Six Dynasties (; 220–589 or 222–589) is a collective term for six Han-ruled Chinese dynasties that existed from the early 3rd century AD to the late 6th century AD. The Six Dynasties period overlapped with the era of the

Sixteen Kingdoms The Sixteen Kingdoms (), 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 ...

, a chaotic warring period in northern China after the collapse of the Western Jin dynasty. The term "

Wei Wei or WEI may refer to: States * Wey (state) (衛, 1040–209 BC), Wei in pinyin, but spelled Wey to distinguish from the bigger Wei of the Warring States * Wei (state) (魏, 403–225 BC), one of the seven major states of the Warring States per ...

, Jin,

Southern and Northern Dynasties The Northern and Southern dynasties () was a period of political division in the history of China that lasted from 420 to 589, following the tumultuous era of the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Eastern Jin dynasty. It is sometimes considered as ...

" (魏晋南北朝 h) 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.

Six Dynasties with capitals in Jiankang

The six dynasties based in

Jiankang Jiankang (), or Jianye (), as it was originally called, was capital city of the Eastern Wu (229–265 and 266–280 CE), the Jin dynasty (317–420 CE) and the Southern Dynasties (420–552), including the Chen dynasty (557–589 CE). Its wall ...

(in modern

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Map Romanization, alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu Provinces of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and t ...

) were: # Eastern Wu dynasty (222–280) #

Eastern Jin dynasty Eastern may refer to: Transportation * China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 * Eastern Air ...

(317–420) #

Liu Song dynasty Song, known as Liu Song (), Former Song (前宋) or Song of (the) Southern Dynasty (南朝宋) in historiography, was an imperial dynasty of China and the first of the four Southern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties period ...

(420–479) #

Southern Qi dynasty Qi, known in historiography as the Southern Qi ( or ) or Xiao Qi (), was a Chinese imperial dynasty and the second of the four Southern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties era. It followed the Liu Song dynasty and was succeede ...

(479–502) #

Liang dynasty The Liang dynasty (), alternatively known as the Southern Liang () in historiography, was an imperial dynasty of China and the third of the four Southern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties period. It was preceded by the South ...

(502–557) # Chen dynasty (557–589) Xu Song (許嵩) from the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdo ...

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.

Poetry in the Six Dynasties

The Six Dynasties was an important era in the history of Chinese poetry, especially remarkable for its frank (for Classical Chinese poetry) descriptions of love and beauty. Especially important, and frequently translated into English, is the anthology '' New Songs from the Jade Terrace'', compiled by Xu Ling (507–83), under the patronage of Crown Prince Xiao Gang (Later Emperor Jian Wen) of the

. Also significant, is the ''Zi Ye'', or "

Lady Midnight ''Lady Midnight'' is a young adult urban fantasy novel by Cassandra Clare. It is the first book in ''The Dark Artifices'', which is chronologically fourth in ''The Shadowhunter Chronicles''. The book follows the events that occur in the Los Ange ...

" style, supposedly originating with an eponymously named fourth-century professional singer of the Jin dynasty.Watson, 60

Legacy

As the first time in history that political centre of China was located in the south, with surge in population and continual development of economy and culture, this transformed southern China from being remote territories to the economic centre that can rival the north from

onwards.

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

, which first reached China via the Silk Road during the

Eastern Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a w ...

flourished in the Six Dynasties (and simultaneously in the Northern Dynasties) and has been a major religion in China ever since. The Japanese scholar Tanigawa Michio analysed the Six Dynasties period to test general theories of China's historical development. Some thinkers, Tanigawa writes, argue that China followed the set European pattern which Marxists and liberal thinkers thought to be universal, that is, from ancient slavery to medieval feudalism to modern capitalism, while others argue that "Chinese society was extraordinarily saturated with stagnancy, as compared to the West, and they assume that it existed in a qualitatively different historical world from Western society." That is, there an argument between those who see "uni-linear, monistic world history" and those who conceive of a "two-tracked or multitracked world history." Tanigawa's conclusion is that China did not have "feudalism" in the sense that Marxists use, but that the military governments did not develop a military aristocracy of the sort that developed in Europe. The period established social and political patterns which shaped China's history from that point on.

References

Citations

Sources

* * * Watson, Burton (1971). '' Chinese Lyricism: Shih Poetry from the Second to the Twelfth Century''. New York: Columbia University Press.
SIX DYNASTIES CIVILIZATION
{{refend

External links

Intellectual Trends Of The Early Six Dynasties Period
Indiana University.
Ch 1 The Six Dynasties
Dien, ''Six Dynasties Civilization''.

Asia for Educators Columbia University Weatherhead Institute. Documents, maps, links. Dynasties in Chinese history Former countries in Chinese history History of Nanjing