 The Jin – Song Wars were a series of conflicts between the Jurchen Jin dynasty ( 1115 – 1234 ) and Han Chinese Song dynasty ( 960 – 1279 ) . In 1115 , the Jurchens rebelled against their overlords , the <unk> Liao dynasty ( 907 – 1125 ) , and declared the formation of the Jin . <unk> with the Song against their common enemy the Liao , the Jin promised to return to the Song the territories in northern China that had fallen under Liao control since 938 . The Jurchens ' quick defeat of the Liao combined with Song military failures made the Jin reluctant to cede these territories . After a series of failed negotiations that <unk> both sides , the Jurchens attacked the Song in November 1125 , dispatching one army towards Taiyuan and the other towards Kaifeng , the Song capital . 
