Song dynasty

Chinese imperial family ruling from 960 to 1279, founded by northern general Taizu or Zhao Kuangyin (928–76). A distinction is conventionally made between the Northern Song period (960–1126), when the capital was at Kaifeng, and Southern Song (1127–1279), when it was at Hangzhou (Hangchow). A stable government was supported by a thoroughly centralized administration. The dynasty was eventually ended by Mongol invasion.

During the Song era, such technologies as shipbuilding, firearms, clock-making, and the use of the compass far outstripped those of Europe. Painting, poetry, and ceramics flourished, as did economic development, particularly in the rice-growing southeast. See also China: early imperial history 221 BC–AD 1279. Northeast China remained independent of the Song, being ruled by the Liao and Jin dynasties.