The Song Dynasty was a ruling dynasty in China between 960–1279 AD; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty. It was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or paper money, and the first Chinese government to establish a permanent standing navy. The Song Dynasty is divided into two distinct periods: the Northern Song and Southern Song. During the Northern Song, the Song capital was in the northern city of Bianjing and the dynasty controlled most of inner China. The Southern Song refers to the period after the Song lost control of northern China to the Jin Dynasty. During this time, the Song court retreated south of the Yangtze River and established their capital at Lin'an. The Southern Song Dynasty considerably bolstered naval strength to defend its waters and land borders and to conduct maritime missions abroad. To repel the Jin (and later the Mongols), the Song developed revolutionary new military technology augmented by the use of gunpowder. In 1234, the Jin Dynasty was conquered by the Mongols, who took control of northern China, maintaining uneasy relations with the Southern Song. After two decades of sporadic warfare, Kublai Khan's armies conquered the Song Dynasty in 1279. China was once again unified, under the Yuan Dynasty.
Read the rest of this article: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Song_Dynasty> _______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries: 1521: After an extended siege, forces led by Spanish Conquistador Hernán Cortés captured Tlatoani Cuauhtémoc and conquered the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenochtitlan> 1704: The combined forces of England, the Holy Roman Empire, and the United Provinces defeated France and Bavaria in the Battle of Blenheim , one of the turning points of the War of the Spanish Succession. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Blenheim> 1913: English inventor Harry Brearley developed stainless steel using an electric furnace. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Brearley> 1937: The Battle of Shanghai broke out, eventually becoming one of the largest and bloodiest battles of the entire Second Sino-Japanese War. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Shanghai> 1968: Greek politician Alexandros Panagoulis attempted to assassinate Greek leader Georgios Papadopoulos. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandros_Panagoulis> _____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day: joyride (n): An instance of driving a motor vehicle in a carefree or reckless manner, especially a vehicle which has been taken without the permission of the owner <http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/joyride> ___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day: It is our hope, that men in proportion as they grow more enlightened, will learn to hold their theories and their creeds more loosely, and will none the less, nay, rather all the more be devoted to the supreme end of practical righteousness to which all theories and creeds must be kept subservient. --Felix Adler <http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Felix_Adler> _______________________________________________ Wikipedia Daily Article mailing list. To unsubscribe, visit: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/daily-article-l Questions or comments? Contact [email protected]
