Chinese History 8: A Basic Chinese Reading Book, Song Dynasty Culture and Civilization, Imperial China's Peace, War and Transformation (S

The Song Dynasty (宋朝, 960-1279) was a powerful Chinese ruling dynasty. It inherited legacies of the Five Dynasties and the Ten Kingdoms (五代十国) and was succeeded by the Yuan Dynasty (元朝). The rule of the Song Dynasty was divided into two stages, the Northern Song Dynasty (北宋) and the Southern Song Dynasty (南宋). The Song Dynasty had 18 emperors and ruled for about for 320 years. However, after 1127, the Song Dynasty ruled only in South China.

The book, Chinese History 8, a Chinese reading practice book, presents a broad and simple overview of China's Song Dynasty. The volume, 17th in the Mandarin Chinese Reading Series, includes both the Chinese text (simplified characters) and pinyin. With about 900 unique Chinese characters, the volume would be suitable for the beginners, lower intermediate and advanced level Chinese language learners (HSK 1-6). Overall, the Mandarin Chinese Reading Series offers you a variety of elementary level books (Level 1/2/3) to learn Chinese culture as well as practice Chinese reading fast.

The book has 10 chapters in the following order:

Chapter 1: Song Dynasty in Brief (第一章：关于宋朝的基本信息)

Chapter 2: Foundation of the Song Dynasty (第二章：基础宋朝)

Chapter 3: Emperor Zhao Kuangyin (第三章：宋太祖赵匡胤)

Chapter 4: Northern Song Dynasty (第四章：北宋)

Chapter 5: The Southern Dynasty (第五章：南朝)

Chapter 6: Mongolian Invasion (第六章：蒙古入侵)

Chapter 7: Fall of the Song Dynasty (第七章：宋朝灭亡)

Chapter 8: Characteristics of the Song Dynasty (第八章：宋朝的特征)

Chapter 9: Song Dynasty Art (第九章：宋代艺术)

Chapter 10: Su Dongpo (第十章：苏东坡)