Overview
A general, Zhao Kuangyin, founded the Song dynasty in 960 and served as its first emperor. He succeeded in creating a strong, centralized dynasty. The Song controlled most of China, except for the northeast section. But the dynasty suffered from frequent attacks by nomadic peoples from the north. By 1127, it had lost northern China to Juchen invaders from Manchuria. The Song then moved their capital from Kaifeng to Hangzhou on the wealthy lower Yangtze Delta, and the dynasty became known as the Southern Song. In 1279, the Mongols conquered southern China and ended the dynasty.
Excerpt adapted from the "Song Dynasty" article, The World Book Encyclopedia © 1999