Collected Illustrations of the Three Realms

original: 三才圖會 (Sancai Tuhui). A famous Ming dynasty encyclopedia. "Three Realms" refers to Heaven, Earth, and Humanity.

Human Affairs, Volume 3

Page 2

Diagram of the Rival States of the Later Five Dynasties

The "Five Dynasties" refers to the five short-lived regimes that controlled the heartland of Northern China in rapid succession after the fall of the Tang dynasty. The "Rival States" are the various kingdoms that ruled the south and west during this same period of fragmentation.

King of Qi
Li Maozhen occupied Fengxiang in modern Shaanxi. Emperor Zhuangzong of the Later Tang changed his title to King of Qin. By the reign of Emperor Mingzong, the state was abolished.

King of Wu
During the reign of Emperor Zhaozong of Tang, Yang Xingmi served as the Military Governor of Huainan. His son, Yang Wo, succeeded him. At the beginning of the Liang Later Liang dynasty, Zhang Hao murdered him and installed Yang Longyan. Later, Xu Zhigao usurped the throne and changed the state's name to Southern Tang.

Northern Han
Founded by Liu Chong, the younger brother of Liu Zhiyuan founder of the Later Han. It was eventually destroyed by the Song dynasty.

King of Chu
Ma Yin occupied Tanzhou modern Changsha. The state was later destroyed by the Southern Tang.

King of Yan
Liu Shouguang occupied Youzhou modern Beijing and declared the Great Yan dynasty. He was killed by the Later Jin.

Wuyue
Qian Liu occupied Hangzhou. Eventually, the state surrendered its territory and returned to the sovereignty of the Song dynasty.

These are the central Five Dynasties of the North: Later Liang, Later Tang, Later Jin, Later Han, and Later Zhou. They are presented here as the central axis of political legitimacy around which the rival kingdoms are organized.

King of Min
Wang Shenzhi occupied Fuzhou. Later, Wang Yanzheng resided in Jianzhou and titled the state Yin. During the Jin period, it was destroyed by the Southern Tang.

Southern Tang
Xu Zhigao usurped the state of Wu and established the Kingdom of Qi at Jinling modern Nanjing. Later he declared himself Emperor, renamed the state Tang, reclaimed his original surname of Li, and changed his personal name to Li Sheng.

Later Shu
Founded by Meng Zhixiang. It was later destroyed by the Song dynasty.

King of Shu
Wang Jian was enfeoffed as the King of Shu by Emperor Zhaozong of Tang. Later, Emperor Zhuangzong of Later Tang destroyed this state. Meng Zhixiang subsequently re-occupied the territory founding the Later Shu mentioned above until the final ruler surrendered.

Southern Han
During the time of Emperor Zhuangzong of Later Tang, Liu Gong also known as Liu Yan was first enfeoffed as the King of Nanping, then titled himself the King of Nanyue, and finally changed the state name to Han while occupying Guangzhou.

Nanping
Ruled by the Gao family. The founder was originally named Gao Jichang, but he changed his name to Gao Jixing to avoid a Tang dynasty naming taboo the practice of changing names to avoid using the characters found in an emperor's name. The state was abolished during the Song dynasty.