Politics from the Song Dynasty
The Song Dynasty came after the Tang Dynasty. The dynasty lasted from 960 CE- 1280 CE. Their system of government was very advanced for their time. Instead of a strong military, they wanted a well trained government. Because of this decision a group of Barbarians had conquered a part of Northern China. They had to hire Khitas to keep the Barbarians from invading more. Since they had to pay the Khitas, but didn't have the money, they had to raise taxes. This left the poor peasants to suffer. To chose their government people had to take an exam called the Civil Service Examination. The exams were given out every 3 years and only 200 people would be chosen. Instead of the nobles and landlords, only the most highly qualified people would get to be in the government. They chose their leader by abilaty, not who they were related to so it was fair to everyone. The Song couldn't help their Southern territories either. The leaders cared about their wealth more than their army. The Song Dynasty was defeated my invaders from Mongolia in 1279.
One of the leaders of the dynasty.
Another one of the military leaders.
This is a picture of part of the army. As you can tell, it is very small even for a little part.