Accouterments of beauty that tell a dynasty's tale

Gold bracelets.[Photo provided to China Daily]

Relocation

The Song Dynasty was founded in 960. In 1125 war broke out between Song, which had long passed its zenith, and Jin, a rising power set up by the horse-riding Manchus from the north. In 1127 two Song emperors, Huizong and his son Qinzong, were taken prisoners by the Jin army. Deeply ashamed, Song was forced to relocate its court from what is today Kaifeng city in central China to what is now Hangzhou, then called Lin'an, in southeastern China. The surrounding region is known as Jiangnan, meaning "area south of the Yangtze River".

The removal of the capital signaled the loss of control on Song's part of the vast land in central China. A return was never seriously discussed; successive Song emperors seemed to be equally impressed with the richness of their adopted home as they were with their enemy's military might. The regional culture, famed for its strong literary tradition, suited the artistically minded Song emperors very well.

Although on the defensive most of the time, Southern Song was not without military triumph in its continued wars with Jin. For the next hundred years the retreat and its surrounding region south to the Yangtze River enjoyed a period of peace and prosperity. Population expanded and arts and crafts flourished.