Period of Disunity

Six Dynasties (Chinese: 六朝; Pinyin: Liù Cháo; 220 or 222–589) is a collective term for six Chinese dynasties in China during the periods of the Three Kingdoms (220–280 AD), Jin dynasty (265–420), and Southern and Northern Dynasties (420–589). It also coincides with the era of the Sixteen Kingdoms (304-439).

This era immediately followed the fall of the Han Dynasty in 220 AD, and was an era of disunity, instability and warfare.

The term generally refers to two groupings of dynasties during that period:

The six dynasties were:

This listing is based on the states that maintained national capitals at Jiankang (contemporary Nanjing) near the Yangzi River (Chang Jiang). Xu Song (许嵩, Xǔ Sōng) in Tang Dynasty wrote a book, Jiankang Shilu (建康实录, Jiànkāng Shílù), that provides a historical account of Jiankang, which gave rise to this scheme of this name.

These six dynasties were:

Sima Guang, in his book Zizhi Tongjian, used the era names of these six dynasties as the timeline to describe this period of history. Later Chinese called this period the Six Dynasties period, or Wei Jin Southern and Northern Dynasties (魏晋南北朝, Wèi Jìn NánběiCháo).

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 Liang Dynasty. Also significant, is the Zi Ye, or "Lady Midnight" style, supposedly originating with an eponymously named fourth-century professional singer of the Jin dynasty.

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