Southern and Northern Dynasties - The Southern Dynasties

The Southern Dynasties

The Jin were supplanted by the Liu Song (420–479), the Southern Qi (479–502), the Liang Dynasty (502–557), and then the Chen Dynasty (557–589). Because all of these dynasties had their capital at Jiankang (with the exception of Liang after they moved their capital), they are sometimes grouped together with Eastern Wu and Eastern Jin as the Six Dynasties. The rulers of these short-lived dynasties were generals who seized and then held power for several decades, but were unable to securely pass power of rule onto their heirs to continue their dynasty successfully. Emperor Wu of Liang (502–549), however, was the most notable ruler of his age, being a patron of the arts and of Buddhism. Under the later waning leadership of the Chen Dynasty, the southern Chinese were unable to resist the military power amassed in the north by Yang Jian, who declared himself Emperor Wen of Sui and invaded the south to reunify China.

For a chronology of sovereigns during the Southern Dynasties, see this List of Emperors of China's Southern Dynasties.