The Five Dynasties and The Ten Kingdoms (907-960) After the Tang Dynasty collapsed in 907 AD, northern China was ruled by five short-lived military regimes, while the southern China became split into ten independent states. There were five successive dynasties that dominated the Yellow River Valley in this period. They were the Later Liang (907 - 923), Later Tang (923 - 936), Later Jin (936 - 946), Later Han (947 - 950), and Later Zhou (951 - 960). During this period of chaos and havoc, tyrants and merciless officials ruled the people; continuous wars and heavy taxes imposed made common people’s life very difficult. Famous cities such as Chang'an and Luoyang were destroyed. People hoped unification that paved the way to finish divisions. The ten predominant states in the southern China were Wu, Southern Tang, Wuyue, Chu, Min, Southern Han, Nanping, Former Shu, Later Shu and Northern Han. Compared with the northern China, the southern China was considerably peaceful. The economy further developed. Achievements during this period included the technological development of gunpowder, manufacturing and printing. In literature, ci became the most popular poetic form.

The prehistory of China The Xia Dynastry(21st-17th centuryBC) The Shang Dynasty(17th-11th century BC) The Zhou Dynasty(11th century BC-256BC) The Spring Autumn(770-476BC) and Warring States Period(475-221BC) The Qin Dynasty(221-206BC) The Western Han Dynasty(206BC-25AD) The Eastern Han Dynasty(25AD-220AD) The Three kingdoms Period(220-280),Jin Dynasty(265-420),Northern and Southern Dynasties(420-589) The Sui Dynasty(589-618) The Tang Dynasty(618-907) The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms(907-960) The Northern Song Dynasty(960-1127) The Liao Dynasty(907-1125), Western Xai Dynasty(1038-1227) and Jin Dynasty(1115-1234) The Southern Dynasty(1127-1279) The Yuan Dynasty(1206-1368) The Ming Dynasty(1368-1644) The Qing Dynasty(1616-1911) Republic of China(1912-1949) The People's Republic of China(1949-)