Khan Academy: An Introduction to the Song Dynasty (960 1279)

The Song dynasty was the second great "medieval" period of China. Northern Song (while it lasted) and the Southern Song (from 1127 until 1279) achieved incredible feats of learning, science, art, and philosophy. International trade and exchange of ideas continued to flourish. The native Chinese philosophies of Confucianism and Taoism saw a resurgence. Great advances were also made in science and technology. Hydraulic engineering, from canal and bridge building to the construction of enormous seafaring vessels. Perhaps the most significant advance, however, was the invention of movable type printing, achieved around the year 1040, four hundred years before Gutenburg's printing innovations in Europe.