Song dynasty
The Song dynasty brought two major changes that affected the Chinese empire throughout the rest of its existence. First, the Song rulers firmly established a system of civil service examinations that had begun during the Tang period. They thus completed the shift of social and political power from aristocratic families to officials selected on the basis of talent. The second significant change was the development of Neo-Confucianism, which combined the moral standards of traditional Confucianism with elements of Buddhism and Taoism. The philosopher Zhu Xi was largely responsible for this new Confucianism. The Song dynasty established Neo-Confucianism as the official state philosophy, and all later Chinese dynasties continued to support it.
During the Song period, the introduction of early ripening rice made it possible to grow two or three crops a year in the south. The increased rice production helped support the population, which for the first time exceeded 100 million. Chinese inventions during this period included gunpowder and movable type for printing. Literature, philosophy, and history flourished as more and more people learned how to read and write. In the fine arts, the great Song achievements were hard-glazed porcelains and magnificent landscape paintings.
Excerpt adapted from the "China" article, The World Book Encyclopedia © 1999