Song dynasty refers to period in the history of China spread over the span of 300+ years. This period lasts from 960 to 1279 (Kuiper). In the history of China, the Song Dynasty enjoys special portion of eminence. The uncountable inventions made this era to be named as China's Age of Invention (Benn). The paper tends to explore it from various angels and aspects. The objective of paper is to give the reader a fair idea about the achievements and shortcomings of the Song Dynasty and compare it with other dynasties to see the possible causes of rank at which the Song Dynasty is placed.
Before going into the details of the Dynasty, it is important to mention that the period between 10th to 13th centuries was the period when human race was developing and exploring the earth resources for betterment of lifestyle. It was the time, when civilizations were developed to get their identity. During this period, many discoveries were made which paved way for technological revolution in later years (Benn).
The next section elaborates the various aspects of the Song Dynasty.
Economy of Song Dynasty
The economy of the Song Dynasty appears explain the most historic events that took place in China. The most important one of them was introduction of paper money in China (Hansin, Curtis and Curtis). It was the first paper currency of the world. It is interesting to mention that there was a time in the world's history when there was nothing like medium of exchange and all trade activities were carried out using the commodities of trade. The concept of barter trade was in practice and the primary source of determining the value of commodities was the volume of its supply and the power of its owner.
Gradually, the developments led to invention of gold and silver coins which were used as medium of exchange for quite a long period in the history. The next development was of currency notes. It was a piece of paper having endorsement of state that exalted its value and was issued against the gold reserves in the country.
The introduction of paper notes as money was to facilitate exchange transactions. It was the major breakthrough in the field of economies and all the generation of future adopted it as well (Hansin, Curtis and Curtis). Even in this era of globalization in the 21st century, currency notes prevail and no substitute has been in force for them.
In can be argued that credit cards and debit cards are acting as substitute of cash and their use is increasing as well, yet there are many outlets, which deal in paper note only. There is not a single outlet that deals in credit cards only. Facility to use credit card is offered as an added feature while paper note is still the primary medium of exchange.
Politics and Military of The Song Dynasty
The Song Dynasty was historic from other perspectives of culture, politics and military developments as well. It was the first time that the state officials conceived and implemented the idea of establishing permanent navy and operating it on standby basis (Lee). It was an important development at that time when the law and order was quite different and troops were in the search of any piece of land which they can invade and form their rule over it. It is interesting to mention that all the dynasties were formed the same way. The explorers were in search of attractive land and in love of power which forced them to have battle with the present rulers at that time. Whoever won the battle, took the charge of that very area. Expansions in the state boundaries were done the same way. There have been uncountable conflicts between the neighboring countries which finally led them to break a war either to rule other or to be ruled by others.
As mentioned earlier, it was the time when many discoveries were made; hence the Song Dynasty thought of securing their sea routes and established a permanent force there. The established force was used to serve multi-purposes of safeguarding the sea boundaries, protecting the sea resources and serving as a threat to the invaders planning to invade through sea routes. It showed the aggression of the Song Dynasty that they wanted to protect their powers. It can be said that this initiative was to protect the state. In both ways, it appeared as a logical action.
The Song Dynasty made other developments in military field. They introduced the use of gunpowder to defeat the enemies (Deng). It is interesting to mention that many developments in the field of military were made at the verges...
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