Sung Dynasty

Hello, my  name is Chong Wong-da'o, and I am a wandering printer born into the late Southern Sung Dynasty in 1270 A.D., and it is currently 1279 A.D., a year after the fall of the Sung.  I work in the newly discovered industry of paper money printing.  This invention, as well as many others, are part of the many establishments that make the Sung Dynasty the great dynasty that it is.

The Sung Dynasty began in 906 A.D. following the reign of the Five Dynasties.  The early portion of this dynasty was the peak of art, industry, technology, and culture of China; and was often referred to as "The Golden Age".  Although our empire was never a large as the Tang, it has been recently named more powerful.  Many revolutionary inventions have emerged recently, including firearms, shipbuilding, clockmaking, medicine, standing navy, the compass, and my own industry of printing bank notes.  This dynasty has been divided into two distinct parts of history: the early Northern Sung (9060-1127), and the late Southern Sung (1127-1279).  During the Northern Sung, education and literature were promoted, as well as the new concept of Neo-Confucianism.  Although these were the better times of the Sung, our military was weak during this time.  In my recent years in the Southern Sung, there has been a lot of war, but also a prominent increase in trade, shipbuilding, and agricultural production.  Women also have recently begun practicing foot-binding, a nasty beauty process.

Just last year (1279 A.D.), our final Southern Sung forces were overthrown by the Mongols, and our great dynasty came to an end.


Thank you for your time,

Chong Wong-d'ao

One of our first releases of handwritten paper currency