What the Song Dynasty Has Given the World
How a Chinese Golden Age from a millennium ago shaped modern warfare and globalisation
If there are two periods where Chinese culture was at its height, it would be during the Tang and Song Dynasty 宋朝. Most of the solid foundation of Chinese culture was built during this time where there was a massive explosion of creativity and learning, not only in arts but also humanities, technology, astronomy etc.
So influential Chinese culture was, that Kyoto 京都 which was known as Edo, the capital of Japan in ancient times, planned its city layout according to the arrangement of Tang Dynasty’s capitals, Chang’an 长安 (now known as Xi’An) and Luoyang 洛阳. While Tang Dynasty marked China’s height of glory in terms of its openness and cultural diversity through its expansion to Central Asia and the trade on Silk Road, the Song perfected the construction of enormous seafaring vessels which contributed to its standing navy.
Here are some of the inventions made during the Song Dynasty that still contribute to our lives up to this day:
In literature,
There was the invention of movable type printing, achieved around the year 1040, 400 years before Gutenburg’s printing was invented in Europe. This invention basically ends the labour intensive transmitting of handwritten manuscripts previously employed and allows for the Song to print editions of texts.
In addition, while block printing was discovered during the Tang dynasty, it was during the Song that it proliferated and its usage extended to producing books on the classics, literature as well as illustrations. This meant that books were no longer rarity items reserved only for the upper-class society. Instead, literacy and knowledge became widely spread throughout the realm. Many of these books survive to this day.
Confucian scholars were also kept gainfully and steadily employed during this period, as they were tasked to trace histories of China all the way back to 1,000 BC in Zhou dynasty and package them for future generations.
Arts
The pottery of the Song dynasty retained enormous prestige in Chinese tradition, resulting in what later became known as the Five Great Kilns. Qing Bai ceramics, made in Jing De Zhen 景德镇 (the porcelain capital that is still in production to this day) in Jing Xi province, became the first type of porcelain to be produced on a very large scale.
This ceramic type, also known as greenware or celadon, made its way all over China and were even exported as far away as Africa. It was during this time that ceramics became available not only for the domestic market but also for international export.
You know those blue and white ceramics we identify as “chinaware”? That also came out of Jing De Zhen. It gained its height in popularity during the Yuan Dynasty founded by Kublai Khan, the successor of the Song. While the cobalt ores used in the ceramics might have originated in West Asia, this “chinaware” became the world’s first international brand that represented the identity of China.
Philosophy
During this Song, Chinese Han culture became considered superior to the rest of Asia and Mandarin Chinese even became the lingua-franca. Neo-Confucianism which combined Taoism and Buddhism (Buddhism was repressed during the Song as it was considered non-Chinese) with traditional Confucianism, formed the questions for civil service exams.
It needs to be noted that amongst all these wonders, the horrific footbinding practise began during the early Song dynasty. So yeah … it’s not all rosy and peaches.
Technology
Gunpowder, one of the Four Great Chinese Inventions was produced in the secret laboratories of Taoist scholars during this time. By the year 1,000, bombs and grenades became available to Song armies. As the successors of the Song dynasties, the Mongol army and traders introduced gunpowder technology to Europeans when they invaded Europe in the 1240s.
Waterways and Maritime
Hydraulic engineering, from canal and bridge-building, were perfected. The waterway system between the Yellow River, Grand Canal and Yangtze River also advanced during this time and lead to the growth of momentum for China’s outreach and contact expansion beyond its coastlines grew momentum during this time.
This lead to China owning the greatest seagoing fleet in the world, up to 3,500 ships at its peak in the 1400s (in comparison the U.S. Navy today has only 430), some of which were five times the size of the ships being built in Europe at the time.
However, by 1525, all of China’s “Treasure Fleet” ships had been destroyed, arguably due to domestic protectionism to limit foreign trade. It’s a bit ironic that 500 years later, it is China’s turn to embrace trade and the West’s turn to become protective — guess that’s the spinning wheel of life.
“If one is always afraid of the sea he will get drowned in the ocean sooner or later. So what China did was to take a brave step forward and embrace the market. We have had our fair share of choking in the water and we have encountered choppy waves. But we have learned how to swim in this process. It has been the right strategic choice … whether you like it or not the global market is the big ocean you cannot escape from.”
- Xi Jinping in 2017 Davos Summit, on Trump and the US’ wariness of international trade
The Dramatic End of Song Dynasty
The Southern Song Dynasty was arguably claimed as the beginning of the end of this dynasty. In its last years, the Southern Song emperors constantly fled from the Mongols, ending up first in Fujian before escaping further and further south to the great port city of Quanzhou, followed by Hongkong’s Lantau island (the location of the present-day airport and Disneyland) and finally Xinhui county in Guangdong province, where the 7-year-old emperor who had only reigned for less than a year decided to jump off a cliff with the entire imperial court, after losing the Battle of Yamen. If the tens of thousands of washed-up corpses at the beach is not a mark of the end of an era, I don’t know what is.
Regardless, the legacy of the Song lives to these days not only in its beautiful poetries but also in the realms of warfare, governments, and political boundaries which were forever changed by the invention of gunpowder. If you want to get a sense of the beauty created during this dynasty, visit Hangzhou — the capital of the Southern Song.
This post is part of the Life in China series.1. Best Things to do in Hangzhou
Because this city is more than just the West Lake2. China Survival Guide
Apps and tips that will make your Chinese experience a whole lot better.3. The Notion of ‘Chinese-ness’
We are often asked, “where are you from?”. Yet sometimes it’s difficult to decide where we feel most normal in.I hope these will help you begin to understand this mind-boggling country
