Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms (traditional Chinese: 五代十國; simplified Chinese: 五代十国; pinyin: Wǔdài Shíguó, 907-960) was an era of political upheaval in China, beginning in the Tang Dynasty and ending in the Song Dynasty. During this period, five dynasties quickly succeeded one another in the north, and more than 12 independent states were established, mainly in the south. However, only ten are traditionally listed, hence the era's name, "Ten Kingdoms." Some historians, such as Bo Yang, count 11, including Yan and Qi, but not Northern Han, viewing it as simply a continuation of Later Han.
The Five Dynasties:
- Later Liang Dynasty (June 5, 907-923)
- Later Tang Dynasty (923-936)
- Later Jin Dynasty (936-947)
- Later Han Dynasty (947-951 or 982, depending on whether Northern Han is considered part of the dynasty)
- Later Zhou Dynasty (951-960)
The Ten Kingdoms: Wu, Wuyue, Min, Chu, Southern Han, Former Shu, Later Shu, Jingnan, Southern Tang, Northern Han.
Other regimes: Yan, Qi, Chengde Jiedushi (also known as Zhao), Yiwu Jiedushi, Dingnan Jiedushi, Wuping Jiedushi, Qingyuan Jiedushi, Yin, Ganzhou, Shazhou, Liangzhou.
ANCIENT
3 Sovereigns and 5 Emperors
Xia Dynasty 2100–1600 BCE
Shang Dynasty 1600–1046 BCE
Zhou Dynasty 1045–256 BCE
Western Zhou
Eastern Zhou
Spring and Autumn Period
Warring States Period
IMPERIAL
Qin Dynasty 221 BCE–206 BCE
Han Dynasty 206 BCE–220 CE
Western Han
Xin Dynasty
Eastern Han
Three Kingdoms 220–280
Wei, Shu & Wu
Jin Dynasty 265–420
Western Jin 16 Kingdoms 304–439
Eastern Jin
Southern & Northern Dynasties 420–589
Sui Dynasty 581–618
Tang Dynasty 618–907
( Second Zhou 690–705 )
5 Dynasties &
10 Kingdoms
907–960 Liao Dynasty
907–1125
Song Dynasty
960–1279
Northern Song W. Xia
Southern Song Jin
Yuan Dynasty 1271–1368
Ming Dynasty 1368–1644
Qing Dynasty 1644–1911
MODERN
Republic of China 1912–1949
People's Republic
of China (Mainland China) 1949–present
Republic of China (Taiwan)
1945–present
Background
Towards the end of the Tang Dynasty, the imperial government granted increased powers to the jiedushi, the regional military governors. The Huang Chao Rebellion weakened the imperial government's authority, and by the early 10th century the jiedushi, who commanded de facto independence, were not subject to the authority of the imperial government. Thus, the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms ensued.
The following were important jiedushi:
North China
- Zhu Wen at Bianzhou (modern Kaifeng, Henan province), precursor to Later Liang Dynasty
- Li Keyong and Li Cunxu at Taiyuan (modern Taiyuan, Shanxi province), precursor to Later Tang Dynasty
- Liu Rengong and Liu Shouguang at Youzhou (modern Beijing), precursor to Yan
- Li Maozhen at Fengxiang (modern Fengxiang County, Shaanxi province), precursor to Qi
- Luo Shaowei at Weibo (modern Daming County, Hebei province)
- Wang Rong at Zhenzhou (modern Zhengding County, Hebei province)
- Wang Chuzhi at Dingzhou (modern Ding County, Hebei province)
South China
- Yang Xingmi at Yangzhou (modern Yangzhou, Jiangsu province), precursor to Wu
- Qian Liu at Hangzhou (modern Hangzhou, Zhejiang province), precursor to Wuyue
- Ma Yin at Tanzhou (modern Changsha, Hunan province), precursor to Chu
- Wang Shenzhi at Fuzhou (modern Fuzhou, Fujian province), precursor to Min
- Liu Yin at Guangzhou (modern Guangzhou, Guangdong province), precursor to Southern Han
- Wang Jian at Chengdu (modern Chengdu, Sichuan province), precursor to Former Shu
Northern China
Later Liang Dynasty
During the Liang Dynasty, the warlord Zhu Wen held the most power in northern China. Although he was originally a member of Huang Chao's rebel army, he took on a crucial role in suppressing the Huang Chao Rebellion. For this function, he was awarded the Xuanwu Jiedushi title. Within a few years, he had consolidated his power by destroying neighbours and forcing the move of the imperial capital to Luoyang (in modern Henan province), which was within his region of influence. In 904, he executed Emperor Zhaozong and made his 13-year-old son a subordinate ruler. Three years later, he induced the boy emperor to abdicate in his favour. He then proclaimed himself emperor, thus beginning the Later Liang Dynasty.
Later Tang Dynasty
During the Tang Dynasty, rival warlords declared independence in their governing provinces — not all of whom recognized the emperor's authority. Li Cunxu and Liu Shouguang (劉守光)fiercely fought the regime forces to conquer northern China; Li Cunxu succeeded. He defeated Liu Shouguang (who had proclaimed a Yan Empire in 911) in 915, and declared himself emperor in 923; within a few months, he brought down the Later Liang regime. Thus began the Later Tang Dynasty—the first in a long line of conquest dynasties. After reuniting much of northern China, Cunxu conquered Former Shu in 925, a regime that had been set up in Sichuan.
Later Jin Dynasty
The Later Tang Dynasty had a few years of relative calm, followed by unrest. In 934, Sichuan again asserted independence. In 936, Shi Jingtang, a Shatuo Turk jiedushi from Taiyuan, was aided by the Manchurian Khitan Empire in a rebellion against the dynasty. In return for their aid, Shi Jingtang promised annual tribute and 16 prefectures in the Youyun area (modern northern Hebei province and Beijing) to the Khitans. The rebellion succeeded; Shi Jingtang became emperor in this same year.
Not long after the Jin Dynasty's founding, the Khitans regarded the emperor as a proxy ruler for China proper. In 943, they declared war on this kingdom, and within three years seized the capital, Kaifeng—thus marking the end of Later Jin Dynasty. But, although they had conquered vast regions of China, they were unable or unwilling to control those regions and retreated from them early in the next year.
Later Han Dynasty
To fill the power vacuum, the jiedushi Liu Zhiyuan entered the imperial capital in 947, and proclaimed the advent of the Later Han Dynasty, establishing a third successive Shatuo Turk dynasty. This was the shortest of the five dynasties; following a coup in 951, General Guo Wei, a Han Chinese, was enthroned, thus beginning the Later Zhou Dynasty. However, Liu Chong, a member of the Later Han imperial family, established a rival Northern Han regime in Taiyuan, and requested Khitan aid to defeat Later Han.
Later Zhou Dynasty
After the death of Guo Wei in 951, his adopted son Chai Rong succeeded the throne and began a policy of expansion and reunification. In 954, his army defeated combined Khitan and Northern Han forces, ending their ambition of toppling the Later Zhou dynasty. Between 956 and 958, forces of Later Zhou conquered much of Southern Tang, the most powerful regime in southern China, which ceded all the territory north of the Yangtze River in defeat. In 959, Chai Rong attacked the Khitan Empire in an attempt to recover territories ceded during the Later Jin Dynasty. After many victories, he succumbed to illness.
In 960, the general Zhao Kuangyin staged a coup and took the throne for himself, founding the Northern Song Dynasty. This is the official end of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. During the next two decades, Zhao Kuangyin and his successor Zhao Kuangyi defeated the other remaining regimes in China proper, conquering Northern Han in 979, and reunifying China completely in 982.