The Song Dinasty was an era of chinese history that begun in the year 960 and lasted till the year 1279. The Song government was the first in many things; was the first in issue true paper money nationally, they established a permanent standing navy to defend the southern borders and carried foreign missions, they are also known to be the first in saw the use of gunpowder and finally they were the first who discern the true north by the use of a compass.
The dinasty is divided by two periods, northern and southern. During the northern the Songs controlled what is today most of eastern China and the southern refers to a time in where they lost the control of the north after a war against another dinasty, the Jin. To repeal the invasion of that dinasty and the Mongols then they reinfrorce its navy and introduce a new military technology, the gunpowder.
During the dinasty the population of China double in size. This was possible because of the expanse of rice cultivation through the central and southern parts of the territory, the use of early-ripening rice brought from the southern Asia and the production of widespread food surpluses. This expansion of the population made an economic revolutio, the expansion of the cities all over the territory produced a gradual withdrawal from the center government in the matter of economy letting a space that the lower gentry filled up.
I believed we could descibe the Song Dinasty as a pioneers in which respect to military technology and economy. They are also responsibles for the beggining of the expansure in Chinese population.
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