Editing Song dynasty (section)

== Culture and society ==
{{Main|Culture of the Song dynasty|Society of the Song dynasty}}

[[File:Ying%27en_Gate_in_Shaoxing_04_2012-07.JPG|thumb|left|A city gate of [[Shaoxing]], [[Zhejiang]] province, built in 1223 during the Song dynasty]]
[[File:Kaifeng_Capital_of_Northern_Song_Dynasty_(10340676846).jpg|thumb|left|Model of the capital city Kaifeng]]
The Song dynasty<ref>[http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/song/ ''China in 1000 CE: The Most Advanced Society in the World'', in Ebrey, Patricia, & Conrad Schirokauer, consultants, ''The Song dynasty in China (960–1279): Life in the Song Seen through a 12th-century Scroll'' (&#91;§&#93; ''Asian Topics on Asia for Educators'') (Asia for Educators, Columbia Univ.)], as accessed October 6 & 9, 2012.</ref> was an era of administrative sophistication and complex social organization. Some of the largest cities in the world were found in China during this period (Kaifeng and Hangzhou had populations of over a million).{{sfn|Ebrey|Walthall|Palais|2006|p=167}}{{sfn|Fairbank|Goldman|2006|p=89}} People enjoyed various social clubs and entertainment in the cities, and there were many schools and temples to provide the people with education and religious services.{{sfn|Ebrey|Walthall|Palais|2006|p=167}} The Song government supported [[social welfare]] programs including the establishment of [[retirement home]]s, public [[clinic]]s, and [[pauper]]s' [[graveyard]]s.{{sfn|Ebrey|Walthall|Palais|2006|p=167}} The Song dynasty supported a widespread [[Postal administration|postal service]] that was modeled on the earlier [[Han dynasty]] (202 BCE – CE 220) postal system to provide swift communication throughout the empire.{{sfn|Needham|1986d|p=35}} The central government employed thousands of postal workers of various ranks to provide service for post offices and larger postal stations.{{sfn|Needham|1986d|p=36}} In rural areas, farming peasants either [[landowner|owned their own plots of land]], paid rents as [[tenant farmer]]s, or were [[serf]]s on large estates.{{sfn|Ebrey|1999|p=155}}
[[File:Emperor Taizu play Cuju.jpg|thumb|[[Emperor Taizu of Song]], [[Emperor Taizong of Song]], prime minister Zhao Pu and other ministers playing [[Cuju]], an early form of [[football]], by [[Qian Xuan]] (1235–1305)]]

[[File:Children Playing on a Winter Day.jpg|alt=Two young girls play with a toy consisting of a long feather attached to a stick, while a cat watches them. There is a large rock formation and a flowering tree to the left of the girls and the cat.|thumb|right|200px|A 12th-century painting by Su Hanchen; a girl waves a [[peacock]] feather banner like the one used in dramatical theater to signal an acting leader of troops.]]

Although women were on a lower social tier than men according to Confucian ethics, they enjoyed many social and legal privileges and wielded considerable power at home and in their own small businesses. As Song society became more and more prosperous and parents on the bride's side of the family provided larger [[dowries]] for her marriage, women naturally gained many new legal rights in ownership of property.{{sfn|Ebrey|1999|p=158}} Under certain circumstances, an unmarried daughter without brothers, or a surviving mother without sons, could inherit one-half of her father's share of undivided family property.<ref>"Fenjia: household division and inheritance in Qing and Republican China Written", David Wakefield [https://books.google.com/books?id=o2c26kQGZIIC&pg=PA14]</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Li |first=Lillian M. |date=2001 |title=Women and Property in China, 960-1949 (review) |url=https://works.swarthmore.edu/context/fac-history/article/1293/viewcontent/jinh.2001.32.1.130.pdf |journal=Journal of Interdisciplinary History |volume=32 |issue=1 |pages=160–162 |doi=10.1162/jinh.2001.32.1.160 |s2cid=142559461 |id={{Project MUSE|16192}}}}</ref><ref>The Study on the Daughters' Rights to Possess and Arrange Their Parents' Property during the Period from Tang to Song dynasty http://en.cnki.com.cn/Article_en/CJFDTOTAL-TSSF201003024.htm {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140307185832/http://en.cnki.com.cn/Article_en/CJFDTOTAL-TSSF201003024.htm |date=2014-03-07 }}</ref> There were many notable and well-educated women, and it was a common practice for women to educate their sons during their earliest youth.{{sfn|Ebrey|Walthall|Palais|2006|p=71}}{{sfn|Sivin|1995|p=1}} The mother of the scientist, general, diplomat, and statesman Shen Kuo taught him essentials of military strategy.{{sfn|Sivin|1995|p=1}} There were also exceptional women writers and poets, such as [[Li Qingzhao]] (1084–1151), who became famous even in her lifetime.{{sfn|Ebrey|1999|p=158}}

The Song Dynasty used the term “jijian” to characterize male homosexual practices, where the “ji” in the term was used to characterize a man receiving sexual acts. Such a term was derogatory by virtue of its connection with animals deemed inferior to humans.<ref>Hinsch, Bret. ''Passions of the Cut Sleeve: The Male Homosexual Tradition in China''. University of California Press, 1990. p. 89, <nowiki>https://doi.org/10.1525/9780520912656</nowiki>.</ref> Song Dynasty observed a few cultural pushbacks—led by the Neo-Confucian movement from the dynasty—against homosexual or bisexual practices as urbanization prompted growing male prostitution and other sex work economies. Significantly, the Song government passed laws prohibiting male prositution, although many other cultural and literary works attested to the continued existence and prominence of men in sex work.<ref>Hinsch, Bret. ''Passions of the Cut Sleeve: The Male Homosexual Tradition in China''. University of California Press, 1990. pp.95-97, <nowiki>https://doi.org/10.1525/9780520912656</nowiki>.</ref>

[[Religion in China]] during this period had a great effect on people's lives, beliefs, and daily activities, and [[Chinese literature]] on spirituality was popular.{{sfn|Ebrey|Walthall|Palais|2006|p=172}} The major deities of [[Daoism]] and [[Buddhism]], [[ancestor worship|ancestral spirits]], and the many deities of [[Chinese folk religion]] were worshipped with sacrificial offerings. Tansen Sen asserts that more [[Bhikkhu|Buddhist monks]] from [[India]] traveled to China during the Song than in the previous [[Tang dynasty]] (618–907).{{sfn|Sen|2003|p=13}} With many ethnic foreigners travelling to China to conduct trade or live permanently, there came many foreign religions; religious minorities in China included [[Islam during the Song dynasty|Middle Eastern Muslims]], the [[Kaifeng Jews]], and [[Manichaeism|Persian Manichaeans]].{{sfn|Gernet|1962|pp=82–83}}{{sfn|Needham|1986d|p=465}}

The populace engaged in a vibrant social and domestic life, enjoying such public festivals as the [[Lantern Festival]] and the [[Qingming Festival]]. There were entertainment quarters in the cities providing a constant array of amusements. There were puppeteers, acrobats, theatre actors, sword swallowers, snake charmers, [[Chinese folklore|storytellers]], singers and musicians, prostitutes, and places to relax, including tea houses, restaurants, and organized banquets.{{sfn|Ebrey|Walthall|Palais|2006|p=167}}<ref name="China">{{Citation |title=China |year=2007 |url=http://global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/111803/China |access-date=June 28, 2007 |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]}}</ref>{{sfn|Gernet|1962|pp=222–225}} People attended social clubs in large numbers; there were tea clubs, exotic food clubs, [[antiquarian]] and art collectors' clubs, horse-loving clubs, poetry clubs, and music clubs.{{sfn|Ebrey|Walthall|Palais|2006|p=167}} Like regional cooking and cuisines in the Song, the era was known for its regional varieties of performing arts styles as well.{{sfn|West|1997|pp=69–70}} [[Chinese opera|Theatrical drama]] was very popular amongst the elite and general populace, although [[Classical Chinese]]—not [[Vernacular Chinese|the vernacular language]]—was spoken by actors on stage.{{sfn|Gernet|1962|p=223}}{{sfn|Rossabi|1988|p=162}} The four largest drama theatres in Kaifeng could hold audiences of several thousand each.{{sfn|West|1997|p=76}} There were also notable domestic pastimes, as people at home enjoyed activities such as the [[go board game|go]] and [[xiangqi]] board games.

=== Civil service examinations and the gentry ===
{{Main|Society of the Song dynasty}}
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| image1 = Zhou Wenju's A Literary Garden.jpg
| image2 = Zhou Wenjiu. Go players.National Palace Museum, Beijing..jpg
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| footer = Clockwise from upper left: ''A Literary Garden'', by [[Zhou Wenju]], 10th century; Zhou Wenju, ''Go players'', Palace Museum, Beijing; "Four Generals of Zhongxing" by Southern Song dynasty artist [[Liu Songnian]] (1174–1224); the renowned general [[Yue Fei]] (1103–1142) is the second person from the left in the latter painting.
}}

During this period greater emphasis was laid upon the [[civil service]] system of recruiting officials; this was based upon degrees acquired through competitive [[Imperial examination|examinations]], in an effort to select the most capable individuals for governance. Selecting men for office through proven merit [[Xiaolian|was an ancient idea in China]]. The civil service system became institutionalized on a small scale during the [[Sui dynasty|Sui]] and Tang dynasties, but by the Song period, it became virtually the only means for drafting officials into the government.{{sfn|Ebrey|1999|pp=145–146}} The advent of widespread [[printing]] helped to widely circulate Confucian teachings and to educate more and more eligible candidates for the exams.{{sfn|Ebrey|1999|p=147}} This can be seen in the number of exam takers for the low-level prefectural exams rising from 30,000 annual candidates in the early 11th century to 400,000 candidates by the late 13th century.{{sfn|Ebrey|1999|p=147}} The civil service and examination system allowed for greater [[meritocracy]], [[social mobility]], and equality in competition for those wishing to attain an official seat in government.{{sfn|Ebrey|Walthall|Palais|2006|p=162}} Using statistics gathered by the Song state, Edward A. Kracke, Sudō Yoshiyuki, and Ho Ping-ti supported the hypothesis that simply having a father, grandfather, or great-grandfather who had served as an official of state did not guarantee one would obtain the same level of authority.{{sfn|Ebrey|Walthall|Palais|2006|p=162}}{{sfn|Hartwell|1982|pp=417–418}}{{sfn|Hymes|1986|pp=35–36}} [[Robert Hartwell]] and [[Robert P. Hymes]] criticized this model, stating that it places too much emphasis on the role of the [[nuclear family]] and considers only three paternal ascendants of exam candidates while ignoring the demographic reality of Song China, the significant proportion of males in each generation that had no surviving sons, and the role of the [[extended family]].{{sfn|Hartwell|1982|pp=417–418}}{{sfn|Hymes|1986|pp=35–36}} Many felt disenfranchised by what they saw as a bureaucratic system that favored the land-holding class able to afford the best education.{{sfn|Ebrey|Walthall|Palais|2006|p=162}} One of the greatest literary critics of this was the official and famous poet [[Su Shi]]. Yet Su was a product of his times, as the identity, habits, and attitudes of the [[Scholar-bureaucrats|scholar-official]] had become less [[Aristocracy (class)|aristocrat]]ic and more [[bureaucrat]]ic with the transition of the periods from Tang to Song.{{sfn|Ebrey|Walthall|Palais|2006|p=159}} At the beginning of the dynasty, government posts were disproportionately held by two elite social groups: a founding elite who had ties with the founding emperor and a semi-hereditary professional elite who used long-held clan status, [[Chinese kinship|family connections]], and marriage alliances to secure appointments.{{sfn|Hartwell|1982|pp=405–413}} By the late 11th century, the founding elite became obsolete, while political partisanship and factionalism at court undermined the marriage strategies of the professional elite, which dissolved as a distinguishable social group and was replaced by a multitude of gentry families.{{sfn|Hartwell|1982|pp=416–420}}

[[File:Wuxi Donglin Shuyuan 2015.04.24 16-10-51.jpg|thumb|The [[Donglin Academy]], an educational institution equivalent to modern-day college. It was originally built in 1111 during the Northern Song dynasty.]]
Due to Song's enormous population growth and the body of its appointed scholar-officials being accepted in limited numbers (about 20,000 active officials during the Song period), the larger scholarly [[Gentry (China)|gentry class]] would now take over grassroots affairs on the vast local level.{{sfn|Fairbank|Goldman|2006|p=106}} Excluding the scholar-officials in office, this elite social class consisted of exam candidates, examination degree-holders not yet assigned to an official post, local tutors, and retired officials.{{sfn|Fairbank|Goldman|2006|pp=101–106}} These learned men, degree-holders, and local elites supervised local affairs and sponsored necessary facilities of local communities; any local magistrate appointed to his office by the government relied upon the cooperation of the few or many local gentry in the area.{{sfn|Fairbank|Goldman|2006|p=106}} For example, the Song government—excluding the educational-reformist government under Emperor Huizong—spared little amount of state revenue to maintain [[Zhou (country subdivision)|prefectural]] and [[County (People's Republic of China)|county]] schools; instead, the bulk of the funds for schools was drawn from private financing.{{sfn|Yuan|1994|pp=196–199}} This limited role of government officials was a departure from the earlier Tang dynasty (618–907), when the government strictly regulated commercial markets and local affairs; now the government withdrew heavily from regulating commerce and relied upon a mass of local gentry to perform necessary duties in their communities.{{sfn|Fairbank|Goldman|2006|p=106}}

The gentry distinguished themselves in society through their intellectual and antiquarian pursuits,{{sfn|Ebrey|Walthall|Palais|2006|pp=162–163}}{{sfn|Ebrey|1999|p=148}}{{sfn|Fairbank|Goldman|2006|p=104}} while the homes of prominent landholders attracted a variety of [[courtier]]s, including artisans, artists, educational tutors, and entertainers.{{sfn|Gernet|1962|pp=92–93}} Despite the disdain for trade, commerce, and the merchant class exhibited by the highly cultured and elite exam-drafted scholar-officials, [[commercialism]] played a prominent role in Song culture and society.<ref name="China" /> A scholar-official would be frowned upon by his peers if he pursued means of profiteering outside of his official salary; however, this did not stop many scholar-officials from managing business relations through the use of intermediary agents.{{sfn|Gernet|1962|pp=60–61, 68–69}}

=== Law, justice, and forensic science ===
{{main|Society of the Song dynasty}}
The Song [[Judiciary|judicial system]] retained most of the [[legal code]] of the earlier Tang dynasty, the basis of [[traditional Chinese law]] up until the modern era.{{sfn|Ebrey|Walthall|Palais|2006|p=161}} Roving sheriffs maintained law and order in the municipal jurisdictions and occasionally ventured into the countryside.{{sfn|McKnight|1992|pp=155–157}} Official magistrates overseeing court cases were not only expected to be well-versed in written law but also to promote morality in society.{{sfn|Ebrey|Walthall|Palais|2006|p=161}} Magistrates such as the famed [[Bao Zheng]] (999–1062) embodied the upright, moral judge who upheld justice and never failed to live up to his principles. Song judges specified the guilty person or party in a criminal act and meted out punishments accordingly, often in the form of [[caning]].{{sfn|Ebrey|Walthall|Palais|2006|p=161}}{{sfn|Gernet|1962|p=107}} A guilty individual or parties brought to court for a criminal or civil offense were not viewed as wholly innocent until proven otherwise, while even accusers were viewed with a high level of suspicion by the judge.{{sfn|Gernet|1962|p=107}} Due to costly court expenses and immediate jailing of those accused of criminal offenses, people in the Song preferred to settle disputes and quarrels privately, without the court's interference.{{sfn|Gernet|1962|p=107}}

Shen Kuo's ''[[Dream Pool Essays]]'' argued against traditional Chinese beliefs in [[anatomy]] (such as his argument for two throat valves instead of three); this perhaps spurred the interest in the performance of post-mortem [[autopsy|autopsies]] in China during the 12th century.{{sfn|Sivin|1995|pp=30–31}}{{sfn|Sivin|1995|loc=pp. 30–31, footnote 27}} The physician and judge known as [[Song Ci]] (1186–1249) wrote [[Collected Cases of Injustice Rectified|a pioneering work]] of [[forensic science]] on the examination of [[corpse]]s in order to determine cause of death (strangulation, poisoning, drowning, blows, etc.) and to prove whether death resulted from murder, suicide, or accidental death.{{sfn|Gernet|1962|p=170}} Song Ci stressed the importance of proper [[coroner]]'s conduct during autopsies and the accurate recording of the [[inquest]] of each autopsy by official clerks.{{sfn|Sung|1981|pp=12, 72}}

=== Military and methods of warfare ===
{{Main|Military history of the Song dynasty}}

[[Image:Songrivership3.jpg|thumb|Traction trebuchet on an Early Song dynasty warship from the ''[[Wujing Zongyao]]''. Trebuchets like this were used to launch the earliest type of explosive bombs.]]

The Song military was chiefly organized to ensure that the army could not threaten Imperial control, often at the expense of effectiveness in war. Northern Song's Military Council operated under a Chancellor, who had no control over the imperial army. The imperial army was divided among three marshals, each independently responsible to the Emperor. Since the Emperor rarely led campaigns personally, Song forces lacked unity of command.{{sfn|Bai|2002|pp=239}} The imperial court often believed that successful generals endangered royal authority, and relieved or even executed them (notably Li Gang,{{sfn|Bai|2002|pp=250}} Yue Fei, and [[Han Shizhong]]{{sfn|Bai|2002|p=254}}).
[[File:Northern song Cavalry.jpg|thumb|Armoured Song cavalry]]

Although the scholar-officials viewed [[Military history of China (pre-1911)|military soldiers]] as lower members in the hierarchic social order,{{sfn|Graff|Higham|2002|pp=25–26}} a person could gain status and prestige in society by becoming a high-ranking military officer with a record of victorious battles.{{sfn|Lorge|2005|p=43}} At its height, the Song military had one million soldiers{{sfn|Ebrey|Walthall|Palais|2006|p=164}} divided into [[platoon]]s of 50 troops, companies made of two platoons, battalions composed of 500 soldiers.{{sfn|Lorge|2005|p=45}}{{sfn|Peers|2006|p=130}} [[Crossbow]]men were separated from the regular infantry and placed in their own units as they were prized combatants, providing effective missile fire against cavalry charges.{{sfn|Peers|2006|p=130}} The government was eager to sponsor new crossbow designs that could shoot at longer ranges, while crossbowmen were also valuable when employed as long-range [[sniper]]s.{{sfn|Peers|2006|pp=130–131}} Song cavalry employed a slew of different weapons, including halberds, swords, bows, spears, and '[[fire lance]]s' that discharged a gunpowder blast of flame and [[Fragmentation (weaponry)|shrapnel]].{{sfn|Peers|2006|p=131}}

[[File:Dingzhou Liaodi Pagoda 4.jpg|thumb|upright|left|The [[Liaodi Pagoda]], the tallest pre-modern [[Chinese pagoda]], built in 1055; it was intended as a [[Buddhist architecture|Buddhist religious structure]], yet served a military purpose as a [[watchtower]] for observation of potential dangers.{{sfn|Cai|2011|pp=81–82}}]]

Military strategy and military training were treated as sciences that could be studied and perfected; soldiers were tested in their skills of using weaponry and in their athletic ability.{{sfn|Peers|2006|p=129}} The troops were trained to follow signal standards to advance at the waving of banners and to halt at the sound of bells and drums.{{sfn|Peers|2006|p=130}}

The Song navy was of great importance during the consolidation of the empire in the 10th century; during the war against the [[Southern Tang]] state, the Song navy employed tactics such as defending large floating [[pontoon bridge]]s across the [[Yangtze River]] in order to secure movements of troops and supplies.{{sfn|Graff|Higham|2002|p=87}} There were large ships in the Song navy that could carry 1,000 soldiers aboard their decks,{{sfn|Graff|Higham|2002|pp=86–87}} while the swift-moving [[Paddle steamer|paddle-wheel craft]] were viewed as essential fighting ships in any successful naval battle.{{sfn|Graff|Higham|2002|pp=86–87}}{{sfn|Needham|1986d|p=422}}

In a battle on January 23, 971, massive arrow fire from Song dynasty crossbowmen decimated the [[war elephant]] corps of the [[Southern Han]] army.{{sfn|Schafer|1957|p=291}} This defeat not only marked the eventual submission of the Southern Han to the Song dynasty, but also the last instance where a war elephant corps was employed as a regular division within a Chinese army.{{sfn|Schafer|1957|p=291}}

There was a total of 347 military treatises written during the Song period, as listed by the history text of the ''Song Shi'' (compiled in 1345).{{sfn|Needham|1986e|p=19}} However, only a handful of these military treatises have survived, which includes the ''[[Wujing Zongyao]]'' written in 1044. It was the first known book to have listed formulas for gunpowder;{{sfn|Needham|1986e|p=119}} it gave appropriate formulas for use in several different kinds of gunpowder bombs.{{sfn|Needham|1986e|pp=122–124}} It also provided detailed descriptions and illustrations of double-piston pump [[flamethrower]]s, as well as instructions for the maintenance and repair of the components and equipment used in the device.{{sfn|Needham|1986e|pp=82–84}}

=== Arts, literature, philosophy, and religion ===
{{further|Religion in the Song dynasty}}
{{multiple image
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The visual arts during the Song dynasty were heightened by new developments such as advances in landscape and portrait painting. The gentry elite engaged in the arts as accepted pastimes of the cultured scholar-official, including [[Chinese painting|painting]], composing [[Chinese poetry|poetry]], and writing [[Chinese calligraphy|calligraphy]].{{sfn|Ebrey|Walthall|Palais|2006|pp=81–83}} The poet and statesman Su Shi and his associate [[Mi Fu]] (1051–1107) enjoyed antiquarian affairs, often borrowing or buying art pieces to study and copy.{{sfn|Ebrey|Walthall|Palais|2006|p=163}} Poetry and [[Chinese literature|literature]] profited from the rising popularity and development of the [[ci (poetry)|ci poetry form]]. Enormous encyclopedic volumes were compiled, such as works of [[Chinese historiography|historiography]] and dozens of treatises on technical subjects. This included the [[Universal history (genre)|universal history]] text of the ''[[Zizhi Tongjian]]'', compiled into 1000 volumes of 9.4&nbsp;million written [[Chinese character]]s. The genre of Chinese [[travel literature]] also became popular with the writings of the geographer [[Fan Chengda]] (1126–1193) and Su Shi, the latter of whom wrote the 'daytrip essay' known as ''[[Su Shi#Travel record literature|Record of Stone Bell Mountain]]'' that used [[persuasive writing]] to argue for a philosophical point.{{sfn|Hargett|1985|pp=74–76}} Although an early form of the local geographic [[gazetteer]] existed in China since the 1st century, the matured form known as "treatise on a place", or ''fangzhi'', replaced the old "map guide", or {{Translation|zho|tujing}}, during the Song dynasty.{{sfn|Bol|2001|p=44}}

The imperial courts of the emperor's palace were filled with his entourage of court painters, calligraphers, poets, and storytellers. [[Emperor Huizong of Song|Emperor Huizong]] was the eighth emperor of the Song dynasty and he was a renowned artist as well as a patron of the art and the catalogue of his collection listed over 6,000 known paintings.<ref name="ebrey cambridge 149">Ebrey, Cambridge, 149.</ref> A prime example of a highly venerated court painter was [[Zhang Zeduan]] (1085–1145) who painted an enormous [[panoramic painting]], ''[[Along the River During the Qingming Festival]]''. Emperor Gaozong of Song initiated a massive art project during his reign, known as the ''[[Eighteen Songs of a Nomad Flute]]'' from the life story of [[Cai Wenji]] (b. 177). This art project was a diplomatic gesture to the Jin dynasty while he negotiated for the release of his mother from Jurchen captivity in the north.{{sfn|Ebrey|1999|p=151}}
[[File:This Letter written by Mi Fei.jpg|alt=Four lines of vertically oriented Chinese characters. The two on the left are formed from a continuous line, the calligraphy equivalent of cursive. The two on the right use a more traditional multiple stroke writing style.|thumb|[[Chinese calligraphy]] of mixed styles written by Song dynasty poet [[Mi Fu]] (1051–1107)]]
[[File:Chinesischer Maler von 1238 001.jpg|alt=A portrait of an older, balding man in a half pale green and half sky blue robe. He is sitting on an armchair holding a thin wooden stick, possibly a folded up fan.|thumb|right|200px|Portrait of the Chinese [[Zen]] Buddhist [[Wuzhun Shifan]], painted in 1238 AD.]]

In philosophy, [[Chinese Buddhism]] had waned in influence but it retained its hold on the arts and on the charities of monasteries. Buddhism had a profound influence upon the budding movement of [[Neo-Confucianism]], led by [[Cheng Yi (philosopher)|Cheng Yi]] (1033–1107) and [[Zhu Xi]] (1130–1200).{{sfn|Ebrey|Walthall|Palais|2006|p=168}} [[Mahayana]] Buddhism influenced Fan Zhongyan and Wang Anshi through its concept of ethical [[universalism]],{{sfn|Wright|1959|p=93}} while Buddhist [[metaphysics]] deeply affected the pre–Neo-Confucian doctrine of Cheng Yi.{{sfn|Ebrey|Walthall|Palais|2006|p=168}} The philosophical work of Cheng Yi in turn influenced Zhu Xi. Although his writings were not accepted by his contemporary peers, Zhu's commentary and emphasis upon the Confucian classics of the [[Four Books]] as an introductory corpus to Confucian learning formed the basis of the Neo-Confucian doctrine. By the year 1241, under the sponsorship of [[Emperor Lizong of Song|Emperor Lizong]], Zhu Xi's Four Books and his commentary on them became standard requirements of study for students attempting to pass the civil service examinations.{{sfn|Ebrey|Walthall|Palais|2006|p=169}} The neighbouring countries of [[Japan]] and [[Korea]] also adopted Zhu Xi's teaching, known as the Shushigaku (朱子學, School of Zhu Xi) of Japan, and in Korea the Jujahak (주자학). Buddhism's continuing influence can be seen in painted artwork such as [[Lin Tinggui]]'s ''[[Arhat|Luohan]] Laundering''. However, the ideology was highly criticized and even scorned by some. The statesman and historian [[Ouyang Xiu]] (1007–1072) called the religion a "curse" that could only be remedied by uprooting it from [[Culture of China|Chinese culture]] and replacing it with Confucian discourse.{{sfn|Wright|1959|pp=88–89}} The [[Chan Buddhism|Chan sect]] experienced a literary flourishing in the Song period, which saw the publication of several major classical [[koan|koan collections]] which remain influential in [[Zen]] philosophy and practice to the present day. A true revival of Buddhism in Chinese society would not occur until the Mongol rule of the Yuan dynasty, with Kublai Khan's sponsorship of [[Tibetan Buddhism]] and [[Drogön Chögyal Phagpa]] as the leading [[lama]]. The Christian sect of [[Nestorianism]], which had entered China in the Tang era, would also be revived in China under Mongol rule.{{sfn|Gernet|1962|p=215}}

=== Cuisine and clothing ===
[[Sumptuary law#China|Sumptuary laws]] regulated the food that one consumed and the clothes that one wore according to status and social class. Clothing was made of hemp or cotton cloths, restricted to a color standard of black and white. Trousers were the acceptable attire for peasants, soldiers, artisans, and merchants, although wealthy merchants might choose to wear more ornate clothing and male blouses that came down below the waist. Acceptable apparel for scholar-officials was rigidly defined by the social ranking system. However, as time went on this rule of rank-graded apparel for officials was not as strictly enforced. Each official was able to display his awarded status by wearing different-colored traditional [[Han Chinese clothing|silken robes]] that hung to the ground around his feet, specific types of headgear, and even specific styles of girdles that displayed his graded-rank of officialdom.{{sfn|Gernet|1962|pp=127–30}}

Women wore long dresses, blouses that came down to the knee, skirts, and jackets with long or short sleeves, while women from wealthy families could wear purple scarves around their shoulders. The main difference in women's apparel from that of men was that it was fastened on the left, not on the right.{{sfn|Gernet|1962|p=129}}

[[File:Ziziphus jujuba MS 2461.JPG|alt=A bowl of reddish-purple, oval-shaped fruits with raisin texture.|thumb|200px|left|Dried [[jujube]]s such as these were imported to Song China from South Asia and the Middle East.{{sfn|Gernet|1962|p=134}}]]

The main food staples in the diet of the lower classes remained rice, pork, and salted fish.{{sfn|Gernet|1962|pp=134–137}} In 1011, [[Emperor Zhenzong of Song]] introduced [[Champa rice]] to China from [[Vietnam]]'s [[Champa|Kingdom of Champa]], which sent 30,000 bushels as a tribute to Song. Champa rice was drought-resistant and able to grow fast enough to offer two harvests a year instead of one.{{sfn|Yen-Mah|2008|p=102}}

Song restaurant and tavern menus are recorded. They list entrees for feasts, banquets, festivals, and carnivals. They reveal a diverse and lavish diet for those of the upper class. They could choose from a wide variety of meats and seafood, including shrimp, geese, duck, mussel, shellfish, [[fallow deer]], hare, partridge, pheasant, francolin, quail, fox, badger, clam, crab, and many others.{{sfn|Gernet|1962|pp=134–137}}{{sfn|Rossabi|1988|p=78}}{{sfn|West|1997|p=73}} Dairy products were rare in Chinese cuisine at this time. Beef was rarely consumed since the bull was a valuable draft animal, and dog meat was absent from the diet of the wealthy, although the poor could choose to eat dog meat if necessary (yet it was not part of their regular diet).{{sfn|Gernet|1962|pp=135–136}} People also consumed [[Date palm|dates]], raisins, [[jujube]]s, pears, plums, apricots, pear juice, [[lychee]]-fruit juice, honey and ginger drinks, spices and seasonings of [[Sichuan pepper]], [[ginger]], soy sauce, vegetable oil, sesame oil, salt, and vinegar.{{sfn|Rossabi|1988|p=78}}{{sfn|West|1997|p=86}}