Southern Han
Great Yue / Great Han 大越 / 大漢 | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
917–971 | |||||||||
Capital | Panyu | ||||||||
Common languages | Middle Chinese | ||||||||
Government | Monarchy | ||||||||
Emperor | |||||||||
Emperor Gaozu | |||||||||
Emperor Shandi | |||||||||
Emperor Zhongzong | |||||||||
Emperor Houzhu | |||||||||
Historical era | Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period | ||||||||
• Established | 917 917 | ||||||||
• Renamed from "Yue" to "Han" | 918 | ||||||||
• Ended by the Song Dynasty | 971 971 | ||||||||
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Southern Han (simplified Chinese: 南汉; traditional Chinese: 南漢; pinyin: Nán Hàn; Vietnamese: Nam Hán) was a kingdom that existed during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period (907-960) along China’s southern coast from 917 to 971. The Kingdom greatly expanded her capital city Hing Wong Fu (興王府), namely present-day Guangzhou. Not only did it have interaction with other Chinese kingdoms, but due to its location, it also had relations with the Viet people to the south.
Founding of the Southern Han
Liu Yin, was named regional governor and military officer by the Tang court in 905. Though the Tang fell two years later, Liu did not declare himself the founder of a new kingdom as other southern leaders had done. He merely inherited himself the Prince of Nanping in 909
It was not until Liu Yin’s death in 917 that his brother, Liu Yan, declared the founding of a new kingdom, which he initially called “Great Yue” (大越) 919, but he changed the name to Great Han (大漢) next year. It was because his surname Liu (劉) is imperial surname of Han dynasty and he claimed himself the descendant of imperial Han. The kingdom is often referred as “Southern Han Dynasty" throughout china's history.
Territorial Extant
With its capital at Canton (called Guangzhou in Mandarin), the domains of the kingdom spread along the coastal regions of present-day Guangdong, Guangxi , Hanoi and the island of Hainan. It not only had borders with the kingdoms of Min, Chu and the Southern Tang, they also bordered the non-Chinese kingdoms of Dali and Champa (present-day Hue). The Southern Tang occupied all of the northern boundary of the Southern Han after Min and Chu were conquered by the Southern Tang in 945 and 951 respectively.
Relations with Vietnam
While the Tang Dynasty was strong, the region of the present-day Vietnam remain a stable, secure part of Vietnamese domains. However, as the Tang Dynasty was weakening late in the ninth century, the Vietnamese sought to regain control over their own affairs. Hanoi, which had developed as a political center during the Tang Dynasty, was the center of an early Vietnamese polity.
The Southern Han sought to bring the Vietnamese back within the Chinese orbit. Even though the Vietnamese were still relatively unorganized politically, the invasion was unsuccessful and was repelled. In 939, Vietnamese under the leadership of Ngo Quyen (吳權) declared its independence from the Southern Tang. As the Vietnamese became more politically organized from the 960s, the Southern Tang were no longer able to threaten their southern neighbors.
Fall of the Southern Han
The Five Dynasties ended in 960 when the Song Dynasty was founded to replace the Later Zhou Dynasty. From that point, the new Song rulers set themselves about to continue the reunification process set in motion by the Later Zhou Dynasty. Through the 960s and 970s, the Song increased its influence in the south until finally it was able to force the Southern Han dynasty to submit to its rule in 971.
Rulers
Temple Names ( Miao Hao 廟號 miao4 hao4) | Posthumous Names ( Shi Hao 諡號 ) | Personal Names | Period of Reigns | Era Names (Nian Hao 年號) and their according range of years |
---|---|---|---|---|
高祖 gao1 zu3 | 天皇大帝 tian1 huang2 da4 di4 | 劉巖 liu3 yan2, or Liu Yan|劉龑 liu3 yan3 after 926 | 917-941 | Qianheng (乾亨 qian2 heng1) 917-925 |
Did not exist | 殤帝 shang1 di4 | 劉玢 liu3 fen1 | 941-943 | Guangtian (光天 guag1 tian1) 941-943 |
中宗 zhong1 zong1 | Too tedious thus not used when referring to this sovereign | 劉晟 liu3 cheng2 | 943-958 | Yingqian (應乾 ying4 qian2) 943 |
後主 hou4 zhu3 | Did not exist | 劉鋹 liu3 chang3 | 958-971 | Dabao (大寶 da4 bao3) 958-971 |
References
- Mote, F.W. (1999). Imperial China (900-1800). Harvard University Press. pp. 11, 15. ISBN 0-674-01212-7.
- Tarling, Nicholas, ed. (1999). The Cambridge History of Southeast Asia (Volume One, Part One): From early times to c. 1500. Cambridge University Press. p. 139. ISBN 0-521-66369-5.