The Song period divides into two phases:…
1108 CE to 1251 CE
The division is caused by the forced abandonment of north China in 1127 by the Song court, which cannot push back the nomadic invaders.
The founders of the Song dynasty have built an effective centralized bureaucracy staffed with civilian scholar-officials.
Regional military governors and their supporters are replaced by centrally appointed officials.
This system of civilian rule leads to a greater concentration of power in the emperor and his palace bureaucracy than had been achieved in the previous dynasties.