The Northern and Southern Dynasties

147 Views

  • Thanks! Share it with your friends!

    You disliked this video. Thanks for the feedback!

admin
Published

The Northern and Southern Dynasties period stretched from 420 to 589 AD. It was a period of division as different generals gained control of various parts of China. But they only ruled for a few decades and didn't manage to pass on power to their heirs.

After the Three Kingdoms period, the Western and then Eastern Jin Dynasties followed. Then in the year 420, a warlord named Liu Yu, toppled the emperor and established a series of Southern Dynasties.

Over the next 150 years, power in Southern China kept changing hands between three families. In the north, non-Chinese ethnic groups established their own kingdoms. Mongolian tribes established the Northern Wei Dynasty, lasting for about 100 years.

Despite much of China being governed by minority or non-Chinese ethnic groups, they quickly adopted Chinese culture. Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty ordered his citizens to take Chinese surnames, wear Chinese-style clothing, speak Chinese, and even marry into local Chinese families.

Buddhism spread rapidly in China during this period. The Yungang Grottoes of Buddhist temples in Shanxi province were constructed under the rule of the Northern Wei. The caves contain over 51 thousand Buddha statues. Earlier statues look non-Chinese with deeper eyes and higher noses, while later ones have more ethnic Chinese characteristics, as a result of Emperor Xiaowen's assimilation measures. The caves are now a UNESCO world heritage site.

During the sixth century, the Indian monk Bodhidarma, or Damo in Chinese, travelled to China. Emperor Wudi of the Southern Liang Dynasty received him. Damo then headed north, and was said to have glided across the Yangtze River on a single reed stalk, before settling at a Shaolin temple. There, Damo introduced Zen Buddhism to China. In the years that followed, Buddhism continued to flourish.

History seems to repeat itself. The Warring States Period set the stage for the short-lived Qin, and followed by the more stable Han Dynasties. Eight hundred years later—after the Three Kingdoms, Jin, Northern, and Southern Dynasties, followed briefly by the Sui Dynasty—then, came the glorious Tang era—China's golden age.

Category
History of Buddhism
Be the first to comment