The Song Dynasty is a ruling dynasty in China between 960 and 1279; it succeeds the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and is followed by the Yuan Dynasty.

It is the first government in world history to nationally issue banknotes or true paper money, and the first Chinese government to establish a permanent standing navy.

This dynasty also sees the first known use of gunpowder, as well as the first discernment of true north using a compass.The Song Dynasty is divided into two distinct periods: the Northern Song and Southern Song.The Southern Song (1127–1279) refers to the period after the Song lost control of northern China to the Jin Dynasty.

During this time, the Song court retreats south of the Yangtze River and establishes their capital at Lin'an (now Hangzhou).

Although the Song Dynasty has lost control of the traditional birthplace of Chinese civilization along the Yellow River, the Song economy is not in ruins, as the Southern Song Empire contains 60 percent of China's population and a majority of the most productive agricultural land.

The Southern Song Dynasty considerably bolsters its 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 develop revolutionary new military technology augmented by the use of gunpowder.

In 1234, the Jin Dynasty is conquered by the Mongols, who take control of northern China, maintaining uneasy relations with the Southern Song.

Möngke Khan, the fourth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, dies in 1259 while besieging the city of Chongqing.

His younger brother Kublai Khan is proclaimed the new Great Khan, though his claim is only partially recognized by the Mongols in the west.

In 1271, Kublai Khan is proclaimed the Emperor of China.

After two decades of sporadic warfare, Kublai Khan's armies conquer the Song Dynasty in 1279.

China is once again unified, under the Mongol Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368).

The Southern Song has an estimated population of 200 million by the time of the Ming Dynasty.

This dramatic increase of population foments an economic revolution in premodern China.

The expansion of the population is partially the cause for the gradual withdrawal of the central government from heavily regulating the market economy.

A much larger populace also increases the importance of the lower gentry's role in grassroots administration and local affairs.

Appointed officials in county and provincial centers rely upon the scholarly gentry for their services, sponsorship, and local supervision.Philosophers such as Cheng Yi and Zhu Xi reinvigorate Confucianism with new commentary, infused with Buddhist ideals, and emphasize a new organization of classic texts that brings out the core doctrine of Neo-Confucianism.

Although the institution of the civil service examinations has existed since the Sui Dynasty, it becomes much more prominent in the Song period.

This becomes a leading factor in the shift of an aristocratic elite to a bureaucratic elite.