The
Song Dynasty was a ruling
dynasty in
China between 960–1279 CE; it succeeded the
Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and was followed by the
Yuan Dynasty. It was the first government in world history to issue
banknotes or paper money, and the first Chinese polity to establish
a permanent standing navy. The population of China doubled in size during the 10th and 11th centuries. This growth came through expanded rice cultivation in central and southern China, the use of early-ripening rice from southeast and southern Asia, and the production of abundant food surpluses. Within its borders, the Northern Song Dynasty had a population of some 100 million people. This dramatic increase of population fomented and fueled
an economic revolution in premodern China. The expansion of the population was partially the cause for the gradual withdrawal of the central government from heavily regulating the market economy. A much larger populace also increased the importance of the lower gentry's role in grassroots administration and maintaining local affairs, while the appointed officials in county and provincial centers relied upon these scholarly gentry for their services, sponsorship, and local supervision. The Song Dynasty is divided into two distinct periods: the Northern Song and Southern Song. During the
Northern Song , the Song capital was in the northern city of Bianjing (now
Kaifeng) and the dynasty controlled most of inner China. The
Southern Song refers to the period after the Song lost control of
northern China to the
Jin Dynasty. During this time, the Song court retreated south of the
Yangtze River and established their capital at Lin'an (now
Hangzhou). Although the
