Five Dynasties & Ten Kingdoms
五代十国皇后
five northern dynasties, ten southern kingdoms, seventy-two years
When the Tang finally fell in 907 the north went through five dynasties in fifty-three years — Later Liang, Later Tang, Later Jin, Later Han, Later Zhou — while the south broke into ten kingdoms that mostly left each other alone and got rich. It is the most fragmented period in Chinese history after the Three Kingdoms, and by some distance the least remembered.
The empresses here are consequently obscure, and several of them are more interesting than the emperors they married. One was a dancer. One held a besieged capital while her husband ran. And the last two — the Zhou sisters of Southern Tang — married the same man, a ruler who lost his kingdom and is now regarded as the finest lyric poet in the Chinese language.
The Five Dynasties 五代
Each of the five was founded by a general who had served the one before it. The average reign was under six years.
The Ten Kingdoms 十国
The south was calmer, wealthier and far more literary. Southern Tang produced the period’s only work anyone still reads.
More
- Before The Tang.
- After The Song — which reunified the country and made sure no general could ever do this again.
- The whole collection All 205 empresses
Bring the Five Dynasties & Ten Kingdoms era home
Canvas prints, scarves, puzzles and more — from $14.
Two full-color hardcovers — 217 empresses, 413 painted characters.
Questions? Write to xiangliart@gmail.com