Northern Song

  General Description   The Northern Song (or Sung) Dynasty was a period of great economic advancement, population growth, urbanization, and political change in China. ^[1] Eleventh-century China under the Song has been called the ’most advanced place in the world’ at that time. ^[2] The Northern Song government ruled from its capital in Kaifeng, while the Southern Song were based in Hangzhou.
The century between the fall of the Tang dynasty and beginning of the Song dynasty was characterized by the rise of powerful warlords in the south and political turmoil in the north. ^[1] The first Song emperor, Emperor Taizu, reunified the Yangtze River Valley and South China. ^[3] The territory held by the Song was smaller than that held by previous powerful dynasties, and much of North China was still dominated by outside rule. ^[3]
Population and political organization
The Song government was marked by the increasing importance of the civil service examination and the rise of Confucianism. ^[1] The prominence of the civil service examination led to the emergence of a central government governed by scholar-officials rather than by aristocrats, as was traditionally the case. The government was headed by a powerful emperor and featured a large central bureaucracy. ^[4]
The Song period saw rapid commercial and industrial expansion. ^[5] Agriculture, paper-making, printing, and iron-working flourished, ^{[6] [2]} and paper money was first produced in China under the Song. ^[7] Foreign trade increased as the state expanded its trading networks. ^[2]
Although it is clear that the Song Dynasty was a period of massive population growth and urbanization, ^[2] there is some disagreement about exact population numbers. Some scholars agree that the population had reached around 100 million by 1000 CE, ^{[8] [9]} while others believe it was closer to 60 million. ^[10]

[1]: (Ebrey 1996, 136) Patricia Buckley Ebrey. 1996. The Cambridge Illustrated History of China. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

[2]: (Weatherhead East Asian Institute 2008) Weatherhead East Asian Institute. 2008. ’China in 1000 AD: The Most Advanced Society in the World’. Asian Topics on Asia for Educators: The Song Dynasty in China (960-1279). Columbia University. http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/song/. Accessed 15 March 2017.

[3]: (Meyer 1994, 217) Milton W. Meyer. 1994. China: A Concise History. Lanham, MD: Littlefield Adams.

[4]: (Hartman 2015, 20, 88) Charles Hartman. 2015. ’Sung government and politics’, in The Cambridge History of China, Volume 5: The Five Dynasties and Sung China, 960-1279 AD, Part 2, edited by J. W. Chaffee and D. Twitchett, 21-138. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

[5]: (Ebrey 1996, 144) Patricia Buckley Ebrey. 1996. The Cambridge Illustrated History of China. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

[6]: (Ebrey 1996, 141-42) Patricia Buckley Ebrey. 1996. The Cambridge Illustrated History of China. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

[7]: (Ebrey 1996, 142) Patricia Buckley Ebrey. 1996. The Cambridge Illustrated History of China. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

[8]: (Ebrey 1996, 141) Patricia Buckley Ebrey. 1996. The Cambridge Illustrated History of China. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

[9]: (Mote 2003, 164) Frederick W. Mote. 2003. Imperial China: 900-1800. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

[10]: (Hartman 2015, 29) Charles Hartman. 2015. ’Sung government and politics’, in The Cambridge History of China, Volume 5: The Five Dynasties and Sung China, 960-1279 AD, Part 2, edited by J. W. Chaffee and D. Twitchett, 21-138. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.