Overview
The Northern Song (960–1127) ruled from Kaifeng until the Jurchen Jin captured the city in 1127; the Southern Song (1127–1279) continued from Hangzhou. A mature examination-based civil service staffed the government.
Key developments
The world’s first government-issued paper money appeared in 11th-century Sichuan, alongside Bi Sheng’s movable type, gunpowder weapons, and the magnetic compass in navigation. Commercial cities grew huge, and Neo-Confucianism developed with Zhu Xi (1130–1200).
End and transition
The dynasty was pressed throughout by the Liao, the Western Xia, the Jin, and finally the Mongols, who ended it at the naval battle of Yamen in 1279.