Six Dynasties
Six Dynasties (Chinese: 六朝; pinyin: Liù Cháo; 220–589 or 222–589[1]) is a collective term for six Han Chinese-ruled Chinese dynasties that existed from the early 3rd century AD to the late 6th century AD, between the end of the Han dynasty and beginning of the Sui dynasty. The Six Dynasties period overlapped with the era of the Sixteen Kingdoms, a chaotic warring period in northern China after the collapse of the Western Jin dynasty. The term "Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties" is also used by Chinese historians when referring to the historical period of the Six Dynasties, although both terms do not refer to the exact same dynasties.
The Six Dynasties period was the first time in history that the political centre of China was located in the south, which spurred a surge in population as well as economic and cultural development. This transformed southern China from remote territories to the economic centre that came to rival the north from Tang dynasty onwards.
Buddhism, which first reached China via the Silk Road during the Eastern Han dynasty, flourished in the Six Dynasties (and simultaneously in the Northern Dynasties) and has been a major religion in China ever since.
In particular, the translator Paramārtha was active during this era.
Six Dynasties with capitals in Jiankang
The six dynasties based in Jiankang (in modern Nanjing) were:
- Eastern Wu dynasty (222–280)
- Eastern Jin dynasty (317–420)
- Liu Song dynasty (420–479)
- Southern Qi dynasty (479–502)
- Liang dynasty (502–557)
- Chen dynasty (557–589)
Xu Song (許嵩) from the Tang dynasty wrote a book titled Veritable Records of Jiankang (建康實錄) that provides a historical account of Jiankang, which gave rise to this list.
They are sometimes referred to as the southern Six Dynasties, to distinguish them from the so-called northern Six dynasties:[1]
- Cao Wei dynasty (220–266)
- Western Jin dynasty (266–316)
- Northern Wei dynasty (386–535)
- Northern Qi dynasty (550–577)
- Northern Zhou dynasty (557–581)
- Sui dynasty (581–618)
Further reading
Six Dynasties, Wikipedia
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Wilkinson, Endymion (2000). Chinese history: A manual (Revised and enlarged ed.). Cambridge: Harvard University, Asia Center for the Harvard-Yenching Institute. p. 11. ISBN 978-0-674-00249-4.
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