Overview. Zhao Kuanyin, known as the Emperor Taizu, founded the Song dynasty (960-1279) by reunifying North China. By his death in 976 he had already laid down the foundations of one of the most famous dynasties in Chinese history, and all of China, apart from two independent kingdoms, had been under his control. The Northern Song dynasty (960-1125) had its capital in Kaifeng on the Grand Canal, a city more readily supplied from the South than Chang'an or Luoyang.

Fan Zhongyan. In the early Song era, scholars and officials advocated reforms to deal with the perceived problems. During the reign of the Renzong emperor (1023-1063), Fan Zhongyan proposed a ten-point program of reforms, including policies to improve the efficiency of the government, raise the standard of the examinations, increase agricultural yields, and reduce the demands on the people for labor service...