Song dynasty

former imperial dynasty of China (960–1279)

153 dated entries naming Song dynasty, drawn from 133 separate years between 650 CE and 1973 CE. Nothing here is written by us: each line is the sentence a Wikipedia year article used, and the link beside it opens the exact revision.

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7th century

650The first Chinese paper money is issued, yet these banknotes will not become government-issued until the Song dynasty era Sichuan province issues them in the year 1024, with the central government of China following suit in the 12th century.source

10th century

902Du, empress of the Song dynasty (approximate date)source
911Fan Zhi, chancellor of the Song dynasty (d. 964)source
925Pan Mei, general of the Song dynasty (d. 991) (approximate date)source
927March 21 – Taizu, emperor of the Song dynasty (d. 976)source
931Cao Bin, general of the Song dynasty (d. 999)source
939November 20 – Tai Zong, emperor of the Song dynasty (d. 997)source
942Wang, empress of the Song Dynasty (d. 963)source
951Liu Chenggui, official of the Song dynasty (d. 1016)source
958Yang Yanzhao, general of the Song dynasty (d. 1014)source
959Zhao Defang, prince of the Song Dynasty (d. 981)source
960Li, empress consort of the Song Dynasty (d. 1004)source
960February 4 – The Song Dynasty is established at Kaifeng by the 33-year-old military leader Zhao Kuangyin. He begins to unify the empire by conquering other lands and becomes the first emperor, called as Taizu of Song. The Song Dynasty will rule northern China for over 300 years (until 1279).source
961July 17 – Du, empress dowager of the Song dynastysource
963The Chinese government of the Song Dynasty attempted to ban the practice of cremation; despite this decree, the lower and middle classes continued to cremate their dead until the government resolved the problem in the 12th century, establishing public graveyards for paupers.source
963Wang, empress of the Song Dynasty (b. 942)source
964Liu Wenzhi, official of the Song Dynasty (d. 1028)source
965July 12 – In China, Emperor Meng Chang of Later Shu dies after a 30-year reign. His kingdom is invaded and incorporated into the expanding Song dynasty.source
966Ding Wei, grand chancellor of the Song dynasty (d. 1037)source
968December 23 – Zhenzong, emperor of the Song Dynasty (d. 1022)source
969Liu, empress and regent of the Song dynasty (d. 1033)source
971January 23 – A war elephant corps of the Southern Han is defeated at Shao, by crossbow fire from Song dynasty troops. The Southern Han Kingdom is forced to submit to the Song dynasty. Ending Southern Han rule, but also the first regular war elephant corps employed in a Chinese army, that had gained the Southern Han victories throughout the 10th century.source
974The Liao Dynasty exchanges ambassadors with the Song Dynasty on New Years Day (Spring Festival).source
975Emperor Taizu conquers Hunan Province and brings the power of the military under Song control. Ending the era of the warlords (approximate date).source
975Guo, empress of the Song Dynasty (d. 1007)source
976November 14 – Emperor Taizu (Zhao Kuangyin) dies at Kaifeng after a 16-year reign. He is succeeded by his brother Tai Zong as ruler of the Song Dynasty. During his rule the Yuelu Academy (located in Hunan Province) is founded, which becomes one of the renowned academies (Shūyuàn).source
978June 3 – Chen Hongjin, Jiedushi of Pinghai Circuit, surrenders his territories and pledges allegiance to the Song Dynasty.source
978June 9 – King Qian Chu surrenders his territories and pledges allegiance to the Song Dynasty, saving his people from war and economic destruction. Qian Chu remains ruler and moves 3,000 members of his household to Bianjing (modern-day Kaifeng). Wuyue is absorbed into the Song Dynasty, effectively ending the kingdom.source
979Summer – Tai Zong invades the Northern Han and besieges the capital of Taiyuan. A relief force sent by the Liao Dynasty is defeated. The Kingdom is absorbed into the Song Dynasty.source
979August 26 – Zhao Dezhao, prince of the Song Dynasty (b. 951)source
981Zhao Defang, prince of the Song dynasty (b. 959)source
984Qiao Weiyue, a Chinese engineer, innovates the first known use of the double-gated canal pound lock during the Song dynasty, for adjusting different water levels in segments of the Grand Canal in China.source
985Zhao Yuanyan, prince of the Song Dynasty (d. 1044)source
986Summer – Chi Go Pass Campaign: The Song Dynasty sends armies on three fronts against the Liao Dynasty in the Sixteen Prefectures, but they are defeated on all fronts.source
987Li, imperial consort of the Song Dynasty (d. 1032)source
988Pang Ji, chancellor of the Song dynasty (d. 1063)source
989September 5 – Fan Zhongyan, chancellor of the Song Dynasty (d. 1052)source
995Goryeo-Khitan War: Negotiations led by the Korean diplomat Sŏ Hŭi prevents a fullscale invasion of the Khitan-led Liao Dynasty. King Seongjong accepts Liao's demands – and agrees to end the alliance with the Chinese Song Dynasty. Goryeo becomes a Liao tributary state, the Khitan army (60,000 men) withdraws while Seongjong orders the Korean border defenses strengthened.source
995Song, empress of the Song Dynasty (b. 952)source
996Following the border conflict with the Song in 995, Guangxi authorities arrested Bốc Văn Dũng, a political criminal to the Early Lê dynasty, along with his followers for extradition to Đại Cồ Việt. In return, emperor Lê Đại Hành extradited the captured pirates to the Guangxi authorities and agreed to make peace with the Song dynasty.source
997May 8 – Emperor Tai Zong (Zhao Jiong) dies at Kaifeng after a 21-year reign. He is succeeded by his son Zhen Zong as the third ruler of the Song dynasty.source
999March 5 – Bao Zheng, Chinese politician of the Song dynasty (d. 1062)source
1000Huyan Zan, Chinese general of the Song Dynastysource

11th century

1002Mei Yaochen, poet of the Song dynasty (d. 1060)source
1004Summer – Emperor Sheng Zong of Liao launches a major offensive against the Song dynasty. He invades Shanyang and threatens the Song capital of Kaifeng (approximate date).source
1004Li, empress consort of the Song Dynasty (b. 960)source
1005Ma Yize, Muslim astronomer of the Song dynastysource
1005January 13–18 – The Shanyuan Treaty is negotiated between the Liao dynasty and the Song dynasty. The Song government agrees to pay an annual tribute of 200,000 bolts of raw silk and 100,000 taels of silver, ending the northern border clashes against Liao.source
1007Guo, empress of the Song Dynasty (b. 975)source
1008Caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah sends a tributary mission to Emperor Zhenzong of the Song dynasty in order to reestablish trade relations between the Fatimid Caliphate and China (approximate date).source
1008Di Qing, general of the Song Dynasty (d. 1057)source
1010Song Zhun of Song dynasty China completes the work of the earlier geographer Lu Duosun, an enormous atlas of China that is written and illustrated in 1,556 chapters, showing maps of each region, city, town, and village (the atlas took 39 years to complete).source
1010May 30 – Zhao Zhen, Emperor Renzong of the Song dynasty (d. 1063)source
1012Guo, Chinese empress of the Song dynasty (d. 1035)source
1013The Four Great Books of Song, the Song dynasty Chinese encyclopedia Prime Tortoise of the Record Bureau which has been compiled since 1005, is completed in 1,000 volumes of 9.4 million written Chinese characters.source
1014February 9 – Yang Yanzhao, general of the Song dynastysource
1016Cao, empress and regent of Song dynasty China (d. 1079)source
1022The Chinese military has one million registered soldiers during the Song Dynasty, an increase since the turn of the 11th century (approximate date).source
1022March 23 – Zhen Zong, emperor of the Song Dynasty (b. 968)source
1027Song dynasty Chinese engineer Yan Su reinvents the 3rd-century south-pointing chariot, a mechanical-driven compass vehicle (as recorded in the Song Shi).source
1028Liu Wenzhi, Chinese official of the Song dynasty (b. 964)source
1033Liu, empress and regent of the Song dynasty (b. 969)source
1037The Chinese rime dictionary of the Jiyun is published during the Song Dynasty.source
1037Ding Wei, grand chancellor of the Song Dynastysource
1038November 10 – Li Yuanhao proclaims himself Emperor of the Western Xia, declaring independence from the Song dynasty in China.source
1041At about this time, the number of enlisted soldiers in the Song dynasty Chinese military reaches well over 1,250,000 troops, an increase since 1022, when there were a million soldiers.source
1043In China, the statesmen Ouyang Xiu and Fan Zhongyan put forth the Qingli Reforms during the Song dynasty, which are halted by 1045.source
1044February 13 – Zhao Yuanyan, Chinese prince of the Song dynasty (b. 985)source
1047Xiang, Chinese empress regent of the Song dynasty (d. 1102)source
1048May 25 – Shenzong, emperor of the Song dynasty (d. 1085)source
1049The Iron Pagoda in Kaifeng is constructed, during the Chinese Song dynasty.source
1052June 19 – Fan Zhongyan, chancellor of the Song dynasty (b. 989)source
1053Liu Yong, Chinese poet of the Song dynasty (b. 987)source
1056The Pagoda of Fogong Temple at Shanxi in northern China is built during the Liao dynasty. Work begins on the Pizhi Pagoda of Lingyan Temple at Shandong under the opposing Song dynasty.source
1060Mei Yaochen, poet of the Song Dynasty (b. 1002)source
1063April 30 – Ren Zong, emperor of the Song Dynasty (b. 1010)source
1065Sima Guang, chancellor of the Song dynasty, heads a team of scholars in initiating the compilation of an enormous written universal history of China, known as the Zizhi Tongjian.source
1065Li Jie, Chinese writer of the Song Dynasty (d. 1110)source
1067January 25 – Emperor Yingzong (or Zhao Shu) of the Song dynasty dies after a 4-year reign. He is succeeded by his 18-year-old son Shen Zong as emperor of China.source
1070Song dynasty Chinese astronomer, engineer and statesman Su Song completes the compilation of the Ben Cao Tu Jing, a pharmaceutical treatise with related subjects of botany, zoology, mineralogy and metallurgy.source
1073Wang Anshi, Chinese chief chancellor of the Song dynasty, creates a new bureau of the central government (called the Directorate of Weapons), which supervises the manufacture of military armaments and ensures quality control.source
1073Meng, Chinese empress consort of the Song dynasty (d. 1131)source
1075Summer – Shen Kuo, Chinese polymath scientist and statesman, solves a border dispute with the Liao dynasty by dredging up old diplomatic records. He refutes Emperor Dao Zong's bluffs point for point during a meeting at Mt. Yongan (near modern-day Pingquan), reestablishing the rightful borders of the Song dynasty.source
1077January 7 – Zhezong, Chinese emperor of the Song dynasty (d. 1100)source
1078By this year, the iron industry in the Song dynasty is producing a total weight of 127,000,000 kg (125,000 t) of iron product per year.source
1079Liu, Chinese empress of the Song dynasty (d. 1113)source
1082June 7 – Huizong, emperor of the Song dynasty (d. 1135)source
1084Wang, Chinese empress of the Song dynasty (d. 1108)source
1085The output of copper currency for the Chinese Song dynasty reaches 6 billion coins a year, prompting the Chinese government to adopt the world's first paper-printed money later in the 1120s.source
1085April 1 – Shenzong, emperor of Song dynasty China (b. 1048)source
1089Han Shizhong, Chinese general of the Northern Song dynasty (d. 1151)source
1090Qin Guan, Chinese poet of the Song dynasty, writes the Can Shu (Book of Sericulture), which describes a silk-reeling machine that has the world's oldest known mechanical belt drive.source
1090Chen Yuyi, Chinese politician of the Song dynasty (d. 1138)source
1100February 23 – Emperor Zhezong dies after a 15-year reign. He is succeeded by his 17-year-old brother Huizong as ruler of the Song dynasty. At about this date, the Chinese population reaches around 100 million and in Kaifeng, his capital, the number of registered citizens within the walls is about 1,050,000 with the army stationed here boosting the overall populace to some 1.4 million people.source

12th century

1101A vast compilation of Liao, Korean, and Song Buddhist writings is completed (approximate date).source
1102Zhu, Chinese empress of the Song Dynasty (d. 1127)source
1103Li Jie, Chinese government minister, publishes his Yingzao Fashi technical treatise on Chinese architecture, during the reign of Emperor Hui Zong of the Song Dynasty.source
1107Emperor Hui Zong writes his Treatise on Tea, the most detailed description of the Song sophisticated style of tea ceremony.source
1108Wang, Chinese empress consort of the Song dynasty (b. 1084)source
1110Li Jie, Chinese writer of the Song dynasty (b. 1065)source
1111The Donglin Academy, a Chinese educational institution, is established in Wuxi during the Northern Song dynasty.source
1113Liu, Chinese empress of the Song dynasty (b. 1079)source
1114Emperor Huizong of the Song dynasty sends a gift of Chinese musical instruments, for use in royal banquets to the Korean court of Goryeo, by request from King Yejong.source
1116Aak music is introduced to the Korean court, through a large gift of 428 musical instruments as well as 572 costumes and ritual dance objects from China, by Emperor Huizong of the Song dynasty.source
1117The magnetic compass is first used for maritime navigation purposes during the Song dynasty in China.source
1120Fang La, a Chinese rebel leader, leads an uprising against the Song dynasty in Qixian Village (modern-day Zhejiang) in southeast China. He raises an army and captures Hangzhou.source
1125November – Jin–Song War: Emperor Taizong of the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty declares war on the Chinese Song dynasty – and orders his armies to invade Song territory. He sends the Western army to the city of Taiyuan in Shanxi province and the Eastern army to Bianjing (modern-day Kaifeng), the Song capital. The Song forces are not expecting an invasion and are caught off guard.source
1126January 18 – Emperor Hui Zong of the Song Dynasty abdicates in favour of his eldest son, Qin Zong after a 24-year reign. Hui Zong assumes the honorary title of Taishang Huang (or "Retired Emperor").source
1127January 9 – Jin–Song Wars: Jurchen forces sack the Chinese capital of Kaifeng of the Northern Song dynasty during the Jingkang incident. They capture Emperor Qinzong, along with his father, Huizong, and members of the House of Zhao.source
1127July 23 – Zhao Fu, emperor of the Song Dynasty (d. 1129)source
1128Jin–Song Wars: Emperor Gaozong of the Song dynasty establishes a new capital at Yangzhou, while the government retreats south, after Jurchen forces capture the previous capital of Kaifeng in the Jingkang Incident.source
1129Jin–Song War: Emperor Gao Zong of the Song dynasty moves the capital from Yangzhou to Hangzhou, after the Jurchen Jin dynasty captures Kaifeng in the Jingkang Incident.source
1129July 28 – Zhao Fu, emperor of the Song dynasty (b. 1127)source
1130April 24 – Jin–Song Wars: Battle of Huangtiandang – Naval forces of the Song dynasty trap Wuzhu's Jin troops in the city for 48 days.source
1132The Southern Song court establishes the first permanent standing navy, with the headquarters of the Chinese admiralty based at Dinghai.source
1134Wu Ge, Chinese Song Dynasty Deputy Transport Commissioner of Zhejiang, has paddle wheel warships constructed with a total of nine wheels, and others with thirteen wheels.source
1135Xie (Xiaozong), Chinese empress of the Song dynasty (d. 1207)source
1135June 4 – Huizong, emperor of the Song dynasty (b. 1082)source
1137In China during the Song Dynasty, a fire breaks out in the new capital of Hangzhou. The government suspends the requirement of rent payments, alms of 108,840 kg (120 tons) of rice are distributed to the poor, and items such as bamboo, planks and rush-matting are exempted from government taxation.source
1138Chen Yuyi, Chinese politician of the Song dynasty (b. 1090)source
1139July 8 or August 21 – Jin–Song Wars: Battle of Yancheng – Song dynasty general Yue Fei defeats an army led by Jin dynasty general Wuzhu.source
1141November – The Jin dynasty and Southern Song dynasty sign the Treaty of Shaoxing, and peace in the Jin–Song Wars lasts for the next twenty years. The Huai River is established as the boundary between them.source
1142January 28 – Despite having saved the southern Song Dynasty from attempts by the northern Jin Dynasty to conquer it, Chinese general Yue Fei is executed by the Song government.source
1144Li Fengniang, Chinese empress of the Song dynasty (d. 1200)source
1161Jin–Song Wars: The Battle of Tangdao (November 16) and Battle of Caishi (November 26–27) on the Yangtze River, between the Jin dynasty and the Song dynasty in China result in two pivotal Song naval victories.source
1162July 24 – Emperor Gaozong of Song becomes embroiled in war again as hostilities resume with the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty (or "Great Jin") after 21 years of peace. Another peace treaty is signed, Gao abdicates the throne in favor of his adopted son Xiaozong. The smaller Southern Song empire becomes richer than the Song dynasty.source
1163The Guanfuchang salt-fields (官富場) in Hong Kong (modern-day To Kwa Wan, Kowloon Bay, Kwun Tong and Lam Tin districts) are first officially operated by the Song dynasty.source
1165In China the Jin dynasty ("Great Jin") and the Song dynasty make a lasting peace (until 1205).source
1173The Qiandao era ends and the Chunxi era begins during the reign of Emperor Xiao Zong of the Song dynasty.source
1187November 9 – Retired-Emperor Gao Zong dies at the age of 80, having abdicated 58 years ago (see 1129) after a reign in which he reestablished the Southern Song dynasty (until 1279).source
1189February 18 – Emperor Xiaozong abdicates in favour of his son Guangzong as ruler of the Song dynasty. Xiaozong becomes a Taishang Huang ("Retired Emperor") and remains as the de facto ruler of China.source
1194July 24 – Emperor Guangzong of Song (or Zhao Dun) is forced to abdicate the throne to his 25-year-old son Ningzong, who succeeds him as ruler of the Song dynasty. During his reign, he will be dominated by his prime-minister Han Tuozhou (or Han T'o-Chou).source
1194June 28 – Xiao Zong, Chinese emperor (Song dynasty) (b. 1127)source

13th century

1208April 15 – A fire breaks out in the Song Chinese capital city of Hangzhou, raging for four days and nights, destroying 58,097 houses over an area of more than 3 mi km, killing 59 people, and an unrecorded number of other people, who are trampled while attempting to flee. The government provides temporary lodging for 5,345 people, in nearby Buddhist and Taoist monasteries. The collective victims of the disaster are given 160,000 strings of cash, along with 400 tons of rice. Some of the government officials who lose their homes take up residence in rented boathouses on the nearby West Lake.source
1224September 17 – Emperor Ning Zong of the Chinese Song dynasty dies at Hangzhou, possibly from poisoning, after a 30-year reign. He is succeeded by his relative, Li Zong, as all of Ning Zong's children have died.source
1231April 9 – A huge fire breaks out at night in the southeast of Hangzhou during the Song dynasty. Fighting the flames is difficult due to limited visibility. When the fires are extinguished, it is discovered that an entire district of the city (some 10,000 houses) has been consumed by the flames.source
1233December – Siege of Caizhou: The Mongols under Ögedei Khan besiege Caizhou and ally themselves with the Chinese Song dynasty to eliminate the Jin Dynasty.source
1235A Chinese text of this year records that Hangzhou City, the capital of the Song dynasty, has various social clubs that include a West Lake Poetry Club, the Buddhist Tea Society, the Physical Fitness Club, the Anglers' Club, the Occult Club, the Young Girls' Chorus, the Exotic Foods Club, the Plants and Fruits Club, the Antique Collectors' Club, the Horse-Lovers' Club, and the Refined Music Society.source
1236Mongol conquest of the Song dynasty: The Mongols under Ögedei Khan penetrate deep into the Southern Song. The important city of Xiangyang, gateway to the Yangtze plain, capitulates to them.source
1250Starting in this year and ending in 1275, the Muslim Shougeng Pu, likely a Persian or an Arab, serves as the Commissioner of Merchant Shipping for the Song dynasty Chinese seaport at Quanzhou, due to his effort in defeating pirates.source
1252Mongol conquest of the Song dynasty: the Mongols take the westernmost province of the Song dynasty empire.source
1259The Chinese era Kaiqing begins and ends, in the Southern Song dynasty of China (Emperor Lizong).source
1260May 21 – Kublai sends his envoy Hao Jing to negotiate with Song dynasty Chancellor Jia Sidao, after the small force left by Kublai south of the Yangtze River is destroyed, by a Chinese army of the Southern Song dynasty. Chancellor Jia Sidao imprisons the entire embassy of Kublai. This slight will not be forgotten by Kublai, but he is unable to assault the Song, due to the civil war with his rival brother Ariq Böke.source
1265In the first major battle in five years (since the Song dynasty Chinese pushed the forces of Kublai Khan back across the Yangzi River, after Möngke Khan's failed invasion in 1259), Kublai Khan engages the Chinese in Sichuan province. Kublai gains a preliminary victory, and war booty of 146 captured Song dynasty naval ships.source
1268The Battle of Xiangyang, a 6-year battle between the Chinese Song dynasty and the Mongol forces of Kublai Khan, begins in what is today Hubei.source
1276Spring – The court of the Southern Song dynasty of China and hundreds of thousands of its citizens flee from Hangzhou to Fujian, and then Guangdong, in an effort to escape a Mongol invasion under Kublai Khan.source
1277Migration of the (Southern) Song dynasty: Some 50,000 citizens of the Song dynasty in China become the first recorded inhabitants of Macau, as they seek refuge from the invading armies of the Yuan dynasty. They also stay for a short period in (New) Kowloon.source
1278May 8 – The 7-year-old Emperor Emperor Duanzong (or Zhao Shi) dies of illness. He is succeeded by his brother Zhao Bing who becomes the last ruler of the Song dynasty. Meanwhile, Mongol forces under the control of Mongol leader Kublai Khan ("Great Khan") draw closer to the remnants of the Song imperial court.source
1279March 19 – Zhao Bing, Chinese emperor (House of Zhao) (b. 1272)source

14th century

1323May 31 – Zhao Xian, who had been the Song dynasty Emperor of China from 1274 to 1276, commits suicide as an alternative to being executed, after being viewed as a threat by the Yuan dynasty Mongol Emperor Yingzong.source
1355March 16 – Red Turban Rebellions: Han Lin'er, a claimed descendant of Emperor Huizong of Song, is proclaimed emperor of the restored Song dynasty in Bozhou.source
1381In Ming dynasty China, the lijia census registration system begun in 1371 is now universally imposed, during the reign of the Hongwu Emperor. The census counts 59,873,305 people living in China in this year. This depicts a drastic drop in population since the Song dynasty, which counted 100 million people at its height in the early 12th century. A modern historian states that the Ming census is inaccurate, as China at around this time has at least 65,000,000 inhabitants, if not 75,000,000.source

20th century

1973A large Song dynasty trade ship of c. 1277 A.D. is dredged up from the waters near the southern coast of China with 12 compartments in its hull. It confirms the descriptions of bulkheaded hull compartments for junks in Zhu Yu's Pingzhou Table Talks of 1119.source