Battle of Caishi

Battle of Caishi

The Battle of Caishi was a naval engagement of the Jin–Song Wars of China. It ended with a decisive Song victory, aided by their use of gunpowder weapons. The Song won mainly through its superior navy, gunpowder, and firearms. A peace treaty signed in 1165 ended the conflict between Song and Jin.

About Battle of Caishi in brief

Summary Battle of CaishiThe Battle of Caishi was a naval engagement of the Jin–Song Wars of China. It ended with a decisive Song victory, aided by their use of gunpowder weapons. The Song won mainly through its superior navy, gunpowder, and firearms. The Jin were led by the Jurchens, a confederation of semi-agrarian tribes from Manchuria in northeast China. In 1114, the Jurchen plotted a revolt against their former overlords: the Khitan-led Liao dynasty. A peace treaty signed in 1165 ended the conflict between Song and Jin. The move of the Southern Song capital to Hangzhou signaled the transition from the Northern era to the Southern era of the Song dynasty. In 1127, Jin invaded the Song and unified most of northern China and besieged the Song capital of Kaifeng twice. Sixteen Prefectures produced between 1125 and 1125, the Jin produced the 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th century Chinese dynasties. In 1150, Wanyan Liang became emperor and planned to unite northern and southern China under a single emperor. In 1158, he asserted that the Song had violated the 1142 treaty, a pretext for declaring war on the Song. He instituted a draft where all able-bodied men were required to enlist. The draft was unpopular, precipitating revolts that were later suppressed. A military coup had taken place in the Jin court while Wanyans Liang was absent, enthroning Emperor Shizong as the new emperor.

The first capital, Hangzhou, was established in 1129, and then Hangzhou in 11210. The second capital, Kaifen, was in 11211, and in 11212, the Song established a temporary capital, first in Hangzhou and then in 11213. The third capital, Hanzhong, in 11214, was the temporary capital of the southern Song dynasty, where it remained until the end of the War of the Five Dynasties in 1161. The last capital, Hengchun, in the southern part of China, was founded in 11215, and it was the Song’s capital until the Song died out in 1163. The Battle of Hangzhou was the last naval engagement between the Jin and the Song, which ended in a victory for the Song on November 26, 1161, at Caishi, south of modern-day Nanjing. The battle was won by the Song by a score of 18,000 to 16,000 Jin soldiers. In the battle, many Jin soldiers deserted–bringing down the total Jin force–as they realized their northern steppe cavalry was inadequate for naval battles on rivers and lakes. The victory boosted the morale of theSong infantry and pushed back the southern advance of thejin army. In 1125 the Jin had conquered former Song territories north of the Huai River. In 1142, a peace treaty settled the border between the two states.