Following the Tang Dynasty came a period of almost continual
warfare known as the Five Dynasties and Ten States. In 960, Zhao
Kuangyin, a general of the State of Later Zhou, established the
Song Dynasty (960-1279), historically known as the Northern Song
Dynasty. When the Song Dynasty moved its capital to the south,
historically called the Southern Song Dynasty, it brought advanced
economy and culture to the south, giving a great impetus to
economic development there. China in the Song Dynasty was a world
leader in astronomy, science and technology and printing
technology. Bi Sheng invented movable type printing, a major
revolution in the history of printing.?
In 1206, Genghis Khan established the Mongolian Khanate. In 1271,
Kublai, a grandson of Genghis Khan, conquered the Central Plains,
founded the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), and made Dadu (today's
Beijing) the capital. Kublai ended the centuries-long situation in
which many independent regimes existed alongside each other, by
forming one united state that brought Xinjiang, Tibet and Yunnan
under its sway. During the Song-Yuan period, the "four great
inventions" in science and technology of the Chinese people in
ancient times?-- papermaking, printing, the compass and
gunpowder?-- were further developed and introduced to foreign
countries, making great contributions to world
civilization.?
In 1368, Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) in
Nanjing, reigning as Emperor Taizu. When his son and successor Zhu
Di (r. 1360-1424) ascended the throne, he built and expanded the
palaces, temples, city walls and moats in Beijing on a large scale.
In 1421, he officially moved the capital to Beijing. During his
reign, he dispatched a eunuch named Zheng He to lead a fleet of
many ships to make seven far-ranging voyages. Passing the Southeast
Asian countries, the Indian Ocean, Persian Gulf and Maldives
Islands, Zheng He explored as far as Somalia and Kenya on the
eastern coast of Africa. These were the largest-scale and longest
voyages in the world before the age of Columbus.
The Manchus of northeast China established the Qing Dynasty
(1644-1911) in 1644. The best known of the Qing Dynasty emperors,
Kangxi (r. 1661-1722) restored the central empire's rule over
Taiwan, and resisted invasions by tsarist Russia. To reinforce the
administration of Tibet, he also formulated the rules and
regulations on the confirmation of the Tibetan local leaders by the
Central Government. He effectively administered more than 11
million sq km of Chinese territory.