Liang, known in historiography as the Later Liang () (1 June 907 – 19 November 923) or the Zhu Liang (), was an imperial dynasty of China and the first of the

Five Dynasties The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (), from 907 to 979, was an era of political upheaval and division in 10th-century Imperial China. Five dynastic states quickly succeeded one another in the Central Plain, and more than a dozen conc ...

during the

Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (), from 907 to 979, was an era of political upheaval and division in 10th-century Imperial China. Five dynastic states quickly succeeded one another in the Central Plain, and more than a dozen conc ...

. It was founded by

Zhu Wen Emperor Taizu of Later Liang (), personal name Zhu Quanzhong () (December 5, 852 – July 18, 912), né Zhu Wen (), name later changed to Zhu Huang (), nickname Zhu San (朱三, literally, "the third Zhu"), was a Chinese military general, mona ...

(Emperor Taizu), after he forced the last emperor of the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

to abdicate in his favour (and then murdered him). The Later Liang would last until 923 when it was destroyed by the

Later Tang dynasty Tang, known in historiography as the Later Tang, was a short-lived imperial dynasty of China and the second of the Five Dynasties during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period in Chinese history. The first three of the Later Tang's four e ...

Formation

initially allied himself as

Huang Chao Huang Chao (835 – July 13, 884) was a Chinese smuggler, soldier, and rebel, and is most well known for being the leader of a major rebellion that severely weakened the Tang dynasty. Huang was a Salt in Chinese history, salt smuggler before ...

's lieutenant. However, he took Huang's best troops and established his own power base as a warlord in

Kaifeng Kaifeng () is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, China. It is one of the Eight Ancient Capitals of China, having been the capital eight times in history, and is best known for having been the Chinese capital during the Nort ...

. By 904, he had exerted control over both of the twin Tang Dynasty capitals of

Chang'an Chang'an (; ) is the traditional name of Xi'an. The site had been settled since Neolithic times, during which the Yangshao culture was established in Banpo, in the city's suburbs. Furthermore, in the northern vicinity of modern Xi'an, Qin Shi ...

and

Luoyang Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River (Henan), Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the ...

. Tang emperor Zhaozong was ordered murdered by Zhu in 904 and the last Tang emperor, Ai Di (

Emperor Ai of Tang Emperor Ai of Tang (27 October 89226 March 908), also known as Emperor Zhaoxuan of Tang (), born Li Zuo, later known as Li Chu (), was the last emperor of the Tang dynasty of China. He reigned—as but a puppet ruler—from 904 to 907. Empe ...

), was deposed three years later. Emperor Ai of Tang was murdered in 908, also ordered by Zhu. Meanwhile, Zhu Wen declared himself emperor of the new Later Liang in

in 907. The name Liang refers to the

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

region in which the heart of the regime rested.

Extent of control

The Later Liang controlled most of northern

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, though much of

Shaanxi Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see #Name, § Name) is a landlocked Provinces of China, province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichu ...

(controlled by the Qi) as well as

Hebei Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, an ...

(controlled by the

Yan state Yan (; Old Chinese pronunciation: ''*'') was an ancient Chinese state during the Zhou dynasty. Its capital was Ji (later known as Yanjing and now Beijing). During the Warring States period, the court was also moved to another capital at Xiadu ...

) and

Shanxi Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-lev ...

(controlled by

Shatuo Turks The Shatuo, or the Shatuo Turks (; also transcribed as Sha-t'o, Sanskrit SartZuev Yu.A., ''"Horse Tamgas from Vassal Princedoms (Translation of Chinese composition "Tanghuyao" of 8-10th centuries)"'', Kazakh SSR Academy of Sciences, Alma-Ata, I ...

state Jin) remained largely outside Later Liang control.

End of the dynasty

The Later Liang maintained a tense relationship with the

, due to the rivalry between Zhu Quanzong and

Li Keyong Li Keyong () (October 24, 856 – February 24, 908) was a Chinese military general and politician of Shatuo ethnicity, and from January 896 a Prince of Jin (, ''Jin Wang''), which would become an independent state after the fall of the Tang dyn ...

, a relationship that began back in the time of the Tang Dynasty. After

's death, his son,

Li Cunxu Emperor Zhuangzong of Later Tang (), personal name Li Cunxu (), nickname Yazi (), stage name Li Tianxia (), was the ruling prince of the Former Jin dynasty (r. 908–923) and later became the founding emperor of the Later Tang dynasty (r. 923 ...

, continued to expand his State of Jin. Li was able to destroy the Later Liang in 923 and found

Later Tang Tang, known in historiography as the Later Tang, was a short-lived imperial dynasty of China and the second of the Five Dynasties during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period in Chinese history. The first three of the Later Tang's four ...

Conference of the Mandate of Heaven on the Later Liang

Generally through Chinese history, it was historians of later kingdoms whose histories bestowed the

Mandate of Heaven The Mandate of Heaven () is a Chinese political philosophy that was used in ancient and imperial China to legitimize the rule of the King or Emperor of China. According to this doctrine, heaven (天, ''Tian'') – which embodies the natural ...

posthumously on preceding dynasties. This was typically done for the purpose of strengthening the present rulers' ties to the Mandate themselves. Song Dynasty historian

Xue Juzheng Xue Juzheng ( – 12 July 981; courtesy name Ziping) was a scholar-official who successively served the Later Jin (Five Dynasties), Later Jin, Later Han (Five Dynasties), Later Han, Later Zhou and Song dynasty, Song dynasties. He was one of the ...

did exactly this in his work '' History of the Five Dynasties''. Several justifications were given for this, and successive Five Dynasties regimes, to be conferred the

. Among these was that these dynasties all controlled most of the traditional Chinese heartland. However, the Later Liang was an embarrassment in the brutality it employed, causing many to want to deny it this status, but doing so would break the chain through the other Five Dynasties, and thus to the

Song Dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

, which itself was the successor to the last of the Five Dynasties.

Rulers

Rulers' family tree

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Liang, Later Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Dynasties in Chinese history Former countries in Chinese history 10th-century establishments in China 907 establishments 923 disestablishments 10th-century disestablishments in China States and territories established in the 900s States and territories disestablished in the 920s