Dynasties in China

In Northern Song time some border tribes grew very strong. They were the Khitan of the Kingdom of Liao and the Nuzhen of the Kingdom of Jin in Northeast China, and the Dang Xiang of the Kingdom of Western Xia. They fought among themselves and against the Song government. 

After conquering the Khitan, the Nuzhen swept south and overthrew the Northern Song Dynasty. In 1127 Zhao Gou, brother of the last emperor of the Northern Song Dynasty, established a new government in Nanjing (now Shangqiu, Henan Province), which is historically known as the Southern Song Dynasty.

During the Song period agriculture and commerce flourished and science and technology made impressive strides. 

New cities sprang up. Overseas trade began to develop. A host of thinkers, scholars and men of letters came to the fore. There was a boom in calligraphy, painting, sculpture and weaving art. 

Achievements in porcelain manufacture outshone all previous records. Gunpowder was widely used for military purposes. Especially noteworthy are the inventions of the compass and movable type printing which have greatly contributed to human progress.

While the Song and Nuzhen armies were locked in continuous warfare, the Mongols in the north rose to power under Genghis Khan who unified all the Mongol tribes. 

He subjugated the Western Xia, Liao and Jin kingdoms one after another. His grandson, Kublai Khan, set up the Yuan Dynasty(1271-1368) and in 1276 overthrew the Southern Song Dynasty, thus unifying China once more.

The renewed national unification served to boost the economy, promote science and culture, improve the ties between various nationalities and increase contacts with foreign lands. During the nine decades of Yuan rule, however, there were no end to peasant insurrections.

In 1368 Zhu Yuanzhang, a peasant leader, established the Ming Dynasty and in the same year drove the Mongol emperor away from his capital (now Beijing), thereby restoring Han nationality rule in China.

During the Ming Dynasty the growth of agriculture and handicraft production brought an expansion to the commodity economy. From the middle of Ming times onward, capitalism began to burgeon in some handicraft industries in certain coastal regions. 

Meanwhile, overseas contacts increased. A notable example is provided by Zheng He, a noted navigator, who was sent overseas as envoy at the head of a large fleet on seven voyages, the longest of which took him to the equator on the eastern African coast.

The Ming Dynasty was overthrown in 1644 by the peasant armies under the command of Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong. In the same year Manchu armed forces pushed south of the Great Wall through Shanhaiguan Pass. 

They defeated the peasant armies, followed by the establishment of the Qing Dynasty(1644-1911). The Qing Dynasty reached the zenith of its power during the reigns of emperors Kang Xi, Yong Zheng and Qian Long. Its territory was extensive and production boomed.