The Ancient China Song Dynasty was founded by Chao Kuang-yin and ruled China from 960 to1279 AD. The Songs could rule China for a long time because they decided to usurp the southern regions instead of fighting the Khitans to the north. Thus the Songs decided to pay the Khitans annual tributes which were cheaper than maintaining a military force that could fight them.
Ancient China Song Dynasty
The Song was also a progressive dynasty and was responsible for great technological invention, material production, political philosophy, government, and elite culture. Foreign trade received major impetus and the Songs had some of the best ships for this purpose. The history of the Song dynasty is usually divided up between the Northern Song and the Southern Song.
Education too received great patronage and the upper classes took to education in a significant way. This was mainly due to the availability of books and other printed materials.
The medical sphere too witnessed some revolutionary developments. It was during this period (1145 AD) that the first autopsy was performed on the body of a Southern Chinese captive.
The Ancient China Song Dynasty also witnessed the rise of Neo-Confucianism along with art forms like painting and poetry. In fact, the art of painting reached new heights during this era with the development of two major schools of painting.
The first school comprised of decorative yet realistic paintings with major attention to detail.
The second school propagated painting inner realities, as the painting was considered as an intimate personal expression.It was during the fag end of the Song dynasty that the legendary blue and white porcelain art was developed.
Ancient China Song dynasty was a golden period for cultural and technological advancements in China. However, the Songs did not have a strong military force that made them susceptible to attacks.