Ep. 29 | The Southern Song Dynasty
In this week’s episode, Laszlo finishes off the Song Dynasty after the Jin Empire captures the royal family and sacks the capital in Kaifeng. The Song dynasty continues on with the new capital in the south of China, below the Yangzi River. Despite perilous times with hostile neighbors to the north, the dynasty enjoys continued prosperity and a burst of creativity in philosophy, the arts, and sciences. The Southern Song has a good 152-year run until they are overrun by the Kublai Khan’s great armies in 1279.
From Dorgon to Daoguang things were pretty tame in the Qing. But once Empress Dowager Cixi grabs hold of the reigns of power, she allows her eunuchs, most notably An Dehai and Li Lianying, to do their worst.