page_title: Song Dynasty
hierarchical_section_title: Song Dynasty
caption_attribution_description: This depicts Song Taizu (宋太祖, 927-976, reigned 960-976), personal name Zhao Kuangyin (趙匡胤), the first emperor of the Song dynasty. This painting has neither the painter's seal nor signature. However, a small label had been attached to a blank area at the arm rest with the three characters "Song Taizu" (宋太祖). It probably was added when the scroll was remounted in the Qing dynasty (1644-1911).
context_page_description: The Song Dynasty ruled in China from 960–1279. It started the reunification of China for the first time since the fall of the Tang Dynasty in 907. The years in between, known as the Period of Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, were a time of division between north and south, and of rapidly changing administrations. In 960, a general of the Later Zhou dynasty named Zhao Kuangyin overthrew the emperor through a mutiny and established the Song dynasty. Although it unified China, its army was weak and lost the wars against the Liao dynasty and Western Xia. Soon after the death of Emperor Taizu, the empire faced many economic and military problems.
  In 1127, the Manchu clans led by the Jin Dynasty emperors destroyed the Liao Dynasty, invaded Song, and captured the emperor, princes, and ministers. A prince at southern China was lucky to be the only one who was not taken by the Manchus, and after the invasion of northern China he succeeded the throne at Hangzhou. Because of this, historians named the Song that was before the invasion as Northern Song, and the one after the invasion as Southern Song.
context_section_description: The Song Dynasty ruled in China from 960–1279. It started the reunification of China for the first time since the fall of the Tang Dynasty in 907. The years in between, known as the Period of Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, were a time of division between north and south, and of rapidly changing administrations. In 960, a general of the Later Zhou dynasty named Zhao Kuangyin (the later Emperor Taizu of Song) overthrew the emperor through a mutiny and established the Song dynasty.  Although it unified China, its army was weak and lost the wars against the Liao dynasty and Western Xia.  Soon after the death of Emperor Taizu, the empire faced many economic and military problems.   
  In 1127, the Manchu clans led by the Jin Dynasty emperors destroyed the Liao Dynasty, invaded Song, and captured the emperor, princes, and ministers.  A prince at southern China was lucky to be the only one who was not taken by the Manchus, and after the invasion of northern China he succeeded the throne at Hangzhou.  Because of this, historians named the Song that was before the invasion as Northern Song, and the one after the invasion as Southern Song.  Southern Song made peace with the Manchus and existed until Kublai Khan of the Mongols conquered all of southern China in 1279.
caption: Song Taizu, first emperor of the Song Dynasty
exif: {"Image ImageWidth": "4668", "Image ImageLength": "5241", "Image BitsPerSample": "[8, 8, 8]", "Image Compression": "Uncompressed", "Image PhotometricInterpretation": "2", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image SamplesPerPixel": "3", "Image XResolution": "300", "Image YResolution": "300", "Image PlanarConfiguration": "1", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop CS6 (Windows)", "Image DateTime": "2018:09:20 11:54:59", "Image ExifOffset": "256", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "394", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "4923", "EXIF ColorSpace": "Uncalibrated", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "4668", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "5241"}