Song dynasty · 960-1127

Kaifeng and the first paper money

The Northern Song capital Kaifeng was a city of canals, night markets and printers. In 1024 the Song printed the first government paper money. Students explore how money made of paper worked, and what happened when the city fell in 1127.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
45 minutes
Ages
11–14
On the map
3 steps, AD 1100
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

The Northern Song capital Kaifeng was a city of canals, night markets and printers. In 1024 the Song printed the first government paper money. Students explore how money made of paper worked, and what happened when the city fell in 1127.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Explain why paper money first appeared in Song China.
  • Describe daily life in Kaifeng, using a painting as evidence.
  • Explain why the fall of Kaifeng in 1127 forced the Song court to move south.
2

Explore the map

12 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

AD 1100

Capital on the plain

Open the map in 1100 and zoom in on Kaifeng, on the flat plain south of the Yellow River. Why was a capital here easy to supply by canal but hard to defend?

Open this view on the map
b

AD 1024

Iron coins in Sichuan

Pan southwest to Chengdu in the Sichuan basin, ringed by mountains. The first government paper money was printed here in 1024. Why would merchants here want paper instead of heavy iron coins?

Open this view on the map
c

AD 1100

The open north

Zoom out and look at the Song's northern border in 1100. No mountains or wide rivers protect Kaifeng from the north. In 1127 the Jurchen Jin crossed this plain and took the city. Why was it so exposed?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

14 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. Why would merchants in Sichuan trust a piece of paper instead of real coins?
  2. What could go wrong if a government printed too much paper money?
  3. Unlike Tang Chang'an, Kaifeng's markets stayed open at night. What does that tell you about the city?
  4. The scroll "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" shows boats, shops and crowds. Why is a painting good evidence for daily life, and what are its limits?
  5. In 1127 the Jin captured two Song emperors. How do you think the people of Kaifeng felt when their capital fell?
4

Game round

9 min

Play Rule History as Genghis Khan, who attacked the Jin, the people who had taken Kaifeng from the Song. Let students take turns making rulings. Then discuss: how can a ruler make people trust money, and what happens when they stop?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

€19 per month unlocks every worksheet, every live lesson and the class workspace. The free lesson prints without a subscription.