China (Liao to Yuan Dynasties), 907–1368

These five empires – Liao, Song, Western Xia, Jin and Yuan – are as diverse as any in China’s history. Upon the Tang dynasty’s fall in 907, China became thoroughly divided. Already, however, the non-Chinese dynasty known as Liao (r. 916–1125) was confederating: soon it spanned from Korea to the Gobi Desert. South of the Liao lands, the Song dynasty became dominant by 979. In 1127, however, its northern territory was conquered by the Jin dynasty (r. 1115–1234): later historians hence refer to the Northern Song (960–1127) and Southern Song (1127–1279) periods. Southern Song China fell to Mongol invaders in 1279, whose Yuan dynasty had actually begun in 1271 and endured until 1368. China was hence ruled by a non-Chinese dynasty for the first time in history, and furthermore, was part of a larger pan-Asian empire. During the Northern Song dynasty, China was the world’s wealthiest country. Southeast coastal cities – including Yangzhou, Hangzhou, Quanzhou and Guangzhou – had large foreign populations and traded with Indian, Persian and Arab merchants. Many of China’s educated elite fled when the Mongols took power, and key aspects of the Song bureaucracy collapsed. All five empires practised Buddhism. Chinese ritual, based on Confucianism, was ever-present, along with Taoism. Islam entered China in the Song dynasty and flourished in Yuan times. Christianity came from the Roman Catholic Church, with emissaries from the Pope and European courts meeting the Yuan Mongol khans to gather intelligence, then coming as proselytizers. The Liao, Jin and Yuan dynasties became known for the status and freedoms permitted to women. Although Chinese was the major language, the Liao, Western Xia, Jin and Yuan dynasties had their own dialects/scripts. The cultural legacy of the Song dynasty included court painters, textiles, and architecture codified through the Ying Zao Fa Shi (Building Standards). Items made of jade stone, porcelain and celadon reached great heights. Travel literature became popular, along with an interest in geography: the earliest maps and gazetteers were produced. Drama, poetry and street performances were commonplace. The wealthy frequented teahouses and restaurants that served exotic creatures. Song China was also known for establishing social services, including fire departments, public clinics and retirement homes. Song China also made notable technological strides in science, military equipment and moveable type for printing. From 907 to 1368, five major dynasties or kingdoms and fifteen other polities rose and fell in China. Yet Chinese architecture remained remarkably unaltered. Instead of changing in response to foreign rulers, non-native dynasties established capital cities, palaces, monasteries and tombs based on Chinese models. The period is marked by China’s most important architectural treatise, Ying Zao Fa Shi (Building Standards), whose prescriptions in the twelfth century for how to construct official buildings were widely followed. During this period Beijing became a major capital; it would remain China’s most important city for the rest of Chinese history. Buddhist, Taoist, Confucian and Islamic architecture survived across all five dynastic empires, from former Manchuria to Guangzhou to Tibet. Hundreds of buildings survive above ground from the period, so many that one can differentiate between those for eminent patrons and humble buildings, and those constructed in north China and those in south China. Imperial tombs were constructed for the Liao, Western Xia, Song and Jin dynasties, but Mongol rulers were buried in locations that await discovery. Still remaining are China’s tallest wooden pagoda; stone-built pagodas soaring more than 70 metres; the largest extant Buddhist hall; a royal cemetery with 360 mounds; architecture dedicated to women; and an observatory. The majority of wooden buildings from the period survive in Shanxi province. The Emperor Hui Zong (r. 1100–35) and Kublai Khan (r. 1260–94) were among the great architectural patrons. The earliest accounts of Chinese architecture by Europeans, notably Marco Polo, are also from this period.