Southern and Northern Dynasties - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Southern and Northern Dynasties
Southern Dynasties Southern dynasties The Southern dynasties comprise the Liu Song, Southern Qi, Liang Dynasty and Chen Dynasty, whose capital were at Jiankang , and Emperor Yuan of Liang, as well as the later Western Liang emperors , also set their...
Country	Capital	Number of Rulers -Founding Emperor -Final Emperor	Founding Year Ending Year
Liu Song	Jiankang Nanjing ' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...	8 Liu Yu Emperor Wu of Liu Song Emperor Wu of Song , personal name Liu Yu , courtesy name Dexing , nickname Jinu , was the founding emperor of the Chinese dynasty Liu Song. He came from a humble background, but became prominent after leading a rebellion in 404 to overthrow Huan Xuan, who had usurped the Jin throne in 403... Liu Zhun Emperor Shun of Liu Song Emperor Shun of Liu Song , personal name Liu Zhun , courtesy name Zhongmou , nickname Zhiguan , was an emperor of the Chinese dynasty Liu Song...	420 420 Year 420 was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Theodosius and Constantius... AD 479 479 Year 479 was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Zeno without colleague... AD
Southern Qi Southern Qi The Southern Qi Dynasty was the second of the Southern dynasties in China, followed by the Liang Dynasty. During its 23-year history, the dynasty was largely filled with instability, as after the death of the capable Emperor Gao and Emperor Wu, Emperor Wu's grandson Xiao Zhaoye was assassinated...	Jiankang	7 Xiao Daocheng Emperor Gao of Southern Qi Emperor Gao of Southern Qi , personal name Xiao Daocheng , courtesy name Shaobo , nickname Doujiang , was the founding emperor of the Chinese dynasty Southern Qi... Xiao Baorong Emperor He of Southern Qi Emperor He of Southern Qi , personal name Xiao Baorong , courtesy name Zhizhao , was the last emperor of the Chinese dynasty Southern Qi. He was put on the throne by the generals Xiao Yingzhou and Xiao Yan in 501 as a competing candidate for the throne to his violent and arbitrary older brother...	479 479 Year 479 was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Zeno without colleague... AD 502 502 Year 502 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Avienus and Probus... AD
Liang Liang Dynasty The Liang Dynasty , also known as the Southern Liang Dynasty , was the third of the Southern dynasties in China and was followed by the Chen Dynasty...	1.Jiankang 2.Jiangling	5 Xiao Yan Emperor Wu of Liang Emperor Wu of Liang , personal name Xiao Yan , courtesy name Shuda , nickname Lian'er , was the founding emperor of the Chinese Liang Dynasty... Xiao Fangzhi Emperor Jing of Liang Emperor Jing of Liang , personal name Xiao Fangzhi , courtesy name Huixiang , nickname Fazhen , was an emperor of the Chinese Liang Dynasty. As the only surviving son of Emperor Yuan, he was declared emperor by the general Chen Baxian in 555, but in 557 Chen forced him to yield the throne and...	502 502 Year 502 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Avienus and Probus... AD 557 557 Year 557 was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 557 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Asia :* The Northern Zhou Dynasty begins in northern... AD
Chen Chen Dynasty The Chen Dynasty , also known as the Southern Chen Dynasty, was the fourth and last of the Southern dynasties in China, eventually destroyed by the Sui Dynasty....	Jiankang	5 Chen Baxian Emperor Wu of Chen Emperor Wu of Chen , personal name Chen Baxian , courtesy name Xingguo , nickname Fasheng , was the first emperor of the Chinese Chen Dynasty. He first distinguished himself as a Liang Dynasty general during the campaign against the rebel general Hou Jing, and he was progressively promoted... Chen Shubao Chen Shubao Chen Shubao , often known in history as Houzhu of Chen , posthumous name Duke Yang of Changcheng , courtesy name Yuanxiu , nickname Huangnu , was the last emperor of the Chinese Chen Dynasty...	557 557 Year 557 was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 557 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Asia :* The Northern Zhou Dynasty begins in northern... AD 589 589 Year 589 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 589 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Europe :* October 17 – The Adige River... AD
Northern Dynasties Northern dynasties The Northern Dynasties included Northern Wei Dynasty, Eastern Wei Dynasty, Western Wei Dynasty, Northern Qi Dynasty, Northern Zhou Dynasty.Also see Southern and Northern Dynasties.-External links:*...
Country	Capital	Number of Rulers Founding Emperor Final Emperor	Founding Year Ending Year
Northern Wei Northern Wei The Northern Wei Dynasty , also known as the Tuoba Wei , Later Wei , or Yuan Wei , was a dynasty which ruled northern China from 386 to 534 . It has been described as "part of an era of political turbulence and intense social and cultural change"...	1.Shengle, near modern Hohhot Hohhot Hohhot , is a city in north-central China and the capital of the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region, serving as the region's administrative, economic, and cultural centre.... 2.Pingcheng Datong Datong is a prefecture-level city in northern Shanxi Province of North China, located a few hundred kilometres west by rail from Beijing with an elevation of... 3.Luoyang Luoyang Luoyang is a prefecture-level city in western Henan province of Central China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyang to the south, Sanmenxia to the west, Jiyuan to the north, and Jiaozuo to the northeast.Situated on the central plain of...	17 Tuoba Gui Emperor Daowu of Northern Wei Emperor Daowu of Northern Wei , personal name Tuoba Gui , né Tuoba Shegui , was the founding emperor of the Chinese/Xianbei dynasty Northern Wei. He was the grandson of the last prince of Dai, Tuoba Shiyijian, and after the fall of the Dai state to Former Qin in 376 had been presumed to be the... Yuan Xiu Emperor Xiaowu of Northern Wei Emperor Xiaowu of Northern Wei , personal name Yuan Xiu , courtesy name Xiaoze , at times known as Emperor Chu , was an emperor of the Chinese/Xianbei dynasty Northern Wei...	386 386 Year 386 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Honorius and Euodius... AD 534 534 Year 534 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Iustinianus and Paulinus... AD
Eastern Wei Eastern Wei The Eastern Wei Dynasty followed the disintegration of the Northern Wei, and ruled northern China from 534 to 550.In 534 Gao Huan, the potentate of the eastern half of what was Northern Wei territory following the disintegration of the Northern Wei dynasty installed Yuan Shanjian a descendant of...	Ye Ye, China Ye or Yecheng was an ancient Chinese city located in what is now Linzhang County, Hebei and the neighbouring Anyang County, Henan....	1 Yuan Shanjian Emperor Xiaojing of Eastern Wei Emperor Xiaojing of Eastern Wei , personal name Yuan Shanjian , was the only emperor of the Chinese/Xianbei dynasty Eastern Wei – a branch successor state to Northern Wei... Yuan Shanjian Emperor Xiaojing of Eastern Wei Emperor Xiaojing of Eastern Wei , personal name Yuan Shanjian , was the only emperor of the Chinese/Xianbei dynasty Eastern Wei – a branch successor state to Northern Wei...	534 534 Year 534 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Iustinianus and Paulinus... AD 550 550 Year 550 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 550 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Byzantine Empire :* January 16 – Gothic War :... AD
Western Wei Western Wei The Western Wei Dynasty followed the disintegration of the Northern Wei, and ruled northern China from 535 to 556.After the Xianbei general Yuwen Tai killed the Northern Wei emperor Yuan Xiu, he installed Yuan Baoju as emperor of Western Wei while Yuwen Tai would remain as the virtual ruler...	Chang'an Xi'an Xi'an is the capital of the Shaanxi province, and a sub-provincial city in the People's Republic of China. One of the oldest cities in China, with more than 3,100 years of history, the city was known as Chang'an before the Ming Dynasty...	3 Yuan Baoju Emperor Wen of Western Wei Emperor Wen of Western Wei , personal name Yuan Baoju , was an emperor of the Chinese/Xianbei state Western Wei -- a branch successor state to Northern Wei... Yuan Kuo Emperor Gong of Western Wei Emperor Gong of Western Wei , personal name né Yuan Kuo , later changed to Tuoba Kuo , was the last emperor of the Chinese/Xianbei state Western Wei -- a branch successor state to Northern Wei. He was made emperor in 554 after his older brother Emperor Fei was deposed by the paramount general...	535 535 Year 535 was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Belisarius without colleague... AD 557 557 Year 557 was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 557 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Asia :* The Northern Zhou Dynasty begins in northern... AD
Northern Qi Northern Qi The Northern Qi Dynasty was one of the Northern dynasties of Chinese history and ruled northern China from 550 to 577.-History:The Chinese state of Northern Qi was the successor state of the Chinese/Xianbei state of Eastern Wei and was founded by Emperor Wenxuan...	Ye Ye, China Ye or Yecheng was an ancient Chinese city located in what is now Linzhang County, Hebei and the neighbouring Anyang County, Henan....	6 Gao Yang Emperor Wenxuan of Northern Qi Emperor Wenxuan of Qi , personal name Gao Yang , courtesy name Zijin , was the first emperor of the Chinese dynasty Northern Qi. He was the second son of Eastern Wei's paramount general Gao Huan, and the death of his brother and Gao Huan's designated successor Gao Cheng in 549 became the regent... Gao Heng Gao Heng Gao Heng , often known in history as the Youzhu of Northern Qi , was briefly an emperor of the Chinese dynasty Northern Qi. In 577, with Northern Qi under a major attack by rival Northern Zhou, Gao Heng's father Gao Wei, then emperor, wanted to try to deflect ill omens that portended a change in...	550 550 Year 550 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 550 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Byzantine Empire :* January 16 – Gothic War :... AD 577 577 Year 577 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 577 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Europe :* Battle of Deorham: The Anglo-Saxons under... AD
Northern Zhou Northern Zhou The Northern Zhou Dynasty followed the Western Wei, and ruled northern China from 557 to 581. It was overthrown by the Sui Dynasty.Northern Zhou's basis of power was established by Yuwen Tai, who was paramount general of Western Wei, following the split of Northern Wei into Western Wei and...	Chang'an Xi'an Xi'an is the capital of the Shaanxi province, and a sub-provincial city in the People's Republic of China. One of the oldest cities in China, with more than 3,100 years of history, the city was known as Chang'an before the Ming Dynasty...	5 Yuwen Jue Emperor Xiaomin of Northern Zhou Emperor Xiaomin of Northern Zhou , personal name Yuwen Jue , nickname Tuoluoni , was an emperor of the Chinese/Xianbei dynasty Northern Zhou Emperor Xiaomin of Northern Zhou ((北)周孝閔帝) (542–557), personal name Yuwen Jue (宇文覺), nickname Tuoluoni (陀羅尼), was an emperor of the Chinese/Xianbei dynasty... Yuwen Yan Emperor Jing of Northern Zhou Emperor Jing of Northern Zhou , personally name né Yuwen Yan , later Yuwen Chan , was the last emperor of the Chinese/Xianbei dynasty Northern Zhou. He became emperor at the age of six, after his father Emperor Xuan formally passed the throne to him, but Emperor Xuan retained the imperial powers...	557 557 Year 557 was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 557 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Asia :* The Northern Zhou Dynasty begins in northern... AD 581 581 Year 581 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 581 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Asia :* The Sui Dynasty replaces the Northern Zhou... AD

Territory at the beginning: ■ Blue represents the territory of Northern Wei Northern Wei The Northern Wei Dynasty , also known as the Tuoba Wei , Later Wei , or Yuan Wei , was a dynasty which ruled northern China from 386 to 534 . It has been described as "part of an era of political turbulence and intense social and cultural change"... , ■ Yellow represents the territory of Liu Song.

The Southern and Northern Dynasties was a period in the history of

History of China

Chinese civilization originated in various regional centers along both the Yellow River and the Yangtze River valleys in the Neolithic era, but the Yellow River is said to be the Cradle of Chinese Civilization. With thousands of years of continuous history, China is one of the world's oldest...

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

that lasted from 420

420

Year 420 was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Theodosius and Constantius...

to 589

589

Year 589 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 589 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Europe :* October 17 – The Adige River...

AD. Though an age of civil war

Civil war

A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....

and political chaos, it was also a time of flourishing arts and culture, advancement in technology, and the spreading of Mahayana

Mahayana

Mahāyāna is one of the two main existing branches of Buddhism and a term for classification of Buddhist philosophies and practice...

Buddhism and Daoism. The period saw large-scale migration of Han Chinese

Han Chinese

Han Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the...

people to the lands south of the Yangtze River

Yangtze River

The Yangtze, Yangzi or Cháng Jiāng is the longest river in Asia, and the third-longest in the world. It flows for from the glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau in Qinghai eastward across southwest, central and eastern China before emptying into the East China Sea at Shanghai. It is also one of the...

.

During this period the process of sinicization

Sinicization

Sinicization, Sinicisation or Sinification, is the linguistic assimilation or cultural assimilation of terms and concepts of the language and culture of China...

accelerated among the non-Chinese arrivals in the north and among the aboriginal people in the south. This process was also accompanied by the increasing popularity of Buddhism (introduced into China in the 1st century AD) in both north and south China, along with Daoism gaining influence from the outline of Buddhist scriptures (with two essential Daoist canons written during this period). Although multiple story towers such as guard towers and residential apartments existed in previous periods, during this period the distinct Chinese pagoda

Chinese pagoda

Chinese Pagodas are a traditional part of Chinese architecture. In addition to religious use, since ancient times Chinese pagodas have been praised for the spectacular views which they offer, and many famous poems in Chinese history attest to the joy of scaling pagodas.-History:The pagoda is...

tower (for storing Buddhist scriptures) evolved from the stupa

Stupa

A stupa is a mound-like structure containing Buddhist relics, typically the remains of Buddha, used by Buddhists as a place of worship....

, the latter originating from Buddhist traditions of protecting sutras in ancient India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

.

There were notable technological advances during this period. With the invention of the stirrup

Stirrup

A stirrup is a light frame or ring that holds the foot of a rider, attached to the saddle by a strap, often called a stirrup leather. Stirrups are usually paired and are used to aid in mounting and as a support while using a riding animal...

during the earlier Western Jin Dynasty, heavy cavalry became standard in combat. Advances in medicine

Medicine

Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....

, astronomy

Astronomy

Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...

, mathematics

Mathematics

Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...

, and cartography

Cartography

Cartography is the study and practice of making maps. Combining science, aesthetics, and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality can be modeled in ways that communicate spatial information effectively.The fundamental problems of traditional cartography are to:*Set the map's...

are also noted by historians. The famous Chinese mathematician and astronomer Zu Chongzhi

Zu Chongzhi

Zu Chongzhi , courtesy name Wenyuan , was a prominent Chinese mathematician and astronomer during the Liu Song and Southern Qi Dynasties.-Life and works:...

(429

429

Year 429 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Florentius and Dionysius...

–500

500

Year 500 was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Patricius and Hypatius...

AD) belonged to this age, an intellectual and social product of the elite culture shaped and developed in southern China during this period of time.

Background

After the collapse of a united China under the Han dynasty

Han Dynasty

The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...

in 220 AD due in large part to the Yellow Turban and Five Pecks of Rice rebellions, China eventually coalesced into the Three Kingdoms

Three Kingdoms

The Three Kingdoms period was a period in Chinese history, part of an era of disunity called the "Six Dynasties" following immediately the loss of de facto power of the Han Dynasty rulers. In a strict academic sense it refers to the period between the foundation of the state of Wei in 220 and the...

. Of these Three Kingdoms, Cao Wei

Cao Wei

Cao Wei was one of the states that competed for control of China during the Three Kingdoms period. With the capital at Luoyang, the state was established by Cao Pi in 220, based upon the foundations that his father Cao Cao laid...

was the strongest followed by Eastern Wu

Eastern Wu

Eastern Wu, also known as Sun Wu, was one the three states competing for control of China during the Three Kingdoms period after the fall of the Han Dynasty. It was based in the Jiangnan region of China...

and Shu Han

Shu Han

Shu Han was one of the three states competing for control of China during the Three Kingdoms period, after the fall of the Han Dynasty. The state was based on areas around Sichuan, which was then known as Shu...

, but they were initially in a relatively stable formation. After a 249 AD coup by Sima Yi

Sima Yi

Sima Yi was a general and politician of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. He is perhaps best known for defending Wei from Zhuge Liang's Northern Expeditions...

, the Sima family essentially controlled Cao Wei and soon conquered Shu Han

Conquest of Shu by Wei

The conquest of Shu by Wei was a military campaign launched by the state of Cao Wei against its rival Shu Han in 263 during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. The campaign culminated in the fall of Shu and the tripartite equilibrium maintained in China for over 40 years since the end of...

. Following a failed coup by the ruling Cao family against the Sima family, the final Cao ruler abdicated. Sima Yan then founded the Jin Dynasty and in 280 AD conquered Eastern Wu

Conquest of Wu by Jin

The conquest of Wu by Jin was a military campaign launched by the Jin Dynasty against the state of Eastern Wu in 280 towards the end of the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history...

, ending the Three Kingdoms and uniting China again.

The Jin Dynasty was severely weakened after the War of the Eight Princes

War of the Eight Princes

The War of the Eight Princes or Rebellion of the Eight Kings or Rebellion of the Eight Princes was a civil war for power among princes and dukes of the Chinese Jin Dynasty from AD 291 to AD 306. It was fought mostly in northern China and devastated the country, later triggering the Wu Hu ravaging...

from 291

291

Year 291 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Tiberianus and Dio...

to 306

306

Year 306 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Constantius and Valerius...

AD. During the reigns of Emperor Huai of Jin

Emperor Huai of Jin

Emperor Huai of Jin, sim. ch. 晋怀帝, trad. ch. 晉懷帝, py. Jìn Huáidì, wg. Chin Huai-ti , personal name Sima Chi , courtesy name Fengdu , was an emperor of the Jin Dynasty ....

and Emperor Min of Jin

Emperor Min of Jin

Emperor Min of Jin, Simplified Chinese character 晋愍帝, Traditional Chinese character 晉愍帝, Pinyin. Jìn Mǐndì, Wade-Giles Chin Min-ti , personal name Sima Ye , courtesy name Yanqi , was an emperor of the Jin Dynasty and the last of the Western Jin Dynasty.Emperor Min surrendered in 316 to Liu Yao, a...

, the country was put into grave danger with the uprising of the northern non-Han

Han Chinese

barbarians collectively known as Wu Hu

Wu Hu

Wu Hu was a Chinese term for the northern non-Chinese nomadic tribes which caused the Wu Hu uprising, and established the Sixteen Kingdoms from 304 to 439 AD.-Definition:...

. Invading barbarian armies almost destroyed the dynasty in the Disaster of Yongjia

Disaster of Yongjia

The Disaster of Yongjia referred to events that occurred in 311 CE, when Wu Hu forces captured Luoyang, the Jin capital. After this victory, Wu Hu forces committed a massacre when entering the city, killing the Jin crown prince, a host of ministers, and over 30,000 civilians...

, which was the 311

311

Year 311 was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Valerius and Maximinus...

AD sack of Luoyang

Luoyang

Luoyang is a prefecture-level city in western Henan province of Central China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyang to the south, Sanmenxia to the west, Jiyuan to the north, and Jiaozuo to the northeast.Situated on the central plain of...

. Chang'an

Chang'an

Chang'an is an ancient capital of more than ten dynasties in Chinese history, today known as Xi'an. Chang'an literally means "Perpetual Peace" in Classical Chinese. During the short-lived Xin Dynasty, the city was renamed "Constant Peace" ; yet after its fall in AD 23, the old name was restored...

met a similar fate in the year 316

316

Year 316 was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Sabinus and Rufinus...

AD. However, a scion of the royal house, the Prince of Langya (Sima Rui)

Emperor Yuan of Jin

Emperor Yuan of Jin , personal name Sima Rui , courtesy name Jingwen , was an emperor of the Jin Dynasty and the first of the Eastern Jin Dynasty...

, fled south of the Huai River

Huai River

The Huai River is a major river in China. The Huai River is located about mid-way between the Yellow River and Yangtze River, the two largest rivers in China, and like them runs from west to east...

to salvage what was left in order to sustain the empire. Cementing their power in the south, the Jin established modern-day Nanjing

Nanjing

' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...

(then called Jianye and renamed Jiankang) as their new capital, renaming the dynasty as the Eastern Jin (317

317

Year 317 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Gallicanus and Bassus...

–420

420

Year 420 was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Theodosius and Constantius...

AD) since the new capital was located southeast of Luoyang

Luoyang

. In the north, the barbarians established numerous kingdoms, leading to the period being known as the Sixteen Kingdoms

Sixteen Kingdoms

The Sixteen Kingdoms, or less commonly the Sixteen States, were a collection of numerous short-lived sovereign states in China proper and its neighboring areas from 304 to 439 AD after the retreat of the Jin Dynasty to South China and before the establishment of the Northern Dynasties...

. Eventually, the Northern Wei

Northern Wei

The Northern Wei Dynasty , also known as the Tuoba Wei , Later Wei , or Yuan Wei , was a dynasty which ruled northern China from 386 to 534 . It has been described as "part of an era of political turbulence and intense social and cultural change"...

conquered the rest of the northern states in 386 AD. Although the Chinese of the Eastern Jin (and successive southern dynasties) were well-defended from the northern barbarians by placement of naval fleets along the Yangtze River, there were still various problems faced with building and maintaining military strength. The designation of specific households for military service in the Tuntian

Tuntian

The Tuntian or Duntian system was a system of government-encouraged agriculture originated in the Western Han Dynasty period of Chinese history...

system eventually led to a falling out in their social status, causing widespread desertion of troops on many occasions. Faced with shortage of troop numbers, Jin generals were often sent on campaigns to capture non-Chinese tribesman in the south in order to draft them into the military. The Eastern Jin Dynasty fell not because of external invasion, though, but because the general Liu Yu seized the throne from Emperor Gong of Jin

Emperor Gong of Jin

Emperor Gong of Jin was last emperor of the Eastern Jin Dynasty in China. He became emperor in 419 after his developmentally disabled brother Emperor An was killed by the regent Liu Yu, and during his brief reign, actual power was in Liu Yu's hands. In 420, under pressure from Liu Yu, he...

, becoming Emperor Wu of Liu Song

Emperor Wu of Liu Song

Emperor Wu of Song , personal name Liu Yu , courtesy name Dexing , nickname Jinu , was the founding emperor of the Chinese dynasty Liu Song. He came from a humble background, but became prominent after leading a rebellion in 404 to overthrow Huan Xuan, who had usurped the Jin throne in 403...

(reigned 420

420

Year 420 was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Theodosius and Constantius...

–422

422

Year 422 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Honorius and Theodosius...

AD), starting the Southern and Northern Dynasties period.

The Southern Dynasties

The Jin were supplanted by the Liu Song (420

420

Year 420 was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Theodosius and Constantius...

–479

479

Year 479 was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Zeno without colleague...

AD), the Southern Qi

Southern Qi

The Southern Qi Dynasty was the second of the Southern dynasties in China, followed by the Liang Dynasty. During its 23-year history, the dynasty was largely filled with instability, as after the death of the capable Emperor Gao and Emperor Wu, Emperor Wu's grandson Xiao Zhaoye was assassinated...

(479

479

Year 479 was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Zeno without colleague...

–502

502

Year 502 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Avienus and Probus...

AD), the Liang Dynasty

Liang Dynasty

The Liang Dynasty , also known as the Southern Liang Dynasty , was the third of the Southern dynasties in China and was followed by the Chen Dynasty...

(502

502

Year 502 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Avienus and Probus...

–557

557

Year 557 was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 557 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Asia :* The Northern Zhou Dynasty begins in northern...

AD), and then the Chen Dynasty

Chen Dynasty

The Chen Dynasty , also known as the Southern Chen Dynasty, was the fourth and last of the Southern dynasties in China, eventually destroyed by the Sui Dynasty....

(557

557

–589

589

AD). Because all of these dynasties had their capital at Jiankang (with the exception of Liang after they moved their capital), they are sometimes grouped together with Eastern Wu and Eastern Jin as the Six Dynasties

Six Dynasties

Six Dynasties is a collective noun for six Chinese dynasties during the periods of the Three Kingdoms , Jin Dynasty , and Southern and Northern Dynasties ....

. The rulers of these short-lived dynasties were generals who seized and then held power for several decades, but were unable to securely pass power of rule onto their heirs to continue their dynasty successfully. Emperor Wu of Liang

Emperor Wu of Liang

Emperor Wu of Liang , personal name Xiao Yan , courtesy name Shuda , nickname Lian'er , was the founding emperor of the Chinese Liang Dynasty...

(502

502

Year 502 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Avienus and Probus...

–549

549

Year 549 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 549 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Byzantine Empire :* The Ostrogoths under Totila...

AD), however, was the most notable ruler of his age, being a patron of the arts and of Buddhism. Under the later waning leadership of the Chen Dynasty, the southern Chinese were unable to resist the military power amassed in the north by Yang Jian, who declared himself Emperor Wen of Sui

Emperor Wen of Sui

Emperor Wen of Sui — personal name Yang Jian , Xianbei name Puliuru Jian , nickname Naluoyan — was the founder and first emperor of China's Sui Dynasty . He was a hard-working administrator and a micromanager. As a Buddhist, he encouraged the spread of Buddhism through the state...

and invaded the south to reunify China.

Liu Song (420–479 AD)

Liu Song founder Liu Yu

Emperor Wu of Liu Song

was originally a leader of the Army of the Northern Garrison (北府军) that notably won the Battle of Fei River

Battle of Fei River

The Battle of Fei River or “Feishui” was a battle in 383, where Fu Jiān of the Di Former Qin Empire was decisively defeated by the numerically inferior Jin army of Eastern Jin....

in 383 AD. In 404 AD, he helped suppress Huan Xuan

Huan Xuan

Huan Xuan , courtesy name Jingdao , nickname Lingbao , formally Emperor Wudao of Chu , was a Jin Dynasty warlord who briefly took over the imperial throne from Emperor An of Jin and declared his own state of Chu in 403, but was defeated by an uprising led by the general Liu Yu in 404 and killed...

's rebellion, leading to his dominance over the Eastern Jin court. In order to gain popularity to take the throne, Liu Yu undertook two northern expeditions

Liu Yu's expeditions

Liu Yu's expeditions were a series of successful campaigns mounted by Jin China from 409 CE to 416 CE against Southern Yan, Later Qin, Northern Wei and Xia that successfully recovered all of China's territory south of the Yellow River with the exception of the Chang'an area...

against the Sixteen Kingdoms

Sixteen Kingdoms

, capturing Shandong

Shandong

' is a Province located on the eastern coast of the People's Republic of China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history from the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River and served as a pivotal cultural and religious site for Taoism, Chinese...

, Henan

Henan

Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...

, and briefly Guanzhong

Guanzhong

Guanzhong , or Guanzhong Plain, is a historical region of China corresponding to the lower valley of the Wei River. It is called Guanzhong or 'within the passes' to distinguish it from 'Guandong' or 'east of the pass', that is, the North China Plain. The North China Plain is bordered on the west by...

by 416 AD. He gave up Guanzhong to try to take the throne. Because he believed in a prophecy saying there would be one more emperor after Emperor An of Jin

Emperor An of Jin

Emperor An of Jin , personal name Sima Dezong , was an emperor of the Eastern Jin Dynasty in China. He was described as so developmentally disabled that he was unable to speak, clothe himself, or be able to express whether he was hungry or full...

, he deposed Emperor An, and soon afterwards Emperor An's replacement, Emperor Gong of Jin

Emperor Gong of Jin

in 420 AD, ending the Eastern Jin dynasty. Even after crowning himself Emperor Wu of Liu Song

Emperor Wu of Liu Song

, he remained diligently frugal. However, he did not care for education and trusted unsavory people. He felt that the nobility (世族) had too much power, so he tended to appoint the lower classes (寒族) to government positions and gave military power to imperial kinsmen. Ironically, because the imperial kinsmen stabilized their military power and wished to gain political power, Emperor Wu was afraid they would have thoughts of usurping the throne. Thus, he frequently killed his kinsmen.

After the death of Emperor Wu, his son Emperor Shao of Liu Song

Emperor Shao of Liu Song

Emperor Shao of Song , also known by his post-removal title Prince of Yingyang , personal name Liu Yifu , nickname Chebing , was an emperor of the Chinese dynasty Liu Song. He was the oldest son of the founding emperor, Emperor Wu, and became emperor after his father's death in 422...

ruled briefly before being judged incompetent and killed by government officials led by Xu Xianzhi

Xu Xianzhi

Xu Xianzhi , courtesy name Zongwen , was a high level official of the Chinese dynasty Liu Song, who, along with his colleagues Fu Liang and Xie Hui, deposed Emperor Shao after the death of Emperor Wu due to their belief that Emperor Shao was not fit to be emperor...

, replacing him with Emperor Wen of Liu Song

Emperor Wen of Liu Song

Emperor Wen of Liu Song , personal name Liu Yilong , nickname Che'er , was an emperor of the Chinese dynasty Liu Song. He was the third son of the dynastic founder Emperor Wu . After his father's death in 422, Liu Yilong's eldest brother Liu Yifu took the throne as Emperor Shao...

, another son of Emperor Wu. Those government officials were soon killed by Emperor Wen. Emperor Wen's reign was a period of relative political stability because of his frugality and good government; the period was called the Yuanjia administration

Reign of Yuanjia

The reign of Yuanjia was a period in Chinese history under the Liu Song Dynasty which was comparatively wealthy and stable compared to previous and later periods. It occurred under the diligent Emperor Wen of the Liu Song dynasty, who was an able administrator...

(元嘉之治). In 430 AD, Emperor Wen started a number of northern expeditions against Northern Wei. These were ineffective because of insufficient preparations and excessive micromanagement of his generals, decreasing weakening the dynasty. Because of his jealousy of Tan Daoji

Tan Daoji

Tan Daoji was a high level general of the Chinese dynasty Liu Song. He was one of the most respected generals during the Southern and Northern Dynasties era...

, a noted leader of the Army of the Northern Garrison, he deprived himself of a formidable general to the great delight of the Northern Wei. Thus, they were unable to capitalize when Northern Wei suffered the Wuqi Incident. Starting in 445 AD, Northern Wei, taking advantage of Liu Song's weakness, made major incursions in the lands between the Yellow and Huai River (modern Shandong, Hebei, and Henan) and devastating six provinces. Emperor Wen lamented that if Tan were still alive, he would have prevented Northern Wei advances. From then on, Liu Song was in a weakened state.

Emperor Wen was assassinated by Crown Prince Shao and the second prince Jun in 453 after planning to punish them for consorting with witchcraft. However, they were both defeated by the third prince Jun (spelled with a different character than the aforementioned Jun), who become Emperor Xiaowu of Liu Song

Emperor Xiaowu of Liu Song

Emperor Xiaowu of Liu Song , personal name Liu Jun , courtesy name Xiulong , nickname Daomin , was an emperor of the Chinese dynasty Liu Song. He was a son of Emperor Wen. After his older brother Liu Shao assassinated their father in 453 and took the throne, he rose in rebellion and overthrew Liu...

. Emperor Xiaowu proved to be licentious and cruel, supposedly committing incest with the daughters of an uncle who had helped him gain the throne; his rivals also claimed he had incest with his mother. This led to two rebellions by the imperial clan, one of which saw him slaughter the inhabitants of Guangling

Yangzhou

Yangzhou is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu Province, People's Republic of China. Sitting on the northern bank of the Yangtze River, it borders the provincial capital of Nanjing to the southwest, Huai'an to the north, Yancheng to the northeast, Taizhou to the east, and Zhenjiang across...

. The following ballad gives an idea of those times:

Looking toward Jiankang city

the little river flows against the current

in front, one sees sons killing fathers

and behind, one sees younger brothers killing older brothers

Emperor Xiaowu died naturally in 464 AD and was succeeded by his son, who became Emperor Qianfei of Liu Song

Emperor Qianfei of Liu Song

Emperor Qianfei of Liu Song , personal name Liu Ziye , nickname Fashi , was an emperor of the Chinese dynasty Liu Song. His brief reign as a teenager was known for his violent and impulsive acts, including the slaughter of many high level officials and his sexually immoral behavior...

. Emperor Qianfei proved to be similar to his father, engaging in both kin slaughter and incest. In a scandalous move, because his sister complained about how it was unfair that men were allowed 10,000 concubines, he gave her 30 handsome young men as lovers. His uncle Liu Yu, the Prince of Xiangdong, whom he called the "Prince of Pigs" for his obesity, eventually assassinated him and became Emperor Ming of Liu Song

Emperor Ming of Liu Song

Emperor Ming of Liu Song , personal name Liu Yu , courtesy name Xiubing , nickname Rongqi , was an emperor of the Chinese dynasty Liu Song...

. Emperor Ming began his reign by killing all the descendants of Emperor Xiaowu, and his suspicious nature resulted in the loss of the provinces north of the Huai River, which were only briefly regained in the other Southern Dynasties. Emperor Ming's young son became Emperor Houfei of Liu Song

Emperor Houfei of Liu Song

Emperor Houfei of Liu Song , also known by posthumous demoted title of Prince of Cangwu , personal name Liu Yu , courtesy name Derong , nickname Huizhen , was an emperor of the Chinese dynasty Liu Song...

. The political situation was volatile. The general Xiao Daocheng

Emperor Gao of Southern Qi

Emperor Gao of Southern Qi , personal name Xiao Daocheng , courtesy name Shaobo , nickname Doujiang , was the founding emperor of the Chinese dynasty Southern Qi...

slowly gained power and eventually deposed Emperor Houfei in favor of his brother who became Emperor Shun of Liu Song

Emperor Shun of Liu Song

Emperor Shun of Liu Song , personal name Liu Zhun , courtesy name Zhongmou , nickname Zhiguan , was an emperor of the Chinese dynasty Liu Song...

. After defeating his rival general Shen Youzhi

Shen Youzhi

Shen Youzhi , courtesy name Zhongda , was a general during the Chinese dynasty Liu Song, who, in the final moments of the dynasty, made a final failed attempt to prevent Xiao Daocheng from seizing the throne....

, Xiao forced Emperor Shun to yield to throne and crowned himself as Emperor Gao of Southern Qi, ending the Liu Song dynasty.

Southern Qi (479–502 AD)

Though distantly related, the Southern Qi and the following Liang dynasty were members of the Xiao (萧) family from Lanling (兰陵, in modern Cangshan County

Cangshan County

Cangshan County is a county of southern Shandong, bordering Jiangsu province to the south. It is under the administration of Linyi City.The population was in 1999....

, Shandong

Shandong

). Because Emperor Gao had a low social standing, he earned the disdain of nobility. His style of governance was similar to the early style of the Liu Song dynasty and was very economical. He died in the fourth year of his reign and his, who was only 13 years younger than him, succeeded him as Emperor Wu of Southern Qi

Emperor Wu of Southern Qi

Emperor Wu of Southern Qi , personal name Xiao Ze , courtesy name Xuanyuan , nickname Long'er , was the second emperor of the Chinese Southern Qi Dynasty...

. Emperor Wu made peace with the Northern Wei, content to protect his borders. This period of peace was known as Yongming Administration (永明之治). He also used government secretaries (典签官) appointed with provincial governors and members of the imperial clan to monitor them.

The short reigns of Emperor Wu's grandsons, Xiao Zhaoye and Xiao Zhaowen (his first son predeceased him), were dominated by Xiao Luan, Emperor's Wu's first cousin. He killed them in turn and crowned himself as Emperor Ming of Southern Qi

Emperor Ming of Southern Qi

Emperor Ming of Southern Qi , personal name Xiao Luan , courtesy name Jingqi , nickname Xuandu , was an emperor of the Chinese dynasty Southern Qi...

. Using the government secretaries (典签官), he slaughtered all the descendants of Emperors Gao and Wu. Emperor Ming soon became very ill and started following Daoism, changing his whole wardrobe to red. He also passed an edict making officials try to find silver fish (银鱼). He died in 498 AD and was succeeded by his son Xiao Baojuan, whose killed high officials and governors at his whim, sparking many revolts. The final revolt in 501 AD started after Xiao Baojun killed his prime minister Xiao Yi, leading his brother Xiao Yan

Emperor Wu of Liang

Emperor Wu of Liang , personal name Xiao Yan , courtesy name Shuda , nickname Lian'er , was the founding emperor of the Chinese Liang Dynasty...

to revolt under the banner of Xiao Baojun's brother who was declared Emperor He of Southern Qi

Emperor He of Southern Qi

Emperor He of Southern Qi , personal name Xiao Baorong , courtesy name Zhizhao , was the last emperor of the Chinese dynasty Southern Qi. He was put on the throne by the generals Xiao Yingzhou and Xiao Yan in 501 as a competing candidate for the throne to his violent and arbitrary older brother...

. Xiao Baojun was killed by one of his general during the siege of his capital at Jiankang, and after a short puppet reign by Emperor He, Xiao Yan overthrew the Southern Qi and established the Liang dynasty.

Liang (502–557 AD)

Emperor Wu was economical, worked hard at governing, and cared for the common people. His early reign was known as Tianjian Administration (天监之治). The Liang dynasty's military strength gradually surpassed the strength the Northern Wei, who suffered internal strife due to their policy of sinicization

Sinicization

Sinicization, Sinicisation or Sinification, is the linguistic assimilation or cultural assimilation of terms and concepts of the language and culture of China...

. In 503 AD, Norhtnern Wei invaded, but were defeated at Zhongli (modern Bengbu

Bengbu

Bengbu , formerly known as P'engpu and Peng-pu, is a prefecture-level city with a population of 3,164,467 at the last census in northern Anhui Province, People's Republic of China...

). He supported Northern Expeditions, but did not aggressively take advantage of his victory in 516 AD at Shouyang

Shouyang County

Shouyang County is a county of Shanxi, China. It is under the administration of Jinzhong city.-References:*...

because of heavy casualties. Given the excessive kin-slaughter in the Liu Song and Southern Qi dynasties, Emperor Wu was very lenient to imperial clansmen, not even investigating them when they committed crimes. Because Emperor Wu was very learned, supported scholars, and encouraged the flourishing education system, the Liang dynasty reached a cultural peak. An avid poet, Emperor Wu was fond of gathering many literary talents at court, and even held poetry competitions with prizes of gold or silk for those considered the best.
However, in his later years, sycophants surrounded him and because of his belief in Buddhism, he dedicated his life (舍身) and tried to become a monk three times to Buddhism, but each time was persuaded to return by extravagant court donations to Buddhism. Furthermore, since Buddhists and Daoists were exempt from taxation, nearly half of the population fraudulently named themselves as such, badly damaging state finances. Imperial clansmen and officials were also greedy and wasteful.

Because Emperor Wu was willing to accept defected generals from Northern Wei, when Northern Wei suffered major revolts in their northern garrison towns

Six Frontier Towns

The Six Frontier Towns , also known as Northern Frontier Towns , refers to six military towns that Northern Wei government built during Huangshi era and Yanhe era to prevent the southward invasion by Rouran...

, he sent his general Chen Qingzhi

Chen Qingzhi

Chen Qingzhi was a prominent general of the Liang dynasty. He is best known for his campaign in 530 to crush Northern Wei. With only 7,000 troops, he invaded Northern Wei and conquered the regions of Henan and Shandong. However, he lost them again after being counterattacked by a Wei force ten...

to support the pretender Yuan Hao

Yuan Hao

Yuan Hao , courtesy name Ziming , was an imperial prince and pretender to the throne of the Chinese/Xianbei dynasty Northern Wei, who briefly received allegiance from most of the provinces south of the Yellow River after he captured the capital Luoyang with support of neighboring Liang Dynasty...

. Despite the fact that Chen was only given 7,000 troops, Chen still managed to defeat army after army and even captured Luoyang, the capital of Northern Wei. Ultimately, Chen was not supplied enough and was defeated by troops ten times his size. After the splitting of Northern Wei into Eastern and Western Wei, Emperor Wu granted asylum to rebel Eastern Wei commander Hou Jing

Hou Jing

Hou Jing , courtesy name Wanjing , was a general for the Chinese states Northern Wei, Eastern Wei, and Liang Dynasty, and briefly, after controlling the Liang imperial regime for several years, usurped the Liang throne, establishing a state of Han...

, sending him on Northern Expeditions against Eastern Wei. After some initial successes, Liang forces were decisively defeated. Rumors abounded that Emperor Wu intended to give Hou as a peace offering. Despite Emperor Wu's assurances, Hou decided to rebel in the name of Xiao Dong

Xiao Dong

Xiao Dung , courtesy name Yuanji , sometimes known by his pre-ascension title of Prince of Yuzhang , was briefly an emperor of the Chinese Liang Dynasty...

, the grandson of the former crown prince Xiao Tong

Xiao Tong

Xiao Tong , courtesy name Deshi , formally Crown Prince Zhaoming , later further posthumously honored as Emperor Zhaoming , was a crown prince of the Chinese dynasty Liang Dynasty...

who died in 531 AD and was removed from crown prince because of conflicts with his father. Hou surprised Emperor Liang by besieging the Liang capital at Jiankang. Attempts by Liang forces to break the siege failed, and Emperor Wu was forced to negotiate a ceasefire and peace. However, because Hou thought that since peace was not sustainable, he broke the ceasefire and captured the palace. The slaughter of the nearby populace occurred. Emperor Wu was starved to death and after the short puppet reigns of crown prince Xiao Gang

Xiao Gang

Xiao Gang is currently chairman of the board of directors of Bank of China Limited and Bank of China Limited. From 1998 to his appointment to his current position in 2003, he was a deputy governor of the People's Bank of China, the central bank of the People's Republic of China.-Biography:Xiao...

and Xiao Dong, Hou seized power in his own hands and established the Han dynasty.

In spite of conquering Jiankang, Hou essentially only controlled the nearby areas. The rest of the Liang dynasty lands were under the control of members of the imperial clan. Their squabbling amongst themselves weakened their efforts to defeat Hou. In the end, Xiao Yi with the aid of his generals Wang Sengbian

Wang Sengbian

Wang Sengbian , courtesy name Juncai , was a general of the Chinese dynasty Liang Dynasty. He came to prominence as the leading general under Emperor Yuan 's campaigns against the rebel general Hou Jing and other competitors for the Liang throne, and after Emperor Yuan was defeated by Western Wei...

and Chen Baxian defeated Hou, crowning himself Emperor Yuan of Liang

Emperor Yuan of Liang

Emperor Yuan of Liang , personal name Xiao Yi , courtesy name Shicheng , nickname Qifu , was an emperor of the Chinese Liang Dynasty...

. His brother Xiao Ji

Xiao Ji

Xiao Ji , courtesy name Shixun , known by his princely title of Prince of Wuling , name derogatorily and posthumously changed to Taotie Ji , was an imperial prince and pretender to the throne of the Chinese Liang Dynasty...

based in Sichuan

Sichuan

' , known formerly in the West by its postal map spellings of Szechwan or Szechuan is a province in Southwest China with its capital in Chengdu...

was still a major threat. Emperor Yuan asked for assistance from Western Wei to defeat Xiao Ji, but after subduing Xiao Ji, they kept Sichuan. Due to a diplomatic faux pas

Faux pas

A faux pas is a violation of accepted social norms . Faux pas vary widely from culture to culture, and what is considered good manners in one culture can be considered a faux pas in another...

, he incited the anger of Yuwen Tai, the leading general of Western Wei, which resulted in him being deposed and his death. Western Wei set up the puppet state of Western Liang with capital at Jiangling. Northern Qi also had designs on the Liang throne, and sent an expedition under the banner of the a cousin of Emperor Yuan. Chen Baxian and Wang Sengbian set up the last surviving son of Emperor Yuan, Xiao Fangzhi

Emperor Jing of Liang

Emperor Jing of Liang , personal name Xiao Fangzhi , courtesy name Huixiang , nickname Fazhen , was an emperor of the Chinese Liang Dynasty. As the only surviving son of Emperor Yuan, he was declared emperor by the general Chen Baxian in 555, but in 557 Chen forced him to yield the throne and...

, as Liang ruler, but he was not given the imperial title. After some defeats to the forces of Northern Qi, Wang Sengbian allowed their pretender, Xiao Yuanming

Xiao Yuanming

Xiao Yuanming , courtesy name Jingtong , often known by his pre-ascension title of Marquess of Zhenyang , at times known by his post-removal title Duke of Jian'an , honored Emperor Min by Xiao Zhuang, was briefly an emperor of the Chinese Liang Dynasty. He was the nephew of the founding emperor...

to establish himself as Emperor Min of Liang. However, Chen Baxian was displeased with the arrangements, and in a surprise move killed Wang and deposed Emperor Min in favor of Xiao Fangzhi who became Emperor Jing of Liang. After a short reign, Chen deposed Emperor Jing and took power himself as Emperor Wu of Chen

Emperor Wu of Chen

Emperor Wu of Chen , personal name Chen Baxian , courtesy name Xingguo , nickname Fasheng , was the first emperor of the Chinese Chen Dynasty. He first distinguished himself as a Liang Dynasty general during the campaign against the rebel general Hou Jing, and he was progressively promoted...

in 557 AD.

Chen (557–589 AD)

Emperor Wu of Chen came from the region of Wu

Wu-speaking peoples

Wu-speaking peoples also known as Wuyue people are a major subgroup of the Han Chinese . They are a Wu Chinese-speaking people who hail from southern Jiangsu province, the city of Shanghai, all of Zhejiang province, as well as smaller populations in Xuancheng prefecture-level city in southern...

(a region near modern-day Shanghai). At that time, due to the Hou Jing rebllion, the Qiao and Wu clans were greatly weakened, and many places set up independent regimes. Because Emperor Wu had could not pacify all the independent regimes, he adopted conciliatory measures. After the sudden death of Emperor Wu, his nephew Chen Qian took power as Emperor Wen of Chen

Emperor Wen of Chen

Emperor Wen of Chen , personal name Chen Qian , courtesy name Zihua , was an emperor of the Chinese Chen Dynasty. He was the nephew of the founding emperor, Emperor Wu , and after Emperor Wu's death in 559, the officials supported him to be emperor since Emperor Wu's only surviving son, Chen...

. After the fall of Liang, the general Wang Lin

Wang Lin

Wang Lin , courtesy name Ziheng , formally Prince Zhongwu of Baling , was a general of the Chinese dynasties Liang Dynasty and Northern Qi...

had established an independent kingdom based in modern day Hunan and Hubei provinces and was now starting to cause trouble. Wang Lin allied with Northern Wei

Northern Wei

and Northern Qi

Northern Qi

The Northern Qi Dynasty was one of the Northern dynasties of Chinese history and ruled northern China from 550 to 577.-History:The Chinese state of Northern Qi was the successor state of the Chinese/Xianbei state of Eastern Wei and was founded by Emperor Wenxuan...

to take take conquer the Chen capital at Jiankang. Emperor Wen first defeated the combined forces of Northern Qi and Wang Lin before preventing the forces of Northern Wei from entering the South at Yueyang

Yueyang

Yueyang is a prefecture-level city at the northeastern corner of Hunan province, South Central China, on the southern shores of Dongting Lake.The Yueyang metropolitan area occupies 14,896 km². and the city proper occupies 304 km²...

. Furthermore, through Emperor Wen's extensive efforts at good governance, the economic situation of the South was greatly improved, restoring his kingdom's national strength.

Following the death of Emperor Wen, his son, the weak-willed Chen Bozong, took power and became Emperor Fei of Chen

Emperor Fei of Chen

Emperor Fei of Chen , personal name Chen Bozong , courtesy name Fengye , nickname Yaowang , also known by his post-removal title of Prince of Linhai , was an emperor of the Chinese Chen Dynasty...

. His uncle, Chen Xu, after essentially controlling the country through his short reign, eventually deposed him and took power as Emperor Xuan of Chen

Emperor Xuan of Chen

Emperor Xuan of Chen , personal name Chen Xu , courtesy name Shaoshi , nickname Shili , was an emperor of the Chinese Chen Dynasty. He seized the throne from his nephew Emperor Fei in 569 and subsequently ruled the state for 13 years...

. At that time, the Northern Wei intended to conquer Northern Qi and thus invited the Chen dynasty to help. Emperor Xuan agreed to help because he wanted to recover the lost territories south of the Huai River. In 573 AD, he sent general Wu Mingche to assist the effort; in two years, he managed to recover he lost territories south of the Huai River. At the time, Northern Qi was in a precarious situation with little military strength and Emperor Xuan could have taken advantage of the opportunity to entirely defeat Northern Qi. However, he only wanted to protect his territories south of the Huai River. Northern Wei instead took advantage of Northern Qi's weakness and following their defeat of Northern Qi, in 577 AD, they sent troops to the territories south of the Huai River, where they decisively defeated the Chen dynasty forces. The Chen dynasty was in imminent danger.

In a stroke of fortune, Northern Wei's Emperor Wu suddenly died and his general Yang Jian

Yang Jian

Yang Jian is the name of:*Erlang Shen, the mythological Chinese God*Emperor Wen of Sui , founder and first emperor of China's Sui Dynasty* Yang Jian , Emperor Wen's grandson...

attempted to take the throne. This stopped the southern advance of the Northern Troops. The respite was short though as after Yang Jian defeated his rival General Weichi Jiong, he usurped the throne from Emperor Jing of Northern Zhou

Emperor Jing of Northern Zhou

Emperor Jing of Northern Zhou , personally name né Yuwen Yan , later Yuwen Chan , was the last emperor of the Chinese/Xianbei dynasty Northern Zhou. He became emperor at the age of six, after his father Emperor Xuan formally passed the throne to him, but Emperor Xuan retained the imperial powers...

and established the Sui Dynasty

Sui Dynasty

The Sui Dynasty was a powerful, but short-lived Imperial Chinese dynasty. Preceded by the Southern and Northern Dynasties, it ended nearly four centuries of division between rival regimes. It was followed by the Tang Dynasty....

, crowning himself Emperor Wen of Sui

Emperor Wen of Sui

. He proceeded to invade the south to reunify China. Emperor Xuan had just died and his son incompetent son Chen Shubao

Chen Shubao

Chen Shubao , often known in history as Houzhu of Chen , posthumous name Duke Yang of Changcheng , courtesy name Yuanxiu , nickname Huangnu , was the last emperor of the Chinese Chen Dynasty...

(Houzhu of Chen) took power. He was licentious and wasteful, resulting in chaos and corruption in the government; many of those government officials heavily exploited the people, causing great suffering. In planning tactics defeat the Chen dynasty, Emperor Wen of Sui took the suggestion of his general Gao Jiong

Gao Jiong

Gāo Jiǒng Gāo Jiǒng Gāo Jiǒng (d. August 27, 607 courtesy name Zhaoxuan (昭玄), alternative name Min (敏), known during the Northern Zhou period by the Xianbei name Dugu Jiong (独孤颎/獨孤熲), was a key official and general of the Chinese Sui Dynasty...

and waited until the South were harvesting their crops to entirely burn the farmland, crippling the strength of the Chen dynasty. In 588 AD, Emperor Wen of Sui sent his son Yang Guang (who would become Emperor Yang of Sui

Emperor Yang of Sui

Emperor Yang of Sui , personal name Yang Guang , alternative name Ying , nickname Amo , known as Emperor Ming during the brief reign of his grandson Yang Tong), was the second son of Emperor Wen of Sui, and the second emperor of China's Sui Dynasty.Emperor Yang's original name was Yang Ying, but...

) to finally vanquish the Chen dynasty. Chen Shubao relied on the natural barrier of the Yangtze River and continued as always with his festive and licentious activities. The next year, Sui forces captured the Chen capital of Jiankang. Chen Shubao and his favorite concubine Zhang Lihua

Consort Zhang Lihua

Consort Zhang Lihua was an imperial consort of the Chinese dynasty Chen Dynasty. She was the favorite concubine of Chen's final emperor, Chen Shubao....

attempted to hide in a well, but eventually were captured by Sui forces, thus ending the Chen dynasty.

The Northern Dynasties

In the first half of the Northern Wei Dynasty (386

386

Year 386 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Honorius and Euodius...

–534

534

Year 534 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Iustinianus and Paulinus...

AD), the Xianbei

Xianbei

The Xianbei were a significant Mongolic nomadic people residing in Manchuria, Inner Mongolia and eastern Mongolia. The title “Khan” was first used among the Xianbei.-Origins:...

steppe tribesmen who dominated northern China kept a policy of strict social distinction between them and their Chinese subjects. Chinese were drafted into the bureaucracy, employed as officials to collect taxes, etc. However, the Chinese were kept out of many higher positions of power. They also represented the minority of the populace where centers of power were located, such as the first Northern Wei capital at Pingcheng in modern-day northern Shanxi

Shanxi

' is a province in Northern China. Its one-character abbreviation is "晋" , after the state of Jin that existed here during the Spring and Autumn Period....

province.

Widespread social and cultural transformation in northern China came with Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei

Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei

Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei , personal name né Tuoba Hong , later Yuan Hong , was an emperor of the Chinese/Xianbei dynasty Northern Wei....

(reigned 471

471

Year 471 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Novus and Probianus...

–499

499

Year 499 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Iohannes without colleague...

AD), whose father was a Xianbei, but whose mother was Chinese. Although of the Tuoba

Tuoba

Tuoba, or Tabgach, were a clan of Xianbei people of ancient China.-Xianbei Tuoba:Tuoba was a clan of the Xianbei people in the early centuries of the 1st millennium AD. They established the State of Dai from 310 to 376 AD, and the Northern Wei Dynasty from 386 to 536 AD...

Clan from the Xianbei tribe, Emperor Xiaowen asserted his dual Xianbei-Chinese identity, renaming his own clan after the Chinese Yuan (元 meaning "Elemental"). In the year 493

493

Year 493 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Albinus and Eusebius...

Emperor Xiaowen instituted a new sinification program that had the Xianbei elites conform to many Chinese standards. These social reforms included donning Chinese clothing (banning Xianbei clothing at court), learning the Chinese language (if under the age of thirty), applied one-character Chinese surnames to Xianbei families, and encouraged the clans of high-ranking Xianbei and Chinese families to intermarry. Emperor Xiaowen also moved the capital city from Pingcheng to one of China's old imperial sites, Luoyang

Luoyang

, which had been the capital during the earlier Eastern Han and Western Jin dynasties. The new capital at Luoyang was revived and transformed, with roughly 150,000 Xianbei and other northern warriors moved from north to south to fill new ranks for the capital by the year 495

495

Year 495 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Viator without colleague...

. Within a couple decades, the population rose to about half a million residents, and was famed for being home to over a thousand Buddhist temples. Defectors from the south, such as Wang Su of the prestigious Langye Wang family, were largely accommodated and felt at home with the establishment of their own Wu quarter in Luoyang (this quarter of the city home to over three thousand families). They were even served tea (by this time gaining popularity in southern China) at court instead of yogurt drinks commonly found in the north.

In the year 523

523

Year 523 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Maximus without colleague...

, Prince Dongyang of the Northern Wei was sent to Dunhuang

Dunhuang

Dunhuang is a city in northwestern Gansu province, Western China. It was a major stop on the ancient Silk Road. It was also known at times as Shāzhōu , or 'City of Sands', a name still used today...

to serve as its governor for a term of fifteen years. With the religious force of Buddhism

Buddhism

Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...

gaining mainstream acceptance in Chinese society, Prince Dongyang and local wealthy families set out to establish a monumental project in honor of Buddhism, carving and decorating Cave 285 of the Mogao Caves

Mogao Caves

The Mogao Caves or Mogao Grottoes , also known as the Caves of the Thousand Buddhas , form a system of 492 temples southeast of the center of Dunhuang, an oasis strategically located at a religious and cultural crossroads on the Silk Road, in Gansu province, China...

with beautiful statues and murals. This promotion of the arts would continue on for centuries at Dunhuang, and is now one of China's greatest tourist attractions.

In that same year of 523

523

Year 523 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Maximus without colleague...

a revolt of several military garrisons was caused by a food shortage far north of Luoyang. After this was suppressed, the government had 200,000 surrendered garrison rebels deployed to Hebei, which proved later to be a mistake when a former garrison officer organized another rebellion in the years 526

526

Year 526 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Olybrius without colleague...

–527

527

Year 527 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Mavortius without colleague...

. The Wei court was betrayed by one of their own generals, who had the empress dowager and the young emperor thrown into the Yellow River, while establishing his own puppet ruler to maintain authority. As conflict swelled in the north between successive leaders, Gao Huan

Gao Huan

Gao Huan , nickname Heliuhun , formally Prince Xianwu of Qi , later further formally honored by Northern Qi initially as Emperor Xianwu , then as Emperor Shenwu with the temple name Gaozu , was the paramount general of the...

took control of the east and Luoyang (holding Emperor Xiaojing of Eastern Wei

Emperor Xiaojing of Eastern Wei

Emperor Xiaojing of Eastern Wei , personal name Yuan Shanjian , was the only emperor of the Chinese/Xianbei dynasty Eastern Wei – a branch successor state to Northern Wei...

as a puppet ruler) by 534

534

Year 534 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Iustinianus and Paulinus...

, while his rival Yuwen Tai

Yuwen Tai

Yuwen Tai , nickname Heita , formally Duke Wen of Anding , later further posthumously honored by Northern Zhou initially as Prince Wen then as Emperor Wen with the temple name Taizu , was the paramount general of the Chinese/Xianbei state Western Wei, a branch successor state of Northern Wei...

took control of the west and the traditional Chinese capital of Chang'an

Chang'an

by 535

535

Year 535 was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Belisarius without colleague...

. Eventually, Gao Huan's son Gao Yang

Gao Yang

Gao Yang may refer to:* Gao Yang clan 高陽氏 mentioned in the Zuo Zhuan, Wen Gong 18 * Emperor Wenxuan of Northern Qi, named Gao Yang* Gao Yang , former President of the CPC Central Party School...

forced the Eastern Wei emperor to abdicate in favor of his claim to the throne, establishing the Northern Qi

Northern Qi

Dynasty (551

551

Year 551 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 551 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Byzantine Empire :* Beirut is destroyed by an...

–577

577

Year 577 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 577 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Europe :* Battle of Deorham: The Anglo-Saxons under...

AD). Afterwards, Yuwen Tai's son Yuwen Jue seized the throne of power from Emperor Gong of Western Wei

Emperor Gong of Western Wei

Emperor Gong of Western Wei , personal name né Yuan Kuo , later changed to Tuoba Kuo , was the last emperor of the Chinese/Xianbei state Western Wei -- a branch successor state to Northern Wei. He was made emperor in 554 after his older brother Emperor Fei was deposed by the paramount general...

, establishing the Northern Zhou

Northern Zhou

The Northern Zhou Dynasty followed the Western Wei, and ruled northern China from 557 to 581. It was overthrown by the Sui Dynasty.Northern Zhou's basis of power was established by Yuwen Tai, who was paramount general of Western Wei, following the split of Northern Wei into Western Wei and...

Dynasty (557

557

–580

580

Year 580 was a leap year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 580 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Europe :* Ethelbert becomes king of Kent.* The Roman...

AD). The Northern Zhou Dynasty was able to defeat and conquer Northern Qi in 577

577

, reunifying the north. However, this success was short-lived, as the Northern Zhou was overthrown in 581

581

Year 581 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 581 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Asia :* The Sui Dynasty replaces the Northern Zhou...

by Yang Jian, who became Emperor Wen of Sui

Emperor Wen of Sui

. With greater military power and morale, along with convincing propaganda that the Chen Dynasty ruler Chen Shubao

Chen Shubao

Chen Shubao , often known in history as Houzhu of Chen , posthumous name Duke Yang of Changcheng , courtesy name Yuanxiu , nickname Huangnu , was the last emperor of the Chinese Chen Dynasty...

was a decadent ruler who had lost the Mandate of Heaven

Mandate of Heaven

The Mandate of Heaven is a traditional Chinese philosophical concept concerning the legitimacy of rulers. It is similar to the European concept of the divine right of kings, in that both sought to legitimaze rule from divine approval; however, unlike the divine right of kings, the Mandate of...

, the Sui Dynasty was able to effectively conquer the south. After this conquest, the whole of China entered a new golden age of reunification under the centralization of the short-lived Sui Dynasty and succeeding Tang Dynasty

Tang Dynasty

The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...

(618

618

Year 618 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 618 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Asia :* The Sui Dynasty ends and the Tang Dynasty...

–907

907

Year 907 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar.- Asia :* Oleg leads the Kievan Rus' in a campaign against Constantinople ....

AD).

Philosophy

Confucianism

Confucianism is a Chinese ethical and philosophical system developed from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius . Confucianism originated as an "ethical-sociopolitical teaching" during the Spring and Autumn Period, but later developed metaphysical and cosmological elements in the Han...

's unchallenged domination of Chinese culture and thought was greatly weakened during the Jin Dynasty

Jin Dynasty

Jin Dynasty may refer to:* Jin Dynasty , Chinese dynasty, subdivided into the Western and Eastern Jin periods* Later Jin Dynasty , one of the Five Dynasties during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period in China.* Jin Dynasty , a Jurchen kingdom in northern China* Later Jīn Dynasty, or...

, which lead to a wide diversification of political thought and philosophy by the time of the Southern and Northern Dynasties. This era produced a myriad of writers that advocated practical systems of governance and administration, such as Cao Cao

Cao Cao

Cao Cao was a warlord and the penultimate chancellor of the Eastern Han Dynasty who rose to great power during the dynasty's final years. As one of the central figures of the Three Kingdoms period, he laid the foundations for what was to become the state of Cao Wei and was posthumously titled...

and Zhuge Liang

Zhuge Liang

Zhuge Liang was a chancellor of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. He is often recognised as the greatest and most accomplished strategist of his era....

in the Three Kingdoms Period, Wang Dao

Wang Dao

Wang Dao , courtesy name Maohong , formally Duke Wenxian of Shixing , was a Jin Dynasty statesman who served important roles in the administrations of Emperor Yuan, Emperor Ming, and Emperor Cheng, including as Emperor Cheng's regent...

and Bao Jingyan of the Eastern Jin, as well as Fan Zhen

Fan Zhen

Fan Zhen was a Chinese philosopher of the Southern Dynasty, remembered today for his treatise Shén Miè Lùn ....

, Xing Shao , and Fan Xun of the Southern and Northern period. Much of the philosophy of the period is despondent and dispirited, and a number of scholars and poets became reclusive mountain hermit

Hermit

A hermit is a person who lives, to some degree, in seclusion from society.In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Christian who lives the eremitic life out of a religious conviction, namely the Desert Theology of the Old Testament .In the...

s living apart from society. Of these various trends, the most influential was Neo-Daoism

Xuanxue

Xuanxue , Neo-Taoism, or Neo-Daoism is the focal school of thought in Chinese philosophy from the third to sixth century CE. Xuanxue philosophers combined elements of Confucianism and Taoism to reinterpret the Yijing, Daodejing, and Zhuangzi.The name compounds xuan 玄 "black, dark; mysterious,...

. Neo-Daoism was highly influential during the Southern Dynasty, to the point that Emperor Wen of Liu Song

Emperor Wen of Liu Song

established a Neo-Daoist Academy and promoted it, along with Confucianism, literature, and history, as the four great subjects of study. A phenomenon known as "empty chat" became common, where educated men would meet and talk about philosophy all day without paying any attention to "mundane" things such as their profession or family. The phenomenon gradually waned during the Sui Dynasty

Sui Dynasty

, though it did not fully disappear until the Tang Dynasty

Tang Dynasty

Literature

Literature was particularly vibrant during the Southern Dynasty and tended to be flowery and frilly, while Northern Dynasty literature was rougher and more straightforward. Notable writers include Yu Xin, Xing Fang, Wei Shou

Wei Shou

Wei Shou , born in Xingtai, Hebei, was a Chinese author. He wrote the Book of Wei, composed in 554, an important Chinese historical text.-References:*Cao, Daoheng, . Encyclopedia of China, 1st ed....

, and Wen Zisheng of the Northern Dynasty. In the Southern Dynasty, a type of essay known as pian wen , which used metered rhyme, flowery language, and classical allusions, became popular. Writings often spoke of removing oneself from everyday material existence and jettisoning cares and anxiety.

Poets of the Southern and Northern Dynasties focused on imitating older classical poets of Ancient China, formalizing the rhyme patterns and meters that governed poem composition. However, scholars realized that ancient songs and poems, like those of the Shijing, in many instances no longer rhymed due to sound shifts over the previous centuries. The introduction of Buddhism to China, which began in the late Han Dynasty

Han Dynasty

and continued through the Tang Dynasty, introduced Chinese scholars to Sanskrit

Sanskrit

Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...

and its highly organized phonological system

Phonology

Phonology is, broadly speaking, the subdiscipline of linguistics concerned with the sounds of language. That is, it is the systematic use of sound to encode meaning in any spoken human language, or the field of linguistics studying this use...

. For the first known time, Chinese scholars began attempting to analyze and categorize the syllables and tones of their language and dialects. During this period, scholar Zhou Yi wrote the first known description of the four tones of early Middle Chinese

Middle Chinese

Middle Chinese , also called Ancient Chinese by the linguist Bernhard Karlgren, refers to the Chinese language spoken during Southern and Northern Dynasties and the Sui, Tang, and Song dynasties...

Other

The southern dynasties of China were rich in cultural achievement, with the flourishing of Buddhism

Buddhism

and Daoism; especially the latter as two new canons of scriptual writings were created for the Supreme Purity sect

Shangqing School

The Shangqing School or Supreme Clarity is a Daoist movement that began during the aristocracy of the Western Jin dynasty. Shangqing can be translated as either 'Supreme Clarity' or 'Highest Clarity.' The first leader of the school was Wei Huacun , but Tao Hongjing, who structured the theory and...

and its rival the Numinous Treasure Sect. The southern Chinese were influenced greatly by the writings of Buddhist monks such as Huiyuan, who applied familiar Daoist terms to describe Buddhism for other Chinese. The Chinese were in contact and influenced by cultures of India

India

and trading partners farther south, such as the kingdoms of Funan and Champa

Champa

The kingdom of Champa was an Indianized kingdom that controlled what is now southern and central Vietnam from approximately the 7th century through to 1832.The Cham people are remnants...

(located in modern-day Cambodia and Vietnam). The Chinese arts of poetry, calligraphy, painting, and playing of music found greater precedent during this age, as their sophistication and complexity reached new heights. The earlier Cao Zhi

Cao Zhi

Cao Zhi was a poet who lived during the late Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. His poetry style, greatly revered during the Jin Dynasty and Southern and Northern Dynasties, came to be known as the Jian'an style....

, son of Cao Cao

Cao Cao

, is regarded as one of the greatest poets of his day. His style and deep emotional expression in writing influenced later poets of this new age, such as Tao Qian

Tao Qian

Tao Qian , better known as Tao Yuanming , was a Chinese poet. Born in modern Jiujiang, Jiangxi, he was one of the most influential pre-Tang Dynasty Chinese poets....

(365

365

Year 365 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Augustus and Valens...

–427

427

Year 427 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Hierus and Ardabur...

AD) or Tao Yuanming. Even during his lifetime, the written calligraphy of the "Sage of Calligraphy", Wang Xizhi

Wang Xizhi

Wang Xizhi was a Chinese calligrapher, traditionally referred to as the Sage of Calligraphy , who lived during the Jin Dynasty...

(307

307

Year 307 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Valerius and Constantius...

–365

365

Year 365 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Augustus and Valens...

AD), was prized by many and considered a true form of personal expression like other arts. In regards to painting, this art became highly prized with artists such as Gu Kaizhi

Gu Kaizhi

Gu Kaizhi , is a celebrated painter of ancient China. His style name was 'Changkang' . He was born in Wuxi, Jiangsu province and first painted at Nanjing in 364. In 366, he became an officer . Later he was promoted to royal officer . He was also a talented poet and calligrapher...

(344

344

Year 344 was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Leontius and Bonosus...

–406

406

Year 406 was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Arcadius and Probus...

AD), who largely established the tradition of landscape art in classical Chinese painting

Chinese painting

Chinese painting is one of the oldest continuous artistic traditions in the world. The earliest paintings were not representational but ornamental; they consisted of patterns or designs rather than pictures. Early pottery was painted with spirals, zigzags, dots, or animals...

(to learn more, refer to the "Far East" section of the article for Painting

Painting

Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...

). Institutions of learning in the south were also renowned, including the Zongmingguan (Imperial Nanjing University), where the famed Zu Chongzhi (mentioned above) had studied. Zu Chongzhi devised the new Daming Calendar in 465

465

Year 465 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Hermenericus and Basiliscus...

AD, calcuated one year as 365.24281481 days (which is very close to 365.24219878 days as we know today), and calculated the number of overlaps between sun and moon as 27.21223 (which is very close to 27.21222 as we know today). Using this number he successfully predicted 4 eclipses during a period of 23 years (from 436

436

Year 436 was a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Isodorus and Senator...

–459

459

Year 459 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Ricimer and Patricius...

AD).

Demographic Changes

It was during the Southern and Northern Dynasties period that southern China (below the Yangtze River

Yangtze River

) was greatly developed from its previous state of early Chinese colonization and settlement. Beforehand, the south was inhabited by small and isolated communities of Chinese in a vast uncolonized wilderness of non-Chinese tribes, starting as a near peripheral frontier and changing into a thriving, urbanized, sinicized region of China. In his book Buddhism in Chinese History, Arthur F. Wright

Arthur F. Wright

Arthur Frederick Wright was an American academic, sinologist, editor and professor of history at Yale University. He specialized in Chinese social and intellectual history of the pre-modern period.- Early life:...

points out this fact by stating:

"When we speak of the area of the Yangtze valley and below in the period of disunion, we must banish from our minds the picture of the densely populated, intensively cultivated South China of recent centuries. When the aristocrats of the remnants of the Chin [Jin] ruling house fled to the Nanking [Nanjing] area early in the fourth century, the south contained perhaps a tenth of the population of China. There were centers of Chinese culture and administration, but around most of these lay vast uncolonized areas into which Chinese settlers were slow to move".

External links

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Background

The Southern Dynasties

Liu Song (420–479 AD)

Southern Qi (479–502 AD)

Liang (502–557 AD)

Chen (557–589 AD)

The Northern Dynasties

Philosophy

Literature

Other

Demographic Changes

See also

External links