The period of the Southern and Northern Dynasties began around 420 and lasted about 300 years, during which numerous regimes and states emerged, some of which lasted longer and had some influence, while others were short-lived and unknown.
During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, two major political patterns emerged in China: the Southern Dynasty and the Northern Dynasty. The Southern Dynasties included the four dynasties of Song, Qi, Liang, and Chen, while the Northern Dynasties included Northern Wei, Eastern Wei, Western Wei, Northern Zhou, and Northern Qi
The following is an introduction to the major countries during the Northern and Southern Dynasties:
Southern dynasties
- Song Dynasty (420–479): The first dynasty of the Southern Dynasty, the capital Jiankang (present-day Nanjing), created the foundation of Southern Dynasty culture. Its main rulers were Liu Yu and Liu Yilong, during which there were incidents during which Liu Yu usurped the throne and Liu Ziye usurped the throne.
- Qi Dynasty (479–502): Founded by Xiao Daocheng, Emperor Wu of Qi, ruled mostly by Xiao. During this period, the incident of Qi Dong Hou occurred.
- Liang Dynasty (502–557): In the late Southern Qi dynasty, when political confusion led to Xiao Yan of Yongzhou, he took advantage of the situation to defeat the Marquis of Eastern Du and establish the Liang Dynasty. Xiao Yan, regardless of his literary talent and martial arts, was a leader at that time.
- Chen Dynasty (557–589): Founded by Chen Baxian, with its capital at Jiankang (present-day Nanjing), its main rulers were Chen Baxian and Chen Shubao. During this period, the Sui Dynasty of the Northern Dynasty gradually rose, and the overall situation of the unification of the Northern and Southern Dynasties gradually took shape.
Northern Dynasty
- Northern Wei (386–534): The first dynasty of the Northern Dynasty, whose main rulers were Tuoba Jue and Tuoba Huang. The capital was Pingcheng (平城, in present-day Datong, Shanxi), during which there were events during the division of Northern Wei and the eastern and western parts of Northern Wei.
- Eastern Wei (534–550): A branch dynasty of Northern Wei, in the late Wei dynasty, the leader of the Qihu tribe, Erzhu Rongping, destroyed the Liuzhen rebel army and controlled the Northern Wei emperor, and Gao Huan, a general under the Erzhu clan, took advantage of the situation to rebel against the Erzhu clan, moved the capital of Northern Wei to Yecheng, and established Emperor Xiaojing as the mainstay, for the Eastern Wei dynasty.
- Western Wei (535–557): A branch dynasty of the Northern Wei dynasty, whose main rulers were Yuwen Tai and Yuwen He. The capital was Chang'an (present-day Xi'an, Shaanxi), during which Yuwen Tai usurped the throne and Yuwen Wenhe
- Northern Qi (550-577). Gao took control of Eastern Wei, and after Gao Huan's death, his son Gao Yang usurped Wei to establish Northern Qi. Northern Qi controlled the most prosperous region in the north, probably covering all of present-day Hebei, Shandong, Inner Mongolia, and Liaoning, and most of Shanxi, Henan, Jiangsu, Anhui, and Hubei, several times stronger than Western Wei and Northern Zhou. However, Northern Qi never solved the two major problems of ethnic contradictions and corruption, coupled with the frequent change of emperors, the later Wucheng Emperor and the later lord were both faint monarchs who did nothing, and their national strength was gradually surpassed by the sworn enemy Northern Zhou, and finally destroyed by it.
- Northern Zhou (557–581) was the successor of Northern Wei. Northern Zhou was established by Yuwen Yong after the fall of Northern Qi. The Northern Zhou political system was relatively stable, adopting relatively loose policies, accommodating talents from various ethnic groups, especially the integration between the Xianbei and Han ethnic groups. In terms of culture, the Northern Zhou Dynasty played a positive role in the development and promotion of Buddhism. The last emperor of Northern Zhou, Yuwen Jue, ceded the throne to Yang Jian of the Sui Dynasty, thus ending Northern Zhou