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by Chen Shubao Fair pavilions and fragrant woods stand by the lofty towers,Her newly dressed beauty outshines the whole city’s charms.Her tender grace glints by the gate, she lingers at first,Then steps from the curtain, smiling with graceful airs.Her lovely face like flowers draped in dewdrops glows,Jade trees’ bright radiance fills the rear courtyard.Flowers…
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The Sudden Death of a Reformer When Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou died unexpectedly in 578, rumors spread like wildfire. Former monks – many of whom had been forcibly defrocked during his anti-Buddhist campaign – claimed:“He banned the Buddha and was dragged to hell!”
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The Fractured North: Birth of Eastern and Western Wei Gao Huan’s fears proved prophetic. Just two years after installing Emperor Xiaojing in Yecheng (534 CE), his puppet emperor, Emperor Xiaowu of Northern Wei, grew restless. Seeking real power, he secretly conspired to eliminate Gao – and even tried to recruit Gao Qian, one of…
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The Hou Jing Rebellion was a devastating uprising that erupted in the final years of Emperor Wu of the Liang dynasty (r. 502–549 CE), led by Hou Jing, a former general who had defected from Eastern Wei.
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Fan Zhen (c. 450–c. 510 CE) was a prominent materialist philosopher of the Southern Qi and Liang dynasties during the Southern Dynasties period. His courtesy name was Zizhen, and he was a native of Wuyin, Nanxiang Commandery (in present-day northwestern Biyang County, Henan).
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Zu Chongzhi (429–500 CE) was a preeminent scientist of the Southern Dynasties during the Northern and Southern Dynasties period. His courtesy name was Wenyuan, and his ancestral home was Qiu County, Fanyang Commandery (in present-day Laishui, Hebei).
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Xie Lingyun (385–433 CE) was a celebrated poet of the Liu Song dynasty during the Southern Dynasties period. Born in Yangxia, Chen Commandery (modern-day Taikang, Henan), his family had long resided in Kuaiji (centered on present-day Shaoxing, Zhejiang).
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A historical text compiled by Fan Ye (398–445 CE) during the Liu Song dynasty of the Southern Dynasties period. The work originally comprised 100 scrolls of Annals (Benji) and Biographies (Liezhuan), but the present standard edition contains 120 scrolls: 10 Annals, 80 Biographies, and 30 Treatises (Zhi).
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— Du Mu Orioles sing for miles amid red blooms and green trees; By hills and rills wine shop streamers wave in the breeze. Four hundred eighty splendid temples still remain Of Southern Dynasties in the mist and rain.