Short answers, pulled from the story.
The Song dynasty began in 960 when Emperor Taizu seized the throne from the Later Zhou dynasty. The dynasty ended in 1279 after the Battle of Yamen on the Pearl River Delta where Yuan general Zhang Hongfan crushed remaining resistance.
Emperor Taizu founded the Song dynasty in 960 by seizing power from the Later Zhou dynasty. He established the new capital in Kaifeng, a northern city that became the heart of a strong central government before the court moved to Lin'an during the Southern Song period.
Song China produced the first known formulas for gunpowder in the Wujing Zongyao manuscript of 1044. Engineers invented movable type printing between 990 and 1051, developed the pound lock system in 984, and created paddle wheel-driven vessels armed with gunpowder bombs for naval warfare.
The civil service system became virtually the only means for drafting officials into the government by the Song period. Exam takers rose from 30,000 annually in the early 11th century to 400,000 candidates by the late 13th century, replacing elite social groups with a multitude of gentry families.
The Jin army captured Kaifeng in 1127 during the Jingkang Incident. This event took Emperor Huizong, his successor Emperor Qinzong, and most of the imperial court before remaining forces regrouped south of the Yangtze River.
Kublai Khan's Yuan forces defeated the Song dynasty after a long siege that included the Battle of Yamen on the Pearl River Delta in 1279. The seven-year-old emperor Zhao Bing committed suicide along with Prime Minister Lu Xiufu and approximately 1,300 royal clan members to mark the end of the dynasty.