Shu (referred to as Later Shu () to differentiate it from other states named Shu in Chinese history), also known as Meng Shu (), was one of the Ten Kingdoms 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 ...

in China. It was located in present-day

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of t ...

with its capital in

Chengdu Chengdu (, ; simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), alternatively romanized as Chengtu, is a sub-provincial city which serves as the capital of the Chinese provin ...

and lasted from 934 to 965. It was the fourth and latest state of this name on the same territory.

Background and founding

The other Shu kingdom of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, today known as the

Former Shu Great Shu (Chinese: 大蜀, Pinyin: Dàshǔ) called in retrospect Former Shu (Chinese: 前蜀, Pinyin: Qiánshǔ) or occasionally Wang Shu (王蜀), was one of the Ten Kingdoms formed during the chaotic period between the rules of the Tang dynas ...

, was founded in 907 after the end 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 ...

. It was conquered in 925 by the

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 ...

, the second of the five dynasties that would rule the Central Plain during this period.

Meng Zhixiang Meng Zhixiang (; 10 May 874–7 September 934, courtesy name Baoyin, ;''New History of the Five Dynasties'', vol. 64. formally Emperor Gaozu of (Later) Shu ) was a general of the Later Tang who went on to found the independent state of Later ...

, one of the Later Tang military governors assigned to the conquered Shu territories, became remarkably powerful in the years following the invasion. In 930 he entered into open rebellion with fellow military governor

Dong Zhang Dong Zhang () (died June 10, 932''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 277.Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter) was a Chinese military general and politician of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period Later Liang and Later Tang sta ...

; although their rebellion was initially successful, Meng wished to submit once more to the rule of the Later Tang and so in 932 the two rebel leaders turned on each other. Meng defeated Dong and, in addition to taking control of Dong's lands, was given even greater authority than before by the Later Tang government. This arrangement did not last long: in December of 933 the emperor

Li Siyuan Li Siyuan (李嗣源, later changed to Li Dan (李亶)) (10 October 867 – 15 December 933), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Mingzong of Later Tang (後唐明宗), was the second emperor of the Later Tang dynasty of China, reigni ...

died of an illness and was succeeded by the 19-year-old

Li Conghou Li Conghou () (914–934), posthumous name Emperor Min of Later Tang (), childhood name Pusanu (菩薩奴, "slave of a Bodhisattva"), was an emperor of the Later Tang dynasty of China, ruling between 933 and 934. He was overthrown by his adopt ...

, and in the spring of 934 Meng declared himself the Emperor of a newly independent Shu.

Territorial Extent

The Later Shu kingdom held essentially the same territory as the Former Shu kingdom. The kingdom held most of present-day

, along with southern

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

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 ...

, western

Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The p ...

and all of present-day

Chongqing Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a municipality in Southwest China. The official abbreviation of the city, "" (), was approved by the State Co ...

. As with the Former Shu, the capital of the kingdom was at

Succession

Meng Zhixiang died less than a year after declaring himself emperor of Shu. His son

Meng Chang Meng Chang (孟昶) (919–965), originally Meng Renzan (孟仁贊), courtesy name Baoyuan (保元), formally Prince Gongxiao of Chu (楚恭孝王) (as posthumously honored by Emperor Taizu of Song), was the second emperor of Later Shu during i ...

ruled for thirty years until the kingdom was invaded by and incorporated into the expanding

Song empire 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 ...

in 965.

Rulers of the Later Shu

Rulers family tree

References

External links

Chinaknowledge.de: Tang/rulers-houshu
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shu Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Former countries in Chinese history History of Sichuan 934 establishments 10th-century establishments in China 965 disestablishments 10th-century disestablishments in China States and territories established in the 930s States and territories disestablished in the 960s