Huizong, the Emperor of Song China at the time of Jurchen Invasion in the 12th century C.E.
A Jurchen warrior, one of the common threats to Song China. These Jurchens later took the name of Manchu and are also credited with the establishment of the Jing Dynasty.
This map shows the reaches of the Song Dynasty, as well as neighboring regions and the current political geography of the region. It is notable that the capital is in the northern section, perhaps to be more accessible to foreign diplomats.
Many ways of living and acting that Westerners now see as most thoroughly “Chinese,” or even characteristically East Asian, did not appear before the Song.
The Chinese, we know, are rice eaters and tea drinkers; but most Chinese in the Tang and before ate wheat and millet and drank wine, in that respect looking perhaps more “Western” than “Eastern”; rice and tea became dominant food and drink in the Song.
Although weakened and pushed south along the Huai River, the Southern Song found new ways to bolster its strong economy and defend its own state against the Jin dynasty.The government sponsored massive shipbuilding and harbor improvement projects, and the construction of beacons and seaport warehouses in order to support maritime trade abroad and the major international seaports, such as Quanzhou, Guangzhou, and Xiamen, that were sustaining China's commerce.
The Song dynasty was an era of administrative sophistication and complex social organization. Some of the largest cities in the world were found in China during this period (Kaifeng and Hangzhou had populations of over a million).
During this period greater emphasis was laid upon the civil service system of recruiting officials; this was based upon degrees acquired through competitive examinations, in an effort to select the most capable individuals for governance. Selecting men for office through proven merit was an ancient idea in China.
The Song judicial system retained most of the legal code of the earlier Tang dynasty, the basis of traditional Chinese law up until the modern era. Roving sheriffs maintained law and order in the municipal jurisdictions and occasionally ventured into the countryside. Official magistrates overseeing court cases were not only expected to be well-versed in written law but also to promote morality in society.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e2/Huizong.jpg
http://www.history-of-china.com/img/song-dynasty-map-b.gif
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDxVwubhPtqIHKYxnW855MpwyJI7b3KYUjpQ8xkcS-rcuIbbdFe4v0RYObnzdFjCr-m8qlvxBP1ISvS2AkgMfiY1T1Ej-FPDH1R2AvIjBVAuxW9qFoe1nLKEjjTAnxIQDzO0X336Iy9gwO/s640/rice_paddy.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/SongJunk.jpg
http://images2.chinatraveldepot.com/Images/Destination/Riverside-Scene-at%20Qingming-Festival1-0723L.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Song_dynasty#mediaviewer/File:Chinesischer_Maler_des_11._Jahrhunderts_(III)_001.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Society_of_the_Song_dynasty#mediaviewer/File:Qingming_Festival_Detail_16.jpg
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