Southern and Northern Dynasties

[YingZheng]

The Northern and Southern dynasties lasted from 386 to 589. During the
Northern Dynasty (386-581), the Northern Wei was split into the Eastern
Wei and Western Wei. Later, the Eastern Wei was replaced by the
Northern Qi, while the Western Wei was conquered by the Northern Zhou.
And the Northern Zhou was overthrown by the Northern Qi. The Southern
Dynasty (420-589) refers to four successive dynasties, namely the Song,
Qi, Liang and Chen.
The economy of the Southern Dynasty was better than that of the
Northern one because people living in the Central Plains fled south to
avoid war, which increased manpower and introduced new advanced
manufacturing technologies. Yangzhou City was one of the key developed
economic places in the Southern Dynasty.

The Southern and Northern dynasties witnessed the spread of the Xuan
Xue School, where the turbulent situation provided a space for the
development of various thoughts. During the period cultural development
also reached a high level, especially poetry. At the same time, foreign
exchanges were also active, spreading from Japan and Korea in the east
to Central Asia and Daqin (Roman Empire), together with vast areas in
Southeast Asia.

The Southern and Northern dynasties proved to be a period of national
amalgamation most notably of the cultural exchanges between north and
south. Although the chaos caused by war produced much suffering, it
also provided an opportunity for cultural development.

[YingZheng]