Work Cited

"Four Great Inventions of Ancient China."China Culture. 2003. Ministry of Culture, P.R. China. 25 April 2013 <http://www.chinaculture.org/gb/en_aboutchina/2003-09/24/content_26519.htm>.

Hymes, Robert. "China in 100 CE: The Most Advanced Society in the World."The Song Dynasty in China. 2008. Columbia University. 25 April 2013 <http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/song/>.

"The Imperial Era: II." History of China. 25 April 2013 <http://www.chaos.umd.edu/history/imperial2.html>.

****ALL PICTURES AND RESEARCH WAS FOUND FROM THESE SITES****

By Alex Neamtu

The Northern Song Dynasty has fallen!!!! This just in that Mongol forces, led by their fearless general Genghis Khan have breached the cities and the people were forced to retreat south and reestablish themselves. The breach began early in the morning. The sound of horses hooves is all the citizens could hear, and they only had a few minuted to react before the Mongols were on top of them!! After that the people of our dynasty stood no chance against the brute and  merciless Mongols. Luckily, most of the people got out of the city safely, by finding the nearest soldier, who then escorted them out of the city safely. Without the soldiers, we could've said goodbye to our beloved empire!!!

Experts are speculating that the Song Dynasty fell to the Mongols due to their unpreparedness. If the attack were at a different time, such as noon, the results may have been different. Experts also believe that the Mongols invaded because they intend to conquer all of China! This is because the land known as Mongolia, where the Mongols come from, is either very flat grassy plains or bone dry deserts. China's geography is more suited for life, so the Mongols are trying to make our home their own.

We can stop these attacks with your help!!  Always be alert and report and unusual activity you see going on outside the city walls. Doing these things will help keep up your dynasties proud ruling for many more years to come! Long live the Song Dynasty 

Credit to: http://www.chinaculture.org/gb/en_aboutchina/2003-09/24/content_26519.htm

              and http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/song/

Opinion Piece

The Song Dynasty was the greatest time in Chinese history because it was a time of great inventions and prosperity in early Chinese history. During the Song Dynasty, three out of the four greatest inventions in all of Chinese history were invented. These inventions were the compass, gunpowder, and typography (printing). These three inventions contributed greatly to the Song Dynasty's daily life and culture. Also, many sources say that the Song Dynasty was considered one of the Golden Ages in Chinese history. A golden age in Chinese history means that it is a time of peace and prosperity. This time would be very similar to the time of Pax Romana in the Roman Empire. 

The Song Dynasty was a very prosperous time period. During this time, the study of art was greatly increased. Art such as pottery and ceramics were studied by most of the people living in the Chinese empire at the time. Ceramic pieces created in this time were beautiful and still look untouched in museums today. Further development in art meant less time quarreling over other unimportant issues. This led to better ruling among the people and a stronger government.

The invention of gunpowder was a very useful invention for the Song Dynasty because it helped the Song people fend off attacks from the Mongols. Gunpowder is a very explosive powder that was used to set off explosions. This was good for attacks from the Mongols because they were a very powerful force. They did push the Song people south, but they held on throughout the entire dynasty. Almost right after the Song Dynasty ended, the  Mongols completely took over all of China. The Song Dynasty held its own during Mongol invasions, showing its greatness, making it the greatest period in Chinese history. 

The invention of the compass improved daily life in 11th century China greatly. The compass was used in sailing very frequently by even expert sailors. The compass was used in navigation enabling sailors to travel much farther distances without getting lost. This helped with the Chinese exploration and increased the Chinese's trading capabilities greatly. Ships could haul goods over all the way from Europe without having to walk thousands of miles to get there. This shows how the Song Dynasty was the greatest time in all of Chinese history

By Alex Neamtu  

Picture Collage of Song Dynasty

This porcelain vase symbolizes the growth of pottery in Song Dynasty

The Great Wall was built and partly constructed in the Song dynasty to ward off a Mongol invasion. This strengthened the Chinese military greatly

This is a compass and was one of the four great inventions in Chinese history. Three of these four were invented in the Song dynasty

The seventh emperor of the Song dynasty, Gonzong, was best known for successfully fighting off Mongol invasions. This was significant because it kept the Chinese culture alive

This was a typical Song dynasty dish. Fish was used in large amounts because it was plentiful in the seas and Xi River. This kept the Chinese healthy and ready to fight off invasions

The Xi River is one of the four major rivers in China. The Song people depended on this river for food and water greatly

INVENTIONS IN SONG SYNASTY

THE INVENTION OF THE COMPASS

One of the most famous inventions in the entire history of China was the compass, and it was developed in the Song dynasty. This invention eventually led to the look of the modern compass, but the chinese compass looks like the picture above. The scholars and inventors of the Song dynasty improved this compass, almost to perfection. They took the iron needle that was used as the pointer and they learned how to magnetize it. This magnetization happened by rubbing the iron in magnetite, and then the iron needle was placed in water. The compass worked quite well. The needle would always point north, because the needle was under Earth's magnetic pulse, so it pointed to the north pole.

The compass that was reinvented in the Song dynasty was developed in the 12th century C.E. This invention was used all around the world soon after, and began to be used for navigation consistently. The Chinese  people used these compasses to navigate their way to the Arabic Sea and Persia.

The compass has changed peoples' lives dramatically in the last 1,000 years. Without the invention of the compass, navigating the seas would be very hard to do. Also the compass led to the inventions of many other technologies such as sonar. People all over the world have been impacted by the invention of the compass. In medieval Europe, the Venetian culture had a very high respect towards sailing. The compass helped them navigate, so they could take trips for longer periods of time, improving their skills greatly. The whole entire world has to thank China for its invention of the compass, because the people would be "lost" without it! Haha, get it? No, ok not funny sorry!

Picture from: http://www.chinaculture.org/gb/en_aboutchina/2003-09/24/content_26519.htm

Credit to:http://www.chinaculture.org/gb/en_aboutchina/2003-09/24/content_26519.htm

              and http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/song/

The Song or Sung Dynasty was actually one dynasty that lost much territory from Mongol attacks. It was originally both the North and South Sung dynasty as shown on the map, but in 1126 C.E., the Mogol invasion began and the Sung people had to retreat to lower parts of China. Some major geographic features in the South that kept them alive were rivers such as the Xi River and the Yangzte River. These rivers were both very large and could be used to produce large amounts of crops. These rivers helped to keep the people alive in tough times. The oceans to the right of the dynasties area was also a plentiful water source, but not for drinking. It was used for other uses such as fishing. The flat land of China Proper, where the Song dynasty was located, was rich and fertile for farming as well.

Credit to: Mr. Miller's History Lecture in Class and http://www.chaos.umd.edu/history/imperial2.html#song