(Redirected from Southern Song Dynasty)
The 'Song Dynasty' (;
Wade-Giles: Sung Ch'ao) was a ruling
dynasty in
China between 960–1279 AD; it succeeded the
Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms era, and was followed by the
Yuan Dynasty. It was the first government in world history to issue
banknotes or paper money, and the first Chinese polity to establish a permanent standing navy.
The population of China doubled in size between the 10th and 11th centuries. This growth came through expanded rice cultivation in central and southern China and the production of abundant food surpluses.
Within its borders, the Northern Song Dynasty had a population of some 100 million people.
[1]
The Song dynasty is divided into two distinct periods: the Northern Song and Southern Song. During the 'Northern Song' (, 960–1127), the Song capital was in the northern city of
Kaifeng and the dynasty controlled most of inner China. The 'Southern Song' (, 1127–1279) refers to the period after the Song lost control of
northern China to the
Jin Dynasty. During this time, the Song court retreated south of the
Yangtze River and established their capital at
Hangzhou. Although weakened, the Song economy was not in ruins as the Southern Song contained 60 percent of China's population and a majority of the most productive agricultural land.
The Southern Song Dynasty considerably bolstered
naval strength to defend its waters and land borders and to conduct
maritime missions abroad. To repel the Jin (and then the
Mongols), the Song developed revolutionary new military technology augmented by the use of
gunpowder. In 1234, the Jin Dynasty was conquered by the Mongols, who subsequently took control of northern China and maintained uneasy relations with the Southern Song.
Mongke Khan, the fourth
Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, was killed in battle; his successor was
Kublai Khan, perceived both as the new Great Khan of the Mongols and as the
Emperor of China.
[2] After years of war, Kublai Khan's armies conquered the Song Dynasty in 1279. China was once again unified, but this time as part of the vast
Mongol Empire.
The Song Dynasty was a culturally rich period for the arts, philosophy, and social life.
Landscape art and
portrait paintings reached new levels of maturity and complexity after the heights reached by the
Tang Dynasty. The social life was vibrant; social elites gathered to view and trade precious artworks, the populace intermingled at public festivals and private clubs and cities had lively entertainment quarters. Philosophers such as
Cheng Yi and
Zhu Xi reinvigorated Confucianism with new commentary, infused with
Buddhist ideals, and emphasized a new organization of classic texts that brought out the core doctrine of
Neo-Confucianism. Exam-drafted
scholar-officials viewed themselves as the preeminent members of society, scorning any emphasis or favor shown to the growing merchant class and those of petty commercial vocations. Nonetheless, mercantilism was heavily embedded into Song culture and society. Independent and state-sponsored
architects, engineers, carpenters, and craftsmen erected thousands of bridges,
pagoda towers, temple halls, palace halls, and other buildings throughout the empire. Literature on architecture was widely distributed and read throughout China, while the central state agencies responsible for building and construction used standard codes published in building manuals.
History
Main articles: History of the Song Dynasty
Northern Song
Emperor Taizu of Song (r. 960–976) unified China through military conquest during his reign, ending the upheaval of the
Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. In
Kaifeng, he established a strong central government over the empire. He ensured administrative stability by promoting the
Imperial examination system of drafting state
bureaucrats by skill and merit (instead of
aristocratic or
martial status) and promoted projects that ensured efficiency in communication throughout the empire. One such project was the creation by
cartographers of detailed maps of each province and city which were then collected in a large
atlas.
[3] He also promoted groundbreaking science and technological innovations by supporting such works as the
astronomical clock tower designed and built by the engineer
Zhang Sixun.
[4]
From its inception with the first emperor Taizu, the Song Dynasty was engaged in alternating states of warfare and diplomacy with the ethnic
Khitans of the
Liao Dynasty in the northeast and with the
Tanguts of the
Western Xia Dynasty in the northwest. The Song Dynasty used military force in an attempt to quell the Liao Dynasty and recapture the
Sixteen Prefectures, a territory under Khitan control that was traditionally considered to be part of the Chinese domain.
[5] However, Song forces were repulsed by the Liao forces who engaged in aggressive yearly campaigns into northern Song territory until 1004 when the signing of the
Treaty of Shanyuan ended these northern frontier border clashes. The Chinese were forced to pay heavy tribute to the Khitans, although the paying of this tribute did little damage to the overall Song economy since the Khitans were heavily dependent upon importing massive amounts of goods from the Song Dynasty.
[6] More significantly, the Song state recognized the Liao state as its diplomatic equal.
[7] 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).
[8] However, this campaign was ultimately a failure, and the territory gained from the
Western Xia was eventually lost.
[9]
During the 11th century, political rivalries thoroughly 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 make such reforms as improving 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.
[10] 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 of Song (1067–1085), Wang Anshi severely criticized 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 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.
[11] The reforms created political factions in the court with Wang Anshi's New Policies Group (Xin Fa), or the 'Reformers' in one camp, opposed by the ministers in the 'Conservative' faction led by Chancellor
Sima Guang (1019–1086) in the other.
[12] 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 the political rivalry, the famous poet and statesman
Su Shi (1037–1101), was jailed and eventually exiled for criticizing Wang's reforms.
While 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 within the Liao empire, rebelled against the Liao and formed their own state, the
Jin Dynasty (1115–1234).
[13] The Song official
Tong Guan (1054–1126) advised the reigning
Emperor Huizong of Song (1100–1125) to form an alliance with the Jurchens and their joint military campaign toppled and completely conquered the Liao Dynasty by 1125. However, the poor performance and military weakness of the Song army was observed by the Jurchens, who immediately broke the alliance with the Song and launched an invasion into Song territory in 1125 and another in 1127 when the Jurchens managed to capture not only the Song capital at Kaifeng, but the retired emperor Huizong and the succeeding
Emperor Qinzong of Song as well as most of his court.
This took place in the year of Jingkang (
Chinese 靖康) and it is known as the
Humiliation of Jingkang (
Chinese 靖康之恥). The remaining Song forces rallied under the self appointed
Emperor Gaozong of Song (1127–1162), fleeing south of the
Yangtze River to establish the Song Dynasty's new capital at Lin'an (in modern
Hangzhou). This Jurchen conquest of northern China and shift of capitals from Kaifeng to Lin'an marks the period of division between the Northern Song Dynasty and Southern Song Dynasty.
Southern Song
Southern Song in 1142
Although weakened and pushed south along the
Huai River, the Southern Song found new ways to bolster their already strong economy and defend their state against the Jin Dynasty. They 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 in order to support maritime trade abroad and the major international
seaports, including
Quanzhou,
Guangzhou, and
Xiamen that were sustaining China's commerce.
[14][15][16] To protect and support the multitudes of ships sailing for maritime interests into the waters of the
East China Sea and
Yellow Sea (to
Korea and
Japan),
South East Asia, the
Indian Ocean, and the
Red Sea, it was a necessity to establish an official standing
navy.
[17] The Song Dynasty therefore established China's first permanent navy in 1132,
with the admiral's main headquarter stationed at Dinghai.
[18] With a permanent navy, the Song were prepared to face 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 crafts armed with
trebuchet catapults aboard the decks that launched
gunpowder bombs.
Although the Jin forces boasted 70,000 men on 600 warships, and the Song forces only 3,000 men on 120 warships,
[19] the Song Dynasty forces were victorious in both battles due to the destructive power of the bombs and the rapid assaults by paddle wheel ships.
[20] The strength of the navy was heavily emphasized after that. 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 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.
[21][22]
Although the Song Dynasty was able to hold back the Jin, a new considerable 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.
[23] The Jin Dynasty was forced to submit and pay tribute to the Mongols as
vassals; when the Jin suddenly moved their capital city from
Beijing to Kaifeng, the Mongols saw this as a revolt.
[24] Under the leadership of
Ögedei Khan (r.1229–1241), both the Jin Dynasty and Western Xia Dynasty were conquered by Mongol forces.
[25] The Mongols were at one time allied with the Song, but this alliance was broken when the Song recaptured the former imperial capitals of Kaifeng,
Luoyang, and
Chang'an at the collapse of the Jin Dynasty. As the Mongols invaded and conquered
Korea, the
Abbasid Caliphate of the Middle East, and
Kievan Rus' of
Russia, the Mongol leader
Mongke Khan was killed in 1259 during the Battle of
Fishing Town in
Chongqing, China.
[26] This prompted
Hulagu Khan to pull the bulk of Mongol forces out of the Middle East where they were fighting the
Egyptian
Mamluks to face the Song. By 1276, most of the Song Chinese territory had been captured by Mongol forces.
With the
Battle of Yamen on the
Pearl River Delta in 1279, the Mongols finally crushed the Song resistance, and the last remaining ruler, the child emperor
Duanzong, committed suicide along with the official Lu Xiufu.
Society and culture
Main articles: Society of the Song Dynasty
_001.jpg)
''The White Jasmine Branch'', 12th century painting. Small paintings in the style of round-albums that captured realistic scenes of nature were widely popular in the Southern Song period.
The Song Dynasty 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 (with Hangzhou boasting a population of one million).
[27] People enjoyed various social clubs and entertainments in the cities, and there were numerous schools and temples to provide the public with education and religious services.
The Song government supported multiple forms of
social welfare programs, including the establishment of
retirement homes, public
clinics, and
pauper's
graveyards.
Although women were on 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. They were equal in status to men in
inheriting family property.
[28][29] There were many notable and well-educated women and it was a common practice for women to write
poetry and educate their sons during their earliest youth.
The mother of the scientist, general, diplomat, and statesman
Shen Kuo, who taught him essentials of military strategy,
and
Li Qingzhao (1084–1151), known for her elegant poetry are examples. Despite the disdain for trade and commerce exhibited by the highly cultured and elite exam-drafted
scholar-officials,
commercialism and
mercantilism played a prominent role in Song culture and society.
during this period had a great effect on people's lives, beliefs and daily activities, and
Chinese literature on spirituality was a popular.
[31] The major deities of
Daoism and
Buddhism,
ancestral spirits and the many deities of
Chinese folk religion were worshiped with sacrificial offerings. The populace engaged in a vibrant social and domestic life, enjoying such public
festivals as the
Lantern Festival or the
Qingming Festival. There were entertainment quarters in cities such as Hangzhou, with a constant array of puppeteers, acrobats,
storytellers,
singers and musicians, prostitutes, and places to relax including
tea houses, restaurants, and organized banquets.
[27][33] 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.
At home they enjoyed activities such as the
go board game and the
xiangqi board game.
During this period the civil service examinations were greatly improved in an effort to select the most capable individuals for governance. An individual's Confucian-based education could be augmented by attendance at one of the many prestigious schools of learning.
Yuelu Academy, founded in 976 AD, was one of the earliest such schools to be established. The Chinese scientist
Shen Kuo served as the head chancellor of the
Hanlin Academy,
[34] established earlier during the
Tang Dynasty. There was also the
Neo-Confucian Donglin Academy, established in 1111 AD. The philosopher Zhu Xi re-established the
White Deer Grotto Academy, originally founded during the
Southern Tang Dynasty. The civil service system, enhanced by the
Imperial Exams, allowed for greater
meritocracy,
social mobility, and equality in competition for those wishing to attain an official seat in government.
[35] State-gathered
statistics suggested that having a father or other relative who had served as a high official of state did not guarantee an individual would obtain the same position of authority.
[35] Nevertheless, many felt disenfranchised by what they saw as a bureaucratic system that favored the land-holding class able to afford the best education.
One of the greatest literary critics of this was
Su Shi, well known for his general criticism of the Song government.
The Song
judicial system retained most of the
legal code of the earlier Tang Dynasty.
[37] Official magistrates overseeing court cases were not only expected to be well-versed in written law but to promote morality in society.
Song judges specified the guilty person or party in a criminal act and meted out punishments accordingly, often in the form of
caning.
Roving sheriffs maintained law and order in the municipal juridsictions and occasionally ventured into the countryside.
[38] Shen Kuo's ''
Dream Pool Essays'' educated the Chinese in human
anatomy, spurring an interest in the performance of post-mortem
autopsies in China during the 12th century.
[39][40] The physician and judge
Song Ci (1186–1249) wrote a pioneering work of
forensic science on the examination of bodies to determine cause of death and to solve cases of suspected murders, stressing the importance of proper
coroner's conduct during autopsies and the proper recording of the
inquest of each autopsy by official clerks.
[41][42]
The Song Dynasty supported a widespread
postal service that was modeled on the earlier
Han Dynasty postal system to provide swift communication throughout the empire.
[43] The central government employed thousands of postal workers of various ranks and responsibilities to provide service for post offices and larger postal stations.
These post offices were placed along every major road at intervals of five
li in distance (one li in Song times = 323 m/1059 ft), while major postal stations were placed every 30 li.
Military
Main articles: Society of the Song Dynasty
Although the scholar-officials viewed
military soldiers as lower members in the hierarchic social order,
[45] a person could gain status and prestige in society by becoming a high ranking military officer with a record of victorious battles.
[46] At its height, the Song military had one million soldiers
divided into
platoons of 50 troops, companies made of two platoons, and one battalion composed of 500 soldiers.
[47][48] 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.
Crossbowmen were also valuable when employed as long-range
snipers since the government was eager to sponsor new crossbow designs that could shoot at longer ranges.
[49] 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.
[50] Military strategy and military training were treated as science that could be studied and perfected; soldiers were tested in their skills of using weaponry and in their athletic ability.
[51] The troops were trained to follow signal standards to advance at the waving of banners and to halt at the sound of bells and drums.
[48] 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.
[53] There were large naval ships in the Song that could carry 1,000 soldiers aboard their decks,
[54] while the swift-moving
paddle-wheel crafts were viewed as essential fighting ships in any successful naval battle.
[55]
There were a total of 347 military treatises written during the Song period, as listed by the history text of the ''Song Shi'' (compiled in 1345).
[56] However, only a handful of these military treatises have survived, which includes the ''
Wujing Zongyao'' written in 1044. It was the first known book to have listed formulas for gunpowder;
[57] it gave appropriate formulas for use in several different kinds of gunpowder bombs.
[58] It also provided detailed description and illustrations of double-piston pump
flamethrowers, as well as insructions for the maintenance and repair of the components and equipment used in the device.
[59]
Arts, literature, and philosophy
Main articles: Culture of the Song Dynasty
The visual arts during the Song Dynasty were heightened by new developments such as advances in landscape and portrait painting. An aristocratic elite engaged in the arts as accepted pastimes of the cultured scholar-official, including
painting, composing
poetry, and
calligraphy.
[60] 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, while enormous
encyclopedic volumes were compiled, such as works of
historiography and dozens of treatises on technical subjects. These included the
universal history text of the ''
Zizhi Tongjian'', collected 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 a philosophical point.
[61] The imperial courts of the emperor's palace were filled with his entourage of court painters, calligraphers, poets, and storytellers.
Emperor Huizong was a renowned artist as well as a patron of the arts. A prime example of a highly venerated court painter was
Zhang Zeduan (1085–1145) who painted an enormous
panoramic painting, ''
Along the River During Qingming Festival''.
Emperor Gaozong of Song initiated a massive art project during his reign, known as the ''
Eighteen Songs of a Nomad Flute'' from the life story of
Cai Wenji.
_001.jpg)
''The Broken Balustrade'', 12th century painting.
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 the budding movement of
Neo-Confucianism, led by
Cheng Yi (1033–1107) and
Zhu Xi (1130–1200).
[62] Mahayana Buddhism influenced Fan Zhongyan and Wang Anshi through its concept of
ethical universalism,
[63] while Buddhist
metaphysics had a deep impact upon the pre–Neo-Confucian doctrine of Cheng Yi.
[62] The philosophical work of Cheng Yi in turn influenced Zhu Xi and, although his writings were not accepted by his peers, his emphasis on the Confucian classics outlined by him in his
Four Books formed the basis of the Neo-Confucian doctrine. Zhu Xi's Four Books and his commentary on them became standard requirements to study for students attempting to pass the Imperial examinations by the mid 13th century.
[65] China adopted Neo-Confucianism, as did other countries of East Asia, including
Japan and
Korea. Zhu Xi's teaching in both of these countries became known as the Shushigaku (朱子学, 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.
[66]
Economy
Main articles: Economy of the Song Dynasty
The economy of the Song Dynesty was one of the most prosperous and advanced economies in the medieval world. The Song Chinese invested their funds in
joint stock companies with
guild heads and in multiple sailing vessels at a time when monetary gain was assured from the vigorous overseas trade.
[67] Prominent merchant families, private businesses, and government-operated
monopolies shared the various industries that were developed to meet the many needs of a growing population.
The
iron industry was pursued by both private
entreprenuers who owned their own smelters as well as government-supervised smelting facilities.
[69][70] The Song economy was stable enough to produce over a hundred million kg (over two hundred million lb) of
iron product a year.
[71] Large scale
deforestation in China would have continued if not for the 11th century innovation of the use of
coal instead of
charcoal in
blast furnaces for smelting
cast iron.
[72] Much of this iron was reserved for military use in crafting weapons and armoring troops, but some was used to fashion the many iron products needed to fill the demands of the growing indigenous market. The iron trade within China was furthered by the building of new
canals which aided the flow of iron products from production centers to the large market found in the capital city.
[73] The annual output of minted copper currency in 1085 alone reached roughly six billion coins.
[1] 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 alone, the Song court established several government-run
factories in the cities of
Huizhou,
Chengdu,
Hangzhou, and
Anqi.
[75] 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 heavily influenced foreign economies abroad. The
Moroccan Muslim geographer al-Idrisi wrote in 1154 AD 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), the
Indus River, and the
Euphrates River in modern-day Iraq.
[76] Foreigners, in turn, had an impact on the Chinese economy. For example, many
Muslims went to
China to trade, and dominated the import and export industry.
[77] Sea trade with the South East Pacific, the Hindu world, the Islamic world, and the East African world brought merchants great fortune and spurred an enormous growth in the
shipbuilding industry of Song-era
Fujian province.
[78] However, there was risk involved in such long overseas ventures. To reduce the risk of losing money on maritime trade missions abroad, the historians Ebrey, Walthall, and Palais write:
Technology
Main articles: Technology of the Song Dynasty
Advancements in weapons technology enhanced by
Greek fire and
gunpowder, including the evolution of the early
flamethrower, explosive
grenade,
firearm,
cannon, and
land mine, enabled the Song Chinese to ward off their militant enemies until the Song's ultimate collapse in the late 13th century.
[79][80][81][82] The ''
Wujing Zongyao'' manuscript of 1044 was also the first book in history to provide formulas for
blackpowder and their specified use in different types of bombs.
[83] While engaged in a war with the
Mongols, in the year 1259 the official Li Zengbo wrote in his ''Kozhai Zagao, Xugaohou'' that the city of
Qingzhou was manufacturing one to two thousand strong iron-cased bomb shells a month, dispatching to
Xiangyang and Yingzhou about ten to twenty thousand such bombs at a time.
[84] In turn, the invading Mongols employed northern Chinese soldiers and used these same type of gunpowder weapons against the Song Chinese.
[85] By the 14th century the firearm and cannon could also be found in Europe, India, and the Islamic Middle East, during the early age of
gunpowder warfare.
The innovation of
movable type printing was made by the artisan
Bi Sheng (990–1051), first described by the scientist and statesman
Shen Kuo in his ''
Dream Pool Essays'' of 1088.
[86][87] Movable type enhanced the already widespread use of
woodblock methods of printing thousands of documents and volumes of written literature, consumed eagerly by an increasingly literate public. The advancement of printing had a deep impact on education and the scholar-official class, since more books could be made faster while mass-produced, printed books were cheaper in comparison to laborious handwritten copies.
figures such as the statesmen Shen Kuo and
Su Song (1020–1101) embodied advancements in all fields of study, including
biology,
botany,
zoology,
minerology,
mechanics,
horology,
astronomy,
pharmaceutical medicine,
archeology,
mathematics,
magnetics,
navigation,
art criticism, and more.
[88][89] Shen Kuo was known for his writings about
true north and the magnetic compass, navigation at sea, his description of
Bi Sheng's invention of
movable type printing, the application of a
drydock to repair boats, analysis of treatises on engineering and architecture, among many other things. Su Song was best known for his horology treatise, written chiefly about his
hydraulic-powered, 12 m (40 ft) tall
astronomical clock tower built in Kaifeng. The clock tower featured large astronomical instruments of the
armillary sphere and
celestial globe, both driven by an
escapement mechanism (roughly two centuries before the
verge escapement could be found in
clockworks of Europe).
[90][91] In addition, Su Song's clock tower featured the world's first endless power-transmitting
chain drive,
[92] an essential mechanical device found in many practical uses throughout the ages, such as the
bicycle.
As in earlier periods (for example, in the
Han Dynasty), when the state needed to effectively measure distances traveled throughout the empire, the Song Chinese relied on the mechanical
odometer device. The Chinese odometer came in the form of a wheeled-carriage, its inner gears functioning off the rotated motion of the wheels, and specific units of distance marked by the mechanical striking of a drum or bell for auditory alarm.
[93] An 11th century Song government minister (Chief Chamberlain Lu Daolong) writing about the Song era odometer's specifications is quoted extensively in the historical text of the ''Song Shi'' (compiled by 1345). The odometer was also combined with the complex mechanical device of the
South Pointing Chariot (used for navigation) during the Song Dynasty.
[94] This device originally crafted by
Ma Jun in the 3rd century incorporated a
differntial gear that allowed a figure mounted on the vehicle to always point in the southern direction, no matter how the vehicle's wheels' turned about. There were considerable advancements in
civil engineering and nautical technology during the Song Dynasty. This included the invention of the
pound lock for canal systems that allowed different water levels for separated segments of a canal,
[95] watertight bulkhead compartments for ships that allowed possible damage to the
hull without sinking,
[96] crossbeams bracing the ribs of ships to strengthen them,
s that could be raised or lowered to allow ships to travel in a wider range of water depths,
and the teeth of anchors arranged circularly instead of in one direction, "making them more reliable" for anchoring ships.
[97] Arguably the most important nautical innovation of the Song period was the introduction of the
magnetic mariner's
compass for
navigation at sea.
[98] The magnetic compass was first written of by Shen Kuo in his ''Dream Pool Essays'' of 1088, as well as
Zhu Yu in his ''Pingzhou Table Talks'' published in 1119.
Architecture
Main articles: Architecture of the Song Dynasty
Architecture during the Song period reached new heights of sophistication. Authors such as
Yu Hao and
Shen Kuo wrote books outlining the field of architectural layouts, craftsmanship, and engineering in the 10th and 11th centuries, respectively. Shen Kuo preserved the written dialogues of Yu Hao when describing technical issues such as slanting
struts built into pagoda towers for diagonal wind bracing.
[99] Shen Kuo also preserved Yu's specified dimensions and units of measurement for various building types.
[100] The architect
Li Jie (1065–1110), who published the ''
Yingzao Fashi'' ('Treatise on Architectural Methods') in 1103 AD, greatly expanded upon the works of Yu Hao and compiled the standard building codes used by the central government agencies and by craftsmen throughout the empire.
[101][102] He addressed the standard methods of construction, design, and applications of moats and fortifications, stonework, greater woodwork, lesser woodwork, wood-carving, turning and drilling, sawing, bamboo work, tiling, wall building, painting and decoration, brickwork, glazed tile making, and provided proportions for
mortar formulas in
masonry.
[103][104] In his book, Li provided detailed and vivid illustrations of architectural components and cross-sections of buildings. These illustrations displayed various applications of
corbel brackets,
cantilever arms,
tenon and
mortice work of tie beams and cross beams, and diagrams showing the various building types of halls in graded sizes.
[105][106][107][108][109] He also outlined the standard units of measurement and standard dimensional measurements of all building components described and illustrated in his book.
''Games in the Jinming Pool'', by Zhang Zerui, depiction of
Kaifeng, Northern Song era.
Grandiose building projects were supported by the government, including the erection of towering Buddhist
Chinese pagodas and the construction of enormous bridges (wood or stone,
trestle or segmental
arch bridge). Many of the pagoda towers built during the Song period were erected at heights that exceeded ten stories. Some of the most famous are the
Iron Pagoda built in 1049 during the Northern Song and the
Liuhe Pagoda built in 1165 during the Southern Song, although there were many others. The tallest is the
Liaodi Pagoda of
Hebei built in the year 1055, towering 84 m (275 ft) in total height. Some of the bridges reached lengths of 1220 m (4000 ft), with many being wide enough to allow two lanes of cart traffic simultaneously over a waterway or ravine.
[111] The professions of the architect, craftsman, carpenter, and building engineer were not seen as professionally equal to that of a Confucian scholar-official as architectural knowledge had been passed down orally for thousands of years in China, from a father craftsman to his son. However, architectural engineering schools were known to have existed during the Song period; one prestigious engineering school was headed by the renowned bridge-builder
Cai Xiang (1012–1067) in medieval
Fujian province.
[112]
See also
★
Bao Qingtian
★
Battle of Xiangyang
★
Islam during the Song Dynasty
★
Kaifeng Jews
★
Longquan celadon
★
Tiger Cave Kiln
★
Wen Tianxiang
Notes
1. Ebrey et al., 156.
2. Rossabi, 115
3. Needham, Volume 3, 518.
4. Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 469–471.
5. Mote, 69.
6. Ebrey et al., 154.
7. Mote, 70–71.
8. Sivin, III, 8.
9. Sivin, III, 9.
10. Ebrey et al., 163.
11. Ebrey et al., 164.
12. Sivin, III, 3–4.
13. Ebrey et al., 165.
14. Wang, 14
15. Sivin, III, 5.
16. Paludan, 136.
17. Shen, 159–161.
18. Needham, Volume 4, Part 3, 476.
19. Levathes, 43–47
20. Needham, Volume 1, 134.
21. Ebrey, 239.
22. Embree, 385.
23. Ebrey et al., 235.
24. Ebrey et al., 236.
25. Needham, Volume 1, 139.
26. Ebrey et al., 240.
27. Ebrey et al., 167.
28. Ebrey et al., 170.
29. Ebrey et al., 171.
30. Sivin, III, 1.
31. Ebrey, 172.
32. Ebrey et al., 167.
33. China. (2007). In ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. From Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved on 2007-06-28
34. Needham, Volume 1, 135.
35. Ebrey et al., 162.
36. Ebrey et al., 162.
37. Ebrey, 161.
38. McKnight, 155–157.
39. Sivin, III, 30–31
40. Sivin, III, 30–31, footnote 27.
41. Sung, 12.
42. Sung, 72.
43. Needham, Volume 4, Part 3, 35.
44. Needham, Volume 4, Part 3, 36.
45. Graff, 25–26.
46. Lorge, 43.
47. Lorge, 45.
48. Peers, 130.
49. Peers, 130-131.
50. Peers, 131.
51. Peers, 129.
52. Peers, 130.
53. Graff, 87.
54. Graff, 86-87.
55. [Needham, Volume 4, Part 3, 422.]
56. Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 19.
57. Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 119.
58. Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 122-124.
59. Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 82-84.
60. Ebrey, 81–83.
61. Hargett, 74–76.
62. Ebrey et al., 168.
63. Wright, 93.
64. Ebrey et al., 168.
65. Ebrey et al., 169.
66. Wright, 88–89.
67. Ebrey et al., 157.
68. Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 23.
69. Wagner, 178–179.
70. Wagner, 181–183.
71. Ebrey et al., 158.
72. Ebrey, 158.
73. Embree 339.
74. Ebrey et al., 156.
75. Needham, Volume 5, Part 1, 48.
76. Shen, 159–161.
77. Islam in China (650–present): Origins
78. Rural China in the Song, Golas, Peter, , , The Journal of Asian Studies, 1980
79. Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 80.
80. Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 82.
81. Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 220–221.
82. Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 192.
83. Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 117.
84. Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 173–174.
85. Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 174–175.
86. Needham, Volume 5, Part 1, 201–203.
87. Sivin, III, 27.
88. Needham, Volume 1, 136.
89. Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 446.
90. Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 445.
91. Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 448.
92. Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 111.
93. Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 281–282.
94. Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 291.
95. Needham, Volume 4, Part 3, 350–351.
96. Needham, Volume 4, Part 3, 463.
97. Graff, 86.
98. Sivin, III, 22.
99. Needham, Volume 4, Part 3, 141.
100. Needham, Volume 4, Part 3, 82-84.
101. Guo, 4.
102. Guo, 6.
103. Needham, Volume 4, Part 3, 85.
104. Guo, 5.
105. Needham, Volume 4, Part 3, 96.
106. Needham, Volume 4, Part 3, 98.
107. Needham, Volume 4, Part 3, 100.
108. Needham, Volume 4, Part 3, 108.
109. Needham, Volume 4, Part 3, 109.
110. Guo, 1.
111. Needham, Volume 4, Part 3, 151.
112. Needham, Volume 4, Part 3, 153.
References
★ Ebrey, Walthall, Palais (2006). ''East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History''. Boston:
Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 0-618-13384-4.
★ Embree, Ainslie Thomas (1997). ''Asia in Western and World History: A Guide for Teaching''. Armonk: ME Sharpe, Inc.
★ Graff, David Andrew and Robin Higham (2002). ''A Military History of China''. Boulder: Westview Press.
★ Guo, Qinghua. "Yingzao Fashi: Twelfth-Century Chinese Building Manual," Architectural History: Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain (Volume 41 1998): 1–13.
★
Maritime trade and state development in early Southeast Asia, , Kenneth, Hall, University of Hawaii Press, 1985, ISBN 0-8248-0959-9
★ Hargett, James M. "Some Preliminary Remarks on the Travel Records of the Song Dynasty (960–1279)," Chinese Literature: Essays, Articles, Reviews (CLEAR) (July 1985): 67–93.
★
When China Ruled the Seas, , Louise, Levathes, Simon & Schuster, 1994, ISBN 0-671-70158-4
★ Lorge, Peter (2005). ''War, Politics and Society in Early Modern China, 900–1795: 1st Edition''. New York:
Routledge.
★ McKnight, Brian E. (1992). ''Law and Order in Sung China''. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
★ Mote, F.W. (1999). ''Imperial China: 900–1800''. Harvard:
Harvard University Press.
★ Needham, Joseph (1986). ''Science and Civilization in China: Volume 1, Introductory Orientations''. Taipei: Caves Books, Ltd.
★ Needham, Joseph (1986). ''Science and Civilization in China: Volume 3, Mathematics and the Sciences of the Heavens and the Earth''. Taipei: Caves Books, Ltd.
★ Needham, Joseph (1986). ''Science and Civilization in China: Volume 4, Physics and Physical Technology, Part 2: Mechanical Engineering''. Taipei: Caves Books, Ltd.
★ Needham, Joseph (1986). ''Science and Civilization in China: Volume 4, Physics and Physical Technology, Part 3: Civil Engineering and Nautics''. Taipei: Caves Books, Ltd.
★ Needham, Joseph (1986). ''Science and Civilization in China: Volume 5, Chemistry and Chemical Technology, Part 7: Military Technology; The Gunpowder Epic''. Taipei: Caves Books, Ltd.
★
Chronicle of the Chinese Emperors, , Ann, Paludan, Thames & Hudson, 1998, ISBN 0500050902
★ Peers, C.J. (2006). ''Soldiers of the Dragon: Chinese Armies 1500 BC-AD 1840''. Oxford: Osprey Publishing.
★ Rossabi, Morris (1988). ''Khubilai Khan: His Life and Times''. Berkeley:
University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-05913-1.
★ Shen, Fuwei (1996). ''Cultural flow between China and the outside world''. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press. ISBN 7-119-00431-X.
★ Sivin, Nathan (1995). ''Science in Ancient China''. Brookfield, Vermont: VARIORUM, Ashgate Publishing.
★ Sung, Tz’u, translated by Brian E. McKnight (1981). The Washing Away of Wrongs: Forensic Medicine in Thirteenth-Century China. Ann Arbor:
University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0892648007
★ Wagner, Donald B. "The Administration of the Iron Industry in Eleventh-Century China," Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient (Volume 44 2001): 175–197.
★ Wang, Lianmao (2000). ''Return to the City of Light: Quanzhou, an eastern city shining with the splendour of medieval culture''. Fujian People's Publishing House.
★ Wright, Arthur F. (1959). ''Buddhism in Chinese History''. Stanford:
Stanford University Press.
Further reading
★
The Dynasties of China: A History, , Bamber, Gascoigne, Carroll & Graf, 2003, ISBN 1-84119-791-2
★ Giles, Herbert Allen (1939). ''A Chinese biographical dictionary (Gu jin xing shi zu pu)''. Shanghai: Kelly & Walsh. (see
here for more)
★
A history of Chinese civilization, , Jacques, Gernet, Cambridge University Press, 1982, ISBN 0-521-24130-8
★
All Under Heaven: A Complete History of China, , Rayne, Kruger, John Wiley & Sons, 2003, ISBN 0-470-86533-4
★ Tillman, Hoyt C. and Stephen H. West (1995). ''China Under Jurchen Rule: Essays on Chin Intellectual and Cultural History''. New York: State University of New York Press.
External links
★
Song Dynasty in China
★
China 7 BC To 1279
★
Song Dynasty at China Heritage Quarterly
★
Song Dynasty at bcps.org
★
Song Dynasty at MSN encarta
★
Song and Liao artwork
★
Paintings of Song, Liao and Jin dynasties
★
Song Dynasty art with video commentary
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