Sixteen Kingdoms

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The White Horse Pagoda, Dunhuang, commemorating Kumarajiva's white horse which carried the scriptures to China, c. 384.

The Sixteen Kingdoms (simplified Chinese: 十六国; traditional Chinese: 十六國; pinyin: Shíliù Guó), less commonly the Sixteen States, was a chaotic period in Chinese history from AD 304 to 439 when northern China fragmented into a series of short-lived dynastic states. The majority of these states were founded by the "Five Barbarians", non-Han peoples who had settled in northern and western China during the preceding centuries, and had launched a series of rebellions against the Western Jin dynasty in the early 4th century. However, several of the states were founded by the Han people, and all of the states took on Han-style dynastic names. The states frequently fought against both one another and the Eastern Jin dynasty, which succeeded the Western Jin in 317 and ruled southern China. The period ended with the unification of northern China in 439 by the Northern Wei, a dynasty established by the Xianbei Tuoba clan. This occurred 19 years after the Eastern Jin collapsed in 420, and was replaced by the Liu Song dynasty.

Following the unification of the north by Northern Wei, the Northern and Southern dynasties era of Chinese history began, during which a parallel series of dynasties in the North and South co-existed until the Sui dynasty united the country in 589.

Buddhism

Several rulers of the northern kingdoms patronized Buddhism which spread across northern China during the Sixteen Kingdoms period and flourished during the subsequent Northern Dynasties.

The Former Qin ruler Fu Jian was a strong patron of Buddhist scholarship. After capturing Xiangyang in 379, he invited the monk Dao'an to Chang'an to catalogue Buddhist scriptures. When the teachings of the famed Kuchean monk, Kumārajīva, reached Chang'an, Dao'an advised Fu Jian to invite the Kumārajīva.

In 382, Fu Jian sent general Lü Guang to conquer the Western Regions (Tarim Basin) and bring Kumārajīva to Chang'an. Lü Guang captured Kucha and seized Kumārajīva, but the Former Qin kingdom collapsed after the Battle of Feishui in 383. Lü Guang founded the Later Liang and held Kumārajīva captive in western Gansu for 18 years.

In 401, the Later Qin ruler, Yao Xing conquered the Former Liang and Kumārajīva was able to settle in Chang'an and become one of the most influential translators of Buddhist sutras into Chinese.

The earliest grottoes in the Mogao Caves of Dunhuang were carved in the Former Liang. Work on the Maijishan Grottoes began during the Later Qin. The Bingling Grottoes were started during the Western Qin. Numerous other grottoes were built in the Hexi Corridor under the Northern Liang.

Further reading

• Sixteen Kingdoms, Wikipedia