Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms: Map & History
The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period was an era of political upheaval and division in Imperial China from 907 to 979 CE.
Wikipedia Encyclopedic Compendium
Historiographical synthesis & structured realm registry
The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period was an era of political upheaval and division in Imperial China from 907 to 979 CE. Five dynastic states quickly succeeded one another in the Central Plain, and more than a dozen concurrent dynastic states, of which the most powerful and influential ten were known as the ten kingdoms, were established elsewhere, mainly in South China. It was a prolonged period of multiple political divisions in Chinese imperial history.
Modern Countries Once Part of Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms
At its mapped extent, Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms covered territory in 4 present-day countries. The period shown is when the mapped borders include that country, and the note says how much of it.
- Hong Kong S.A.R.911–979 CE · nearly all
- Macau S.A.R911–979 CE · nearly all
- China911–979 CE · a large part
- Vietnam911–946 CE · a large part
States and Provinces
Largest Present-Day Cities in Its Territory
Each opens on the live map inside Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms's borders of that time.
Derived by testing mapped cities against this polity's dated territorial polygons, so the list is indicative and follows the borders in the source dataset.
Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms in Depth
Culture
The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period turned away from the international cultural mood of the Tang dynasty and appears as a transition towards the solidified national culture of the Song dynasty. Throughout the period, there was marked cultural and economic growth, rather than decline.
Several Northern dynasties originated in the northeast, and centralisation of the north led to a migration of provincial elites into the capital, particularly northeasterners, creating a new metropolitan culture. After the unification of China by the Song dynasty, the culture, arts and literature of the Southern states were incorporated into the new regime. The Song dynasty adopted a distinctively Southern Chinese cultural outlook.
Background
In the 8th century, the An Lushan (755–763 CE) and Huang Chao rebellions weakened the imperial government.
Due to the decline of Tang central authority after the An Lushan Rebellion, large regional administrations began to be superimposed over the old districts and prefectures that had been standard practice for the previous millennium, ever since the Qin dynasty (221–206 BCE). These administrations, known as circuit commissions, would become the boundaries of the later Southern regimes; many circuit commissioners became the emperors or kings of these states.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms: Key Facts
Preceded by
- Sui Tang
Succeeded by
- Song dynasty
- Song Liao Jin Xia
Facts from Wikidata Q242115 (CC0).
Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Timeline
Key historical inflections from foundation to peak territorial expansion
Expansion to peak recorded area of 2,988,519 km² in 924 CE.
Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms: Frequently Asked Questions
When did Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms exist?
Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms is dated to 911 CE – 979 CE, in the Early Middle Ages era.
How large was Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms at its peak?
At its peak in 924 AD Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms covered about 2,988,519 km².
Other Sovereign Realms
High & Late Middle Ages • Capital: Avarga
Early Middle Ages • Capital: Constantinople
High & Late Middle Ages • Capital: Thanjavur, Gangaikonda Cholapuram
Early Middle Ages • Capital: Chang'an