Qara Khitai and of the Khwarazmian Empire . Large areas of Islamic Central Asia and northeastern Persia were seriously depopulated, as every city or town that resisted the Mongols was destroyed. Each soldier was given a quota of enemies to execute according to circumstances. For example, after the conquest of Urgench , each Mongol warrior – in an army of perhaps two tumens (20,000 troops) –

15386-402: The empire. In one such project, cartographers created detailed maps of each province and city that were then collected in a large atlas . Emperor Taizu also promoted groundbreaking scientific and technological innovations by supporting works like the astronomical clock tower designed and built by the engineer Zhang Sixun . The Song court maintained diplomatic relations with Chola India ,

15543-460: The enemy was drawn out, destroying them. As this tactic became better known to the enemy, the Mongols would extend their feigned retreats for days or weeks, to falsely convince the chasers that they were defeated, only to charge back once the enemy again had its guard down or withdrew to join its main formation. This tactic was used during the Battle of Kalka River . The Mongols established a system of postal-relay horse stations called Örtöö , for

15700-586: The establishment of retirement homes , public clinics , and paupers ' graveyards . The Song dynasty supported a widespread postal service that was modeled on the earlier Han dynasty (202 BCE – CE 220) postal system to provide swift communication throughout the empire. The central government employed thousands of postal workers of various ranks to provide service for post offices and larger postal stations. In rural areas, farming peasants either owned their own plots of land , paid rents as tenant farmers , or were serfs on large estates. Although women were on

15857-447: The famed Bao Zheng (999–1062) embodied the upright, moral judge who upheld justice and never failed to live up to his principles. Song judges specified the guilty person or party in a criminal act and meted out punishments accordingly, often in the form of caning . A guilty individual or parties brought to court for a criminal or civil offense were not viewed as wholly innocent until proven otherwise, while even accusers were viewed with

16014-506: The fast transfer of written messages. The Mongol mail system was the first such empire-wide service since the Roman Empire . Additionally, Mongol battlefield communication utilized signal flags and horns and to a lesser extent, signal arrows to communicate movement orders during combat. Medieval History: Mongol Invasion of Europe at Medieval and Renaissance History Mongol invasions and conquests The Mongol Empire developed in

16171-412: The first three years the Song defenders had been able to receive supplies and reinforcements by water, but in 1271 the Mongols set up a full blockade with their navy, isolating the two cities. A relief convoy led by Zhang Shun and Zhang Gui ran the blockade. They commanded a hundred paddle wheel boats. Despite travelling by night, they were discovered early on by the Mongols. When the Song fleet arrived near

16328-451: The flow of iron products from production centres to the large market in the capital city. The annual output of minted copper currency in 1085 reached roughly six billion coins. The most notable advancement in the Song economy was the establishment of the world's first government issued paper-printed money, known as Jiaozi (see also Huizi ). For the printing of paper money , the Song court established several government-run factories in

16485-400: The government relied upon the cooperation of the few or many local gentry in the area. For example, the Song government—excluding the educational-reformist government under Emperor Huizong—spared little amount of state revenue to maintain prefectural and county schools; instead, the bulk of the funds for schools was drawn from private financing. This limited role of government officials was

16642-405: The handling of chemical substances. Suddenly, one day, while sulphur was being ground fine, it burst into flame, then the (stored) fire-lances caught fire, and flashed hither and thither like frightened snakes. (At first) the workers thought it was funny, laughing and joking, but after a short time the fire got into the bomb store, and then there was a noise like a volcanic eruption and the howling of

16799-521: The hierarchic social order, a person could gain status and prestige in society by becoming a high-ranking military officer with a record of victorious battles. At its height, the Song military had one million soldiers divided into platoons of 50 troops, companies made of two platoons, battalions composed of 500 soldiers. Crossbowmen were separated from the regular infantry and placed in their own units as they were prized combatants, providing effective missile fire against cavalry charges. The government

16956-414: The importance of proper coroner 's conduct during autopsies and the accurate recording of the inquest of each autopsy by official clerks. The Song military was chiefly organized to ensure that the army could not threaten Imperial control, often at the expense of effectiveness in war. Northern Song's Military Council operated under a Chancellor, who had no control over the imperial army. The imperial army

17113-436: The inhabitants are kept in complete slavery. The Mongol invasions displaced populations on a scale never seen before in central Asia or eastern Europe. Word of the Mongol hordes' approach spread terror and panic. The violent character of the invasions acted as a catalyst for further violence between Europe's elites and sparked additional conflicts. The increase in violence in the affected eastern European regions correlates with

17270-413: The interest in the performance of post-mortem autopsies in China during the 12th century. The physician and judge known as Song Ci (1186–1249) wrote a pioneering work of forensic science on the examination of corpses in order to determine cause of death (strangulation, poisoning, drowning, blows, etc.) and to prove whether death resulted from murder, suicide, or accidental death. Song Ci stressed

17427-439: The invention of gunpowder weapons such as fire arrows , bombs, and the fire lance . It also saw the first discernment of true north using a compass, first recorded description of the pound lock , and improved designs of astronomical clocks . Economically, the Song dynasty was unparalleled with a gross domestic product three times larger than that of Europe during the 12th century. China's population doubled in size between

17584-495: The joint military campaign under this Alliance Conducted at Sea toppled and completely conquered the Liao dynasty by 1125. During the joint attack, the Song's northern expedition army removed the defensive forest along the Song-Liao border. However, the poor performance and military weakness of the Song army was observed by the Jurchens, who immediately broke the alliance, beginning the Jin–Song Wars of 1125 and 1127. Because of

17741-487: The knee, skirts, and jackets with long or short sleeves, while women from wealthy families could wear purple scarves around their shoulders. The main difference in women's apparel from that of men was that it was fastened on the left, not on the right. The main food staples in the diet of the lower classes remained rice, pork, and salted fish. In 1011, Emperor Zhenzong of Song introduced Champa rice to China from Vietnam 's Kingdom of Champa , which sent 30,000 bushels as

17898-451: The landed gentry in order to raise revenue for these projects, an act which caused dissension and loss of loyalty amongst leading members of Song society but did not stop the Song's defensive preparations. Financial matters were made worse by the fact that many wealthy, land-owning families—some of which had officials working for the government—used their social connections with those in office in order to obtain tax-exempt status. Although

18055-419: The last obstacle in his way to invading the rich Yangtze River basin. Kublai officially declared the creation of the Yuan dynasty in 1271. In 1275, a Song force of 130,000 troops under Chancellor Jia Sidao was defeated by Kublai's newly appointed commander-in-chief, general Bayan . By 1276, most of the Song territory had been captured by Yuan forces, including the capital Lin'an. In the Battle of Yamen on

18212-558: The major cause of Song economic prosperity. Artisans and merchants formed guilds that the state had to deal with when assessing taxes, requisitioning goods, and setting standard workers' wages and prices on goods. The iron industry was pursued by both private entrepreneurs who owned their own smelters as well as government-supervised smelting facilities. The Song economy was stable enough to produce over 100,000,000 kg (220,000,000 lb) of iron products per year. Large-scale Deforestation in China would have continued if not for

18369-412: The marriage strategies of the professional elite, which dissolved as a distinguishable social group and was replaced by a multitude of gentry families. Due to Song's enormous population growth and the body of its appointed scholar-officials being accepted in limited numbers (about 20,000 active officials during the Song period), the larger scholarly gentry class would now take over grassroots affairs on

18526-727: The most prosperous and advanced economies in the medieval world. Song Chinese invested their funds in joint stock companies and in multiple sailing vessels at a time when monetary gain was assured from the vigorous overseas trade and domestic trade along the Grand Canal and Yangtze River. Both private and government-controlled industries met the needs of a growing Chinese population in the Song; prominent merchant families and private businesses were allowed to occupy industries that were not already government-operated monopolies. Economic historians emphasize this toleration of market mechanisms over population growth or new farming technologies as

18683-597: The multitude of ships sailing for maritime interests into the waters of the East China Sea and Yellow Sea (to Korea and Japan ), Southeast Asia , the Indian Ocean , and the Red Sea , it was necessary to establish an official standing navy . The Song dynasty therefore established China's first permanent navy in 1132, with a headquarters at Dinghai . With a permanent navy, the Song were prepared to face

18840-460: The naval forces of the Jin on the Yangtze River in 1161, in the Battle of Tangdao and the Battle of Caishi . During these battles the Song navy employed swift paddle wheel driven naval vessels armed with traction trebuchet catapults aboard the decks that launched gunpowder bombs . Although the Jin forces commanded by Wanyan Liang (the Prince of Hailing) boasted 70,000 men on 600 warships, and

18997-401: The political rivalry, the famous poet and statesman Su Shi (1037–1101), was jailed and eventually exiled for criticizing Wang's reforms. The continual alternation between reform and conservatism had effectively weakened the dynasty. This decline can also be attributed to Cai Jing (1047–1126), who was appointed by Emperor Zhezong (1085–1100) and who remained in power until 1125. He revived

19154-407: The recruitment system of officials, increasing the salaries for minor officials, and establishing sponsorship programs to allow a wider range of people to be well educated and eligible for state service. After Fan was forced to step down from his office, Wang Anshi (1021–1086) became Chancellor of the imperial court. With the backing of Emperor Shenzong (1067–1085), Wang Anshi severely criticized

19311-531: The region by recently migrated Tais, who originally came from Southern China, in the early centuries of the second millennium. Major Tai states such as Lan Na , Sukhothai , and Lan Xang appeared around this time. Due to the lack of contemporary records, estimates of the violence associated with the Mongol conquests vary considerably. Not including the mortality from the Plague in Europe, West Asia, or China it

19468-578: The regular tumens Genghis created a settlement of Chinese craftsmen and farmers at Kem-kemchik after the first phase of the Mongol conquest of the Jin dynasty . The Great Khans favored gyrfalcons , furs, women, and Kyrgyz horses for tribute. Western Siberia came under the Golden Horde . The descendants of Orda Khan , the eldest son of Jochi, directly ruled the area. In the swamps of western Siberia, dog sled Yam stations were set up to facilitate collection of tribute. In 1270, Kublai Khan sent

19625-407: The relevant 5 units of 100 soldiers, and these would attempt to flank or encircle the town to the left and right. The main point of these maneuvers was to encircle the city to cut off escape and overwhelm their enemies from both sides. If the situation deteriorated on one of the fronts or flanks, the leader from the hill directed one part of the army to support the other. If it appeared that there

19782-573: The removal of the previous defensive forest, the Jin army marched quickly across the North China Plain to Kaifeng. In the Jingkang Incident during the latter invasion, the Jurchens captured not only the capital, but the retired Emperor Huizong, his successor Emperor Qinzong , and most of the Imperial court. The remaining Song forces regrouped under the self-proclaimed Emperor Gaozong of Song (1127–1162) and withdrew south of

19939-776: The rest of China proper , reuniting much of the territory that had once belonged to the Han and Tang empires and ending the upheaval of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. In Kaifeng , he established a strong central government over the empire. The establishment of this capital marked the start of the Northern Song period. He ensured administrative stability by promoting the civil service examination system of drafting state bureaucrats by skill and merit (instead of aristocratic or military position) and promoted projects that ensured efficiency in communication throughout

20096-459: The same level of authority. Robert Hartwell and Robert P. Hymes criticized this model, stating that it places too much emphasis on the role of the nuclear family and considers only three paternal ascendants of exam candidates while ignoring the demographic reality of Song China, the significant proportion of males in each generation that had no surviving sons, and the role of the extended family . Many felt disenfranchised by what they saw as

20253-510: The second-largest polity overall, behind only the British Empire . Each Mongol soldier typically maintained 3 or 4 horses . Changing horses often allowed them to travel at high speed for days without stopping or wearing out the animals. When one horse became tired, the rider would dismount and rotate to another. By letting a tired horse keep up with the rest of the herd without a load, the strategy preserved mobility without overburdening

20410-544: The siege of Nishapur , and a team of Chinese technicians to work a great 'ox bow' shooting large bolts a distance of 2,500 paces, which was used at the siege of Maymun Diz. The Manchus forbade archery by their Mongol subjects, and the Mongolian bowmaking tradition was lost during the Qing dynasty . The present bowmaking tradition emerged after independence in 1921 and is based on Manchu types of bow , somewhat different from

20567-543: The sight highly amusing, that is until one fire lance burst into a cache of bombs, causing the entire complex to explode. The disaster of the trebuchet bomb arsenal at Weiyang was still more terrible. Formerly the artisan positions were all held by southerners (i.e. the Chinese). But they engaged in peculation, so they had to be dismissed, and all their jobs were given to northerners (probably Mongols, or Chinese who had served them). Unfortunately, these men understood nothing of

20724-655: The theory of the Five Elements (wuxing), the earth element follows the fire, the dynastic element of the Song, in the sequence of elemental creation. Therefore, their ideological move showed that the Jin considered Song reign in China complete, with the Jin replacing the Song as the rightful rulers of China Proper. Although weakened and pushed south beyond the Huai River , the Southern Song found new ways to bolster its strong economy and defend itself against

20881-620: The throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Ten Kingdoms , ending the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period . The Song often came into conflict with the contemporaneous Liao , Western Xia and Jin dynasties in northern China. After retreating to southern China following attacks by the Jin dynasty, the Song was eventually conquered by the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty . The dynasty's history

21038-452: 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 emergence of a national economy led to the gradual withdrawal of the central government from direct intervention in the economy. The lower gentry assumed a larger role in local administration and affairs. Song society

21195-472: The use of intermediary agents. The Song judicial system retained most of the legal code of the earlier Tang dynasty, the basis of traditional Chinese law up until the modern era. Roving sheriffs maintained law and order in the municipal jurisdictions and occasionally ventured into the countryside. Official magistrates overseeing court cases were not only expected to be well-versed in written law but also to promote morality in society. Magistrates such as

21352-404: The vast local level. Excluding the scholar-officials in office, this elite social class consisted of exam candidates, examination degree-holders not yet assigned to an official post, local tutors, and retired officials. These learned men, degree-holders, and local elites supervised local affairs and sponsored necessary facilities of local communities; any local magistrate appointed to his office by

21509-518: The waist. Acceptable apparel for scholar-officials was rigidly defined by the social ranking system. However, as time went on this rule of rank-graded apparel for officials was not as strictly enforced. Each official was able to display his awarded status by wearing different-colored traditional silken robes that hung to the ground around his feet, specific types of headgear, and even specific styles of girdles that displayed his graded-rank of officialdom. Women wore long dresses, blouses that came down to

21666-456: The warmer seasons, when there was sufficient grazing for their herds. The rise of the Mongols was preceded by 15 years of wet and warm weather conditions from 1211 to 1225 that allowed favourable conditions for the breeding of horses, which greatly assisted their expansion. As the Mongol Empire began to fragment from 1260, conflict between the Mongols and Eastern European polities continued for centuries. Mongols continued to rule China into

21823-530: The waving of banners and to halt at the sound of bells and drums. The Song navy was of great importance during the consolidation of the empire in the 10th century; during the war against the Southern Tang state, the Song navy employed tactics such as defending large floating pontoon bridges across the Yangtze River in order to secure movements of troops and supplies. There were large ships in

21980-569: Was conquered by the Mongols and put under Yuan rule . The Mongols also invaded Sakhalin Island between 1264 and 1308. Likewise, Korea ( Goryeo ) became a semi-autonomous vassal state of the Yuan dynasty for about 80 years. By 1206, Genghis Khan had conquered all Mongol and Turkic tribes in Mongolia and southern Siberia. In 1207 his eldest son Jochi subjugated the Siberian forest people,

22137-452: Was an era of administrative sophistication and complex social organization. Some of the largest cities in the world were found in China during this period (Kaifeng and Hangzhou had populations of over a million). People enjoyed various social clubs and entertainment in the cities, and there were many schools and temples to provide the people with education and religious services. The Song government supported social welfare programs including

22294-608: Was combined with "recently surrendered" soldiers. Mongols and Chinese soldiers stationed in the area of the former state of Qocho and in Besh Balikh established a Chinese military colony led by Chinese general Qi Kongzhi . During the Mongol attack on the Middle East ruled by the Mamluk Sultanate , most of the Mamluk military was composed of Kipchaks and the Golden Horde's supply of Kipchak fighters replenished

22451-462: Was demoted, being given the title 'Duke of Ying', but was eventually exiled to Tibet where he took up a monastic life. The former emperor would eventually be forced to commit suicide under the orders of Kublai's great-great-grandson, Gegeen Khan , out of fear that Emperor Gong would stage a coup to restore his reign. Other members of the Song imperial family continued to live in the Yuan dynasty, including Zhao Mengfu and Zhao Yong. The Song dynasty

22608-476: Was divided among three marshals, each independently responsible to the Emperor. Since the Emperor rarely led campaigns personally, Song forces lacked unity of command. The imperial court often believed that successful generals endangered royal authority, and relieved or even executed them (notably Li Gang, Yue Fei, and Han Shizhong ). Although the scholar-officials viewed military soldiers as lower members in

22765-582: Was eager to sponsor new crossbow designs that could shoot at longer ranges, while crossbowmen were also valuable when employed as long-range snipers . Song cavalry employed a slew of different weapons, including halberds, swords, bows, spears, and ' fire lances ' that discharged a gunpowder blast of flame and shrapnel . Military strategy and military training were treated as sciences that could be studied and perfected; soldiers were tested in their skills of using weaponry and in their athletic ability. The troops were trained to follow signal standards to advance at

22922-448: Was going to be significant loss, the Mongols would retreat to save their troops and would engage the next day, or the next month, after having studied the enemies' tactics and defenses in the first battle, or again send a demand to surrender after inflicting some form of damage. There was no fixture on when or where units should be deployed: it was dependent on battle circumstances, and the flanks and groups had full authority on what to do in

23079-452: Was made, and it was found that a hundred men of the guards had been blown to bits, beams and pillars had been deft asunder or carried away by the force of the explosion to a distance over ten li . The smooth ground was scooped into craters and trenches more than ten feet deep. Above two hundred families living in the neighbourhood were victims of this unexpected disaster. This was indeed an unusual occurrence. Gunpowder may have been used during

23236-498: Was rarely consumed since the bull was a valuable draft animal, and dog meat was absent from the diet of the wealthy, although the poor could choose to eat dog meat if necessary (yet it was not part of their regular diet). People also consumed dates , raisins, jujubes , pears, plums, apricots, pear juice, lychee -fruit juice, honey and ginger drinks, spices and seasonings of Sichuan pepper , ginger , soy sauce, vegetable oil, sesame oil, salt, and vinegar. The Song dynasty had one of

23393-676: Was required to execute 24 people, or nearly half a million people per said army. Against the Alans and the Cumans ( Kipchaks ), the Mongols used divide-and-conquer tactics by first warning the Cumans to end their support of the Alans, whom they then defeated, before rounding on the Cumans. The Alans were recruited into the Mongol forces and known as the Asud , with one unit called "Right Alan Guard" that

23550-419: Was significant, for instance 10,000 or more, these would be handed over to a significant or second-in-command leader, while the main leader concentrated on the front line. The leader of the Mongols would generally issue the tactics used to attack the enemy. For instance the leader might order, upon seeing a city or town, "500 to the left and 500 to the right" of the city; those instructions would then be relayed to

23707-420: Was stuffed with gunpowder and iron shrapnel attached to a fuse. When lit, it shot out flames over more than ten paces. The tube was re-usable. It was recorded that Mongol greatly feared the flying fire lance and heaven-shaking-thunder bomb. In 1233, a group of 450 Jin fire lancers led by Pucha Guannu snuck up on a Mongol encampment and surrounded them by river, drowning 3,500 of the Mongol forces as they fled. After

23864-403: Was terrified." According to surviving reports, the incident was caused by inexperienced gunpowder makers hired to replace the previous ones, and they had been careless while grinding sulfur. A spark caused by the grinding process came into contact with some fire lances which immediately started spewing flames and jetting around "like frightened snakes." The gunpowder makers did nothing as they found

24021-565: Was the eighth emperor of the Song dynasty and he was a renowned artist as well as a patron of the art and the catalogue of his collection listed over 6,000 known paintings. A prime example of a highly venerated court painter was Zhang Zeduan (1085–1145) who painted an enormous panoramic painting , Along the River During the Qingming Festival . Emperor Gaozong of Song initiated a massive art project during his reign, known as

24178-512: Was the first known book to have listed formulas for gunpowder; it gave appropriate formulas for use in several different kinds of gunpowder bombs. It also provided detailed descriptions and illustrations of double-piston pump flamethrowers , as well as instructions for the maintenance and repair of the components and equipment used in the device. The visual arts during the Song dynasty were heightened by new developments such as advances in landscape and portrait painting. The gentry elite engaged in

24335-503: Was ultimately a failure due to a rival military officer of Shen disobeying direct orders, and the territory gained from the Western Xia was eventually lost. The Song fought against the Vietnamese kingdom of Đại Việt twice, the first conflict in 981 and later a significant war from 1075 to 1077 over a border dispute and the Song's severing of commercial relations with Đại Việt. After the Vietnamese forces inflicted heavy damages in

24492-455: Was vibrant, and cities had lively entertainment quarters. Citizens gathered to view and trade artwork, and intermingled at festivals and in private clubs. The spread of literature and knowledge was enhanced by the rapid expansion of woodblock printing and the 11th-century invention of movable type printing. Philosophers such as Cheng Yi and Zhu Xi reinvigorated Confucianism with new commentary, infused with Buddhist ideals, and emphasized

24649-468: Was when Kublai Khan established the Yuan dynasty in China in 1271. The dynasty created a "Han Army" (漢軍) out of defected Jin troops and an army of defected Song troops called the "Newly Submitted Army" (新附軍). The Mongol force which invaded southern China was far greater than the force they sent to invade the Middle East in 1256. The Yuan dynasty established the top-level government agency Bureau of Buddhist and Tibetan Affairs to govern Tibet , which

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