Later Han (Five Dynasties)

Later Han (Five Dynasties)
Name	Later Han
Native name	後漢
Era	Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period
Start year	947
End year	951
Founders	Liu Zhiyuan
Capital	Bian (汴州)
Predecessor	Later Jin
Successor	Later Zhou

Later Han (Five Dynasties) The Later Han dynasty was a short-lived dynasty during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, established by Liu Zhiyuan in 947 and ending with the coup that brought down the regime in 951. Centered on Bian (汴州), the state navigated factional struggles involving figures such as Guo Wei, Shi Jingtang, Liu Chengyou, Zhao Kuangyin, and regional powers including Shatuo Turks, Khitan Liao, and the kingdoms of Wuyue and Southern Tang.

Background and Founding

Liu Zhiyuan, a military commissioner under the Later Jin's collapse amid Khitan incursions and the fall of Kaifeng to Liao dynasty (Khitan) forces, proclaimed himself emperor in 947, invoking lineage claims tied to Han dynasty legitimacy and alliances with Shatuo elites such as Li Keyong and Li Cunxu. The founding followed the death of Shi Chonggui and the surrender terms negotiated with Emperor Taizong of Liao, while key actors like Fan Yanguang, Yang Guangyuan, and Zhao Yanshou were active in the power vacuum. Military governors including Zhu Quanzhong's successors and court figures from Later Liang and Later Tang provided a cadre of contested elites that Liu sought to integrate through appointments and titles drawn from Tang and Han precedents.

Political Structure and Administration

The Later Han retained Tang-derived institutions such as the Three Departments and Six Ministries, employing officials from the bureaucratic lineages of Shu Han-era literati and regional clerks connected to Hebei and Shandong circuits. Liu Zhiyuan relied on trusted aides like Su Fengji and provincial appointees including Guo Wei to command frontier circuits, while court administration navigated tensions between aristocratic clans like the Cao family of Yan and military households tied to Shatuo and Khitan power brokers. Imperial decrees still referenced ritual models from the Tang dynasty and coinage systems comparable to those under Five Dynasties coinage practices; scholars influenced by Han Yu and Ouyang Xiu-style Confucian restoration participated in drafting edicts, and the capital's registrar offices maintained records comparable to those in Kaifeng Prefecture.

Military Campaigns and Conflicts

Military affairs dominated the Later Han, with campaigns against remnants of Later Jin loyalists, anti-Liao insurrections, and confrontations with regional states such as Later Shu and Northern Han. Generals like Guo Wei led forces that clashed with contingents tied to Zhao Kuangyin and negotiated truces with Liao dynasty (Khitan) envoys; engagements occurred near strategic nodes including Taiyuan, Yedu, and the Yellow River crossings at Hua Prefecture and Daliang. Internal mutinies, exemplified by the rebellion of military governor Li Shouzhen and the palace coup involving Empress Dowager Li-aligned guards, precipitated battles that involved cavalry tactics associated with Shatuo Turks and siege warfare reminiscent of Five Dynasties sieges. The interplay of commanders such as Zhao Yanshou and Wang Jingchong illustrated the era's shifting loyalties and the role of mercenary contingents recruited from Khitan and Turkic auxiliaries.

Economy, Society, and Culture

Economic life under the Later Han featured agrarian taxation modeled on Tang tax reforms and monetization through bronze cash similar to earlier Five Dynasties coinage practices, while commerce along the Grand Canal and the Yellow River facilitated trade with Jingnan and Wuyue. Urban centers such as Bianjing saw artisan guilds, merchants akin to families from Sichuan and Jiangsu, and scholarly networks influenced by Confucian revivalists like followers of Han Yu and commentators in the tradition of Du You. Buddhism institutions connected to monasteries with ties to Mount Wutai and Chan teachers in the lineages of Linji and Caodong persisted, even as court patronage fluctuated; literati engaged in compilation projects echoing works like the Old Book of Tang and maintained examination practices derived from Imperial examination precedents.

Relations with Neighboring States

Diplomatic and military relations involved the Liao dynasty (Khitan), whose earlier invasion precipitated the Later Han's creation, as well as negotiating trade and alliance arrangements with Wuyue, Southern Tang, Later Shu, and the emergent Northern Han founded by Liu Chong. Envoys, tribute exchanges, and frontier skirmishes with Khitan commanders such as Yelü Deguang were recurrent, while southern circuits maintained commercial contacts with maritime polities including Min Kingdom and Chu (Ten Kingdoms). The Later Han's attempts to secure northern borders led to treaties and intermittent hostilities patterned after previous accords between Tang and steppe polities, and interactions with Jurchen ancestors and Turkic groups influenced recruitment and frontier diplomacy.

Succession, Decline, and Fall

After Liu Zhiyuan's death in 948, his successor Liu Chengyou faced factional rivalries among court ministers and generals such as Yang Bin, Gao Yun, and Guo Wei; palace intrigue, the execution of officials like Su Fengji and rebellions by military governors accelerated instability. Guo Wei's coup in 951, combined with defections to figures like Zhao Kuangyin and pressure from Liao dynasty (Khitan) incursions, culminated in the dynasty's overthrow and the foundation of Later Zhou under Guo Wei's successor elites. The fall reshaped the balance among the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period polities, setting the stage for the eventual consolidation by Song dynasty forces led by Emperor Taizu of Song and altering aristocratic, military, and diplomatic trajectories across northern China.

Category:Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms