Emperor Ningzong (1168-1224) was the 13th emperor of the Song dynasty who reigned from 1194 to 1224. His reign was noted for its cultural and intellectual achievements. In particular; Zhu Xi wrote some of his most famous works during this period. On the political side however; Emperor Ningzong saw his government being plagued by rising inflation that threatened the economy and the military advances by the Jurchen people from the north. In 1279; Kubilai Khan established the Yuan dynasty; an empire that would in less than sixty years after Ningzong's death eliminate the whole of Southern Song dynasty and bring all of China under Mongol domination.

The Song Dynasty (960-1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period (907-960) and preceded the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368); which conquered the Song in 1279. Its conventional division into the Northern Song (960-1127) and Southern Song (1127-1279) periods marks the conquest of northern China by the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234) in 1127. It also distinguishes the subsequent shift of the Song's capital city from Bianjing (modern Kaifeng) in the north to Lin'an (modern Hangzhou) in the south.