Five Dynasties

The Five Dynasties was an era of political upheaval in 10th-century China. Five states succeeded one another in the Central Plain. More than a dozen states, referred to as the Ten Kingdoms, were established elsewhere, mainly in south China. The Five Dynasties was an era of political upheaval in 10th-century China. Five states succeeded one another in the Central Plain. More than a dozen states, referred to as the Ten Kingdoms, were established elsewhere, mainly in south China. The Later Liang, the first of the five dynasties, was established upon the fall of the Tang dynasty in 907. The era ended with the founding of the Song dynasty in 960. Many states were had military governors who were effectively independent long before 907. The Northern Han survived until 979. Poetry and wood-block printing flowered in this period. The block printing edition of Five Classics were published by Feng Dao, the Chinese Gutenberg. The canal and dam system of northern China fell into disrepair, leading to extensive flooding and famine. Towards the end of the Tang, the growing threat of barbarian incursions led the imperial government to delegate more authority to regional military governors. The Huang Chao peasant uprising (881-884) massacred many members of the gentry class and forced others to ally with the Turks, weakening the central government. The revival of the money economy increased commerce and prosperity, but strained traditional feudal ties. By the early 10th century, many governors exercised de facto independence. Several governorships evolved into the Ten Kingdoms. The name 'Five Dynasties' was coined by Song dynasty historians and reflects the view that the successive regimes based in Kaifeng possessed the Mandate of Heaven. Yet three of these dynasties were founded by barbarian Turks, and South generally had more stable and effective government in this period. The Five Dynasties were: 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, which was within his region of influence. In 904, he executed Emperor Zhaozong of Tang 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. 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—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. The Later Tang had a few years of relative calm, followed by unrest. In 934, Sichuan again asserted independence. In 936, Shi Jingtang, a Shatuo jiedushi from Taiyuan, was aided by the Liao dynasty in a rebellion against the dynasty. In return for their aid, Shi Jingtang promised annual tribute and the Sixteen Prefectures (modern northern Hebei and Beijing) to the Khitans. The rebellion succeeded; Shi Jingtang became emperor in this same year. Not long after the founding of the Later Jin, the Khitans regarded the emperor as a proxy ruler for China proper. In 943, the Khitans declared war and within three years seized the capital, Kaifeng, marking the end of Later Jin. But while they had conquered vast regions of China, the Khitans were unable or unwilling to control those regions and retreated from them early in the next year.