Six Dynasties (; 220–589 or 222–589) is a collective term for six Han-ruled

Chinese dynasties For most of its history, China was organized into various Dynasty, dynastic states under the rule of Hereditary monarchy, hereditary monarchs. Beginning with the establishment of dynastic rule by Yu the Great , and ending with the Imperial Edic ...

that existed from the early 3rd century AD to the late 6th century AD, between the end of the

Eastern Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

and the beginning of the

Sui dynasty The Sui dynasty ( ) was a short-lived Dynasties of China, Chinese imperial dynasty that ruled from 581 to 618. The re-unification of China proper under the Sui brought the Northern and Southern dynasties era to a close, ending a prolonged peri ...

. 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 b ...

, a chaotic warring period in northern China after the collapse of the

Western Jin dynasty Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US * Western, New York, a town in the US * Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia * Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that ...

, as well as the

Northern and Southern 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 a ...

period. The terms " Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern dynasties" (魏晉南北朝) and "

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu dominated China from AD 220 to 280 following the end of the Han dynasty. This period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and followed by the Jin dynasty (266–420), Western Jin dyna ...

, Two Jins, Southern and Northern dynasties" (三國兩晉南北朝) are also used by Chinese historians to refer to the same historical era as the Six Dynasties, although the three terms do not refer to the same group of dynasties.

Six Dynasties with capital in Jiankang

The six dynasties based in

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

(modern-day

Nanjing Nanjing or Nanking is the capital of Jiangsu, a province in East China. The city, which is located in the southwestern corner of the province, has 11 districts, an administrative area of , and a population of 9,423,400. Situated in the Yang ...

) were: # Eastern Wu dynasty (222–280) # Eastern Jin dynasty (317–420) #

Liu Song dynasty Song, known as Liu Song (), Former Song (前宋) or Song of (the) Southern dynasties (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 peri ...

(420–479) # Southern Qi dynasty (479–502) #

Liang dynasty The Liang dynasty (), alternatively known as the Southern Liang () or Xiao 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 pre ...

(502–557) #

Chen dynasty The Chen dynasty (), alternatively known as the Southern Chen (南陳 / 南朝陳) in historiography, was a Dynasties in Chinese history, Chinese imperial dynasty and the fourth and last of the Northern and Southern dynasties#Southern dynasties, ...

(557–589) The ''Veritable Records of Jiankang'' (建康實錄) by Xu Song (许嵩) of the

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

provides a historical account of Jiankang, which gave rise to this list.

Northern Six Dynasties

The list of dynasties above is sometimes referred to as the "southern Six Dynasties" to distinguish from the "northern Six dynasties", which were: # Cao Wei dynasty (220–266) #

(266–316) #

Northern Wei dynasty Wei (), known in historiography as the Northern Wei ( zh, c=北魏, p=Běi Wèi), Tuoba Wei ( zh, c=拓跋魏, p=Tuòbá Wèi), Yuan Wei ( zh, c=元魏, p=Yuán Wèi) and Later Wei ( zh, t=後魏, p=Hòu Wèi), was an imperial dynasty of Chi ...

(386–535) # Northern Qi dynasty (550–577) #

Northern Zhou dynasty Zhou (), known in historiography as the Northern Zhou (), was a Xianbei-led dynasty of China that lasted from 557 to 581. One of the Northern dynasties of China's Northern and Southern dynasties period, it succeeded the Western Wei dynasty and ...

(557–581) #

(581–619)

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" style, supposedly originating with an eponymously named fourth-century professional singer of the

Jin dynasty Jin may refer to: States Jìn 晉 * Jin (Chinese state) (晉國), major state of the Zhou dynasty, existing from the 11th century BC to 376 BC * Jin dynasty (266–420) (晉朝), also known as Liang Jin and Sima Jin * Jin (Later Tang precursor) ...

Culture

The Six Dynasties period was the first time in history that the political centre of China was located in the south, which spurred a surge in population as well as economic and cultural development. This transformed southern China from remote territories to the economic centre that came to rival the north from

onwards. After the fall of the Han Dynasty, where well-documented male homosexuality occurred, Imperial China begun an era of further homosexual openness. Terms like “Nanfeng” that specifically describe male homosexuality emerged from the early days in the Six Dynasties.Hinsch, Bret. ''Passions of the Cut Sleeve: The Male Homosexual Tradition in China''. University of California Press, 1990. p. 58, https://doi.org/10.1525/9780520912656.

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

, which first reached China via the

Silk Road The Silk Road was a network of Asian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over , it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and religious interactions between the ...

during the

, 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." In other words, there is 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. *

External links

*
Intellectual Trends Of The Early Six Dynasties Period
, Indiana University. * {{cite book , chapter-url=http://yalepress.yale.edu/yupbooks/excerpts/dien_sixdynasties.pdf , chapter=1: The Six Dynasties , title=Six Dynasties Civilization, publisher=yalepress.yale.edu , url-status=dead , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151211060820/http://yalepress.yale.edu/yupbooks/excerpts/dien_sixdynasties.pdf , archive-date= 2015-12-11 *

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