See also: Timeline of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, Timeline of the Yuan dynasty, and Timeline of the Mongol Empire
Northern Song (960–1127)
Southern Song (1127–1279)
This is a timeline of the Song dynasty (960–1279). The Song dynasty was founded by Zhao Kuangyin, posthumously known as Emperor Taizu of Song, who ended the period of division known as the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. The Song dynasty is commonly separated into two historical periods, the Northern Song (960–1127) and the Southern Song (1127–1279), divided by the loss of the north to the Jurchen Jin dynasty (1115–1234). In 1279, the MongolYuan dynasty conquered the Song.
Song dynasty introduces the appointment by protection system, which allows high officials to nominate their sons, grandsons, and nephews for the civil service[2]
Song conquest of Southern Tang: Song conquers Southern Tang[1]
Emperor Taizu of Song tries to convince Pugui of the Mu'ege Kingdom situated in northwest, central, east, and southeast Guizhou to acquiesce to Song overlordship[10]
Shi Pu demonstrates fireballs utilizing gunpowder to the Song court and blueprints are created for promulgation throughout the realm.[26]
1003
Khitans invade the Song dynasty and retreat without making permanent gains[25]
1004
Emperor Shengzong of Liao conducts a full-scale invasion of the Song dynasty which ends in stalemate[29]
1005
January
Chanyuan Treaty: The Song dynasty agrees to pay the Khitans an annual tribute of silk and silver[30]
1009
Emperor Zhenzong of Song introduces quotas on degrees awarded[31]
Song dynasty modifies the appointment by protection system by requiring candidates to study at the Directorate of Education and sit the examination, which passes at least 50 percent of them[2]
Song dynasty establishes a Bureau for Exchange Bills in Chengdu after craftsmen, artisans, and farmers reject the replacement of the smaller copper coins with heavy iron coins[22]
Song dynasty starts circulating exchange bills, each worth 1,256,340 strings of cash per 3-year circulation period[37]
1024
Earliest known extant printing block for paper money, the jiaozi[38]
1026
Torrential rains damage the Yellow River dikes and cause widespread flooding in the Song capital of Kaifeng[34]
1027
Repairs on the Yellow River dikes are finished[34]
Emperor Renzong of Song enacts the ConfucianQingli Reforms and schools are established at prefectures with sufficient number of students[50]
The School of Four Gates opens - it provides students with a 500-day education, stipends, meals, a place in the dormitory, and exemption from the prefectural examinations[51]
The chemical formula for gunpowder appears in the military manual Wujing Zongyao, also known as the Complete Essentials for the Military Classics.[53][54]
"Thunderclap bombs" are mentioned in the Wujing Zongyao.[55]
A "triple-bed-crossbow" firing fire arrows is mentioned in the Wujing Zongyao.[56]
Earliest recorded use of the compass for navigation[57]
1046
Proportion of jinshi degree holders in the Song dynasty bureaucracy reach a third of all total bureaucratic positions[58]
Shen Kuo describes the process of making steel using repeated forging under a cold blast for "partial decarbonization", considered by some historians to be a direct predecessor of the Bessemer process[76]
Annual iron production in the Song dynasty reaches 125,000 tons and becomes the largest iron industry in the world, an achievement that lasts until 1796 during the industrial revolution in England and Wales;[79][80] per capita iron production reaches 3.1 pound, the world's highest per capita iron production until 1700 in Western Europe[80]
Mints in the Song dynasty reach annual production of 5,000,000 strings of copper cash and 800,000 strings of iron coins[82]
The Price ratio of iron to rice falls to 177:100 in Sichuan and 135:100 in Shanxi[14]
1081
Song-Xia War (1081–1085): Song dynasty invades Western Xia with initial success, but the odd failure to bring siege weapons and extreme supply problems cause widespread mutiny and the invasion turns into a massive rout[83]
1083
Three hundred thousand fire arrows are produced by the Song court and delivered to two garrisons.[26]
Song and the Lý of Đại Việt finalize their border agreement, which with minor changes throughout the centuries, is basically the same as the modern China–Vietnam border[88]
Advance and fortify: Song dynasty conducts an advance and fortify campaign against the Western Xia[92]
1098
Advance and fortify: Western Xia retaliates against Song incursions but fails to defeat Song fortifications[93]
1099
Advance and fortify: Western Xia sues for peace[93]
12th century[]
1100s[]
Year
Date
Event
1100
23 February
Emperor Zhezong of Song dies and his brother Zhao Ji succeeds him as Emperor Huizong of Song[94]
Total population employed in the Song bureaucracy reaches 0.02 percent[95]
Coke (fuel) replaces charcoal in iron smelting[96]
1102
The Song court mandates the construction of Security and Relief clinics in every prefecture[97]
Cai Jing suggests that the best graduates of the Taixue should be selected for appointment without having to take the imperial examinations and that the examinations themselves should be replaced by a reformed education system; his ideas are ultimately rejected[51]
Song occupation of Tsongkha: Song dynasty invades Tsongkha and Western Xia[98]
Public pharmacies are extended from Kaifeng to the circuits[97]
Earliest recorded references to foot binding[99][100][101]
1104
Song occupation of Tsongkha: Song annexes Tsongkha[102]
Song court mandates public cemeteries for the destitute[103]
The Taixue allows enrollment from poor families for an admission fee of 2,000 cash, roughly 4 months of income for a low wage farmer, or 15 percent of monthly salary for a low official[104]
1105
Reports of embezzlement relating to the public welfare initiatives start rolling in[105]
1106
Song occupation of Tsongkha: Song dynasty and Western Xia end hostilities and the war ends inconclusively[98]
Graduates of the prefectural examinations are reduced to 3% of candidates[31]
1107
Song dynasty starts issuing a new note called a 'money voucher' (qianyin)[106]
Song dynasty mandates the superiority of the Taoist clergy in rank and honors to their Buddhist counterparts[107]
1108
Song dynasty sets an annual recruitment quota of 70 Taoist priests for the imperial examinations[107]
The Song army puts on a firework display for the emperor including a spectacle which opened with "a noise like thunder" and explosives that light up the night. Considered by some to be the first mention of gunpowder fireworks.[108]
1111
Earliest recorded use of the compass for maritime navigation[109]
Song dynasty attacks the Liao dynasty but is repelled[115]
Zhang Jue rebels in Ping Prefecture and defects to the Song dynasty but the Jin dynasty immediately retaliates and crushes his army; Zhang Jue is executed by the Song as reconciliation towards the Jin[116]
Emperor Tianzuo of Liao is captured by the Jin dynasty; so ends the Liao dynasty[117]
November
Jin dynasty invades the Song dynasty and occupies Shanxi and Hebei[116]
1126
18 January
Emperor Huizong of Song abdicates to his son Zhao Huan, who succeeds him as Emperor Qinzong of Song[118]
31 January
Jingkang Incident: Thunderclap bomb as well as fire arrows and fire bombs are used by Song troops during the siege of Kaifeng by the Jin dynasty (1115–1234).[119]
5 March
Jin army retreats from Kaifeng after the Song dynasty promises to pay an annual indemnity[120]
Emperor Qinzong of Song's brother Zhao Gou is declared Emperor Gaozong of Song and the capital is moved to Lin'an[122]
December
Jingkang Incident: Kaifeng falls to the Jin dynasty and emperors Qinzong and Huizong are captured; territory north of the Huai River is annexed by the Jin[123] - earliest recorded use of "molten metal bombs", suspected to contain gunpowder[121]
1128
The earliest extant depiction of a cannon appears among the Dazu Rock Carvings, one of which is a human figure holding a gourd shaped hand cannon.[124]
1129
Former Song official Liu Yu is enthroned as emperor of the Jin puppet state of Qi[125]
Gunpowder weapons are applied to naval warfare as Song warships are outfitted with trebuchets and supplies of gunpowder bombs.[126]
Jin dynasty invades Shaanxi but is repelled, in particular by a volley fire tactic implemented by general Wu Jie (吳 玠) and his younger brother Wu Lin (吳璘)[129]
Gunpowder is referred to specifically for its military applications for the first time and is known as "fire bomb medicine" rather than "fire medicine".[126]
Firecrackers using gunpowder are mentioned for the first time.[135]
1133
Jin puppet state Qi invades Song dynasty but is repelled by Yue Fei[136]
Ayong of the Mu'ege Kingdom leads a large trade delegation of several thousand to the Song city of Luzhou in Sichuan[5]
Battle of Yancheng: Yue Fei launches a successful attack against the Jin and makes considerable territorial gains, but is forced to withdraw by Emperor Gaozong of Song[140]
Song and Jin agree to the Treaty of Shaoxing which stipulates that the Song must pay Jin an annual indemnity; the Huai River is settled as the boundary between the two states[143][140]
1143
Buddhist monks in the Song dynasty surge to 200,000 and become the largest class of land owners[144]
1145
The is constructed in Yongchun County, Fujian Province[145]
Emperor Xiaozong of Song creates a new office called the Policy Deliberation Hall (Yishi tang) to train his son Zhao Dun for his eventual accession[157]
1189
18 February
Emperor Xiaozong of Song abdicates to his son Zhao Dun, who becomes Emperor Guangzong of Song[158]
1190s[]
Year
Date
Event
1190
Casual references to foot binding become more common; foot binding is no longer associated with dancing nor is the practice confined to entertainers[101]
1191
Emperor Guangzong of Song withdraws from the court[159]
Song forces start showing military aggression along the Jin border[167]
1206
spring
Kokochu, also known as Teb Tengri, chief shaman of the Mongols, bestows upon Temüjin the title of Genghis Khan, "Oceanic Ruler" of the Mongol Empire, at the kurultai of Burkhan Khaldun, sacred mountain of the Mongols[168]
Siege of Caizhou: Emperor Aizong of Jin abdicates to a distant relative, Hudun, who becomes Emperor Mo of Jin, and commits suicide; Emperor Mo of Jin is killed by the Mongols; so ends the Jin dynasty[188]
Large bombs requiring several hundred men to hurl using trebuchets are employed by Mongols in the siege of Anfeng (modern Shouxian, Anhui Province).[191]
Issues of huizi to subsidize rising expenditures and declining revenues reach a value of 650,000,000 strings of cash, an increase by a factor of 25 over half a century[196][197]
Qin Jiushao discovers Horner's method and introduces the zero symbol into Chinese mathematics[198][199]
1250s[]
Year
Date
Event
1250
Annual registration for prefectural examinations reaches 400,000 candidates[31]
1252
Mongol forces under the Chinese general advance into Sichuan and occupy Li Prefecture[200]
Möngke Khan dies from dysentery or a wound inflicted by a Song trebuchet, forcing Mongol forces to withdraw from Song territory[209]
September
Kublai Khan's forces cross the Yangtze and lays siege to Ezhou, however he receives news of Möngke Khan's death and Ariq Böke's mobilization, forcing hm to withdraw and deal with his brother[210]
The History of Song describes a "fire-emitting lance" employing a pellet wad projectile which occludes the barrel. Some consider this to be the first bullet.[204][205]
The city of Qingzhou produces one to two thousand iron cased bomb shells a month and sends them in deliveries of ten to twenty thousand at a time to Xiangyang and Yingzhou.[211]
^Hartwell, Robert (March 1966). "Markets, Technology, and the Structure of Enterprise in the Development of the Eleventh-Century Chinese Iron and Steel Industry". The Journal of Economic History. 26 (1): 54. ISSN0022-0507. JSTOR2116001.
^Xu Ji 徐積 《詠蔡家婦》: 「但知勒四支,不知裹两足。」(translation: "knowing about arranging the four limbs, but not about binding her two feet); Su Shi 蘇軾 《菩薩蠻》:「塗香莫惜蓮承步,長愁羅襪凌波去;只見舞回風,都無行處踪。偷穿宮樣穩,並立雙趺困,纖妙說應難,須從掌上看。」
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