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Song两宋风华

Reference · 960—1279

Timeline

大事年表

Three hundred and nineteen years on one rail. Every entry is plotted by year and colour-coded by kind; use the filters to follow a single thread — the wars, the money, the philosophy — through the whole dynasty.

4 min read · Part 8 of 9 in this English section

Span
960 — 1279 · 319 years
Entries
45
Categories
Politics · War · Economy · Culture · Science
Halves
Northern 167 yrs · Southern 152 yrs

Overview

Every event on one rail

Hover a dot to read the entry
960 · The Chenqiao mutiny961–979 · Reunification of the south976 · Taizu dies978 · Wuyue submits979 · Northern Han conquered979 · Defeat at the Gaoliang River993–995 · Wang Xiaobo rebellion1004 · The Liao invade1005 · Treaty of Chanyuan1010s · Champa rice spreads1023 · State paper money1038 · Western Xia founded1040s · Movable type1043 · Fan Zhongyan’s reforms1044 · Peace with Western Xia1069 · Wang Anshi’s New Policies1070s · Shen Kuo’s Dream Pool Essays1079 · Su Shi exiled to Huangzhou1084 · Zizhi Tongjian completed1085 · The reforms reversed1088 · Su Song’s clock tower1100 · Huizong accedes1103 · Yingzao Fashi promulgated1115 · The Jin are founded1120–1121 · Fang La rebellion1125 · The Liao collapse1127 · The Jingkang crisis1127 · The dynasty re-founded1130s · Yue Fei’s campaigns1138 · Lin’an made the capital1141 · Treaty of Shaoxing1142 · Yue Fei executed1160s · The huizi issued1161 · Battle of Caishi1170s–1190s · Academies and the new philosophy1200 · Zhu Xi dies1206 · The Kaixi Northern Expedition1211 · The Mongols invade the Jin1234 · The Jin destroyed1235 · Mongol–Song war begins1259 · Möngke dies at Diaoyu Fortress1267–1273 · Siege of Xiangyang1271 · The Yuan proclaimed1276 · Lin’an surrenders1279 · Battle of Yamen9601000104010801120116012001240

Northern Song

960 — 1127 · 27 entries
  1. 960The Chenqiao mutinyPoliticsZhao Kuangyin is proclaimed emperor by his own troops and accepts the abdication of the last Later Zhou ruler. The Song dynasty begins.
  2. 961–979Reunification of the southWarA decade and a half of campaigns absorbs the surviving regional kingdoms, ending the fragmentation that followed the fall of the Tang.
  3. 976Taizu diesPoliticsThe founder dies and is succeeded by his younger brother, a succession whose circumstances remain a subject of historical argument.
  4. 978Wuyue submitsPoliticsThe wealthy coastal kingdom of Wuyue surrenders without a fight, bringing the prosperous lower Yangtze into the empire intact.
  5. 979Northern Han conqueredWarThe last of the Ten Kingdoms falls, completing the reunification of China proper under Song rule.
  6. 979Defeat at the Gaoliang RiverWarAn attempt to recover the northern frontier from the Liao fails disastrously outside modern Beijing, setting the pattern for Song–Liao relations.
  7. 993–995Wang Xiaobo rebellionPoliticsA tax revolt in Sichuan, prompted by the state salt and tea monopolies, is suppressed but forces a rethinking of monopoly policy there.
  8. 1004The Liao invadeWarKhitan armies push deep into the north. Emperor Zhenzong goes to the front in person rather than retreating south.
  9. 1005Treaty of ChanyuanPoliticsPeace with the Liao is bought with annual payments of silver and silk — costly in dignity, cheap in practice, and it holds for over a century.
  10. 1010sChampa rice spreadsEconomyEarly-ripening, drought-tolerant rice from central Vietnam is promoted by the state, enabling double cropping and a sustained rise in output.
  11. 1023State paper moneyEconomyThe government takes over merchant-issued notes in Sichuan and establishes a Jiaozi office — the world’s first official paper currency.
  12. 1038Western Xia foundedWarLi Yuanhao declares a Tangut empire on the northwest frontier, opening a second front that the Song will never fully close.
  13. 1040sMovable typeScienceBi Sheng devises printing with individually carved characters in fired clay — the first recorded movable-type system anywhere.
  14. 1043Fan Zhongyan’s reformsPoliticsA ten-point programme to tighten administration and the examinations. It collapses within a year as its coalition breaks up.
  15. 1044Peace with Western XiaPoliticsA negotiated settlement ends the open war on the northwest and again substitutes payment for campaigning.
  16. 1069Wang Anshi’s New PoliciesPoliticsState loans to farmers, commutation of labour into cash, state trading and a rural militia — the most ambitious fiscal reform in Chinese history to that date.
  17. 1070sShen Kuo’s Dream Pool EssaysScienceThe polymath official records work on magnetism, geology and printing, including one of the earliest descriptions of magnetic declination.
  18. 1079Su Shi exiled to HuangzhouCultureDismissed and banished over his criticism of the reforms, Su Shi writes the poems and calligraphy that make his Huangzhou years famous.
  19. 1084Zizhi Tongjian completedCultureSima Guang finishes his 294-chapter comprehensive history from 403 BC to 959 AD, written as a mirror for rulers.
  20. 1085The reforms reversedPoliticsOn the death of Emperor Shenzong, Sima Guang returns to court and dismantles the New Policies almost entirely within a year.
  21. 1088Su Song’s clock towerScienceA water-driven astronomical tower with an escapement and chain drive is built in Kaifeng — a high point of Song mechanical engineering.
  22. 1100Huizong accedesPoliticsA ruler of genuine artistic brilliance and poor political judgement takes the throne. The dynasty’s cultural peak and its collapse coincide.
  23. 1103Yingzao Fashi promulgatedScienceLi Jie’s state building standard is issued — the oldest surviving systematic Chinese architectural treatise.
  24. 1115The Jin are foundedWarThe Jurchen leader Aguda proclaims a new dynasty in Manchuria and rapidly becomes the dominant power in the northeast.
  25. 1120–1121Fang La rebellionPoliticsA major uprising in the southeast, triggered by the cost of imperial collecting and palace construction, is suppressed at considerable expense.
  26. 1125The Liao collapseWarSong forces help the Jin destroy the Liao, but perform poorly and reveal their own weakness to a new and more dangerous neighbour.
  27. 1127The Jingkang crisisWarKaifeng falls. Huizong, his successor Qinzong and much of the imperial household are taken north. The Northern Song ends.

Southern Song

1127 — 1279 · 18 entries
  1. 1127The dynasty re-foundedPoliticsA surviving son of Huizong is proclaimed emperor as Gaozong, and the Song state reconstitutes itself in the south.
  2. 1130sYue Fei’s campaignsWarThe general Yue Fei wins a series of engagements on the central front and comes close to a serious advance northward.
  3. 1138Lin’an made the capitalPoliticsHangzhou becomes the seat of government, renamed Lin’an — “temporary peace” — on the understanding that the court will one day return north.
  4. 1141Treaty of ShaoxingWarThe frontier is fixed along the Huai River and tribute is imposed on the Song. The Southern Song settlement takes shape.
  5. 1142Yue Fei executedPoliticsRecalled from the front and put to death on charges widely regarded as fabricated. He becomes the enduring symbol of loyalty destroyed by politics.
  6. 1160sThe huizi issuedEconomyThe Southern Song issues large quantities of paper currency alongside regional notes — a fiscal tool that later over-issue turns into inflation.
  7. 1161Battle of CaishiWarA Jin invasion across the Yangtze is defeated at Caishi, securing the southern state for another century and more.
  8. 1170s–1190sAcademies and the new philosophyCulturePrivately founded shuyuan academies spread, teaching Neo-Confucian thought rather than purely examination technique.
  9. 1200Zhu Xi diesCultureThe synthesist of Neo-Confucianism dies with his views still controversial. Later dynasties make his interpretation state orthodoxy.
  10. 1206The Kaixi Northern ExpeditionWarA Song attempt to recover the north fails badly, further weakening the state and its finances.
  11. 1211The Mongols invade the JinWarMongol armies attack the Jin, and the Song eventually ally with them — an alliance that removes its own buffer state.
  12. 1234The Jin destroyedWarThe Jin falls to the Mongol–Song coalition. Within a year, Mongol and Song forces are at war with each other.
  13. 1235Mongol–Song war beginsWarOpen war with the Mongols starts, and will last, with interruptions, for forty-four years.
  14. 1259Möngke dies at Diaoyu FortressWarThe Mongol great khan dies besieging a fortress in Sichuan, forcing a withdrawal and briefly saving the Song.
  15. 1267–1273Siege of XiangyangWarA six-year siege takes the fortress that guarded the route into the Yangtze basin. The last serious chance to hold the line is lost.
  16. 1271The Yuan proclaimedPoliticsKublai Khan declares the Yuan dynasty, presenting Mongol rule as a legitimate Chinese imperial succession.
  17. 1276Lin’an surrendersWarThe capital falls and the court flees by sea, continuing a rearguard resistance along the southeast coast.
  18. 1279Battle of YamenWarThe last Song fleet is destroyed off Guangdong. A minister leaps into the sea with the child emperor. The dynasty ends after 319 years.

On dates. Chinese rulers dated events by reign-period, and a single calendar year can contain a change of emperor or a change of era name. Dates here are converted to the common era. Where an event spans a winter, the year of the main event is used. Where scholars disagree, the conventional dating is followed.

Note that the Song did not rule all of China: the Liao, Western Xia and Jin controlled the north for most of the period, and their dates are included only where they bear on Song history.

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Read the History volume →

History

宋朝史

The full narrative these dates belong to — from the mutiny at Chenqiao to the fleet at Yamen.

The Scroll

清明上河图

One spring day in the capital, painted in 1120s Kaifeng — read right to left.

Economy & Technology

经济科技

Paper money, movable type, the compass at sea — and the markets that made them worth building.