Song+Dynasty

=Navigation=

AP World History Themes

 * 1) Interactions between humans and the environment
 * 2) Development and interaction of cultures
 * 3) State-building, expansion, and conflict
 * 4) Creation, expansion, and interaction of economic systems
 * 5) Development and transformation of social structures

//** Gunpowder Warfare **//
Improvements in gunpowder-related technologies allowed the Song China military to hold off invasions until the Mongols adopted that new technology in turn to use to conquer the dynasty. 2]

**// Measuring Distance & Navigation //**
Using new south-pointing chariots in conjunction with odometers, which were invented during the Han Dynasty, transportation and navigation improved. 3] During this era, compasses were applied practically for nautical navigation. 2]

//** Mathematics **//
Notable examples of mathematical developments include the introduction of the zero symbol, the Chinese remainder theorem, Pascal’s triangle, and Heron’s formula. 3] The abacus made number crunching easier as calculators do today. 2] Geometry was applied in map-making. 3]

//** Movable Type Printing **//
Although woodblock printing was long established in the Han Dynasty, Bi Sheng invented movable type to expedite greatly the printing of texts. 2]

//** Hydraulic Engineering **//
Innovations in ships and the routes the traveled assisted in protecting and optimizing transport. Watertight bulkheads allowed a damaged ship to remain floating. Pound locks controlled canals’ traffic. 3]

//** Neo-Confucianism Origins **// 9] 10] 11]
Neo-Confucianism was //primarily developed during the Song Dynasty// but can be traced back to Han Yu and Li Ao from the earlier Tang dynasty. It was an attempt to merge certain basic elements of Confucian, Buddhist, and Daoist thought. It came about when Confucians of the Song Dynasty studied the classical works of their faith but were also familiar with Buddhist and Daoist teachings. Buddhist thought offered many admirable ideas such as nature and relation of the individual to a much bigger universe. Song Confucians used a considerable amount of Buddhist teachings along with their own traditional teachings, thus giving rise to the term “Neo-Confucianism”. Throughout the Song period as Neo-Confucianism grew, so did its thinkers. Zhu Xi, born in the later time of the Song period, was “a rather prolific writer” 10] who maintained belief of the Confucian orders of social harmony and personal conduct. Buddhist thought soon attracted him, and he began to argue in Confucian style for the Buddhist observance of high moral standards. He believed that one should engage in both academic and philosophical studies and made it very clear that his ideas were not Buddhist nor Daoist. Naturally, within a community of thinkers, competing views emerged but overall, a system emerged that resembled both Buddhist and Daoist thought of the time. Paintings from the Song period are commonly known to express ideas that resembled the idea of three teachings in one. All the lands in the sphere of Song China were deeply influenced by Neo-Confucianism for over half a millennium and was not abolished until the early twentieth century.

//** Architecture **//
In general, architecture became more advanced and complicated. Massive Buddhist pagodas and bridges were iconic structures of the Song era. The Yingzao Fashi, written by Li Jie, was a detailed documentation of architectural methods of the time. 3]

**//Archaeology//**
The scholar-gentry of the Song Dynasty was interested in the early history of China. They revived ancient artifacts as far back as the Shang Dynasty. 4] In the 11th century, scholars discovered a shrine of a Han Dynasty scholar, Wu Liang. 5]

**//History of the Song Dynasty//** 6] 7] 8]
The Song Dynasty's history is actually written in the testaments of what they left behind, such as the invention of gunpowder and more illustrious inventions. However, the Song did have some moments of chronological importance. The Song were considered part of the Chinese "Golden Age", along with the Tang Dynasty. The Song Dynasty was formed after the decline of the Tang in the year 960. The founder of the Song was Zhao Kuangyin, a military commander. The Song never matched the Tang in political or military strength, partly because of the policies put in place to ensure that the problems of the Tang did not repeat itself. Only civil officials were allowed to be governors to avoid the rise of military power. They also had the system of rotating military rulers to avoid military corruption. The capital city, Kaifeng, was established after General Kuangyin usurped the Tang in 960. In the year 1115, because of the advancing Jurchens, which were a nomadic group, the Song fled to the south as their territories were conquered by the Liao, Xi Xia, and the Jin, only later to be conquered by Kubali Khan of the Mongols in the year 1279. The cities in the Song Dynasty were some of the most sophisticated of their time. The architecture style was very unique and only seen in other Chinese Sinified areas, such as Japan and Korea. The Southern Song Dynasty, which lasted from 1127 to 1279, existed during the time of the invasions of the Jurchens and the Mongols.

//** Economy of the Song Dynasty **// 6] 7] 8]
The economy of the Song was heavily based on trade of their inventions, such as gunpowder. The Song had the most complex and sophisticated economy of the time. The economy consisted mostly of trade, but they also grew agricultural products. The Song's ships, called junks, were the most advanced of the time, and the engineering did not develop in Europe and other parts of the world until much later. The interconnections between parts of China was through the Grand Canal, which was finished in the Song Dynasty. The Song Dynasty was the first to use paper money in their economy. The Chinese during the Song Dynasty used the Silk Road to have contact with the Indian subcontinent. The expansion caused modern day parts of economies, such as banks to be used in the Song Empire. There was even a large black market in China during the Song period, which was actually enhanced once the Jurchens conquered northern China and established the Jin Dynasty. For example, around 1160 AD there was an annual black market smuggling of some 70 to 80 thousand cattle. There were multitudes of successful small kilns and pottery shops owned by local families, along with oil presses, wine-making shops, small local paper-making businesses, etc. There was also room for small economic success with the "inn keeper, the petty diviner, the drug seller, the cloth trader," and many others. The Song Dynasty was a picture of the modern economy. They sold and manufactured the widest variety of goods and services, often however unknowingly and unwillingly giving their technologies to the Mongols, who conquered China in 1279. The Song had agriculture, technologies, and commerce, both within their country and international locations.

//** Role of Women in Neo-Confucianism **// 9] 10] 11]
Foot binding began in the late Tang Dynasty and grew throughout the Song Dynasty as Neo-Confucianism gained popular appeal. Neo-Confucianism stressed the belief of man having a higher value than women. It began when a girl was in the ages between four and seven and was the process of firmly wrapping the girl's foot with cloth in order to force the small toes to develop under the foot. The cloth would then be tightened a little more every day until the foot was deemed virtually useless. It was used as a status symbol of wealth throughout the ancient Chinese society, and after a thousand years, approximately one billion women had their feet bound. This was very appealing to men as in a way, it was the ultimate symbol of chastity. The woman was too crippled to do anything other than housework, and unlike a chastity belt, it couldn’t be unlocked. It soon became mandatory that a woman would have her feet bound, otherwise she would almost certainly never marry. All in all, women were forced to be dependent on others, and we find it remarkable that this process lasted as long as it did. As Neo-Confucianism faded out of society at the end of the nineteenth century, so did foot binding, which was soon outlawed in 1911 after several anti-foot binding groups were formed.

=See also=
 * Detailed Information about the Song Dynasty
 * Sui, Tang, and Song Dynasties
 * Neo Confucianism
 * Confucianism
 * Daoism
 * Mongols

=References=
 * 1. || Stearns, Peter N., Michael Adas, Stuart B. Schwartz, and Marc J. Gilbert. //World Civilizations: The Global Experience//. 3rd ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2003. Print. ||
 * 2. ||  Stearns, Peter N., Michael Adas, Stuart B. Schwartz, and Marc J. Gilbert. "Reunification and Renaissance in Chinese Civilization: The Era of the Tang and Song Dynasties." //World Civilizations: The Global Experience//. 3rd ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2005. 262-87. Print. ||
 * 3. ||  Needham, Joseph (1986c), //Science and Civilization in China: Volume 4, Physics and Physical Technology, Part 2: Mechanical Engineering//, Taipei: Caves Books ||
 * 4. ||  Fraser, Julius Thomas; Haber, Francis C. (1986), //Time, Science, and Society in China and the West//, Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, ISBN 0-87023-495-1 ||
 * 5. ||  Hansen, Valerie (2000), //The Open Empire: A History of China to 1600//, New York & London: W.W. Norton & Company, ISBN 0-393-97374-3 ||
 * 6. || Benn, Charles (2002). //China's Golden Age: Everyday Life in the Tang Dynasty//. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ||
 * 7. || Ebrey, Walthall, Palais, (2006). //East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History//. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. ||
 * 8. || "Song dynasty." //World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras//. ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. 20 Jan. 2012. ||
 * 9. || "Neo-Confucian Philosophy [Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy]." //Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy//. Web. 08 Jan. 2012. . ||
 * 10. || "Neo-Confucianism - A New Form of Confucianism." //History - China Culture//. Cultural China.com. Web. 08 Jan. 2012. . ||
 * 11. || "CHINESE FOOT BINDING." //Angelfire: Welcome to Angelfire//. Web. 20 Jan. 2012. . ||
 * 12. || Ninjie, Yu. "China 11a.jpg." Map. //http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Song_dynasty// 23 Jan. 2005. 07 Feb. 2012 . ||