Northern and Southern dynasties

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Northern and Southern dynasties
Approximate territories of the Northern Wei dynasty (blue) and Liu Song dynasty (red) in 440
Approximate territories of the Northern Qi dynasty (dark blue), Northern Zhou dynasty (light blue), Chen dynasty (red), and Western Liang dynasty (pink) in 560
Chinese	南北朝
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Nán běi cháo Bopomofo ㄋㄢˊ ㄅㄟˇ ㄔㄠˊ Wade–Giles Nan2 pei3 ch'ao2 Tongyong Pinyin Nán běi cháo IPA [nǎn pèɪ ʈʂʰǎʊ] Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Naàhm Bāk Chìuh Jyutping naam4 bak1 ciu4 IPA [nam˩ pɐk̚˥ tsʰiw˩] Southern Min Tâi-lô Lâm-pak-tiâu

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The Northern and Southern dynasties (Chinese: 南北朝; pinyin: Nán běi cháo) was a period of political division in the history of China that lasted from 420 to 589, following the tumultuous era of the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Eastern Jin dynasty. It is sometimes considered as the latter part of a longer period known as the Six Dynasties (220–589).^[1] The period featured civil war and political chaos, but was also a time of flourishing arts and culture, advancement in technology, and the spread of Mahayana Buddhism and Taoism. The period saw large-scale migration of Han people to lands south of the Yangtze. The period came to an end with the unification of China proper by Emperor Wen of the Sui dynasty.

During this period, the process of sinicization accelerated among the non-Han ethnicities in the north and among the indigenous peoples in the south. This process was also accompanied by the increasing popularity of Buddhism in both northern and southern China and Daoism gaining influence as well, with two essential Daoist canons written during this period. Notable technological advances occurred during this period. The invention of the stirrup during the earlier Jin dynasty (266–420) helped spur the development of heavy cavalry as a combat standard. Historians also note advances in medicine, astronomy, mathematics, and cartography. Intellectuals of the period include the mathematician and astronomer Zu Chongzhi (429–500), and astronomer Tao Hongjing.