Our Family Tree (Jiapu 家譜/家谱)

Period of great social and intellectual change: Neo-Confucianism attains supremacy over Taoism and Buddhism; central bureaucracy reestablished. Widespread cultivation of tea and cotton; gunpowder first used militarily. This was also the golden age of Chinese painting. Militarily however, the Song empire remained weak, preferring diplomacy to warfare. In 1125, the empire was overrun by the Jin, forcing the emperor to flee south. In 1275, China fell to the Mongols. source

Yuan dynasty of ethnic Mongols. Started by Mongol dynasty founded by Kublai Khan. The Mongols brought China a very different culture. They excluded Chinese from government and placed restrictions on trade. Confucian ideals discouraged intellectuals who would previously have been called to the court or made officials turned to the arts and in particular to Chinese opera which flourished even under Mongol censorship. But while drama developed, China regressed. State revenues shrunk, canal building sucked up money and the country grew poorer. Many missionaries and merchants influenced the Chinese. The most notable foreigner that visited during this time was Marco Polo. Revolts in Mongolia and S China end dynasty. source