Of all the various dynasties in Chinese history, the Song are best known for their cultural flourishing and longstanding impact on imperial administration. But even this fails to touch upon the full spectrum of impacts which this era had, let alone the lives of most people living day to day as subjects of the Celestial Empire. Today in our exploration of the world 1000 years ago, we're looking at the big guy, possibly the most politically complex and populous realm at the time, Song China.

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Recommendations for further reading:
-Bossler, Beverly Jo. Powerful Relations: kinship, status, & the state in Sung China (960-1279) (Harvard University Press, 1998).
-The Cambridge History of China. Vol.5, Sung China, 960-1279 (Cambridge University Press, pt.1: 2009, pt.2: 2015). Pt. 1 eds. Denis Twitchett and Paul Jakov Smith, pt. 2 eds. John W. Chaffee and Denis Twitchett.
-Chaffee, John W. Branches of Heaven: a history of the imperial clan of Sung China (Harvard University Press, 1999).
-Ebrey, Patricia Buckley. The Inner Quarters: marriage and the lives of Chinese women in the Sung period (University of California Press, 1993).
-Fried, Daniel. The First Print Era: the rise of print culture in China's Northern Song Dynasty (Abington: Routledge, 2024).
-Halperin, Mark. Out of the Cloister: literati perspectives on Buddhism in Sung China, 960-1279 (Harvard University Press, 2006).
-Lorge, Peter Allan. The Reunification of China: peace through war under the Song Dynasty (Cambridge University Press, 2015).


All images used in this video are either my own, in the public domain, under fair use, or under creative commons (whence they shall be credited appropriately)
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Outro music: Laid Back Guitars by Kevin MacLeod, CC BY-SA 4.0
http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-...

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