The Former Liang (; 320–376) was a dynastic state, one 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 ...

, in

Chinese history The earliest known written records of the history of China date from as early as 1250 BC, from the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC), during the reign of king Wu Ding. Ancient historical texts such as the ''Book of Documents'' (early chapter ...

. It was founded by the Zhang family of the Han ethnicity. Its territories included present-day

Gansu Gansu (, ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibe ...

and parts of

Ningxia Ningxia (,; , ; alternately romanized as Ninghsia), officially the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (NHAR), is an autonomous region in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. Formerly a province, Ningxia was incorporated into Gansu in 1 ...

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

Qinghai Qinghai (; alternately romanized as Tsinghai, Ch'inghai), also known as Kokonor, is a landlocked province in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. It is the fourth largest province of China by area and has the third smallest po ...

and

Xinjiang Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwes ...

. All rulers of the Former Liang remained largely titularly under the court of the Eastern Jin dynasty as the Duke of Xiping except Zhang Zuo who proclaimed himself ''

wang Wang may refer to: Names * Wang (surname) (王), a common Chinese surname * Wāng (汪), a less common Chinese surname * Titles in Chinese nobility * A title in Korean nobility * A title in Mongolian nobility Places * Wang River in Thaila ...

'' (prince/king). However, at times the other Former Liang rulers also used the ''wang'' title when imposed on them when they were forced to submit to their powerful neighbour states - initially the Han Zhao, then the

Later Zhao The Later Zhao (; 319–351) was a dynasty of the Sixteen Kingdoms in northern China. It was founded by the Shi family of the Jie ethnicity. The Jie were most likely a Yeniseian people and spoke next to Chinese one of the Yeniseian languages.Vo ...

, and finally

Former Qin The Former Qin, also called Fu Qin (苻秦), (351–394) was a dynastic state of the Sixteen Kingdoms in Chinese history ruled by the Di ethnicity. Founded by Fu Jian (posthumously Emperor Jingming) who originally served under the Later ...

. In 327, the Gaochang commandery was created by the Former Liang under Zhang Jun. After this, significant Han settlement occurred in Gaochang, a major, large part of the population becoming Han.
In 376, the final ruler of Former Liang

Zhang Tianxi Zhang Tianxi (; 346–406), original courtesy name Gongchungu (), later Chungu (), nickname Duhuo (), formally Duke Dao of Xiping (), was the last ruler of the Chinese state Former Liang. He was the youngest son of Zhang Jun (Duke Zhongcheng), a ...

surrendered to

, ending the state. However, in the aftermath of Former Qin's defeat at the

Battle of Fei River The Battle of Fei River, also known as the Battle of Feishui (), was a battle in AD 383 in China, where forces of the Di-led Former Qin dynasty was decisively defeated by the outnumbered army of the Eastern Jin dynasty. The location of the ba ...

in 383 and Emperor Fu Jian's death in 385, the general Lü Guang who controlled of the region declared his own era name for 386, thus establishing the Later Liang. Also in 386, Zhang Tianxi's son Zhang Dayu 張大豫 claimed governorship of Liang province, and tried to re-establish Former Liang with the aid of Wang Mu (王穆), who was the Colonel of the Chang River Regiment (長水校尉) under Former Qin. In the autumn of 387 however, Lü Guang defeated and executed Zhang Dayu.

Rulers of the Former Liang

Rulers family tree

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liang Dynasties in Chinese history Former countries in Chinese history 320 establishments 4th-century establishments in China 376 disestablishments 4th-century disestablishments in China

Rulers of the Former Liang

Rulers family tree

See also

References