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Qingyuan , formerly romanized as Tsingyun , is a prefecture-level city in northern Guangdong province, China, on the banks of the Bei or North River . During the 2020 census , its total population was 3,969,473, out of whom 1,738,424 lived in the built-up (or metro) area made of urbanized Qingcheng and Qingxin districts . The primary spoken language is Cantonese . Covering 19,015 km (7,342 sq mi), Qingyuan is Guangdong's largest prefecture-level division by land area, and it borders Guangzhou and Foshan to the south, Shaoguan to the east and northeast, Zhaoqing to the south and southwest, and Hunan province and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region to the north. The urban core is surrounded by mountainous areas but is directly connected with Guangzhou and the Pearl River Delta by Highway 107 .

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125-618: Qingyuan was a prefecture during Northern and Southern dynasties . However, the administration status of Qingyuan was downgraded to a county in the tenth year of the Kaihuang Era of the Sui dynasty (A.D. 590). Since then, until the formation of the Republic of China in 1911, Qingyuan was governed by Guangzhou prefecture ( 廣州府 ). Under the Qing , the area was known as Qingyuan County . It

250-463: A bitter blow from which they never quite recovered. There was also conflict between the various northern immigrant clans. This led to a virtual balance of power, which somewhat benefited the emperor's rule. Special "commanderies of immigrants" and "white registers" were created for the massive amounts of northern Han Chinese who moved south during the Eastern Jin. The southern Chinese aristocracy

375-462: A brief interlude from 552 to 555), they are sometimes grouped together with Eastern Wu and Eastern Jin under the historiographic term "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)

500-448: A ceasefire and peace. However, Hou thought that peace was unsustainable, so he broke the ceasefire and captured the palace, leading to the slaughter of the nearby populace. Emperor Wu was starved to death and after the short puppet reigns of crown prince Xiao Gang and Xiao Dong, Hou seized power and established the Han dynasty. In spite of conquering Jiankang, Hou essentially only controlled

625-508: A diplomatic faux pas, he incited the anger of Yuwen Tai, the leading general of Western Wei, which resulted in him being deposed and dying. Western Wei set up the puppet state of Western Liang with capital at Jiangling. Northern Qi also had designs on the Liang throne and sent an expedition under the banner of a cousin of Emperor Yuan. Chen Baxian and Wang Sengbian set up the last surviving son of Emperor Yuan, Xiao Fangzhi , as Liang ruler, but he

750-474: A fall in their social status, causing widespread desertion of troops. Faced with shortage of troops, Eastern Jin generals were often sent on campaigns to capture non-Han indigenous peoples in the south to draft them into the military. The Eastern Jin dynasty fell not because of external invasion, however, but because Liu Yu (Emperor Wu of Liu Song) seized the throne from the Emperor Gong of Jin and founded

875-704: A formidable general to the great delight of the Northern Wei. Thus, they were unable to capitalize when Northern Wei suffered the Wuqi Incident . Starting in 445, Northern Wei, taking advantage of Liu Song's weakness, made major incursions in the lands between the Yangtze and the Huai (modern Shandong, Hebei, and Henan) and devastating six provinces. Emperor Wen lamented that if Tan were still alive, he would have prevented Northern Wei advances. From then on, Liu Song

1000-697: A heavily outnumbered Eastern Jin force inflicted a devastating defeat on the state of Former Qin at the Battle of Fei River . After this battle, the Former Qin—which had recently unified northern China—began to collapse, and the Jin dynasty recovered the lands south of the Yellow River . Some of these lands were later lost, but the Jin regained them once more when Liu Yu defeated the northern states in his northern expeditions of 409–416. Despite successes against

1125-419: A mistake when a former garrison officer organized another rebellion in the years 526–527. The underlying cause of these wars was the growing rift between the governing aristocracy which was increasingly adopting Han-style sedentary policies and lifestyles and their nomadic tribal armies who continued to preserve the old steppe way of life. The Northern Wei court was betrayed by one of their own generals, who had

1250-526: A monk, but each time he was persuaded to return by extravagant court donations to Buddhism. Furthermore, since Buddhists and Daoists were exempt from taxation, nearly half of the population fraudulently named themselves as such, badly damaging state finances. Imperial clansmen and officials were also greedy and wasteful. Emperor Wu was willing to accept generals who defected from Northern Wei. So when Northern Wei suffered major revolts in their northern garrison towns , he sent his general Chen Qingzhi to support

1375-546: A monsoon-influenced humid subtropical climate, with an average annual temperature of 20.7 °C (69.3 °F), 1,900 mm (75 in) of rainfall, 1662.2 hours of sunshine, and a frost-free period of 314.4 days. Qingyuan is a major economic and transportation hub. The Beijing–Guangzhou Railway , National Highways 106 and 107 , and the Bei or North River cross through the city. The maritime infrastructure in Qingyuan plays

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1500-671: A new conception referring to the two as distinct 'Northern' and Southern' parallels, using unique local customs to distinguish themselves and compete for legitimacy. It was during the Northern and Southern dynasties period that the earliest recorded mass migration of ethnic Han to southern China (south of the Yangtze River ) took place. This sinicisation helped to develop the region from its previous state of being inhabited by isolated communities separated by vast uncolonized wilderness and other non-Han ethnic groups. During this period,

1625-402: A peace offering. Despite Emperor Wu's assurances, Hou decided to rebel in the name of Xiao Dong , the grandson of the former crown prince Xiao Tong who died in 531 and was removed from crown prince because of conflicts with his father. Hou surprised Emperor Liang by besieging the Liang capital at Jiankang. Attempts by Liang forces to break the siege failed, and Emperor Wu was forced to negotiate

1750-461: A policy of strict social distinction between them and their Han subjects. Ethnic Han were drafted into the bureaucracy, employed as officials to collect taxes, etc. However, the Han were kept out of many higher positions of power. They also represented the minority of the populace where centers of power were located. Widespread social and cultural transformation in northern China came with Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei (reigned 471–499), whose father

1875-528: A relatively stable formation. After a 249 coup by Sima Yi , the Sima family essentially controlled Cao Wei and the conquest of Shu Han by Cao Wei rapidly followed. Following a failed coup by the ruling Cao family against the Sima family, the final Cao ruler abdicated. Sima Yan (Emperor Wu of Jin) then founded the Western Jin dynasty and the conquest of Eastern Wu by Western Jin occurred in 280, ending

2000-489: A vital role in transporting goods to other regional centers in Guangdong, Hong Kong , and Macao . The major ports are Qingyuan Port, Yingde Port, Lianzhou Port, and Yangshan Port . According to the 2010 Census , Qingyuan has a population of 3,698,394 inhabitants, 550,715 more than in 2000 (an annual growth rate of 1.63%). Han Chinese comprise over 95% of the entire population, while there are some areas inhabited by

2125-689: Is located in Qingcheng District . It oversees one other district , two county-level cities , four counties , and one economic development district. Qingyuan is served by Qingyuan railway station , opened in 2009 on the Wuhan–Guangzhou high-speed railway . It is located some distance east of the city. Qingyuan Maglev is expected to open in December 2020. Northern and Southern dynasties The Northern and Southern dynasties ( Chinese : 南北朝 ; pinyin : Nán běi cháo )

2250-850: Is not exactly known. Then the lodged Huaide County was also established in Jiankang, around 320. According to the Book of Song : 晉永嘉大亂,幽、冀、青、並、兗州及徐州之淮北流民,相率過淮,亦有過江在晉陵郡界者……又徙流民之在淮南者于晉陵諸縣,其徙過江南及留在江北者,並立僑郡縣以司牧之。徐、兗二州或治江北,江北又僑立幽、冀、青、並四州……(After Disaster of Yongjia, the refugees from You, Ji, Qing, Bing, Yan and Xu provinces came across the Huai River, some even came across the Yangtze River and stayed in Jinling Commandery... The lodged administrative divisions were established to govern them. The seats of Xu and Yan provinces perhaps were moved to

2375-442: Is well known for the quality of its greenish celadon porcelain wares, which immediately followed the development of proto-celadon . Jar designs often incorporated animal, as well as Buddhist, figures. Examples of Yue ware are also known from the Jin dynasty. After the fall of Chang'an and the execution of Emperor Min of Jin , Sima Rui, posthumously known as Emperor Yuan , was enthroned as Jin emperor in 318. He reestablished

2500-560: The Book of Jin : 今九域同規,大化方始,臣等以為宜皆蕩除末法,一擬古制, 以土斷 ,定自公卿以下,皆以所居為正,無復懸客遠屬異土者。 然承魏氏凋弊之跡,人物播越,仕無常朝,人無定處,郎吏蓄於軍府,豪右聚於都邑,事體駁錯,與古不同。謂九品既除,宜先開移徙,聽相並就。且明貢舉之法,不濫於境外,則冠帶之倫將不分而自均,即 土斷 之實行矣。 Hence, it was perhaps initially proposed by these two people, but was only seriously implemented during the Eastern Jin and the Southern dynasties. Taoism was polarized in the Jin dynasty. The Jin emperors repressed Taoists harshly, but also tried to exploit it, given

2625-622: The Sima Jin or the Two Jins , was an imperial dynasty in China that existed from 266 to 420. It was founded by Sima Yan , eldest son of Sima Zhao , who had previously been declared the King of Jin. There are two main divisions in the history of the dynasty. The Western Jin (266–316) was established as the successor to Cao Wei after Sima Yan usurped the throne from Cao Huan . The capital of

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2750-574: The Former Qin , the defeat of the Former Qin at the Battle of Fei River resulted in the collapse of the Former Qin. The grandson of the last prince of Dai Tuoba Shiyiqian , Tuoba Gui restored the fortunes of the Tuoba clan, renaming his state Wei (now known as Northern Wei) with its capital at Shengle (near modern Hohhot ). Under the rule of Emperors Daowu (Tuoba Gui), Mingyuan , and Taiwu ,

2875-682: The Liu Song dynasty , which officially began the Northern and Southern dynasties period. The Northern dynasties began in 439 when the Northern Wei conquered the Northern Liang to unite northern China and ended in 589 when the Sui dynasty extinguished the Chen dynasty . It can be divided into three time periods: Northern Wei ; Eastern and Western Weis ; Northern Qi and Northern Zhou . The Northern, Eastern, and Western Wei along with

3000-572: The Liu Song dynasty . The Eastern Jin dynasty is considered the second of the Six Dynasties . During the Three Kingdoms period, the Sima clan—with its most accomplished individual being Sima Yi —rose to prominence within the kingdom of Cao Wei that dominated northern China. Sima Yi was the regent of Cao Wei, and in 249 he instigated a coup d'état known as the Incident at Gaoping Tombs ,

3125-511: The Northern Zhou dynasty (557–580). The Northern Qi inherited the primary recruiting grounds of the Northern Wei army; previously, five out of six Northern Wei military officers came from the eastern territories, particularly the local armed forts of Han military families and steppe tribes who had settled in these areas. The members of these military families, both men and women, were often expert riders and archers. Like its predecessor

3250-579: The Rouran threat to his northern flank, he engaged in a war to unite northern China. With the fall of the Northern Liang in 439, Emperor Taiwu united northern China, ending the Sixteen Kingdoms period and beginning the Northern and Southern dynasties period with their southern rivals, the Liu Song. Even though it was a time of great military strength for the Northern Wei, Rouran harassment from

3375-505: The Rouran , Goguryeo , Tuyuhun and smaller local powers to defeat the Northern Wei, the North and South were forced into tacitly acknowledging their equal status, for example, by granting each other the highest positions as the most esteemed envoys. As the Wei Shu and Song Shu testify, there was a shift from imperial rhetoric denouncing the other side as illegitimate barbarians, towards

3500-510: The Three Disasters of Wu . At this late stage in his life, Emperor Taiwu meted out cruel punishments, which led to his death in 452 at the hands of the eunuch Zong Ai . His death sparked off turmoil that only ended with the ascension of Emperor Wencheng later that same year. Wang Yu  [ zh ] , an ethnic Qiang court eunuch and the favourite of Empress Dowager Wenming, patronized Buddhism lavishly. He constructed Cave 9–10,

3625-685: The Zhuang and Yao minorities . Qingyuan's attractions include Niuyuzui, Feilai Temple , Feixia Scenic Spots, Baojing Palace of Yingde, Taihe Ancient Cave of Qingxin, Sankeng Hot Spring in Qingxin County, Huanghua Lake in Fogang, Little Biejiang of Lianyang, Peak Shikengkong in Yangshan County, Underground River of Lianzhou, Huangteng Gorge , Three Gorges of Huangchuan and Yinzhan Hot Springs. The provincial and municipal administration

3750-409: The qiaoren : the qiaozhou ( 僑州 , 'province'), qiaojun ( 僑郡 , 'commandery'), and qiaoxian ( 僑縣 , the lodged county), these lodged administrative divisions were merely nominal without possessing actual domain, or rather, they were local government in exile; what could scarcely be denied was their significance in Jin's legitimacy for the northern territory as somewhat an announcement. Furthermore, it

3875-490: The Chen dynasty. Chen Shubao relied on the natural barrier of the Yangtze River and continued as always with his festive and licentious activities. The next year, Sui forces captured the Chen capital of Jiankang. Chen Shubao and his favorite concubine Zhang Lihua attempted to hide in a well but eventually were captured by Sui forces, thus ending the Chen dynasty. After the failure of the Liu Song's efforts to form an alliance with

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4000-468: The Eastern Jin attempted to draft the dependents of the great families, the court was quickly overthrown. However, with the fall of the Eastern Jin in 420, the balance of power shifted in favour the central government. The subsequent Liu Song, Qi, Liang and Chen dynasties were ruled by military leaders from lowly social backgrounds. They gradually stripped the powerful clans of military power, authority and wealth. The emperors stationed regional armies around

4125-418: The Eastern Jin court. In order to gain popularity to take the throne he led expeditions against the Sixteen Kingdoms, capturing Shandong , Henan and, briefly, Guanzhong by 416. He gave up Guanzhong to try to take the throne. Because he believed in a prophecy saying there would be one more emperor after Emperor An , he deposed the former and, soon afterwards, his replacement, Emperor Gong in 420, ending

4250-435: The Eastern Jin dynasty. Even after crowning himself Emperor Wu, Liu Yu remained frugal. However, he did not care for education and trusted unsavory people. He felt that the nobility had too much power, so he tended to appoint the lower classes to government positions and gave military power to imperial kinsmen. Ironically, because the imperial kinsmen stabilized their military power and wished to gain political power, Emperor Wu

4375-504: The Eastern Jin throughout its 104-year existence. The local aristocrat clans of the south were often at odds with the immigrants from the north. As such, tensions increased, and rivalry between the immigrants and southern locals loomed large in the domestic politics of the Jin. Two of the most prominent local clans, the Zhou ( 周 ) clan of Yixing and the Shen ( 沈 ) clan of Wuxing , were dealt

4500-513: The Han language (if under the age of thirty), converting Xianbei family names to one-character Han surnames, and encouraging high-ranking Xianbei and Han families to intermarry. Emperor Xiaowen also moved the capital city from Pingcheng to one of China's old imperial sites, Luoyang , which had been the capital during the earlier Eastern Han and Western Jin dynasties. The new capital at Luoyang was revived and transformed, with roughly 150,000 Xianbei and other northern warriors moved from north to south by

4625-400: The Huai River. Northern Zhou instead took advantage of Northern Qi's weakness and following their defeat of Northern Qi, in 577, they sent troops to the territories south of the Huai River, where they decisively defeated the Chen dynasty forces. The Chen dynasty was in imminent danger. In a stroke of fortune, Northern Zhou's Emperor Wu suddenly died and his general Yang Jian attempted to take

4750-449: The Jin government at Jiankang (present-day Nanjing ), which became the dynasty's new capital. This marked the start of the Eastern Jin period. One of Sima Rui's titles was the prince of Langya , so the recently established northern states , who denied the legitimacy of his succession, occasionally referred to his empire as "Langya". The Eastern Jin period witnessed the pinnacle of menfa ( 門閥 'gentry clan') politics. The authority of

4875-485: The Jin refugees Sima Fei  [ zh ] ( 司馬朏 ) and Sima Chuzhi  [ zh ] ( 司馬楚之 ). They both married Xianbei princesses. Sima Fei's wife was named Huayang ( 華 陽 公主 ), who was a daughter of Emperor Xiaowen ; Sima Chuzhi's son was Sima Jinlong , who married a Northern Liang princess who was a daughter of the Lushuihu king Juqu Mujian . More than fifty percent of Tuoba Xianbei princesses of

5000-632: The Later Yan capital of Pingcheng (modern-day Datong). That same year he declared himself Emperor Daowu. Due to Emperor Daowu's cruelty, he was killed by his son Tuoba Shao, but crown prince Tuoba Si managed to defeat Tuoba Shao and took the throne as Emperor Mingyuan. Though he managed to conquer Liu Song 's province of Henan, he died soon afterward. Emperor Mingyuan's son Tuoba Tao took the throne as Emperor Taiwu. Due to Emperor Taiwu's energetic efforts, Northern Wei's strength greatly increased, allowing them to repeatedly attack Liu Song. After dealing with

5125-629: The Ning of Qinzhou, the Li of Guizhou-Tengzhou and the Chen of Shuangzhou. These families functioned both as cheftains to the natives and bureaucrats to the court. Liu Song founder Liu Yu was originally a leader of the Army of the Northern Garrison ( Chinese : 北府軍 ) that notably won the Battle of Fei River in 383. In 404, he helped suppress Huan Xuan 's rebellion, leading to his dominance over

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5250-624: The Northern Wei court launched the sinicization movement. Northern gentry were therefore highly militarized as compared to their refined southern counterparts, and this distinction persisted well into the Sui and Tang dynasties centuries later. In the Sixteen Kingdoms period, the Tuoba family of the Xianbei were the rulers of the state of Dai (Sixteen Kingdoms) . Although it was conquered by

5375-486: The Northern Wei military forces dominated the Liu Song forces, they took heavy casualties. The Northern Wei forces plundered numerous households before returning north. At this point, followers of the Buddhist Gai Wu ( 蓋吳 ) rebelled. After pacifying this rebellion, Emperor Taiwu, under the advice of his Daoist prime minister Cui Hao , proscribed Buddhism — the first of the persecutions of Chinese Buddhism known as

5500-508: The Northern Wei progressively expanded. The establishment of the early Northern Wei state and the economy were also greatly indebted to the father-son pair of Cui Hong and Cui Hao . Tuoba Gui engaged in numerous conflicts with the Later Yan that ended favorably for the Northern Wei after they received help from Zhang Gun that allowed them to destroy the Later Yan army at the Battle of Canhe Slope . Following this victory, Tuoba Gui conquered

5625-552: The Northern Wei were married to southern Han Chinese men from the imperial families and aristocrats from southern China of the Southern dynasties who defected and moved north to join the Northern Wei. Much later, Sima Guang (1019–1086), who served as chancellor for the Song and created the comprehensive history Zizhi Tongjian , claimed descent from the Jin dynasty (specifically, Sima Fu , brother of Sima Yi ). The uprising of

5750-487: The Northern Wei, content to protect his borders. This period of peace was known as Yongming Administration . He also used government secretaries appointed with provincial governors and members of the imperial clan to monitor them. The short reigns of Emperor Wu's grandsons, Xiao Zhaoye and Xiao Zhaowen (his first son predeceased him), were dominated by Xiao Luan, Emperor's Wu's first cousin. He killed them in turn and crowned himself as Emperor Ming of Southern Qi . Using

5875-679: The Northern Zhou were established by the Xianbei people while the Northern Qi was established by a Xianbei-influenced ethnic Han. In the north, local ethnic Han gentry clans responded to the chaos by constructing fortified villages. Clans would then carve de facto fiefs out of these highly cohesive family-based self-defense communities. Lesser peasant families would work for the dominant clan as tenants or serfs. The chaos also led these Han gentry families to avoid government service, before

6000-613: The Prince of Chenliu, and buried him with imperial ceremony. Under Emperor Wu, the Jin dynasty conquered Eastern Wu in 280 and united China proper, thus ending the Three Kingdoms period. The period of unity was relatively short-lived, as the Jin state was soon weakened by corruption, political turmoil, and internal conflicts. Emperor Wu's son Zhong, posthumously known as Emperor Hui , was developmentally disabled . Emperor Wu died in 290, and in 291 conflict over his succession caused

6125-442: The Prince of Xiangdong, whom he called the "Prince of Pigs" for his obesity, eventually assassinated him and became Emperor Ming . Emperor Ming began his reign by killing all the descendants of Emperor Xiaowu, and his suspicious nature resulted in the loss of the provinces north of the Huai River, which were only briefly regained in the other Southern dynasties. Emperor Ming's young son became Emperor Houfei . The political situation

6250-572: The Shouyang Princess was wedded to Emperor Wu of Liang 's son Xiao Zong  [ zh ] . According to the Book of Zhou , Emperor Xiaowu of Northern Wei 's sister was married to the ethnic Han Zhang Huan, son of Zhang Qiong. When the Eastern Jin dynasty ended, Northern Wei received the Jin prince Sima Chuzhi  [ zh ] as a refugee, and he married a Northern Wei Princess. Their son Sima Jinlong in turn married Northern Liang Xiongnu King Juqu Mujian 's daughter. In

6375-652: The Sima clan began to surpass the Cao clan's power in the kingdom. After Sima Yi's death in 251, Sima Yi's eldest son Sima Shi succeeded his father as regent of Cao Wei, maintaining the Sima clan's tight grip on the Cao Wei political scene. After Sima Shi's death in 255, Sima Shi's younger brother Sima Zhao became the regent of Cao Wei. Sima Zhao further assisted his clans' interests by suppressing rebellions and dissent. In 263, he directed Cao Wei forces in conquering Shu Han and capturing Liu Shan (the son of Liu Bei ), marking

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6500-652: The Three Kingdoms period and reuniting China proper. The Western Jin dynasty was severely weakened due to the War of the Eight Princes from 291 to 306. During the reigns of Emperor Huai of Jin and Emperor Min of Jin , the empire was put into grave danger by the uprising of northern non-Han peoples collectively known as the Five Barbarians . Numerous nomadic tribal groups had been forcibly resettled in northern and northwestern China during previous centuries. When

6625-595: The Western Jin was initially in Luoyang , though it later moved to Chang'an (modern Xi'an ). In 280, after conquering Eastern Wu , the Western Jin ended the Three Kingdoms period and reunited China proper for the first time since the end of the Han dynasty . From 291 to 306, a series of civil wars known as the War of the Eight Princes were fought over control of the Jin state which weakened it considerably. In 304,

6750-500: The Western Wei, the Northern Zhou reacted against sinicization by trying to revive Xianbei warrior culture: reviving Xianbei tunics, trousers and boots, reverting sinicized surnames into Xianbei names and even giving Han officers Xianbei surnames. This "tribalization" policy was intended to convert large numbers of Han Chinese army recruits into "Xianbei" who would pay for their own equipment in exchange for tax exemptions. The policy

6875-492: The Xianbei Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei married Han elites: the Liu Song royal Liu Hui ( 刘辉 ), married Princess Lanling ( 蘭陵公主 ) of the Northern Wei, Princess Huayang ( 華陽公主 ) to Sima Fei ( 司馬朏 ), a descendant of Jin royalty, Princess Jinan ( 濟南公主 ) to Lu Daoqian ( 盧道虔 ), Princess Nanyang ( 南阳长公主 ) to Xiao Baoyin , a member of Southern Qi royalty. Emperor Xiaozhuang of Northern Wei 's sister

7000-487: The Xiao ( 蕭 ) family from Lanling ( 蘭陵 , in modern Cangshan County , Shandong ). Because Emperor Gao had a low social standing, he earned the disdain of nobility. His style of governance was similar to the early style of the Liu Song dynasty and was very economical. He died in the fourth year of his reign and his heir, who was only 13 years younger than him, succeeded him as Emperor Wu of Southern Qi . Emperor Wu made peace with

7125-458: The area north of the Yangtze River, where the lodged You, Ji, Qing, Bing provinces were established.) The lodged Pei, Qinghe, Xiapi, Dongguang, Pingchang, Jiyin, Puyang, Guangping, Taishan, Jiyang, and Lu commanderies were established when Emperor Ming ruled. The rebellions and invasions occurring in Jianghuai area led to more refugees switching to settle in the south of the Yangtze River, where

7250-601: The aristocrats of the remnants of the Chin [Jin] ruling house fled to the Nanking [Nanjing] area early in the 4th century, the south contained perhaps a tenth of the population of China. There were centers of Chinese culture and administration, but around most of these lay vast uncolonized areas into which Chinese settlers were slow to move". Eastern Jin dynasty The Jin dynasty or Jin Empire , sometimes distinguished as

7375-544: The arts would continue for centuries at Dunhuang and is now one of China's greatest tourist attractions. In the year 523, a revolt of several military garrisons broke out, the Rebellion of the Six Garrisons ( Liu Zhen ). The revolt was caused by a food shortage far north of Luoyang. After the rebels force was suppressed, the government had 200,000 surrendered garrison rebels deployed to Hebei, which proved later to be

7500-546: The banner of Xiao Baojuan's brother who was declared Emperor He of Southern Qi . Xiao Baojuan was killed by one of his generals during the siege of his capital at Jiankang, and after a short puppet reign by Emperor He, Xiao Yan overthrew the Southern Qi and established the Liang dynasty. Emperor Wu was economical, worked hard at governing, and cared for the common people. His early reign was known as Reign of Tianjian . The Liang dynasty's military strength gradually surpassed

7625-464: The country selling their services to the warring princes and plundering the populace. These upheavals devastated the south which eased the fall of the south to the Sui dynasty. 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. Aboriginal chiefs played an important active role in adapting to

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7750-468: The country under the command of their imperial relatives, recruited officers from humble backgrounds and appointed low-ranking officials to monitor the powerful elites occupying the top government posts. The southern aristocracy declined with the rise of the Indian Ocean trade in the mid 5th century, which led to the court revenues shifting to trade and the disappearance of the caste by the Chen dynasty. As landowning aristocrats were unable to convert cash from

7875-424: The death of Emperor Wen, his son, the weak-willed Chen Bozong, took power and became Emperor Fei of Chen . His uncle, Chen Xu, after essentially controlling the country through his short reign, eventually deposed him and took power as Emperor Xuan of Chen . At that time, the Northern Zhou intended to conquer Northern Qi and thus invited the Chen dynasty to help. Emperor Xuan agreed to help because he wanted to recover

8000-455: The devastating War of the Eight Princes . The dynasty was greatly weakened by this civil conflict, and it soon faced more upheaval when the Upheaval of the Five Barbarians began in 304. During this unrest, the Jin capital Luoyang was sacked by Han-Zhao ruler Liu Cong in 311, and Jin emperor Sima Chi, posthumously known as Emperor Huai , was captured and later executed. Emperor Huai's successor Sima Ye, posthumously known as Emperor Min ,

8125-674: The dominant Chinese structure, rather than being forcibly subjugated. For instance, the aboriginal chief Lady Xian who married the Liang court's governor Feng Bao, helped to extend the dynasties' authority while preserving autonomy and local culture. Lady Xian and Feng Bao played a critical role in assisting Chen Baxian's rise, and in stabilising the region between the Liang, Chen, and Sui dynasties. The court acknowledged her authority by awarding her with official titles and emblems of power. There were many other local chieftains of mixed origins between Guangzhou and modern Vietnam that displayed mixed traits of both aboriginal and sinicized culture, such as

8250-399: The dynasty experienced a wave of rebellions by non- Han ethnicities termed the Five Barbarians , who went on to establish several short-lived dynastic states in northern China . This inaugurated the chaotic and bloody Sixteen Kingdoms era of Chinese history, in which states in the north rose and fell in rapid succession, constantly fighting both one another and the Jin. Han-Zhao , one of

8375-412: The dynasty, known in historiography as the Eastern Jin dynasty . Cementing their power in the south, the Eastern Jin established Jiankang on the existing site of Jianye (now Nanjing ) as their new capital. In the north, the Five Barbarians established numerous short-lived dynasties, leading to the period known as the Sixteen Kingdoms in historiography. Eventually, the Northern Wei dynasty conquered

8500-424: The emperors was limited, while national affairs were controlled by powerful immigrant elite clans like the Wang ( 王 ) clans of Langya and Taiyuan , the Xie ( 謝 ) clan of Chenliu , the Huan ( 桓 ) clan of Qiao Commandery , and the Yu ( 庾 ) clan of Yingchuan . Among the people, a common remark was that " Wang Dao and Sima Rui , they dominate the nation together" ( 王與馬,共天下 ). It was said that when Emperor Yuan

8625-442: The empress dowager and the young emperor thrown into the Yellow River while establishing his own puppet ruler to maintain authority. As conflict swelled in the north between successive leaders, Gao Huan took control of the east and Luoyang (holding Emperor Xiaojing of Eastern Wei as a puppet ruler) by 534, while his rival Yuwen Tai took control of the west and the traditional Chinese capital of Chang'an by 535. The Western regime

8750-459: The first demise of one of the Three Kingdoms. Sima Zhao's actions awarded him the title of King of Jin, the last achievable rank beneath that of emperor. He was granted the title because his ancestral home was located in Wen County , on the territory of the Zhou -era state of Jin , which was centered on the Jin River in Shaanxi . Sima Zhao's ambitions for the throne were visible, but he died in 265 before any usurpation attempt could be made, passing

8875-438: The five barbarians led to one in eight northerners migrating to the south. These immigrants were called qiaoren ( 僑人 'lodged people'), accounting for one-sixth of the population of the south at the time. With consideration of the material loss refugees had experienced before arrival, they were exempt from the diao ( 調 ) tax, and other services. Those whose registers were bound in white paper were called baiji ( 白籍 ), while

9000-399: The founding elites of the Sui and Tang dynasties. Hence, they tended to have a flexible approach to steppe nomads, viewing them as possible partners rather than intrinsic enemies. The Jin were succeeded by a series of short-lived dynasties: Liu Song (420–479), Southern Qi (479–502), Liang (502–557) and Chen (557–589). As all of these dynasties had their capital at Jiankang (except for

9125-513: The government secretaries, he slaughtered all the sons of Emperors Gao and Wu. Emperor Ming soon became very ill and started following Daoism, changing his whole wardrobe to red. He also passed an edict making officials try to find whitebait (銀魚). He died in 498 and was succeeded by his son Xiao Baojuan , who killed high officials and governors at whim, sparking many revolts. The final revolt in 501 started after Xiao Baojuan killed his prime minister Xiao Yi, leading his brother Xiao Yan to revolt under

9250-506: The imperial clan, one of which saw him slaughter the inhabitants of Guangling . The following ballad gives an idea of those times: Emperor Xiaowu died naturally in 464 and was succeeded by his son, who became Emperor Qianfei . Emperor Qianfei proved to be similar to his father, engaging in both kin-slaughter and incest. In a scandalous move, because his sister complained about how it was unfair that men were allowed 10,000 concubines, he gave her 30 handsome young men as lovers. His uncle Liu Yu,

9375-408: The imperial hierarchy. As a result, popular Taoist religions were considered heterodoxy while the official schools of the court were supported, but the popular schools like Tianshi Taoism were still secretly held dear and promulgated amongst ordinary people. Disunity, disintegration, and chaos also made Buddhism more popular, in part due to the focus on addressing suffering. The Jin dynasty marked

9500-406: The lodged Huainan Commandery was established afterwards. However, carrying these out was more complex than the policy was formulated. Several actual counties were under the jurisdiction of the lodged commanderies. A few lodged administrative divisions are still retained in China nowadays. For instance, Dangtu County was originally located in the area of Bengbu , however, the lodged Dangtu County

9625-425: The lost territories south of the Huai River. In 573, he sent general Wu Mingche to assist the effort; in two years, he managed to recover he lost territories south of the Huai River. At the time, Northern Qi was in a precarious situation with little military strength and Emperor Xuan could have taken advantage of the opportunity to entirely defeat Northern Qi. However, he only wanted to protect his territories south of

9750-566: The most highly decorated of the Yungang Grottoes , and had a temple constructed in 488 at Lirun, Fengyi (modern day Chengcheng), which was his birthplace according to the Booke of Wei. Wang Yu may have been castrated during the suppression of a 446 Qiang rebellion since the Northern Wei would castrate rebel tribes' young elite. In the first half of the Northern Wei dynasty , the Xianbei steppe tribesmen who dominated northern China kept

9875-567: The nearby areas. The rest of the Liang dynasty lands were under the control of members of the imperial clan. Their squabbling amongst themselves weakened their efforts to defeat Hou. In the end, Xiao Yi with the aid of his generals Wang Sengbian and Chen Baxian defeated Hou, crowning himself Emperor Yuan of Liang . His brother Xiao Ji based in Sichuan was still a major threat. Emperor Yuan asked for assistance from Western Wei to defeat Xiao Ji, but after subduing Xiao Ji, they kept Sichuan. Due to

10000-432: The north forced them to divert their focus from their southern expeditions. After uniting the north, Emperor Taiwu also conquered the powerful Shanshan kingdom and subjugated the other kingdoms of Xiyu ( Western Regions ). In 450, Emperor Taiwu once again attacked the Liu Song and reached Guabu (瓜步, in modern Nanjing, Jiangsu), threatening to cross the river to attack Jiankang, the Liu Song capital. Though up to this point,

10125-407: The north with the aim of recovering its lost territories. In 383, the Eastern Jin inflicted a devastating defeat on the Former Qin , a Di -ruled state that had briefly unified northern China. In the aftermath of that battle, the Former Qin state splintered, and Jin armies recaptured the lands south of the Yellow River . The Eastern Jin was eventually usurped by General Liu Yu in 420 replaced with

10250-610: The northern states established during the disorder, sacked Luoyang in 311 , captured Chang'an in 316, and executed Emperor Min of Jin in 318, ending the Western Jin era. Sima Rui , who succeeded Emperor Min, then reestablished the Jin dynasty with its capital in Jiankang (modern Nanjing ), inaugurating the Eastern Jin (317–420). The Eastern Jin dynasty remained in near-constant conflict with its northern neighbors for most of its existence, and it launched several invasions of

10375-523: The northern states like the Battle of Fei River, paranoia in the royal family and a constant disruptions to the throne often caused loss of support for northern campaigns. For example, lack of support by the Jin court was a major cause of Huan Wen's failure to recover the north in his expeditions. Additionally, internal military crises—including the rebellions of generals Wang Dun and Su Jun , but also lesser fangzhen ( 方鎮 'military command') revolts—plagued

10500-479: The opportunity to his ambitious son Sima Yan . The Jin dynasty was founded by Sima Yan, who was known posthumously as Emperor Wu (the "Martial Emperor of Jin"). After succeeding his father as the King of Jin and regent of Cao Wei in 265, Sima Yan declared himself emperor of the Jin dynasty in February 266 and forced the final Wei ruler Cao Huan to abdicate. Emperor Wu permitted Cao Huan to live with honor as

10625-401: The others with registers bound in yellow paper were called huangji ( 黃籍 ). When the crisis had subsided, this preferential increasingly seemed a heavy burden on the people, arousing dissatisfaction in the natives. Hence, tu duan was an increasingly important issue for the Eastern Jin. The Eastern Jin court established three levels of administrative divisions which served as strongholds for

10750-616: The period include the mathematician and astronomer Zu Chongzhi (429–500), and astronomer Tao Hongjing . After the collapse of a unified China proper under the Eastern Han dynasty in 220 due in large part to the Yellow Turban and the Five Pecks of Rice rebellions, China eventually coalesced into the Three Kingdoms . Of these, Cao Wei was the strongest, followed by Eastern Wu and Shu Han , but they were initially in

10875-515: The period was called the Reign of Yuanjia ( Chinese : 元嘉之治 ). In 430, Emperor Wen started a number of northern expeditions against Northern Wei. These were ineffective because of insufficient preparations and excessive micromanagement of his generals, increasingly weakening the dynasty. Because of his jealousy of Tan Daoji , a noted leader of the Army of the Northern Garrison, he deprived himself of

11000-582: The pretender Yuan Hao . Despite the fact that Chen was only given 7,000 troops, he still managed to defeat army after army and even captured Luoyang, the capital of Northern Wei. Ultimately, Chen was insufficiently supplied and was defeated by troops ten times his size. After the Northern Wei split into Eastern and Western Wei, Emperor Wu granted asylum to rebel Eastern Wei commander Hou Jing , sending him on Northern Expeditions against Eastern Wei. After some initial successes, Liang forces were decisively defeated. Rumors abounded that Emperor Wu intended to give Hou as

11125-435: The primary power brokers in the Eastern Jin. With the greatly increased importance of proving one's pedigree to receive privileges, there was a rise in compiling of genealogy records, and the great families moved to legally outlaw intermarriage with common families. The lower class Northern migrants were forced to become "guests" (dependents) of the great families who established private guard forces with their new retainers. When

11250-424: The produce of their estates, the resurgence of trade and the money-based economy forced them to break up and sell their lands to the burgeoning merchant class. Influential merchants increasingly occupied political offices, displacing the old aristocrats. On the other hand, the economic developments also drove peasants, unable to cope with inflation or to pay taxes in cash, to become mercenary soldiers, wandering through

11375-617: The region of Wu (a region near modern-day Shanghai). At that time, due to the Hou Jing rebellion, the Qiao and Wu clans were greatly weakened, and many independent regimes emerged. Emperor Wu could not pacify all the independent regimes, so he adopted conciliatory measures. After the sudden death of Emperor Wu, his nephew Chen Qian took power as Emperor Wen of Chen . After the fall of Liang, the general Wang Lin had established an independent kingdom based in modern-day Hunan and Hubei provinces and

11500-434: The rest of the northern states in 439 and unified northern China. Although the Eastern Jin and successive southern dynasties were well-defended from the northern dynasties by their placement of naval fleets along the Yangtze, they suffered various problems related to the creation and maintenance of military strength. The court's designation of specific households for military service through the tuntian system eventually led to

11625-513: The rise and usurpation of the Sima family who established the Jin dynasty; subsequent leaders were similarly unable to bring the other great families in line. The Jin dynasty's flight south greatly exacerbated the weakness of the central government, and the great families who accompanied the Emperor in his flight, along with the most wealthy clans of earlier settlers along the Zhejiang coast, were

11750-486: The ruler of the new Song dynasty (which is referred to as the Liu Song dynasty by historians in order to prevent confusion with the Song dynasty established in 960). Sima Dewen was then asphyxiated with a blanket in the following year. In the north, Northern Liang , the last of the Sixteen Kingdoms , was conquered by Northern Wei in 439, ushering in the Northern dynasties period. The Xianbei Northern Wei accepted

11875-721: The south at different times resulted in distinct groups of aristocratic lineages. In 403, Huan Xuan , the son of esteemed general Huan Wen , usurped the Jin throne and declared the dynasty of Huan Chu . Huan Xuan was soon toppled by Liu Yu , who reinstated Jin rule by installing Sima Dezong on the throne, posthumously known as Emperor An . Meanwhile, the civilian administration suffered, as there were further revolts led by Sun En and Lu Xun, and Western Shu became an independent kingdom under Qiao Zong . In 419, Liu Yu had Sima Dezong strangled and replaced by his brother Sima Dewen, posthumously known as Emperor Gong . Finally, in 420, Sima Dewen abdicated in favour of Liu Yu, who declared himself

12000-519: The south went from being nearly a frontier to being on a path to the thriving, urbanized, sinicized region that it became in later centuries. In his book Buddhism in Chinese History , Arthur F. Wright points out this fact by stating: "When we speak of the area of the Yangtze valley and below in the period of disunion, we must banish from our minds the picture of the densely populated, intensively cultivated South China of recent centuries. When

12125-458: The spread of Mahayana Buddhism and Taoism . The period saw large-scale migration of Han people to lands south of the Yangtze . The period came to an end with the unification of China proper by Emperor Wen of the Sui dynasty . During this period, the process of sinicization accelerated among the non-Han ethnicities in the north and among the indigenous peoples in the south. This process

12250-489: The strength of the Northern Wei, who suffered internal strife due to their policy of sinicization . In 503, the Northern Wei invaded but were defeated at Zhongli (modern Bengbu ). Emperor Wu supported the Northern Expeditions but did not aggressively take advantage of his victory in 516 at Shouyang due to heavy casualties. Given the excessive kin-slaughter in the Liu Song and Southern Qi dynasties, Emperor Wu

12375-441: The throne. This stopped the southern advance of the northern troops. The respite was short though, as after Yang Jian defeated his rival General Yuchi Jiong , he usurped the throne from Emperor Jing of Northern Zhou and established the Sui dynasty , crowning himself Emperor Wen of Sui . He proceeded to invade the south to reunify China. Emperor Xuan had just died and his incompetent son Chen Shubao (Houzhu of Chen) took power. He

12500-409: The total provincial area. Qingyuan contains part of the southern Nan Ling , and more than half of the area is mountainous, and elevations increase from southeast to northwest. Bordering prefectures are Guangzhou and Foshan to the southeast, Zhaoqing to the southwest, Shaoguan to the north and northeast, Hezhou ( Guangxi ) to the west, and Yongzhou and Chenzhou ( Hunan ) to the north. Qingyuan has

12625-589: The warring princes heavily drafted these tribes into the military, they mutinied and exploited the civil wars to seize power. Their armies almost destroyed the dynasty in the Disaster of Yongjia of 311, when the Five Barbarians sacked Luoyang . Chang'an met a similar fate in 316. However, a scion of the imperial house, Sima Rui (Emperor Yuan of Jin) fled south of the Huai River and reestablished

12750-616: The way it had been used near the end of the Han era in the Yellow Turban Rebellion . Amidst the political turmoil of the era, many successful merchants, small landowners, and other moderately comfortable people found great solace in Taoist teachings and a number of major clans and military officers also took up the faith. Ge Hong emphasized loyalty to the emperor as a Taoist virtue; he even taught that rebels could never be Taoist immortals, which made Taoism more palatable to

12875-589: The year 495 to serve in the capital. Within a couple of decades, the population rose to about half a million residents and was famed for being home to over a thousand Buddhist temples. Defectors from the south, such as Wang Su of the prestigious Langye Wang family, were largely accommodated and felt at home with the establishment of their own Wu quarter in Luoyang (this quarter of the city was home to over three thousand families). They were even served tea (by this time gaining popularity in southern China) at court instead of

13000-517: The year 523, Prince Dongyang of the Northern Wei was sent to Dunhuang to serve as its governor for a term of fifteen years. With Buddhism gaining mainstream acceptance in Chinese society, Prince Dongyang and local wealthy families set out to establish a monumental project in honor of Buddhism, carving and decorating Cave 285 of the Mogao Caves with beautiful statues and murals. Such promotion of

13125-488: The yogurt drinks commonly found in the north. Beginning in the 480s, the Northern Wei arranged for Han elites to marry daughters of the Xianbei Tuoba imperial family. More than fifty per cent of Tuoba Xianbei princesses of the Northern Wei were married to southern Han men from the imperial families and aristocrats of the southern dynasties, who defected and moved north to join the Northern Wei. Several daughters of

13250-469: Was a Xianbei, but whose mother was Han. Although of the Tuoba Clan from the Xianbei tribe, Emperor Xiaowen asserted his dual Xianbei-Han identity, renaming his own clan "Yuan" ( 元 ). In the year 493 Emperor Xiaowen instituted a new sinification program that had the Xianbei elites conform to many Han standards. These social reforms included donning Han clothing (banning Xianbei clothing at court), learning

13375-531: Was a decadent ruler who had lost the Mandate of Heaven , the Sui Dynasty was able to effectively conquer the south. After this conquest, the whole of China entered a new golden age of reunification under the centralization of the short-lived Sui dynasty and the succeeding Tang dynasty (618–907). The core elite of the Northern dynasties, mixed-culture, and mixed-ethnicity military clans, would later also form

13500-475: 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 as the latter part of a longer period known as the Six Dynasties (220–589). The period featured civil war and political chaos, but was also a time of flourishing arts and culture, advancement in technology, and

13625-473: Was afraid they would have thoughts of usurping the throne. Thus, he also frequently killed his kinsmen. After the death of Emperor Wu, his son Emperor Shao ruled briefly before being judged incompetent and killed by government officials led by Xu Xianzhi , replacing him with Emperor Wen , a different son, who soon killed the officials who supported him. Emperor Wen's reign was a period of relative political stability because of his frugality and good government;

13750-508: Was also accompanied by the increasing popularity of Buddhism in both northern and southern China and Daoism gaining influence as well, with two essential Daoist canons written during this period. Notable technological advances occurred during this period. The invention of the stirrup during the earlier Jin dynasty (266–420) helped spur the development of heavy cavalry as a combat standard. Historians also note advances in medicine, astronomy , mathematics , and cartography . Intellectuals of

13875-489: Was also an action done to appease the refugees' homesickness, which was evoking their desire to reacquire what had been lost. During the rule of Emperor Yuan, Emperor Ming, and Emperor Cheng, the lodged administrative divisions were concentrated in the area south of the Huai River and the Lower Yangtze Plain. At first there was the lodged Langya Commandery within lodged Fei County in Jiankang, but when it began

14000-597: Was dominated by the sinicized nobles and their Han bureaucrats while the Eastern regime was controlled by the traditional steppe tribes. Eventually, Gao Huan's son Gao Yang forced the Eastern Wei emperor to abdicate in favor of his claim to the throne, establishing the Northern Qi dynasty (551–577). Afterward, Yuwen Tai's son Yuwen Jue seized the throne of power from Emperor Gong of Western Wei , establishing

14125-418: Was established in where it is now, and the latter replaced the former, inheriting its place name. The tu duan ( 土斷 ) is the abbreviation for yi tu duan ( 以土斷 , means classifying people according to their present habitation to register). It was a policy to ensure the ancient hukou system working since the Western Jin. These terms were first recorded in the biographies of Wei Guan and Li Chong included in

14250-478: Was formed from the offspring of these migrants. Particularly in the Jiangnan region, Celestial Masters and the nobility of northern China subdued the nobility of southern China during the Jin dynasty. Southern China overtook the north in population due to depopulation of the north and the migration of northern Chinese to southern China. Different waves of migration of aristocratic Chinese from northern China to

14375-411: Was highly successful in boosting the state's military strength. The Northern Zhou dynasty was able to defeat and conquer Northern Qi in 577, reunifying the north. However, this success was short-lived, as the Northern Zhou was overthrown in 581 by Yang Jian, who became Emperor Wen of Sui . With greater military power and morale, along with convincing propaganda that the Chen dynasty ruler Chen Shubao

14500-400: Was holding court, he even invited Wang Dao to sit by his side so they could jointly accept congratulations from ministers, but Wang Dao declined the offer. In order to recover the lands lost during the fall of the Western Jin, the Eastern Jin dynasty launched several military campaigns against the northern states, such as the expeditions led by Huan Wen from 354 to 369. Most notably, in 383,

14625-451: Was in a weakened state. Emperor Wen was assassinated by Crown Prince Shao and Second Prince Jun in 453 after planning to punish them for witchcraft. However, they were both defeated by Third Prince Jun, who become Emperor Xiaowu . proved to be licentious and cruel, supposedly committing incest with the daughters of an uncle who had helped him gain the throne; his rivals also claimed he had incest with his mother. This led to two rebellions by

14750-516: Was later promoted to prefecture-level city status. Qingyuan's administrative area ranges in latitude from 23° 26' 56" to 25° 11' 40" N, and in longitude from 111° 55' 17" to 113° 55' 34" E; its urban area is located just north of the Tropic of Cancer , about 60 km (37 mi) from the urban area of Guangzhou and 200 km (120 mi) from both Hong Kong and Macau . Its area of over 19,000 km (7,300 sq mi) accounts for 10.6% of

14875-551: Was licentious and wasteful, resulting in chaos and corruption in the government; many officials heavily exploited the people, causing great suffering. In planning to defeat the Chen dynasty, Emperor Wen of Sui took the suggestion of his general Gao Jiong and waited until the South were harvesting their crops to entirely burn the farmland, crippling the strength of the Chen dynasty. In 588, Emperor Wen of Sui sent his son Yang Guang (who would become Emperor Yang of Sui ) to finally vanquish

15000-493: Was not given the imperial title. After some defeats to the forces of Northern Qi, Wang Sengbian allowed their pretender, Xiao Yuanming to establish himself as Emperor Min of Liang. However, Chen Baxian was displeased with the arrangements, and in a surprise move killed Wang and deposed Emperor Min in favor of Xiao Fangzhi who became Emperor Jing of Liang. After a short reign, Chen deposed Emperor Jing and took power himself as Emperor Wu of Chen in 557. Emperor Wu of Chen came from

15125-475: Was now starting to cause trouble. Wang Lin allied with Northern Zhou and Northern Qi to conquer the Chen capital at Jiankang. Emperor Wen first defeated the combined forces of Northern Qi and Wang Lin before preventing the forces of Northern Zhou from entering the South at Yueyang . Furthermore, through Emperor Wen's extensive efforts at good governance, the economic situation of the South was greatly improved, restoring his kingdom's national strength. Following

15250-456: Was the most notable ruler of his age, being a patron of the arts and of Buddhism. The Southern dynasties, except for the last Chen dynasty, were strongly dominated by the shijia , the great families, who monopolized political power until the mid-6th century. This class was created by Cao Cao during the late Han dynasty when he attempted to consolidate his power by building an endogenous military caste of professional soldiers. His policy led to

15375-600: Was then also captured and executed by Han-Zhao forces when they seized Chang'an (present-day Xi'an ) in 316. This event marked the end of the Western Jin. The surviving members of the Jin imperial family, as well as large numbers of Han Chinese from the North China Plain , subsequently fled to southern China. These refugees had a large impact on the lands they moved to—for example, they gave Quanzhou 's Jin River its name upon their settlement there. The Jin dynasty

15500-522: Was very lenient to imperial clansmen, not even investigating them when they committed crimes. The Liang reached a cultural peak because he was very learned, supported scholars, and encouraged the flourishing education system. An avid poet, Emperor Wu was fond of gathering many literary talents at court, and even held poetry competitions with prizes of gold or silk for those considered the best. In his later years, however, sycophants surrounded him. Three times he dedicated his life to Buddhism and tried to become

15625-415: Was volatile. General Xiao Daocheng slowly gained power and eventually deposed Emperor Houfei in favor of his brother, who became Emperor Shun . After defeating the rival general Shen Youzhi , Xiao forced Emperor Shun to yield the throne and crowned himself Emperor Gao of Southern Qi , thus ending the Liu Song dynasty. Though distantly related, the Southern Qi and the following Liang dynasty were members of

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