Song, Liao & Jin

The Song ruled as Northern Song and Southern Song, standing first beside Liao and Xia, then beside Jin, and falling at last to the Mongols. On the battlefield it often stood at a disadvantage; in economy and culture it was a peak of old China.

Bi Sheng invented movable type; the compass went to sea; gunpowder became weapons. Along the River at Qingming paints the bustle of Kaifeng; the ci of Su Shi, Li Qingzhao, and Xin Qiji, and the honour of Yue Fei and Wen Tianxiang, all belong to this age.

The oath at Chanyuan, the catastrophe of Jingkang, Yue Fei's northern campaigns, the last stand at Yashan — choices of peace and war ran through it all, leaving stories that still move readers.