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The Southern and Northern Dynasties () was a period in the history of China that lasted from 420 to 589. It is sometimes considered as the latter part of a longer period known as the Six Dynasties (220 to 589). Though an age of civil war and political chaos, it was also a time of flourishing arts and culture, advancement in technology, and the spread of Mahayana Buddhism and Daoism. The period saw large-scale migration of Han Chinese to the lands south of the Yangtze. During this period, the process of sinicization accelerated among the non-Chinese arrivals in the north and among the indigenous people in the south. This process was also accompanied by the increasing popularity of Buddhism (introduced into China in the 1st century) 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 (265–420) helped spur the development of heavy cavalry as a combat standard. Historians also note advances in medicine, astronomy, mathematics, and cartography. The elite culture which was shaped and developed and which helped to shape and develop southern China during this period of time, contributed to the intellectual and social production of such persons as the famous Chinese mathematician and astronomer Zu Chongzhi (429–500), who belonged to this age. ==Background== After the collapse of a united China under the 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 a relatively stable formation. After a 249 coup by Sima Yi, the Sima family essentially controlled Cao Wei and the conquest of Shu by Wei rapidly followed. Following a failed coup by the ruling Cao family against the Sima family, the final Cao ruler abdicated. Sima Yan then founded the Jin Dynasty as Emperor Wu of Jin and the conquest of Wu by Jin occurred in 280, ending the Three Kingdoms period and reuniting China. The Jin dynasty was severely weakened after the War of the Eight Princes from 291-306. During the reigns of Emperor Huai and Emperor Min, the country was put into grave danger with the uprising of the northern non-Han people collectively known as the Five Barbarians. Invading non-Han 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 royal house, Sima Rui, Prince of Langya, fled south of the Huai River to salvage what was left in order to sustain the empire, establishing himself as Emperor Yuan. Cementing their power in the south, the Jin established Jiankang on the existing site of Jianke (now Nanjing) as their new capital, renaming the dynasty as the Eastern Jin since the new capital was located southeast of Luoyang. In the north, the Five Barbarians established numerous kingdoms, leading to the period being known as the Sixteen Kingdoms. Eventually, the Northern Wei conquered the rest of the northern states in 386. Although the Eastern Jin and successive southern dynasties were well-defended from the northern states by placement of naval fleets along the Yangtze, there were still various problems faced with building and maintaining military strength. The designation of specific households for military service in the tuntian system eventually led to a falling out in their social status, causing widespread desertion of troops on many occasions. Faced with shortage of troop numbers, Jin generals were often sent on campaigns to capture non-Chinese people in the south in order to draft them into the military. The Eastern Jin dynasty fell not because of external invasion, however, but because General Liu Yu seized the throne from Emperor Gong and establishing himself as Emperor Wu of Liu Song (r. 420–422), which officially began the Southern and Northern dynasties. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Southern and Northern Dynasties」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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