Chinese dynasty (960-1279) that ruled the country (only in the south after 1127) during one of its most brilliant cultural epochs. The Sung dynasty was founded when Chao K'uang-yin, the military inspector general of the Chou dynasty, last of the Five Dynasties, gained control in a coup. China was reunified after the divisions of the 10th century and it was a period of great literary and artistic achievement, though constantly threatened by the Mongols.