The starting and ending times are: the common theory is from 907 to 960 AD, that is, from Zhu Wen to the Tang Dynasty, down to Zhao Kuangyin and the Song Dynasty.

But Fan Wenlan's statement may be more accurate, that is, it is not based on external forms, but on the actual time of the establishment of 15 regimes: up to 891 AD - the establishment of the former Shu and down to 979 AD - the Northern Song Dynasty eliminated the last secession regime, the Northern Han.

The fifteen regimes are:

Five dynasties: Later Liang, Later Tang, Later Jin, Later Han, and Later Zhou

Ten Kingdoms: Wu, Former Shu, Wu Yue, Fujian, Southern Han, Jingnan, Chu, Later Shu, Southern Tang, Northern Han

However, there were not only fifteen regimes at that time, and many of them were not states, but actual separatist forces, and five dynasties and ten kingdoms were just a conventional saying.

Among them, the five dynasties are all located in the Central Plains of the Yellow River Basin, and their lineage is the mantle of the Tang Dynasty.

Except for the Northern Han Dynasty, the Ten Kingdoms are all located in the southern region and are self-contained. There were both vertical and horizontal changes between these 15 regimes, and they did not exist at the same time.

1. The fall of the Tang Empire and the formation of troubled times

After the Huangchao Rebellion, the Tang Empire entered the era of real feudal separatism.

In 888 AD, Tang Zhaozong ascended the throne. In order to reverse the situation of warlord secession, Tang Zhaozong Li Ye formulated a strategy to pacify Tian Lingzi in Sichuan and Li Keyong in Hedong.

Among them, the Battle of Hedong did weaken Li Keyong's power, but it made the coach Zhu Wen bigger, and Zhu Wen's strength began to surpass Li Keyong.

The battle of Sichuan was pacified, but the commander Wang Jian established an independent kingdom in Sichuan, which was the first regime of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms - Former Shu, the year was 891 AD.

In 892 A.D., Yang Xingmi, who seized Jianghuai, was appointed by Tang Zhaozong as the envoy of Huainan Jiedu, and in 902 A.D., Yang Xingmi entered the king of Wu, which was the second of the ten kingdoms - Wu State.

In 893 AD, Wang Chao, who had seized Fujian, was appointed by Tang Zhaozong as an observer of Fujian, and Wang Chao's younger brother Wang Shenzhi was later named the king of Fujian, and this regime was the third of the ten kingdoms - the state of Fujian.

In the same year, Qian Hao, who seized western Zhejiang, was appointed by Tang Zhaozong as the envoy of the Zhenhai Navy, and Qian Hao was later named the king of Wuyue, and this regime was the fourth of the ten kingdoms - Wu Yue.

In 896 AD, Ma Yin, who had seized Hunan, was appointed by the imperial court as the assassin of Tanzhou, and Ma Yin was later crowned the king of Chu, and this regime was the fifth of the ten kingdoms - the state of Chu.

In 905 AD, Liu Yin, who had seized Lingnan, was appointed by the imperial court as the envoy of the Qinghai Festival, and Liu Yin later became emperor and changed the name of the country to Han, and this regime was the sixth of the ten kingdoms - the Southern Han.

We know that the Tang Empire was destroyed by Zhu Wen in 907 AD, that is, before the fall of the Tang Dynasty, the division of the six southern kingdoms had actually been formed, but the efforts of Tang Zhaozong accelerated the speed of the empire's division.

However, the mainstream of history was not in the south, and the most powerful separatist forces at that time were all in the north - Li Keyong, the king of Jin, Zhu Wen, the king of Liang, Li Maozhen, the king of Qi, and Liu Rengong, the king of Yan.

In 907 AD, Zhu Wen usurped the Tang Dynasty, officially forced the Tang Emperor to take the throne, and changed the name of the country to Liang, known as Later Liang in history - this is the first generation of the five dynasties.

2. Hou Liang and Hou Tang fought endlessly

In the same year that Zhu Wen became emperor, in 907 AD, Zhu Wen appointed Gao Jixing, a general, as the envoy of Jingnan Jiedu, the seventh of the Ten Kingdoms.

After Zhu Wen destroyed the Tang Dynasty, the states of Min, Wu, Wu Yue, Chu, Southern Han, Jingnan, and Liu Shouguang (sons of Liu Rengong) recognized the legitimacy of Later Liang.

However, Qianshu, Li Keyong, and Li Maozhen still regarded Tang as Zhengshuo, refused to recognize the legal status of Hou Liang, and regarded Zhu Wen as a traitor.

Eventually, the former Shu king established himself as emperor.

Li Keyong's son, Li Cunxuan, eliminated Liu Shouguang, the king of Yan, in 914 A.D. and submitted to Li Maozhen, the king of Qi. And in 923 A.D., he eliminated the Later Liang, ascended the throne as emperor, and established the Later Tang Dynasty - the second generation of the five dynasties.

For the Later Tang Dynasty, Wu Yue, Chu and Jingnan in the south recognized their legitimacy, while Min, Southern Han, and Wu refused to be vassals and remained independent.

In 925 AD, Li Cunqiao destroyed Qianshu and appointed Meng Zhixiang as the envoy of Xichuan Jiedu to guard Sichuan.

Li Cunmiao was the first of the five dynasties and ten kingdoms to have the possibility of dominating the world, but unfortunately later intoxicated, favored Youling, the Later Tang Dynasty rebelled in 926, Li Cunmiao died in the chaos, and Meng Zhixiang was self-reliant, known as Hou Shu - this is the eighth of the ten kingdoms.

3. The Hou Liang and the Hou Han who changed in humiliation

In 936 AD, Shi Jingjiao united with the Khitan people to destroy the Later Tang Dynasty, Shi Jingjiao recognized the Khitan Emperor Yelu Deguang as his father, and ascended the throne as the emperor at the cost of Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures, changed the country name to Jin, and the history is called the Later Jin - this is the third generation of the five dynasties.

In 937 AD, a coup d'état occurred in the southern state of Wu, and the powerful minister Li Yu (Li Yu's grandfather) forced the Wu lord to take the throne and changed the name of the country to Qi, and later changed it to Tang, which was known as the Southern Tang Dynasty in history - this was the ninth of the ten kingdoms.

After the death of Shi Jingjiao, his nephew Shi Chonggui ascended the throne, determined to get rid of the Khitan control, but he was not a Khitan opponent, and in 947 AD, the Later Jin Dynasty was destroyed by the Khitan.

After the death of the Later Jin Dynasty, Hedong Jiedu made Liu Zhiyuan, the king of Beiping, proclaim himself emperor in Taiyuan and established the Later Han Dynasty, which was the fourth generation of the five dynasties.

Among the four dynasties of the Liang, Tang, Jin, and Han dynasties, although the Later Liang and Later Tang had limited power, they both had a certain deterrent effect on the southern regime, while the Later Jin and Later Han dynasties were different, both dynasties were shrouded in the shadow of the Khitan, and their influence on the south was extremely limited.

4. Resentment in the aftermath

In 948 AD, Liu Zhiyuan died a year after becoming emperor, and his second son Liu Chengyou became the heir, that is, Emperor Yin of Han.

In 950 A.D., Li Shouzhen and other feudal towns rebelled, Emperor Han Yin ordered Guo Wei to be peaceful, but Emperor Han Yin was jealous of Guo Wei and wanted to kill him, Guo Wei had no choice but to rebel, Emperor Han Yin was killed by the rout, and the Later Han Dynasty perished.

In 951 AD, Guo Wei was proclaimed emperor and established the Later Zhou Dynasty, the fifth of the five dynasties.

At the same time, the remnants of the Later Han Dynasty established a new regime in the Taiyuan area, still using the name of the Later Han Dynasty, known as the Northern Han Dynasty in history, which was the tenth of the Ten Kingdoms.

In the autumn of the same year, the Southern Tang Dynasty eliminated the Chu State, but was soon expelled by the remnants of the Chu State, and the remnants of the Chu State took refuge in the Later Zhou Dynasty and was named the Wuping Festival Envoy by the Later Zhou.

So far, there are 6 of the Ten Kingdoms that stand side by side with the Later Zhou: Later Shu, Wu Yue, Southern Tang, Jingnan, Southern Han, and Northern Han.

Among these six countries, Wu Yue and Jing Nan actively moved closer to the Later Zhou in order to fight against the Southern Tang Dynasty. The emperor of the Southern Han Dynasty was far away and had no time to intervene in disputes. The Northern Han and Southern Tang joined forces with the Khitan to attack the Later Zhou, but they were both pacified by Guo Wei.

After Guo Wei's death, Chai Rong ascended the throne, and the Later Zhou began to pass through the south. From 955 to 958, Chai Rong personally conquered the Southern Tang Dynasty three times, forcing the Southern Tang to cancel the title of emperor and making the Southern Tang cede the area north of the Yangtze River to the Later Zhou.

In 959 AD, Chai Rong went out on the Northern Expedition and attacked the Khitan, all the way like a bamboo, but unfortunately Chai Rong died young, and he was only 39 years old when he died.

Chai Rong is the second person in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period who has the hope of ending the troubled times, if Li Cunqiao is his own death, Chai Rong is a typical example of "planning things in people, success in the sky", if there are ten more years, the world will be unified in the hands of Chai Rong.

The following year, in 960 BC, Zhao Kuangyin launched the Chenqiao Mutiny, forcing Chai Rong's young son to abdicate, ascend the throne as emperor, and change the name of the country to Song.

5. The Song Dynasty was unified

With Chai Rong's foundation, Zhao Kuangyin successfully opened his road to unification.

In 963 A.D., Jingnan and Wuping Jiedu surrendered;

In 965 AD, Wang Quanbin destroyed Houshu

In 970 AD, Pan Mei destroyed the Southern Han Dynasty

In 975 AD, Cao Bin and Pan Mei joined forces to destroy the Southern Tang Dynasty, and in the same year, the remnants of Fujian surrendered

In 978 AD, Wu Yue surrendered.

In 979 AD, Zhao Guangyi destroyed the Northern Han Dynasty.

At this point, the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms really came to an end.