The Song dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Ten Kingdoms, ending the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. The Song often came into conflict with the contemporaneous Liao, Western Xia and Jin dynasties in northern China. After retreating to southern China following attacks by the Jin dynasty, the Song was eventually conquered by the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty.
Emperor Taizu of Song (r. 960–976), a court portrait painting
A portrait of Emperor Taizong of Song (r. 976–997)
A wooden Bodhisattva from the Song dynasty (960–1279)
Flock of Crane over Song Palace painting by Emperor Huizong
For most of its history, China was organized into various dynastic states under the rule of hereditary monarchs. Beginning with the establishment of dynastic rule by Yu the Great c. 2070 BC, and ending with the abdication of the Xuantong Emperor in AD 1912, Chinese historiography came to organize itself around the succession of monarchical dynasties. Besides those established by the dominant Han ethnic group or its spiritual Huaxia predecessors, dynasties throughout Chinese history were also founded by non-Han peoples.
A depiction of Yu, the initiator of dynastic rule in China, by the Southern Song court painter Ma Lin.
A photograph of the Xuantong Emperor, widely considered to be the last legitimate monarch of China, taken in AD 1922.
Image: Han Guangwu Di
Image: Liu Bei Tang