Southern Song Dynasty 1127-1279 CE - Revision history

Root: /* Classroom Presentations */

2013-04-22T01:36:42Z

Classroom Presentations

Christopher W at 08:35, 17 April 2013

2013-04-17T08:35:30Z

Emmanuel R at 05:28, 16 April 2013

2013-04-16T05:28:45Z

Emmanuel R: /* The Southern Song */

2013-04-16T05:28:06Z

The Southern Song

Emmanuel R: /* Economy */

2013-04-16T05:24:42Z

Economy

Emmanuel R: /* The End of the Song */

2013-04-16T05:19:55Z

The End of the Song

Emmanuel R: /* Confucianism in the Souther Song */

2013-04-16T05:19:04Z

Confucianism in the Souther Song

Emmanuel R: /* Confucianism in the Souther Song */

2013-04-16T05:18:53Z

Confucianism in the Souther Song

Emmanuel R: /* Pushed to the South */

2013-04-16T05:15:48Z

Pushed to the South

Emmanuel R: /* Pushed to the South */

2013-04-16T05:15:29Z

Pushed to the South

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 *Twitchett, Denis, and John K. Fairbank, eds. The Cambridge History of China: Volume 6, Alien Regimes and Border States, 907-1368. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009.
 == Classroom Presentations ==
-[[File:Southern_Song_and_Liao_Dynasties_Presentation.pptx]]
+[[Media:Southern_Song_and_Liao_Dynasties_Presentation.pptx]]

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-[[File:Southern Song map.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Map of Southern Song Dynasty]]
 The '''Southern Song Dynasty 1127-1279 CE''' was established in 1127 after the conquest of the Northern Song by the Jurchen (Jin Dynasty). The distinction between Northern and Southern Song dynasties is where the capital is located. The Southern Song capital was established at Hangzhou. The Song allied with the Jin to defeat the Liao Dynasty, after the defeat an alliance formed between the Jin and the Song. The alliance soon fell apart and the Jin turned on the Song. The Jin pushed the Song south past the Huai River where they held their ground and established the Northern border between the Jin and the Southern Song.
 == Beginnings ==
 After the defeat of the Khitan, the Song thought they had found a new ally in the Jurchen. After all they had just fought in battle together and defeated the powerful Khitan. They came up with a formal treaty of alliance in 1123. This treaty ceded Yenching and six surrounding prefectures to the Song. Not quite the sixteen prefectures that the Song hoped to take back from the Khitan. In return the Song would pay the Jin annual tribute payments of silver and silk while also providing a one time payment of "one million strings of cash." The border between the Jin and the Song was to be closed off and neither side agreed to take in defectors. The Song were the losers in this treaty. They only received a fraction of the territory that they wanted and they had to pay for it. The Song were not being treated with respect. The Song would soon violate the terms of the treaty which would lead to a falling out. (Fairbank and Twitchett, 632)
 === Pushed to the South ===
 The violation of the treaty by the Song led to the collapse of the alliance. The Jin moved to attack the Song capital of Kaifeng in 1126. They laid siege to the capital for almost two months. The city's defenses were obliterated by the attack and the Jin entered the city. They procedeed to loot the city and "emptied the palace treasure houses of imperial seals, jewels, antiquities, rare books, art objects, and ritual implements." (Fairbank and Twitchett, 642) They then captured members of the imperial family. Emperor Huizong had abdicated in favor of his song Quizong who was now Emperor. Quizong and his councillors were captured and held hostage by the Jin while the city was plundered of all its riches. Emperor Huizong attempted to escape to the south but was capture by the Jin in the middle of his escape. He was brought back to Kaifeng. Both Huizong and Quizong where stripped of their imperial status by the Jin court. This was the end of the Northern Song. The Song were on the brink of elimination. There was still hope. The youngest son of Emperor Huizong, Gaozong had managed to escape the JIn and make it to the south. There Chinese loyalists organized a new government and established the Southern Song with its capital at Hangzhou and proclaimed Gaozong emperor. The remains of the Song army continued fighting a war of insurgency against the Jin. By 1138 the region had stabilized and the Southern Song controlled most of the area south of the Huai River. (Ebrey 150)
 == The Southern Song  ==
 === Southern Song Rule ===
-[[File:Song Dynasty Map.JPG|250px|thumb|left|An example of Song Dynasty cartography]]
 In 1142 the Southern Song and the JIn concluded a treaty that stipulated that the Song pay annual tribute payments to the Jin. This effectively bought peace between the two empires. This arrangement was similar to one between the Song and the Liao. Some scholars see this payment of tribute by a Chinese dynasty to a foreign dynasty as humiliating. Because of this the Southern Song is considered a weak dynasty. It is seen as a vassal state under Jin influence and domination. Likewise Emperor Gaozong is seen as a weak ruler because he was unable to avenge the defeat of the Song or was able to recover the territory lost to the Jin. (Fairbank and Twitchett, 644) Yet to some the Song was seen as the cultural high point in China. This cultural high point is typified by "a period of refined beauty and cultivation, in which ceramics, painting, and calligraphy all reached new heights that have never been matched since." (Lary 47) The examination system of the Tang was developed further and used to staff the bureaucratic government with men of high caliber. The whole bureaucratic system was further refined and improved. Astronomy, mathematics, and cartography flourished. People were on the search for knowledge during the Southern Song dynasty. (Ibid)
 === Economy ===
-[[File:Quanzhou Boat.jpg|250px|thumb|left|A picture of a Southern Song era boat unearthed at Quanzhou]]
 The capital in the south stimulated economic development. Goods could be transported more economically to Hangzhou by boat through the network of rivers and canals traversing the region. The Jin and the Song still had a trade relationship. The Jin continued to import vast quantities of tea, rice, sugar, and books from the south. (Ebrey 150) The ports of Guangzhou, Fuzhou, and Quanzhou became major maritime trading centers for trade in the southern oceans. New advances in nautical technology such as the magnetic compass allowed ships to sail across the seas in open water instead of hugging the coast. This spurned the development of stronger and more seaworthy ships. The ships of the Southern Song period were stronger and studier than their western counterparts. (Lary, 48-49)
 === Confucianism in the Southern Song ===

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 [[File:Gaozong Of Song.jpg|250px|thumb|right|The first emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty, Emperor Gaozong.]]
 The violation of the treaty by the Song led to the collapse of the alliance. The Jin moved to attack the Song capital of Kaifeng in 1126. They laid siege to the capital for almost two months. The city's defenses were obliterated by the attack and the Jin entered the city. They procedeed to loot the city and "emptied the palace treasure houses of imperial seals, jewels, antiquities, rare books, art objects, and ritual implements." (Fairbank and Twitchett, 642) They then captured members of the imperial family. Emperor Huizong had abdicated in favor of his song Quizong who was now Emperor. Quizong and his councillors were captured and held hostage by the Jin while the city was plundered of all its riches. Emperor Huizong attempted to escape to the south but was capture by the Jin in the middle of his escape. He was brought back to Kaifeng. Both Huizong and Quizong where stripped of their imperial status by the Jin court. This was the end of the Northern Song. The Song were on the brink of elimination. There was still hope. The youngest son of Emperor Huizong, Gaozong had managed to escape the JIn and make it to the south. There Chinese loyalists organized a new government and established the Southern Song with its capital at Hangzhou and proclaimed Gaozong emperor. The remains of the Song army continued fighting a war of insurgency against the Jin. By 1138 the region had stabilized and the Southern Song controlled most of the area south of the Huai River. (Ebrey 150)
 == The Southern Song  ==
 === Southern Song Rule ===
@@ Line 14: / Line 13: @@
 [[File:Quanzhou Boat.jpg|250px|thumb|left|A picture of a Southern Song era boat unearthed at Quanzhou]]
 The capital in the south stimulated economic development. Goods could be transported more economically to Hangzhou by boat through the network of rivers and canals traversing the region. The Jin and the Song still had a trade relationship. The Jin continued to import vast quantities of tea, rice, sugar, and books from the south. (Ebrey 150) The ports of Guangzhou, Fuzhou, and Quanzhou became major maritime trading centers for trade in the southern oceans. New advances in nautical technology such as the magnetic compass allowed ships to sail across the seas in open water instead of hugging the coast. This spurned the development of stronger and more seaworthy ships. The ships of the Southern Song period were stronger and studier than their western counterparts. (Lary, 48-49)
 === Confucianism in the Southern Song ===
 Confucian scholars were frustrated with the failure to regain the north. They saw middle China as the cultural center and they wanted to get it back.
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 Zhu Xi was one of these advocates and played an active role in establishing academies. He focused on the “investigation of things,” he taught his followers to figure out how things work for themselves.
 The expansion of printing allowed ideas and practices to spread. Ordinary people had access to knowledge they didn’t have access to before. People were learning new things and ideas.
 == The End of the Song ==
 === The Mongolian Threat ===
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 === Overrun ===
 After a siege of Xiangyang that lasted five years, the Mongols crossed the Yangzi. In 1279, in a naval battle off the coast of Guandong, the last of the Song loyalists were defeated ending the Song Dynasty.
 == References ==
 *De Bary, WM. Theodore, and Irene Bloom, eds. Sources of Chinese Tradition, vol 1, From Earliest Times to 1600. New York: Columbia University Press, 1999.
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 *Twitchett, Denis, and John K. Fairbank, eds. The Cambridge History of China: Volume 6, Alien Regimes and Border States, 907-1368. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009.
 == Classroom Presentations ==
 [[File:Southern_Song_and_Liao_Dynasties_Presentation.pptx]]

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 == The Southern Song  ==
 === Southern Song Rule ===
 In 1142 the Southern Song and the JIn concluded a treaty that stipulated that the Song pay annual tribute payments to the Jin. This effectively bought peace between the two empires. This arrangement was similar to one between the Song and the Liao. Some scholars see this payment of tribute by a Chinese dynasty to a foreign dynasty as humiliating. Because of this the Southern Song is considered a weak dynasty. It is seen as a vassal state under Jin influence and domination. Likewise Emperor Gaozong is seen as a weak ruler because he was unable to avenge the defeat of the Song or was able to recover the territory lost to the Jin. (Fairbank and Twitchett, 644) Yet to some the Song was seen as the cultural high point in China. This cultural high point is typified by "a period of refined beauty and cultivation, in which ceramics, painting, and calligraphy all reached new heights that have never been matched since." (Lary 47) The examination system of the Tang was developed further and used to staff the bureaucratic government with men of high caliber. The whole bureaucratic system was further refined and improved. Astronomy, mathematics, and cartography flourished. People were on the search for knowledge during the Southern Song dynasty. (Ibid)
 === Economy ===

@@ Line 11: / Line 11: @@
 In 1142 the Southern Song and the JIn concluded a treaty that stipulated that the Song pay annual tribute payments to the Jin. This effectively bought peace between the two empires. This arrangement was similar to one between the Song and the Liao. Some scholars see this payment of tribute by a Chinese dynasty to a foreign dynasty as humiliating. Because of this the Southern Song is considered a weak dynasty. It is seen as a vassal state under Jin influence and domination. Likewise Emperor Gaozong is seen as a weak ruler because he was unable to avenge the defeat of the Song or was able to recover the territory lost to the Jin. (Fairbank and Twitchett, 644) Yet to some the Song was seen as the cultural high point in China. This cultural high point is typified by "a period of refined beauty and cultivation, in which ceramics, painting, and calligraphy all reached new heights that have never been matched since." (Lary 47) The examination system of the Tang was developed further and used to staff the bureaucratic government with men of high caliber. The whole bureaucratic system was further refined and improved. Astronomy, mathematics, and cartography flourished. People were on the search for knowledge during the Southern Song dynasty. (Ibid)
 === Economy ===
 The capital in the south stimulated economic development. Goods could be transported more economically to Hangzhou by boat through the network of rivers and canals traversing the region. The Jin and the Song still had a trade relationship. The Jin continued to import vast quantities of tea, rice, sugar, and books from the south. (Ebrey 150) The ports of Guangzhou, Fuzhou, and Quanzhou became major maritime trading centers for trade in the southern oceans. New advances in nautical technology such as the magnetic compass allowed ships to sail across the seas in open water instead of hugging the coast. This spurned the development of stronger and more seaworthy ships. The ships of the Southern Song period were stronger and studier than their western counterparts. (Lary, 48-49)
 === Confucianism in the Southern Song ===
 Confucian scholars were frustrated with the failure to regain the north. They saw middle China as the cultural center and they wanted to get it back.