Northern Song dynasty in the context of "Jin–Song Wars"

The Liao dynasty (/ljaʊ/; Khitan: Mos Jælud; traditional Chinese: 遼朝; simplified Chinese: 辽朝; pinyin: Liáo cháo), also known as the Khitan State (Mos diau-d kitai huldʒi gur), officially the Great Liao (Chinese: 大遼; pinyin: Dà Liáo), was a Khitan-led imperial dynasty of China and empire ruled by the Yelü clan that existed between 916 and 1125. Founded around the time of the collapse of the Tang dynasty, at its greatest extent it ruled over Northeast China, the Mongolian Plateau, the northern part of the Korean Peninsula, southern portions of Siberia, and the northern tip of the North China Plain.

The dynasty rose from the consolidation of power among the Khitans in the 8th century and their expansionist campaigns in the latter half of the 9th century. Eventually the Yila chieftain, Abaoji, became the leader of the Khitans and proclaimed a Chinese-style dynastic state in 916. The Liao dynasty launched multiple military campaigns against neighboring states and peoples including the Kumo Xi, Shiwei, Tatars, Zubu, Khongirad, Balhae, Goryeo, Later Tang, and the Song dynasty. Its conquests include the Sixteen Prefectures (including present-day Beijing and part of Hebei) by fueling a proxy war that led to the collapse of the Later Tang (923–936). In 1004, the Liao launched an expedition against the Northern Song dynasty. After heavy fighting and large casualties between the two empires, both sides worked out the Chanyuan Treaty. Through the treaty, the Liao forced the Northern Song to recognize them as peers and heralded an era of peace and stability between the two powers that lasted approximately 120 years. It was the first state to control all of Manchuria.

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), and declared the formation of the Jin. Allying with the Song against their common enemy the Liao dynasty, the Jin promised to cede to the Song the Sixteen Prefectures that had fallen under Liao control since 938. The Song agreed but the Jin's quick defeat of the Liao combined with Song military failures made the Jin reluctant to cede territory. After a series of negotiations that embittered both sides, the Jurchens attacked the Song in 1125, dispatching one army to Taiyuan and the other to Bianjing (modern Kaifeng), the Song capital.

Surprised by news of an invasion, Song general Tong Guan retreated from Taiyuan, which was besieged and later captured. As the second Jin army approached the capital, Song emperor Huizong abdicated and fled south. Qinzong, his eldest son, was enthroned. The Jin dynasty laid siege to Kaifeng in 1126, but Qinzong negotiated their retreat from the capital by agreeing to a large annual indemnity. Qinzong reneged on the deal and ordered Song forces to defend the prefectures instead of fortifying the capital. The Jin resumed war and again besieged Kaifeng in 1127. They captured Qinzong, many members of the imperial family and high officials of the Song imperial court in an event known as the Jingkang Incident. This separated north and south China between Jin and Song. Remnants of the Song imperial family retreated to southern China and, after brief stays in several temporary capitals, eventually relocated to Lin'an (modern Hangzhou). The retreat divided the dynasty into two distinct periods, Northern Song and Southern Song.

The Wujing Zongyao (Chinese: 武經總要), sometimes rendered in English as the Complete Essentials for the Military Classics, is a Chinese military compendium written from around 1040 to 1044.

The book was compiled during the Northern Song dynasty by Zeng Gongliang (曾公亮), Ding Du (丁度) and Yang Weide (楊惟德), whose writing influenced many later Chinese military writers. The compendium was published under the auspices of Emperor Renzong of Song, who also authored the book's preface. The book covers a wide range of subjects, including everything from naval warships to different types of catapults. It contains the earliest known written chemical formulas for gunpowder, made from saltpeter, sulphur and charcoal along with many added ingredients. In addition to formulas for gunpowder, the compendium also contains details on various other gunpowder weapons such as fire arrows, incendiary bombs and projectiles, and grenades and smoke bombs. It also describes an early form of the compass (using thermoremanence), and has the oldest illustration of a Chinese flamethrower with a double-action dual-piston cylinder-pump capable of shooting a continuous blast of flame.

Zhongshan Min (simplified Chinese: 中山闽语; traditional Chinese: 中山閩語), known as Cunhua (村话; 村話) by its speakers, are three Min Chinese dialect islands in the Zhongshan region of the southern Chinese province of Guangdong. The Zhongshan Min people settled in the region from Fujian Province as early as the Northern Song dynasty period (1023–1031).The three dialects are:

• Longdu dialect, spoken mainly in Shaxi and Dachong in the west of the prefecture,
• Nanlang dialect or Dongxiang dialect, spoken mainly in Nanlang and Zhangjiabian in the east, and
• Sanxiang dialect, spoken in Sanxiang in the south.

According to Nicholas Bodman, the Longdu and Nanlang dialects belong to the Eastern Min group, while the Sanxiang dialect belongs to Southern Min. All three have been heavily influenced by the Shiqi dialect, the local variety of Yue Chinese.

The cash or qian was a type of coin of China and the Sinosphere, used from the 4th century BC until the 20th century, characterised by their round outer shape and a square center hole (Chinese: 方穿; pinyin: fāng chuān; Jyutping: fong1 cyun1; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hong-chhoan). Originally cast during the Warring States period, these coins continued to be used for the entirety of Imperial China. The last Chinese cash coins were cast in 1912, the first year of the Republic of China. Generally most cash coins were made from copper or bronze alloys, with iron, lead, and zinc coins occasionally used less often throughout Chinese history. Rare silver and gold cash coins were also produced. During most of their production, cash coins were cast, but during the late Qing dynasty, machine-struck cash coins began to be made. As the cash coins produced over Chinese history were similar, thousand year old cash coins produced during the Northern Song dynasty continued to circulate as valid currency well into the early twentieth century.

In the modern era, these coins are considered to be Chinese "good luck coins"; they are hung on strings and round the necks of children, or over the beds of sick people. They hold a place in various traditional Chinese techniques, such as Yijing divination, as well as traditional Chinese medicine, and feng shui. Currencies based on the Chinese cash coins include the Japanese mon, Korean mun, Ryukyuan mon, and Vietnamese văn.

Nanjing was the name for modern Beijing during the Khitan-led Liao dynasty of China, during which it served as the empire's southern capital. To distinguish "Nanjing" (literally 'southern capital') from the modern city of Nanjing in Jiangsu, and Beijing Damingfu, the name for modern Daming County in Hebei Province during the Northern Song dynasty, Chinese historians sometimes refer to Liao-era Beijing as Liao Nanjing (辽南京; 遼南京). The Liao acquired the city, then known as Youzhou, in the cession of the Sixteen Prefectures in 938 by the Later Jin, one of the five short-lived dynasties that ruled northern China following the end of the Tang dynasty. The city was officially renamed "Nanjing, Youdu Fu" (南京幽都府). In 1012, the city was renamed "Nanjing, Xijin Fu" (南京析津府). The city was also colloquially referred to at the time as "Yanjing". In 1122, the city was captured by the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty (1115–1234)—who officially renamed it "Yanjing", ending the use of "Nanjing" for what is today modern Beijing.