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Porcelain replaced silk as China's chief export in the 11th century, as India and Persia began to develop their own domestic silk production; meanwhile, however, China obtained new techniques in sugar refining and cotton production from India, marking the beginning of the development of these industries in China. In the 12th century, Chinese merchants first began in significant number to venture overseas themselves; most devoted their attentions to the so-called Spice Islands in and around the Moluccas and Indonesia, where rare (and therefore valuable) spices such as cloves and nutmeg could be found.<ref name=crossroads393/>
Porcelain replaced silk as China's chief export in the 11th century, as India and Persia began to develop their own domestic silk production; meanwhile, however, China obtained new techniques in sugar refining and cotton production from India, marking the beginning of the development of these industries in China. In the 12th century, Chinese merchants first began in significant number to venture overseas themselves; most devoted their attentions to the so-called Spice Islands in and around the Moluccas and Indonesia, where rare (and therefore valuable) spices such as cloves and nutmeg could be found.<ref name=crossroads393/>
==Culture==
Whisked or whipped [[tea]] came into fashion in the latter portion of the dynasty.<ref>Gallery labels, Asian Art Museum, San Francisco.</ref>
Whisked or whipped [[tea]] came into fashion in the latter portion of the dynasty.<ref>Gallery labels, Asian Art Museum, San Francisco.</ref>
[[Footbinding]] also first began to spread during the Northern Song Dynasty, gradually expanding over the course of succeeding centuries. The practice may have begun with dancers or other entertainers in the [[Tang Dynasty]], who sought to make their feet appear smaller, and thus more elegant. It is not mentioned by any of the famous Tang Dynasty poets, however. By the 13th century, it was not uncommon for wives and daughters of officials to have their feet bound, and by the end of the [[Southern Song Dynasty]] (in [[1279]]), the practice was firmly entrenched.<ref>Patricia Ebrey, ''The Inner Quarters: Marriage and the Lives of Chinese Women in the Sung Period'', Univ of California Press (1993), 37-40.</ref>
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