The

Jin–Song Wars The Jin–Song Wars were a series of conflicts between the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty (1115–1234) and the Han-led Song dynasty (960–1279). In 1115, Jurchen tribes rebelled against their overlords, the Khitan-led Liao dynasty (916–1125) ...

were a series of armed conflicts conducted by the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty and the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

in the 12th and 13th centuries. The Jurchens were a Tungusic–speaking tribal confederation native to

Manchuria Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer Manc ...

. They overthrew the Khitan-led

Liao dynasty The Liao dynasty (; Khitan: ''Mos Jælud''; ), also known as the Khitan Empire (Khitan: ''Mos diau-d kitai huldʒi gur''), officially the Great Liao (), was an imperial dynasty of China that existed between 916 and 1125, ruled by the Yelü ...

in 1122 and declared the establishment of a new dynasty, the Jin. Diplomatic relations between the Jin and Song deteriorated, and the Jurchens first declared war on the Song dynasty in November 1125. Two armies were dispatched against the Song. One army captured the provincial capital of

Taiyuan Taiyuan (; ; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ; also known as (), ()) is the capital and largest city of Shanxi Province, People's Republic of China. Taiyuan is the political, economic, cultural and international exchange center of Shanxi Province. ...

, while the other besieged the Song capital of

Kaifeng Kaifeng () is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, China. It is one of the Eight Ancient Capitals of China, having been the capital eight times in history, and is best known for having been the Chinese capital during the Nort ...

. The Jin withdrew when the Song promised to pay an annual indemnity. As the Song dynasty weakened, the Jin armies conducted a second siege against Kaifeng. The city was captured and looted, and the Song dynasty emperor, Emperor Qinzong, was imprisoned and taken north to Manchuria as a hostage. The remainder of the Song court retreated to southern China, beginning the Southern Song period of Chinese history. Two puppet governments, first the Da Chu dynasty and later the state of Qi, were established by the Jin as buffer states between the Song and Manchuria. The Jin marched southward with the aim of conquering the Southern Song, but counteroffensives by Chinese generals like

Yue Fei Yue Fei ( zh, t=岳飛; March 24, 1103 – January 28, 1142), courtesy name Pengju (), was a Chinese military general who lived during the Song dynasty, Southern Song dynasty and a national hero of China, known for leading Southern Song force ...

halted their advance. A peace accord, the

Treaty of Shaoxing The Treaty of Shaoxing () was the agreement that ended the military conflicts between the Jin dynasty and the Southern Song dynasty. It also legally drew up the boundaries of the two countries and forced the Song dynasty to renounce all claims ...

, was negotiated and ratified in 1142, establishing the

Huai River The Huai River (), Postal Map Romanization, formerly romanization of Chinese, romanized as the Hwai, is a major river in China. It is located about midway between the Yellow River and Yangtze, the two longest rivers and largest drainage basins ...

as the boundary between the two empires. Peace between the Song and Jin was interrupted twice.

Wanyan Liang Digunai (24 February 1122 – 15 December 1161), also known by his sinicised name Wanyan Liang (完顏亮) and his formal title Prince of Hailing (海陵王, ''Hǎilíng Wáng''), was the fourth emperor of the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty of China. H ...

invaded the Southern Song in 1161, while Song revanchists tried and failed to retake northern China in 1204. The Jin–Song Wars were notable for the appearance of new technological innovations. The siege of De'an in 1132 included the first recorded use of the

fire lance The fire lance () was a gunpowder weapon and the ancestor of modern firearms. It first appeared in 10th–12th century China and was used to great effect during the Jin-Song Wars. It began as a small pyrotechnic device attached to a polearm weap ...

, an early gunpowder weapon and an ancestor of the firearm. The ''huopao'', an incendiary bomb, was employed in a number of battles and gunpowder bombs made of cast iron were used in a siege in 1221. The Jurchens migrated south and settled in northern China, where they adopted the language and Confucian culture of the local inhabitants. The Jin dynasty government grew into a centralized imperial bureaucracy structured in the same manner as previous dynasties of China. Both the Song and Jin dynasties ended in the 13th century as the

Mongol Empire The Mongol Empire of the 13th and 14th centuries was the largest contiguous land empire in history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Europe, ...

Campaigns against the Northern Song

Campaigns against the Southern Song

After the peace treaty

See also

Notes

References

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