0:00:00.523,0:00:02.856
- [Narrator] In other[br]videos when we talked about

0:00:02.856,0:00:04.902
the various Chinese empires,

0:00:04.902,0:00:07.738
we talk about the Song[br]dynasty in particular

0:00:07.738,0:00:12.269
as a time of significant[br]technological innovation.

0:00:12.269,0:00:14.945
And here are just some of the[br]examples that we talk about,

0:00:14.945,0:00:18.710
most notably gunpowder,[br]movable block print,

0:00:18.710,0:00:21.859
you have block printing[br]emerge during the Tang dynasty

0:00:21.859,0:00:26.191
but during the Song[br]dynasty, it gets perfected

0:00:26.191,0:00:28.459
and it becomes more efficient[br]with movable block print.

0:00:28.459,0:00:31.315
You have the compass being perfected,

0:00:31.315,0:00:34.904
especially for naval use,[br]the boats being perfected,

0:00:34.904,0:00:38.059
you see this reinvigoration,[br]really the high point

0:00:38.059,0:00:39.524
of the Chinese civil service,

0:00:39.524,0:00:42.339
you see the emergence of Neo-Confucianism.

0:00:42.339,0:00:44.811
But one question is well what allowed

0:00:44.811,0:00:46.852
all of this innovation to take place?

0:00:46.852,0:00:51.117
And also what allowed for the[br]stability of the Song dynasty?

0:00:51.117,0:00:53.109
When you look at it on[br]the timeline like this,

0:00:53.109,0:00:56.387
that's covering over 2,000 years,

0:00:56.387,0:00:57.586
it might not look that long

0:00:57.586,0:00:59.235
but when you actually[br]think about it this is

0:00:59.235,0:01:03.152
over 300 years of dynastic[br]rule by one dynasty.

0:01:04.360,0:01:06.987
Now it is split in the middle[br]between the Northern Song

0:01:06.987,0:01:10.997
and the Southern Song,[br]that happens in 1127,

0:01:10.997,0:01:12.580
we'll talk about that in a little bit.

0:01:12.580,0:01:13.697
But for the most part,

0:01:13.697,0:01:17.709
it is a very prosperous time for China.

0:01:17.709,0:01:20.410
The population actually grows

0:01:20.410,0:01:25.099
from roughly 50 million people[br]during the Tang dynasty,

0:01:25.099,0:01:29.277
to, it is estimated, 100 million people by

0:01:29.277,0:01:33.859
the Northern Song dynasty[br]and eventually keeps growing

0:01:33.859,0:01:36.625
so that by the time we[br]get to the Ming dynasty,

0:01:36.625,0:01:40.130
we have a population of[br]about 200 million people.

0:01:40.130,0:01:41.979
So what are the things that allows

0:01:41.979,0:01:45.302
for that population explosion, really?

0:01:45.302,0:01:49.297
Well one thing you can imagine[br]is food is very important,

0:01:49.297,0:01:52.544
and it's during this time period that

0:01:52.544,0:01:55.786
the Song dynasty is able[br]to leverage a more robust

0:01:55.786,0:02:00.057
rice seed from Southeast[br]Asia that allows it

0:02:00.057,0:02:02.378
to feed many, many more people.

0:02:02.378,0:02:04.882
And so this obviously[br]allows a population growth,

0:02:04.882,0:02:07.065
but any time you're able to feed people,

0:02:07.065,0:02:08.444
and there's more prosperity,

0:02:08.444,0:02:12.177
you're going to have a more stable empire.

0:02:12.177,0:02:14.813
Now another major input into prosperity

0:02:14.813,0:02:16.913
and the stability of empires

0:02:16.913,0:02:18.830
is the notion of trade.

0:02:19.709,0:02:22.777
And China had always many river systems,

0:02:22.777,0:02:26.329
which helped facilitate[br]agriculture and trade.

0:02:26.329,0:02:31.313
But as you get into the Sui[br]dynasty, right over here,

0:02:31.313,0:02:34.954
you have the completion[br]of the Grand Canal,

0:02:34.954,0:02:38.871
which is even today the[br]largest man-made canal.

0:02:40.261,0:02:43.110
It stretches from Beijing to[br]Hangzhou and actually goes

0:02:43.110,0:02:45.872
beyond that and has other tributaries

0:02:45.872,0:02:48.235
and that connected with[br]the existing river systems

0:02:48.235,0:02:50.920
allowed for a lot of trade to happen,

0:02:50.920,0:02:54.649
especially as we get into[br]the Tang and Song dynasties.

0:02:54.649,0:02:56.836
Now the Song dynasty in particular,

0:02:56.836,0:03:00.360
you have the pound lock being invented,

0:03:00.360,0:03:03.386
which allows for easier[br]travel across waterways

0:03:03.386,0:03:05.850
when you have a change[br]in the level of water.

0:03:05.850,0:03:08.718
The pound lock is still the[br]standard technology used

0:03:08.718,0:03:11.301
in canals throughout the world.

0:03:12.350,0:03:15.933
You also have the first[br]use of paper money.

0:03:17.348,0:03:20.289
This is a big deal. We[br]use paper money today.

0:03:20.289,0:03:22.743
Our ability to have[br]transactions in our society

0:03:22.743,0:03:25.234
are not dependent on our ability to mine

0:03:25.234,0:03:27.712
for gold or silver or copper.

0:03:27.712,0:03:28.970
And one of the things that allowed

0:03:28.970,0:03:31.212
for paper money to even be used

0:03:31.212,0:03:34.038
was this notion of block printing,

0:03:34.038,0:03:37.807
and block printing with[br]movable type in particular.

0:03:37.807,0:03:40.974
Once again, a Song dynasty innovation.

0:03:41.824,0:03:45.157
Now as I mentioned, as we get into 1127,

0:03:46.134,0:03:50.299
you have conquerors from the[br]north, in particular the Jin,

0:03:50.299,0:03:53.044
who are able to conquer Northern China.

0:03:53.044,0:03:55.473
They caused the Song to move their capital

0:03:55.473,0:03:57.996
from Kaifeng in the north,

0:03:57.996,0:04:00.516
to Hangzhou in the south.

0:04:00.516,0:04:03.364
Here you see Hangzhou is[br]a major southern terminal

0:04:03.364,0:04:05.145
of the Grand Canal.

0:04:05.145,0:04:09.286
And even though the[br]Northern Song had to move

0:04:09.286,0:04:12.297
and essentially become[br]the Southern Song dynasty,

0:04:12.297,0:04:14.167
you continue to have that prosperity

0:04:14.167,0:04:17.467
for roughly another 150[br]years and once again,

0:04:17.467,0:04:19.398
this comes from this meritocracy

0:04:19.398,0:04:21.022
from the civil service system.

0:04:21.022,0:04:23.909
This abundance of food,[br]this stability from

0:04:23.909,0:04:26.428
having the dynastic rule,[br]the trade, the money,

0:04:26.428,0:04:29.297
all of these technological advances,

0:04:29.297,0:04:32.673
which make the Song dynasty[br]one of the notable periods

0:04:32.673,0:04:34.256
of Chinese history.