2019 Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival

In 2019, the Mid-Autumn Festival will be held on September 13th (Friday). China's public holiday will be from September 13th to 15th.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is also called the Moon Festival or the Mooncake Festival. It traditionally falls on the 15th day of the eighth month in the Chinese lunar calendar, which is in September or early October in the Gregorian calendar.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is celebrated in many East Asian communities. In China, it's a reunion time for families, just like Thanksgiving, while in Vietnam, it's more like a children's day.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is the second most important festival in China after Chinese New Year. Chinese people celebrate it by gathering for dinners and lighting paper lanterns.

Festival Facts

Name in Chinese: 中秋节 Zhōngqiūjié /jong-chyoh-jyeah/ 'middle autumn festival'
2019 date: Friday, September 13th. See the Mid-Autumn Festival Dates.

• How it began: moon worship, over 3,000 years
• Must-eat food: moon cakes
• Popular activities: admiring the full moon, eating moon cakes, traveling
• Greetings: The simplest is "Happy Mid-Autumn Festival" (中秋快乐 'Mid-Autumn happy')

How the Chinese Celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival

The common customs of the Mid-Autumn Festival include family members eating dinner together, just like a Thanksgiving dinner, sharing moon cakes, worshiping the moon with gifts, displaying lanterns, and regional activities.

In Hong Kong, a unique annual fire dragon show is held in the Tai Hang neighborhood during the Mid-Autumn Festival.

The special Mid-Autumn Festival customs of China's ethnic minorities are also very interesting.

How the Mid-Autumn Festival Is Celebrated in Asian Countries

In many East Asian communities, the Mid-Autumn Festival is widely celebrated. Many interesting activities with unique local features are held.

In Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines – three countries with many ethnic Chinese citizens– the celebrations are more Chinese, such as lighting lanterns and dragon dances.

In other countries, such as Japan, South Korea, and Vietnam, which have also been influenced deeply by Chinese culture, new celebrations have been derived from their unique cultures.

Why the Moon Festival Is Celebrated

In the past, the Moon Festival was celebrated at harvest time. Ancient Chinese emperors worshiped the moon in autumn to thank it for the harvest. The ordinary people took the Mid-Autumn Festival to be a celebration of their hard work and harvest. Nowadays, people mainly celebrate the Moon Festival is a time for family reunions. Read about the Mid-Autumn Festival Origins.

When the Moon Festival Become a Festival

The Mid-Autumn Festival has a history of over 3,000 years. It was derived from the custom of moon worshiping during the Shang Dynasty (c.1600–1046 BC). After that, it was first celebrated as a national festival during the Northern Song Dynasty (960–1127).

People have long believed that worshiping the moon and eating together around a round table will bring them good luck and happiness.

What the Chinese Eat for Mid-Autumn Festival

Moon cakes are the must-eat Mid-Autumn food in China. They are a traditional Chinese pastry. Chinese people see in the roundness of moon cakes a symbol of reunion and happiness.

Other foods eaten during the festival are harvest foods, such as crabs, pumpkins, pomelos, and grapes. People enjoy them at their freshest, most nutritious, and auspicious meanings are particularly associated with round foods.

Festival food traditions are also changing. The younger generation has its own ideas about what should be eaten. Most of them don't like mooncakes and prefer to eat what they like.

Traveling During Mid-Autumn Festival

The festival has long been a statutory day for a public holiday in mainland China. The Mid-Autumn Festival holiday schedule is always combined with two adjacent days (if these are not weekend days then the closest weekend days are worked to compensate).

In 2019, the Mid-Autumn Festival falls conveniently on Friday, September 13th so the weekend directly after it makes up the 3-day holiday. The Mid-Autumn Festival is a national holiday for the Chinese.

Chinese people increasingly love to travel during their holidays, so expect crowds at China’s tourist attractions if you travel in this period. Book in advance and let somebody in the know, like China Highlights, help you to arrange your trip so that you avoid the crowds.

pre-Qin period 先秦时期

The pre-Qin period refers to the long period before Emperor Qinshihuang's unification of ancient China.

About 1 700 000 years ago, the ancestors of the Chinese people lived in present-day Yuanmou County, Yunnan Province. This period is now generally considered the beginning of primitive society in China. About 2070 BC, the Xia Dynasty came into being. This was China’s first dynasty and it lasted for more than 400 years.

Succeeding the Xia was the Shang Dynasty (also called the Yin Dynasty for changing its capital several times and finally in Yin, today's Anyang city, Henan Province). The Shang Dynasty was a great power in the world which lasted over 500 years. This dynasty bestowed upon its posterity a great heritage of artifacts such as extremely precious inscriptions on bones, tortoise shells and bronze wares.

The third kingdom was the Western Zhou Dynasty, with Hao as its capital (today's Xi'an city, Shaanxi Province). Later as its capital fell into the hands of the minority invaders, the Western Zhou had to move its capital eastward to today’s Luoyang city, Henan Province hence called the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. From the Western Zhou to the Eastern Zhou Dynasties, they altogether existed about 800 years. The Eastern Zhou was later divided by historians into distinct periods: the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC) and the Warring States Period (475 - 221 bigger states. By way of reforms, these seven states developed into the feudal society, which paved the way for the later unification of China under the Qin Dynasty.

When the ancient Egyptian, Babylonian and Indian civilizations were progressing, the ancient Chinese civilization in the Xia, Shang and Western Zhou dynasties was already in full bloom. When the Greek and Roman city-states were in their heyday, the thought and culture of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods were flourishing in ancient China. With a broad view of the ancient world civilization, one way finds that the two stars of civilization - one in the East, the other in the West - were shining at the same time. This gradually developed into two centers of world civilization.

Qing Dynasty - Empress Dowager Cixi

Usually, when we refer to the Empress Dowager Cixi, we tend to compare her with the great empress Wu Zetian of the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907). Admittedly, these two powerful women indeed had much in common: they both assisted three successive emperors being their husbands and sons and they both held real imperial power for nearly half a century. However, what was different between the two was that Wu Zetian ascended to the throne herself and her reign was considered as an indispensable connection between Li Shimin's Zhenguan Reign and Li Longji's Heyday of Kaiyuan; whereas Cixi's ruling period was regarded as the weakest period of the Qing Dynasty. Hence, she has always been remembered as a notorious lady who even betrayed her country. Here is a chronology of her life:

On November 28th of 1835, she was born, surnamed Yehe Nala.

In 1851, she was selected as a beauty into the palace. Due to the favor of Emperor Xianfeng, she was honored as a high-ranked imperial concubine, with the title of Yipin.

In 1854, she was given a higher rank, with the title changed to Yi Guifei.

In 1856, she gave birth to Zaichun who later became Emperor Tongzhi.

In 1861, the Second Opium War broke out. After Emperor Xianfeng died in August, her son ascended the throne as Emperor Tongzhi, who honored his mother as 'Holy Mother Empress Dowager'. In November, along with Prince Gong (brother-in-law of Cixi), she launched a coup in which the eight chancellors were dismissed or killed. As a result, she became the real power by keeping court from behind a screen.

In 1862, she was given the title of Empress Dowager Cixi by Emperor Tongzhi (Actually, she gave the title to herself through Emperor Tongzhi's prescript).

In 1873, as Emperor Tongzhi had grown up, she appeared to turn the power over to him but she still held power behind the scenes.

In 1874, Emperor Tongzhi died. she chose another grandson of Emperor Daoguang as the heir - Emperor Guangxu. Because she was aunt of Emperor Guangxu, she could continue ruling from behind the screen.

In 1889, Emperor Guangxu married. She announced that she would relinquish her power and retire to live in the Summer Palace. However, all the court officials still listened to her, leaving Emperor Guangxu as a puppet emperor.

In 1894, Japan launched the Sino-Japanese War while Cixi was busy preparing the celebration of her 60th birthday. What's worse, when the Chinese navy fought fiercely with the Japanese, she strongly insisted on appropriating the military fund to restore the Summer Palace, ignoring the advice of chancellors.

In 1895, the Qing Navy was defeated due to the compromise of Cixi. Taiwan Island ceded.

In 1898, she launched a coup against Emperor Guangxu's Wu Hsu Reform. After that, she executed the main reform party members and from then on she put Emperor Guangxu under house arrest.

In 1900, the Eight-Power Allied Forces captured capital Beijing. she took Emperor Guangxu with her and fled to Xian. In September, another humiliating treaty - Peace Treaty of 1901 was signed.

On November 15th of 1908, the day after the death of Emperor Guangxu, Empress Dowager Cixi died in the afternoon.

Qing Dynasty - Emperor Guangxu

Emperor Guangxu

Born in August 14th in 1871, Emperor Guangxu was named Aixinjueluo Zaitian, whose father was the seventh son of Emperor Daoguang. In 1874, Emperor Tongzhi died of an illness. Since he had no heir to take over the throne, the powerful and tactful Empress Dowager Cixi chose Zaitian (whose mother was a sister of Cixi), so that she could still keep her domination over the imperial power. In 1887, Emperor Guangxu held the inauguration ceremony. However, the real power was still grasped by Cixi who continued to hold court from behind a screen for another two years. Seeing from Emperor Guangxu's accession to the throne, he was bound to manipulated by his 'foster mother' Cixi.

During the reign of Emperor Guangxu, the most two remarkable events were the Sino-Japanese War and the Wu Hsu Reform in 1898. In dealing with the Sino-Japanese War, he strongly objected to compromise and for many times forced the Qing army to fight against the Japanese army. Nevertheless, he was overpowered by the weak corrupt Qing court and the Qing court underwent a fiasco in the Sino-Japanese War. After learning the painful lessons, Emperor Guangxu began to think over the renovation to adjust the court order and prevent the entire state from declining.

In 1898, along with a group of reform advocators, he promulgated the prescript called Ding Guo Shi Zhao to commence the renovation. Unfortunately, lasting for only 103 days, the vigorous reform movement was killed by the opposite parties who launched a coup against all reform parties. After that, Emperor Guangxu again lost his imperial power to the hands of Cixi and he was later house arrested by Cixi.

In 1900, the so-called Eight-Power Allied Forces invaded China. Confronting the fatal crisis, Emperor Guangxu ever decided to stay in the capital to stabilize the public mind but he was taken to Xian by Empress Dowager Cixi before the fall of Beijing. The next year when they came back from Xian, he was still kept away from the state affairs. Till 1908, he died in depression and gloom was buried in the West Qing Tombs.

All in all, although Emperor Guangxu's political life was full of tragic elements, he was regarded as progressive monarch. Being a pioneer of the capitalist renovation, his deeds broke the thought retention of the feudal autocracy and started the ideological liberation of China. Therefore, Emperor Guangxu has been creditably remembered as an enlightened emperor who first tried to adopt the western political pattern to govern China.

Qing Dynasty

Before Qing's establishment, there was a regime called 'Latter Jin' that had been set up by Nurhachu, leader of the Man Ethnic Minority. Actually, Man people were the offspring of the Nuzhen people who had always been living in Northeast China. After reunifying all the Nuzhen tribes, Nurhachu proclaimed himself emperor in 1616. Thus a new regime called Latter Jin was founded in Hetu Ala (in current Liaoning Province) during the reign of Emperor Shenzong of the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644).

In 1636, Huang Taiji, son of Nurhachu moved the capital to Shenyang (currently the capital city of Liaoning Province) and changed the regime title to 'Qing'. In 1644 when peasant's uprising leader Li Zicheng ended Ming and set up a new regime in Beijing, the Qing army seduced a general named Wu Sangui to rebel against Li Zicheng.  With Wu's help, the Qing army successfully captured Beijing and rooted their regime there.
 

At the beginning, the Qing court carried out a series of policies to revive the social economy and alleviate the class contradiction. In politics, following Ming's ruling pattern, the imperial rulers continued to strengthen the centralized system. Meanwhile, the court resumed the 'Sheng' administrative system that established by Yuan(1271 - 1368). Especially, in the frontiers like Tibet, Xinjiang, Mongol and Taiwan Island, the court set out to enhance the power of the imperial ruling.

By the middle of the 18th century, the feudal economy of the Qing Dynasty reached a zenith, spanning the reign of Emperor Kangxi, Emperor Yongzheng and Emperor Qianlong. So that period was usually called 'the golden age of three emperors'. In that period, both culture and science were much more prosperous than any other periods. The notable book, The Imperial Collection of Four, was edited in that period. Also, a group of scholars and artists such as Cao Xueqin (writer of A Dream of Red Mansions), Wu Jingzi (writer of The Scholars) and Kong Shangren (writer of The Peach Blossom Fan) gradually appeared. In the field of science, the achievements in architecture were outstanding.

After the middle period, all kinds of social contradictions increasingly surfaced and Qing began to decline. Under the corrupt ruling of the later rulers, various rebellions and uprisings broke out. In 1840 when the Opium War broke out, the Qing court was faced with troubles at home and aggression from abroad. During that period, measures were adopted by imperial rulers and some radical peasants to bolster their power. The Westernization Movement, the Reform Movement of 1898 and the Taiping Rebellion were the most influential ones, but none of them had ever succeeded in saving the dying Qing Dynasty.

Finally, the Revolution of 1911 led by Sun Yat-sen broke out and overthrew the Empire of Qing, bringing two thousand years of Chinese feudal monarchy to an end.

Ming Dynasty

Establishment

In the late period of the Yuan Dynasty (1271 - 1368), a peasant's uprising - Hongjinjun (army with red scarf in the head) uprising broke out against the Mongols. In 1352 when the rebel army captured Haozhou (currently Fengyang in Anhui Province), Zhu Yuanzhang, a local young man from a peasant family joined the army. After that, Zhu served with distinction in the battles. He was then chosen as general by a rebelling warlord named Guo Ziyi.  After the death of the rebelling warlord, Zhu took control and continued forth to realize his plan to take control over all of China. In 1356, Zhu led his army into the city of Jiqing (currently Nanjing in Jiangsu Province), changed the city name into Yingtian and established his own military base there. Through several years' efforts, both the military and economical strength of Zhu's army quickly became stronger. From 1360 to 1367, his army managed to eliminate the remaining separatist military forces.

In 1368, Zhu Yuanzhang officially proclaimed himself emperor in Yingtian and founded the Ming Dynasty.

In the same year, the Ming army captured Dadu (currently Beijing), the capital city of Yuan, and rid China of most of the remaining Mongols, ultimately ending  Yuan.

Early Reign

After the founding of the new dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang implemented a series of policies to reduce the peasants' burden and to resume the production of the whole society. On the other hand, he focused much attention on the punishment and prevention of corruption among court officials. Additionally, he sent his sons to supervise the local administration so as to strengthen his hold on imperial power. After Zhu Yuanzhang died, his grandson Zhu Yunwen took over the throne. However, his reign only lasted for four years, ending in a coup launched by Zhu Di, the fourth son of Zhu Yuanzhang. Hence, Zhu Di was Emperor Chengzu, whose reign was considered as one of the most prosperous periods in this dynasty. During his reign, an unprecedented encyclopedia called Yongle Dadian was regarded as the biggest and earliest encyclopedia in the world. From 1405 to 1433, Emperor Chengzu sent a eunuch named Zhenghe to lead Ming's fleets across the Indian Ocean. They visited many countries in Southeast Asia, expanding the influence of the Ming Dynasty in the world. Meanwhile, 

Emperor Chengzu began to construct an imperial palace from 1406 and moved the capital city from Yingtian to Beijing in 1421.        

Decline and Fall

The turning point from prosperity to decline was the reign of Emperor Shenzong. In the early period, under the wise assistance of a skillful chancellor, Zhang Juzheng, Emperor Shenzong made much improvement in the national economy, agriculture, water conservancy and military affairs. However, after the death of Zhang Juzheng, the emperor began to neglect state affairs. In his late reign, the Ming army was defeated by the leader of the so-called 'Latter Jin' regime - Nurhachu in the Battle of Sarhu. Since then, the Ming court fell into a passive state in confrontation with the 'Latter Jin' set up by Nuzhen ethnic minority.

The end of this dynasty started from the last emperor, Emperor Weizong's reign - the reign went by the name Chongzhen. The crisis was caused by the corruption of the court officials and the domination of the eunuchs. In that period, both the exploitation from the ruling class and natural disasters in successive years caused the

people to live in extreme hardship.  In 1628, dozens of rebel military forces launched battles in the northern area of Shaaxi Province. Among them, one of the leaders of the rebel army was named Li Zicheng, and he was deeply trusted and supported by most peasants. In 1644, Li Zicheng captured Xian and founded a new regime called Dashun. In the same year, Emperor Weizong hanged himself in Jingshan Hill of Beijing, signifying the end of this dynasty.

Economy

Economically, the Ming Dynasty was a period during which the feudal society began to show the declining trend while the capitalism started to originate. In agriculture, both the food output and the implements of production surpassed that of the Song and Yuan Dynasties. From the early period, the handicraft industry in the southern areas developed rapidly. Especially, the porcelain making industry reached an unprecedented level. Since the reign of Zhu Yuanzhang, it had been a major source of the state finance. The currently famous Jindezhen kiln was once the imperial kiln in that period.

The development of the handicraft industry promoted market economy and urbanization. During the reign of Emperor Shizong and Emperor Shenzong, a great amount of commodities including silk, alcohol, porcelain, tobacco, crops, vegetable and fruits was sold in the market. Meanwhile, many foreign commodities such as clocks from Europe and tobacco from America were on sale in many cities of China. Also, a series of commercial metropolises including Beijing, Nanjing, Yangzhou, Suzhou, Guangzhou, Xian and Chengdu were successively formed. However, the later policy of restraining commerce and the stringent ban on shipping greatly hampered commercial development.

Culture and Science

The culture developed rapidly, especially in literature. Three of the four great classical masterpieces of Chinese literature - Journey to the West, Outlaws of the Marsh, and Romance of the Three Kingdoms were written in during this period. Besides, another two well-known novels - Peony Pavilion and The Plum in the Golden Vase were also excellent works in that period. Meanwhile, folk literature prospered, represented by a group of writers such as Tang Yin, Song Lian, Zhang Dai, Wu Weiye and Yuan Hongdao. In philosophy, Wang Yangming's new thoughts called 'philosophy of the mind' formed a new thinking wave which helped shape a new social trend.

Before the 16th century, the scientific development of the Ming Dynasty had been in the forefront of the world.Many scientific books appeared in the early and middle period, namely, medical book Compendium of Materia Medica by Li Shizhen, Song Yingxing's Heavenly Creations about handicraft industry, Xu Guangqi's Complete Treatise on Agriculture and Xu Xiake's Travels of Xu Xiake. All these have been the precious documents for today's study of the ancient technology. Additionally, the military technology was relatively advanced in that period. A kind of gun called 'huochong gun' and powerful artillery were invented in the late period. It is said that a man named Wan Hoo even tried to fly to the sky by sitting in a chair propelled by gunpowder sticks. Unfortunately, he failed and became the first sacrifice in human conquest of the sky.

In the end, the greatest achievements accomplished during this time were on architecture.  The Forbidden City in Beijing was crafted this time. Porcelain making was also relevant during this time, which contributed to arts of present day.

Yuan Dynasty - Significance

The most significant achievement of the Yuan Dynasty was the unification of the whole territory. Prior to this China had been, for more than 300 years, a country of separate states.  From the Fanzhen Separatist Regions in the later period of the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907) to the isolated states in the Five Dynasties and Ten States period (907 - 960): from the confrontation of the Northern Song (960 - 1127) and Liao (916 - 1125) to the rivalry between the Southern Song (1127 - 1279) and the Jin Dynasty (1115 - 1234), China's history has been characterized by conflict.

This situation changed with Kublai Khan's accession to the throne, when he defeated all the separatist military forces and unified them under a mighty centralized power system. Meanwhile, a close connection between the central court, the regional administrations and the border areas was set up. Thus a unified state was well consolidated by the later dynasties. Especially, the 'Xingsheng' administrative system, established by Yuan rulers to enhance the ruling of the centralized power, had profound influence on later rulers.  Even today the Chinese government still uses 'Sheng' (province) as the title of local administrative units.

Naturally, the unification of the territory enhanced the communication between different ethnic minorities, thus strengthening the national integration process. After the founding of the Yuan Dynasty, many ethnic minorities migrated to the central plain. They brought their techniques of production as well as their unique culture and art, which enriched the economic and social life of people living in the central plains. Meanwhile, a number of Han people flowed to the residential areas of the ethnic minorities. Taking the advanced agricultural and handicraft techniques with them, these Han people contributed a lot to the exploitation of the frontiers.

Another significance of the Yuan Dynasty was the outstanding achievements in the natural sciences and technology. Due to the open policy implemented by the Yuan rulers, a great many advanced science and technology innovations were introduced to China. One example of these achievements is the unprecedented progress in the fields of astronomy and mathematics, made possible by the refined knowledge gained from foreign experts.

On the other hand, the unified territory objectively promoted the development of geography, water conservation and agriculture. In a word, the technological developments of the Yuan Dynasty surpassed any other dynasties in Chinese history.

Last but not least, the much more frequent communication with foreign countries during the Yuan Dynasty was of influential significance. Because of the external expansion of the early period of the Mongolian Empire, many foreign countries from continental Europe, Asia and Africa started to turn their eyes upon this piece of oriental land. Through the comings and goings of envoys, merchants and travelers between China and many foreign countries, the western world developed a deeper understanding of the splendid Chinese civilization.

Yuan Dynasty - Decline & Fall

Decline

Generally, there were two major factors that led to the decline of the Yuan Dynasty: one was the class conflict caused by the heavy taxation, the other one was the ethnic contradiction resulting from the 'Four Class System'.

The Yuan court actually first began to decline during the reign of Emperor Renzong, when peasant uprisings emerged in southern China. However, despite the warning of the uprisings, corruption of the Yuan court officials continued. Also, power struggles within the ruling class became more and more serious. For instance in the short period from the beginning of Emperor Wuzong's reign in 1308 to the start of Emperor Huizong's reign in 1333, there were eight emperors. During this period, the corruption became severe as subordinate officials were commonly appointed on the basis of bribery rather than merit; the land was gradually concentrated in the hands of Mongolian aristocrats and a select group of powerful Han landlords; a fiscal crisis in the Yuan court also broke out due to the luxurious lifestyles of the ruling class. Even worse, the Mongolian army became corrupt and gradually disintegrated.

During the reign of the last emperor, the real power of the Yuan regime fell into the hands of Cheng Xiang (prime minister) named Bo Yan, who was born of a Mongolian noble family. He was rather hostile to the Han people and introduced a series of policies unfavorable to the Han. This magnified the seriousness of the ethic contradiction. Misfortunes never come singly. The Yellow River burst its banks three times in the late Yuan Dynasty. As a result, serious natural disasters broke out and the masses were forced to live in dire poverty. Under such circumstances, groups of farmers left the land and successively launched armed uprisings. Although many peasants' uprisings were successfully suppressed by the Yuan army, the corrupt regime of the Yuan Dynasty was constantly impacted by this surging wave and teetered on the verge of collapse.

Fall

The Yuan Dynasty was eventually destroyed by the peasants' uprising. In 1351, the 'Hongjinjun (army with red head-scarves) Uprising', led by a man named Liu Futong, broke out in Yingzhou (in current Anhui Province). Fierce battles took place progressively between the Hongjinjun military force and the Yuan army.

Simultaneously, a group of the Hongjinjun military forces led by a man named Zhu Yuanzhang won a series of victories in battle, and his military forces gradually became stronger. In the management of military affairs, Zhu Yuanzhang set strict military discipline and was good at delegating duties to different human resources. Soon after, in 1356, his military forces captured Jiankang (currently Nanjing which later became their military base. With increasing military strength and more talented people joining him, Zhu's army succeeded in defeating the separatist military forces in the northern areas of China. In 1367, Zhu Yuanzhang officially launched a deadly attack on the Yuan regime which was riddled with corruption and intrigue. Within a year, Zhu's army captured Dadu (currently Beijing), the capital of Yuan. Soon after, a new dynasty - the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644) displaced the Yuan Dynasty.

Yuan Dynasty - Contact with the Outside World

On learning of the religion and culture of the Yuan Dynasty, you will find that the cultural and commercial contact between China and the outside world, such as Arabia and Persia, had been very intensive and widespread. Precisely because of the communication with these countries, China's contact with some European countries also gradually began.

In an age without any advanced means of communication, the only way to make contact with distant foreign countries was through envoys or individual travelers. That is, those envoys and travelers could be regarded as important links between different countries. Among these, the most famous was the great European traveler, Marco Polo.

In 1266, Marco Polo came to China and met with Emperor Shizu of the Yuan Dynasty, Kublai Khan. Later, Kublai Khan dispatched envoys to follow Marco Polo back to Italy to deliver a letter to the Pope. In 1275, Marco Polo returned to Yuan's capital in response to Emperor Shizu's letter. From that time, Marco Polo remained in China for a further 17 years. During this period he was appointed for a time as an official in charge of Yangzhou, and was also sent by the Yuan rulers on diplomatic missions to a number of countries. In 1291, he returned to his hometown Venice. Later, his experience in China was compiled into a book entitled ‘Travels of Marco Polo'. This book described in detail the prosperity of the Yuan Dynasty. This was an eye-opener for many westerners.

Following Marco Polo, increasingly more and more European visitors came to China, and conversely more Chinese traveled to Europe. In 1294, an Italian missionary, John of Montecorvino, came to China. During his stay, three churches were built in the capital Dadu (now Beijing) and the Christian New Testament was translated into Mongolian. During the reign of Emperor Shundi of Yuan, an official mission dispatched to Rome was warmly welcomed by the Pope. In a later period, an Arabian traveler named Yiben Battuta came to China and subsequently wrote a travelogue that later became an important resource about the relations between China and Arabian countries.

Meanwhile, a Chinese traveler named Wang Dayuan twice successively traversed the Arabian Sea, the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. It is said that he was the first Chinese to have visited Morocco and Tanzania. His travelogue, Daoyi Zhilue, described Arabian society in almost all respects and this book was thus listed as an indispensable source of information on the Arabian areas in the Middle Ages.

Yuan Dynasty - Religion & Culture

Religion

Due to encouragement from the Mongolian rulers, the religious culture of the Yuan Dynasty received an all-round development. The Mongolians' own religion, Buddhism as well as the traditional Chinese religion of Taoism simultaneously acquired their positions in the Yuan society.

There were two original religions that belonged to the Mongolian Minority, respectively called Shamanism and Totemism. The followers of Shamanism believed in the existence of Jinn. Early in the period of the Mongolian tribes, Shamans were allowed to take part in the discussion of crucial issues, such as electing leaders and affairs of war and peace. Also, the practice of Totemism had a great psychological influence upon the Mongolian people. There were two principal totems - 'wolf totem' and 'deer totem' worshiped by the Mongolians. In the Mongolians' heart, wolf was their grandfather while deer was their grandmother. Genghis Khan always ordered that wolves and deer should be freed if caught during hunting.

Since the Mongolian people were keen academics, they were pleased to integrate religions from other ethnic minorities. That is why Tibetan Buddhism became the dominant religion of the Yuan Dynasty. Ever since Tibetan Buddhism came to the Mongol area, it was greatly advocated by generations of Khans. During the reign of Emperor Chengzong of Yuan, a great many Buddhist sutras were translated from Tibetan into Mongolian, which further contributed to the development of Tibetan Buddhism in the Yuan Dynasty. Meanwhile, the traditional Chinese religion of Taoism was also free to develop in a impartial atmosphere. As a branch of Taoism, the Quan Zhen religion was established in 1167 and was well developed under the favorable policy carried out by Yuan rulers. Emperor Taizu Genghis Khan authorized the master of Quan Zhen religion to govern the national Taoist groups.

Culture

We have to say that the scientific advancement was the highlight of the cultural development in this period. It is said that achievements in science and technology reached their peak during this period. In particular, advancements made in astronomy, mathematics and medicine were the forefront among the world. However, almost all these achievements were gained with the help of foreign experts.

As for astronomy, many astronomy books from foreign countries were introduced and translated during the reign of Kublai Khan. Later, a special astronomical observatory called 'Sitiantai' was constructed and a group of astronomers from Arabia and Persia were appointed to administrate the observatory. Among them a Persian named Zhama Lading made great contributions to Astronomical observations and the establishment of a calendar. Meanwhile, a Chinese astronomer (who was also a water scientist and mathematician) invented many Astronomical Instruments and also helped to establish a precise new calendar called 'Shoushili'.

In mathematics, the Arabic numbers were introduced to China during this dynasty, a golden period of China's mathematical development. At that time, Muslims coming to China brought a great amount of mathematical knowledge with them. Chinese mathematicians made many important discoveries during this period of enlightenment. Simultaneously, due to the medical communications between China and those Arabian countries, traditional Chinese medicine and pharmacy made great leaps forward in this dynasty. Many kinds of Arabic pharmacies were first introduced to China and gradually became widely used. Formal hospitals were also set up by some Muslims. Additionally, a comprehensive medical book containing both Chinese and western medical treatment, called HuiHui Prescription, was edited by the Hui people.

Nevertheless, the achievements in literature and art of this dynasty were no less than the previous dynasties. A new kind of literature form called Yuan drama was rather prosperous during that period. Together with the Tang poem and 'ci' poem in the Song Dynasty (960 - 1279), this drama was one of the outstanding Chinese literary heritages. A large number of influential works successively came out. The most famous being, the Wang Shifu's Romance of the Western Chamber, Guan Hanqing's Dou E Yuan and many verses by Ma Zhiyuan. Also, novels from this dynasty had a great influence upon those of the Ming (1368 - 1644) and Qing (1644 - 1911) dynasties. With regard to art, the main contribution was in music - musical instruments of the Hui people, including Urheen, Huobusi and Sheng, were vigorously promoted. The Urheen and Sanxian (a three-stringed plucked instrument) have been widely used in Chinese opera music until the present day, becoming official members of China's national musical instrument collection.

Yuan Dynasty - Social Economy

Under the wise governing the Mongolian rulers, the social economy in the Yuan Dynasty in early period developed fairly well in agriculture, handicraft industry, commerce and foreign trade.

The agriculture was the major economy of the Yuan Dynasty. Although the Mongolian people were a nomadic people who originally lived on the grassland for generations, Kublai Khan focused much attention on the agricultural production after the founding of Yuan Dynasty. The following emperors also advocated replacing the traditional animal husbandry with agriculture. As a result, no matter in the production technique, the farming area or the food output, the Yuan Dynasty surpassed the previous dynasties.

The most prosperous handicraft industry in the Yuan Dynast was the textile industry. As the cotton planting became more and more popular in the southern areas of China, the development of the textile industry was greatly stimulated and reached a fairly advanced level. A woman named Huang Daopo from Songjiang area (currently in Shanghai urban area) improved and invented the new cotton textile technology, which made Shanghai and the near regions become the earliest national cotton textile industry center.

Both the surplus goods and the convenient water transport was the prerequisite of the commercial development of the Yuan Dynasty. In the early period of Yuan, a 51-mile long grand canal, named Tonghui River by Kublai Khan, was constructed in the capital city Dadu (currently Beijing). This provided much convenience for the food transport from southern areas to the capital. Additionally, the large circulation of paper currency further prospered the domestic business affairs.

Meanwhile, rulers of the Yuan Dynasty adopted an open policy to develop the economy. On the one hand, more ports in the coastal areas were opened for goods transport; on the other hand, foreign goods were welcomed to enter the domestic market. Under this policy, great amount of spices and medical materials were imported from Arabia, Persia and India while China's silk and porcelain in large number were exported to Europe.

The unprecedented prosperity of the marine Silk Road became the most direct momentum of the domestic economical development hence was the highlight of the social economy of the Yuan Dynasty. Thanks to this, the Yuan Dynasty in that period was regarded as one of the richest countries in the world.

Yuan Dynasty - 'Four-Class System'

The 'Four Class System' was a legal caste system in the Yuan Dynasty. After the founding of the Yuan regime, Kublai Khan, the first emperor in the Yuan Dynasty, set up this system to consolidate the ruling status of the Mongolian Ethnic Minority, which had a small number with great disparity to the majority Han people.

Specifically, the four classes of people by the descending order were Mongolian people, Semu people, Han people (in the northern areas of China) and Southerners (people of the former Northern Song Dynasty (1127 - 1279)). According to the Yuan rulers' mind, the grading sequence was based on the sequencing of Mongolian's conquest of these people. Some historical scholars said that it was a kind of psychological indication that the earlier they submitted to Mongolian people, the higher social status they would be.

Unfairly, the 'Four Class System' stipulated that four classes of people received different treatment in political, legal and military affairs. First, the real power was mainly grasped in the hands of the Mongolian people and Semu people while few of the court officials were Han people or any other ethnic minorities from the third and the fourth classes. Second, although all classes of people were allowed to attend the imperial examination, people of the third and fourth classes had to participate in more test subjects and exam questions that for them were more difficult, compared with the first and second class. Third, the fourth class people received unequal legal treatment. On committing the same crime, different punishments were handed down to different classes of people. Fourth, the Mongolian people adopted a tight control towards the Han people and Southerners. These two classes were forbidden to possess any weapon or raise any dogs or eagles.

Generally, the 'Four Class System' was a national policy of political oppression and ethnic division. Originally, it was established by Yuan's ruling class to guarantee the dominance of the Mongolian minority but it eventually became the catalyst that sped up the decline of the Yuan regime.

Yuan Dynasty - Reign

Although founded by the Mongolian ethnic minority, the general ruling mode of the Yuan Dynasty still followed the political pattern of the previous regimes set up by Han people. Ruling for more than 30 years, Kublai Khan, or rather Emperor Shizu of Yuan was an advocator of Han's ruling system. His reign was regarded as the most prosperous period of the Yuan Dynasty. However, due to the incompetence of later emperors, the Yuan court became corrupt which led to the end of the regime.

Reign of Kublai Khan

As the first emperor of the Yuan Dynasty, Kublai Khan initially adopted the political system of Han people. First, he set up the department 'Zhongshu Sheng' to administrate the national affairs; the department 'Shumi Yuan' was established to govern the national military affairs; the ministry 'Yushi Tai' functioned as the supervision department. Besides, a new administrative unit called 'Xingsheng' (equal to current provinces of China). This was under the direct charge of the central court created by Kublai Khan. Meanwhile, a new efficient information transferring system called the 'Yizhan' System was firstly set up in his reign to strengthen the imperial ruling. In this way, a centralized political system was founded, guaranteeing the stability of the whole nation.

In economy, Kublai Khan focused much attention on the development of agriculture and water conservancy construction. In the process of Mongolian's conquest, the agriculture of the northern areas of China was seriously damaged. In the early period of Kublai Khan's reign, the agricultural production gradually recovered and the cultivation areas were greatly increased. Certain achievements were also made in water conservancy and special departments of water treatment were set up. The Yellow River was treated for three times while two new canals were constructed in its capital Dadu (currently Beijing) and Shandong Province for irrigation.

What is more, in Kublai Khan's reign, the control and exploitation towards the border areas were greatly promoted, which enhanced the cultural and economical ties between people in ethnic minorities in border areas and inland regions. At that time, there were a total of eleven 'Xingsheng's making up the whole nation, including the newly unified Yunnan, Tibet, Taiwan and Penghu areas. Still in the frontier areas such as the northwest Xinjiang and the northeast Heilongjiang regions were developed well under the powerful governing of the central court. The unified nation promoted people's inter-regional movement thus the communication between different ethnic minorities and regions were increasingly enhanced. All this consolidated the development of the Yuan Dynasty as a unified multi-ethnic country.

Reign of Later Emperors

None of the late emperors of Yuan were as competent and as ambitious as Kublai Khan, hence the Yuan Dynasty began to decline. After Kublai Khan died, Emperor Chengzong ascended the throne. Because he was a conservative and weak-minded emperor, the society of the Yuan Dynasty failed to progress in his reign. Emperor Chengzong was succeeded by Emperor Wuzhong who was more incompetent in dealing with the state affairs. Unfortunately, years of famine broke out in Wuzong's reign which sped up the decline of the Yuan Dynasty. Until the reign of Emperor Renzong, a series of renovation policies were carried out including laying off some redundant officials and reemploying the once-interrupted imperial examination. However, good things did not last. Some powerful ministers dominated the court, which interrupted the renovation. There were also several emperors after Emperor Renzong trying to improve the court order, but all were in vain. Starting from Emperor Taiding, the power struggle within the ruling class became more and more intense, let alone the severe ethnic contradiction caused by the 'Four Class System'. Since then, the Yuan Dynasty could not stop its step to decline.

Yuan Dynasty - Mongol Conquest

The Yuan Dynasty was developed from the mighty Mongolian Empire on the northern prairie. It was founded by Tiemuzhen, who initially unified all tribes of the Mongolian minority and was honored as Genghis Khan (meaning the ruler of the world). Since then, the Genghis Khan led his invincible army to start a large-scale offensive into the outside world.

The first military target was Xixia which was located in the middle and western areas of China and in 1205, 1207 and 1209, the Mongolian army launched three massive invasions. Under such military threat, the helpless Xixia was forced to pay tributes to the Mongol and sue for peace. In 1211, attacks were made on the Jin Dynasty (1115 - 1234) and even the Great Wall cannot stop them. Four years later, the Mongolian army captured one of the major cities of Jin, Zhongdu (currently Beijing). After that, most areas in the north of the Yellow River fell under Mongol control. Following the last wish of Genghis Khan on his deathbed, Xixia was defeated in 1227. Wo Kuotai, third son of Genghis Khan, ascended the throne seven years later and defeated the Jin Dynasty.

From then on, the Mongolian army continued to march westward and Mongol troops even advanced into the European continent. As the military strength of the Mongols became stronger and stronger, the territory of the great Mongolian Empire became larger and larger. Gradually, grandsons of Genghis Khan established four grand khanates respectively in Eastern Europe, North Asia, Central Asia, the Arab region and the vast Central Plain regions of China. Among them, Kublai Khan, one of Genghis Khan's grandsons, unified the vast land of the northern areas of China and founded a new dynasty in 1271- the Yuan Dynasty, with Yuandadu (currently Beijing) as its capital.

In the hope of unifying the southern areas of China, Kublai Khan launched a fierce attack against the Southern Song Dynasty (1127 - 1279) in 1276. With weak military strength and treacherous court officials, the Song court lost its capital city Lin'an (currently Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province) soon after the Yuan troops' attack.  By 1279 the Yuan army had eradicated the last troops of the Southern Song and when the last emperor of Song committed suicide by jumping into the sea, the militant Mongolian minority had finally achieved their goal of conquering the whole of China.

Yuan Dynasty

Since the late period of the 12th century, an ethnic minority group called Mongolian had grown up in the northern areas of China. In 1204, one of the leaders of the Mongolian tribes, Tiemuzhen, unified all the internal tribes. Two years later, Tiemuzhen was honored as Genghis Khan (meaning - the ruler of the world) and soon established the Mongolian Empire. Successively, it captured Xixia and the Jin Dynasty (1115 - 1234), after which the combative Mongolian army sent its military forces into Central Asia and Europe.

In 1260, the grandson of Tiemuzhen, Kublai Khan, ascended the throne. In 1271, he formally established the Yuan Dynasty with Yuandadu (currently Beijing) as the capital. (The new dynasty was not territorially the former Mongolian Empire as three parts had broken away before the new dynasty was founded.)
In 1276, not long after the founding of the dynasty, Kublai Khan led his army, capturing the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127 - 1279) and thus he unified the entire China.
 

At that time, Yuan's territory stretched to Mongolia and Siberia in the north, the South Sea in the south, Yunnan Province and Tibet in the southwest, eastern part of Xinjiang Province in the northwest and the Stanovoi Range in the northeast. The total area of the country was over 4.6 million square miles.

As a mighty state, the Yuan Dynasty enjoyed economic development and prospered in the fields of science and literature. The economy was mainly based on agriculture. The agricultural techniques used were superior to those of previous dynasties and food output increased. Additionally, the use of paper currency stimulated the development of commerce. Meanwhile, trade with foreign countries was greatly  encouraged following an open policy adopted by the rulers. In the area of science, astronomy, mathematics and medicine reached a very high level. In literature, the Yuan drama, along with the Tang poem and 'ci' poem of the Song Dynasty (960 - 1279), was considered another heritage of Chinese literature.
 

During the glorious period, diplomatic activities with foreign countries were quite frequent with many foreign envoys, merchants and travelers traversing the sea to come to China. Among them, the famous Italian merchant Marco Polo was a successful cultural transmitter who wrote the historic travel notes, The Travels of Marco Polo, informing the West about China.

In the late period, the internal contradictions of the ruling class, serious natural disasters, and unreasonable grading system together aroused the indignation of the people. In 1367, the rebel army led by Zhu Yuanzhang captured the Yuan capital, ending the ever mighty Yuan regime.

Jin Dynasty

The Jin Dynasty was founded by the ethnic minority known as the Nuzhen who originated from the Heilongjiang River and Songhua River regions and the Changpai Mountain area. In 1115, one of the Nuzhen tribal leaders, by the name of Wanyan Aguda, unified the whole Nuzhen group and established this Dynasty in Acheng City (currently in Heilongjiang Province). Later, the capital city was moved to Yanjing (currently Beijing and finally settled in Bianjing (currently Kaifeng).

Before and after the founding of the Jin dynasty, there were constant battles between Liao (916 - 1125), Jin and Northern Song (960 - 1127). Initially, Jin launched a series of attacks on Liao. This resulted in the five major cities of Liao being captured by the Jin army one after another. In 1125, the Liao was completely defeated. After that, the Jin court focused all its military forces on fighting with the Northern Song. Due to the incompetence of the late Song's rulers, the Jin army easily conquered Northern  Song's capital city, Kaifeng, in 1127. Thus the Northern Song came to an end. After that, the Jin Dynasty gradually unified the vast areas in the north along the Yellow River. After the founding of the Southern Song, the Jin court fell into further confrontation with them. During the reign of Emperor Shizong and Emperor Zhangzong, the national strength of the Jin Dynasty was at its zenith, with the Xixia (a regime founded by another ethnic minority called the Dangxiang) made into a subordinate country and the weak Southern Song forced to make peace by paying tribute.

Interestingly, communication with other countries, especially the Song Dynasty, led to the Jin Dynasty gradually adopting a feudal system, resulting in a well developed social economy. Traditionally, the Nuzhen people lived from fishing and hunting, with livestock husbandry as their dominant industry. Under the influence of the Han people, agriculture, commerce and the handicraft industry made great progress. Significant cultural advancements in drama and literature were also made.

During the late Jin Dynasty, rulers became corrupt and there was a dramatic surge in national uprisings. What was worse, the Jin court in that period made enemies simultaneously with Xixia, the Northern Song and the Mongolian Kingdom. In 1234, the Jin army was finally defeated by the allied forces of the Northern Song and the Yuan Dynasty was founded by Mongolia. After 119 years, it came to an end.

Liao Dynasty

Liao Dynasty was a regime founded by an ethnic minority called the Qidan (Khitan) who lived in the northeast areas of China. In 916, a Qidan man named Yelu Abaoji established the Qidan Kingdom. Initially, the kingdom was under the slavery system. Till 947, the title of the kingdom was officially changed into Liao, with Balin Left Banner (in current Inner Mongolia) as its capital city. Its territory mainly covered the northern part of China, with the estuary of the Amur River in the northeast, the middle part of Mongolia in the northwest, Tianjin and Hebei Province in the south.

Under the influence of the traditional nomadic living habits and Han people's life pattern, modes of production of the Liao people were various. Their production methods included not only traditional agriculture and animal husbandry but also hunting and fishery. Still, influenced by the advanced techniques of the Han people, their industries such as textile, mining, ceramics, construction and harness making developed well. Meanwhile, trade between Liao and its neighbor countries were frequent and developed rapidly.
 

From the Five Dynasty and Ten States Period (907 - 960), they began to make business with the Latter Liang (907 - 923), the Latter Tang (923 - 936) and the Latter Jin (936 - 946). Through sea transportation, They also exchanged goods with the Northern Tang (937 - 975) and Wu Yue (907 - 978) in the southern areas. After the founding of Song Dnasty (960 - 1279), they mainly exchanged their horses, sheep and pearls for Song tea, silk fabric, porcelain and lacquer ware.

Politically, Liao had its own particular governing system and policies. On the one hand, different social systems were adopted in different regions. In the northern areas, which were the original living place of the Qidan people, the slavery system was adopted; in the eastern regions near the Bohai Sea and the southern 'Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun', the feudal system was adopted. The so-called 'Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun' area was the reward bestowed by Liao for helping Shi Jingtang (the founder of the Latter Jin) to defeat the Latter Tang in the Five Dynasties and Ten States period. On the other hand, a special management system in the court - the North and South Official System -- was established by Liao. The system regulated that officials in the north side in the court dealt with Qidan people's political affairs while officials in the southern side took charge of those of the Han people. In addition, different laws governed Qidan and Han people.
 

The culture of the Qidan People was deeply affected by that of the Han people. Most rulers of the Liao adored Han culture. They liked to read the Analects of Confucius and Zhen Guan Zheng Yao written by Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907). Especially, Yelv Abaoji, the first emperor of Liao worshiped Confucius and established an imperial academy called Guozijian to impart Confucianism. Under the enlightenment of Han culture, the Liao people created their unique characters - the Qidan language. In that period, the Qidan language and Chinese language were used as the official language. As for religion, Qidan people originally worshiped nature and primitive civilization. Since Emperor Taizu, Yelv Abaoji's reign, Chinese Buddhism gradually spread to Liao. Many Buddhist sutras were translated into the Qidan language and were carved on stone tablets. One of the four Buddhist holy mountains - Wutaishan Mountain (in current Shanxi Province), was a Buddhism teaching center of the Liao Dynasty.
 

The Qidan were a warlike people. Rulers of Liao attacked the Northern Song many times, coveting Song territory in the central plain areas. However, due to the evenly matched military forces between Liao and Song, Liao did not finally realize its ambition. In 1005, Liao and Song signed the notable Tanyuan Treaty in Tanzhou (currently Puyang in Henan Province). After that, Liao kept a friendly relationship with Song for almost 120 years during which time the Liao society became more and more prosperous. Liao began to decline later because of the incompetence and tyranny of later rulers. In 1120, Song made an alliance with the newly founded Jin and attacked the Liao Regime. Finally in 1125, the last emperor of Liao, Emperor Tianzuo, was captured by the Jin army ending the Liao Dynasty.
 

Southern Song Dynasty

Establishment

After the downfall of the Northern Song Dynasty (960 - 1127), the Jin army captured many members of the imperial family, except Zhao Gou, the younger brother of the last emperor. In 1127, the Jin dynasty withdrew its troops from Kaifeng (capital of the Northern Song) and enthroned a puppet emperor. Due to the people's resentment of his betrayal of the Song Dynasty, he soon yielded the throne to Zhao Gou. However, due to continuous attacks by the Jin army, the newly-installed regime had to flee to Lin'an (currently Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province). In 1131, Lin'an was officially established as the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty, with Zhao Gou as its first emperor - Emperor Gaozong. 

War Affairs

From the establishment to the downfall, the Southern Song Dynasty never extricated itself completely from the endless battles with the Jin Dynasty (1115 - 1234) and the Mongolian Kingdom. To some extent the concept of ‘viewing literacy as more important than the military', put forth during the Northern Song Dynasty, guided the Southern Song's rulers, who tried any attempt to make peace with their enemies, contributing to continual alien invasions. That is why the Southern Song Dynasty is considered as the weakest dynasty in Chinese history. 

With the Jin Dynasty

The territorial boundary between the Southern Song and the Jin was the Huaihe River and the Dasanguan Pass (in current Baoji City in Shaanxi Province). Since the founding of the Southern Song dynasty, the Jin court launched frequent attacks on the Song but each was repelled by the fierce resistance of the Song court's loyal generals. Among them, the most valiant was Yue Fei, who repeled the Jin army many times. Unfortunately, Yue Fei and his father were later falsely charged by a treacherous court official named Qin Hui and were executed by Emperor Gaozong.

After the reign of Emperor Gaozong, the relation between the Song and the Jin entered a comparatively stable stage. During Emperor Xiaozong's reign the Song court launched several northern expeditions in the hope of recovering the lost territory but they were in vain. By 1207 the military force of the Jin had gradually abated, while the newly-founded Mongolian regime became stronger. In 1214 when the Jin court plunged its troops southward another time, the Song army aligned itself with Mongolian army to fight against the Jin army. In 1234, the entire Jin regime was captured by the allied forces.

With Mongolian Kingdom

Mongolian Kingdom was another strong enemy confronted by the Song court after the Jin's downfall. Immediately after the ruin of Jin, rulers of Song wanted to recover the lost territory by taking the advantage of the Mongolian troops' withdrawal, but the Song court failed to achieve this goal due to the weakness of its military force. Taking this act of the Song as an excuse, the Mongolians tried to invade southward several times, beginning in 1235, but they failed again and again because of the Song soldiers' bravery. However, the Song court did not take the opportunity of the Mongolians' withdrawal to recover the lost territory. Instead, the weak rulers of Song again initiated peace gestures, which foreshadowed the defeat of the Southern Song by the Mongolians.

Downfall

After the death of the former king of the Mongolians, his younger brother - Kublai Khan - became the new king. In 1271 Kublai Khan established a new dynasty - the Yuan (1271 - 1368). In 1276 the Yuan court launched a massive attack on the Southern Song, culminating in the capture of the Song's capital, Lin'an, and the downfall of the Southern Song.

Northern Song Dynasty

Establishment

In 960, a military general of the Latter Zhou Dynasty (951 - 960) named Zhao Kuangyin launched a mutiny in Chenqiao County. After forcing the last emperor of the Latter Zhou to yield the throne, he established the Northern Song Dynasty in Kaifeng (the provincial capital of Henan Province). Zhao Kuangyin became Emperor Taizu, the first emperor of the Song Dynasty. In the first two decades, Emperor Taizu and his brother Emperor Taizong put down the chaos of the ten states and unified most of the territory of China.

Development

In the early period, society and politics were both stable. Soon after the founding of the new dynasty, Emperor Taizu removed military power from the hands of the Jiedushi (regional military governors) consolidating the military leadership and placing it under the control of the emperor. From then on, a rather centralized state power was formed. Due to the policy of 'viewing literacy as more important than the military', a class of civil officials including some eminent poets, such as Su Dongpo and Fan Zhongyan were appointed in the court. During the reign of Emperor Renzong, the economic and social development reached the zenith.

Science and Culture

To some extent, the development of science, culture, and art during this period was as advanced as that of the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907).

In science, the world's earliest typography was invented by a man named Bi Sheng. In addition, gunpowder was first applied to military affairs. As for literature, the 'ci' poem, a new expressive form of Chinese ancient literature, became another gem of Chinese ancient culture along with Tang poetry. In the arts, the painting of the Northern Song reached a very high artistic level. The famous painting called Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival was drawn by the great painter Zhang Zeduan during this period.

Decline

During the reign of Emperor Shenzong, a great talent named Wang Anshi was appointed as Zaixiang (the prime minister in the Song Dynasty). In order to improve the old political system, he twice introduced a series of new policies, but both times it was in vain because of obstruction from conservative forces. During that period, political corruption along with the invasion of external tribes forced the Northern Song court into decline.

In the late Northern Song, numerous civilian uprisings broke out. Among them, the Fangla Uprising in Zhejiang and the Liangshanpo Uprising in Shandong were two influential rebellions that greatly weakened the regime.

Downfall

In 1125, the Northern Song court was invaded by the army of the Jin Dynasty (1115 - 1234). With weak military strength, Emperor Huizong was not able to withstand the fierce attack of the Jin army and had to flee the capital city. At the last moment, the Northern Song army rallied and was able to resist the enemy. However, the weak and incompetent rulers of the Northern Song tried to make peace with the Jin court by killing some loyal chancellors. Finally, in 1127, the Jin army captured the Northern Song capital of Kaifeng, ending the Dynasty.

Song Dynasty

Starting in 960 and ending in 1279, the Song Dynasty consisted of the Northern Song (960-1127) and the Southern Song (1127-1279). With a prosperous economy and radiant culture, this period was considered as another period of 'golden age' after the glorious Tang Dynasty (618 - 907).

The Northern Song was founded by Zhao Kuangyin, a military general in the Latter Zhou (951 - 960). In 960, Zhao Kuangyin launched a mutiny in Chenqiao county (in current Henan Province).It was not long before the last king of the Latter Zhou was forced to abdicate. Thus a new dynasty - Song was established in Kaifeng. In that period, most part of China's territory was unified. However, in late Northern Song, the political corruption was serious and the regime began to decline. In 1127, it was destroyed by the Jin (1115 - 1234).

The Southern Song was set up by Zhao Gou, son of the last emperor of Northern Song. After Jin defeated the Northern Song, many imperial clansmen were captured by Jin's army. Fortunately, Zhao Gou had a luck escape. In 1127, he fled to Nanjing Yingtianfu (in current Shangqiu of Henan Province) and established the Southern Song Dynasty there. Later, the capital city was moved to Lin'an (currently Hangzhou City in Zhejiang Province).The Southern Song's regime was subject to the Jin. Many patriotic generals were killed in the late period. In 1279, the army of the Yuan Dynasty captured Lin'an, putting the Southern Song to an end.

Generally, the Song Dynasty was prosperous in many respects of the society. In agriculture, the productive technology was improved which promoted the output of food; in handicraft industry, the division of labor became more detailed which made the  handicrafts technology reach an advanced level; additionally, the development of the commodity economy exceeded the previous level. Particularly, the earliest paper currency appeared at that period.

As for the development of science and culture, tremendous achievements were made during this period. Two of China's four great inventions - typography and compass were both invented and the application of gunpowder also developed rapidly. With regard to literature, a large number of outstanding scholars and poets, such as Zhuxi, Ouyang Xiu, Su Shi, Sima Guang and Shen Kuo, emerged and built up the splendid cultural atmosphere of the Song Dynasty.