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| Zhao (Five Dynasties) | |
|---|---|
| Name | Zhao |
| Conventional long name | Zhao (Five Dynasties) |
| Era | Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period |
| Status | State |
| Start year | 910 |
| End year | 921 |
| Capital | Zhongshan |
| Common languages | Middle Chinese |
| Government type | Monarchy |
| Leader1 | Wang Rong |
| Year leader1 | 910–921 |
Zhao (Five Dynasties) was a short-lived polity during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period ruling parts of northern Hebei and the Central Plains. Emerging amid the collapse of the Tang dynasty, Zhao interacted with neighboring polities such as Later Liang, Jin, and Yiwu Circuit while engaging figures including Li Keyong, Li Cunxu, and Zhu Quanzhong. Its rulers navigated alliances with military governors like Liu Shouguang, Liu Rengong, and courtiers connected to Emperor Zhuangzong of Later Tang and cultural networks tied to Du Fu, Li Bai, and Cao Cao’s historiography.
Zhao arose from the fracturing of the Tang dynasty following the Huang Chao rebellion and the rise of regional powerholders such as Li Keyong, Zhu Wen, and Yang Xingmi. The Zhao polity's heartland centered on Zhongshan and incorporated strategic prefectures like You Prefecture, Xin Prefecture, and Ji Prefecture. Its foundation overlapped with the ascendancy of military leaders including Wang Rong and the patronage networks of aristocrats linked to Emperor Xizong of Tang, Emperor Zhaozong of Tang, and Lady Yang. The regional landscape also featured neighboring circuits such as Lulong Circuit, Tianxiong Circuit, and Hedong Circuit under figures like Liu Rengong and Li Cunxu.
Zhao's governance reflected the inherited Tang dynasty institutions of prefectures and circuits contested by warlords like Zhu Quanzhong of Later Liang and Li Keyong of Jin. Administratively Zhao balanced offices modeled on Three Departments and Six Ministries staffed by officials drawn from families associated with Zhangsun Shunde, Cui Yin, and Liu Rengong’s retinues. Diplomatic correspondence involved envoys to courts in Kaifeng and Luoyang, and treaties negotiated with leaders such as Zhu Wen, Li Cunxu, and Liu Shouguang. Prominent administrators included secretaries influenced by literati traditions linked to Han Yu, Ouyang Xiu, and Hanlin Academy practices of the era. Zhao courts issued seals and edicts echoing models from Emperor Taizong of Tang and consulted advisors versed in the precedents of Sima Qian and Zhangsun Wuji.
Zhao occupied fertile tracts along rivers feeding into the Hai River basin and controlled agrarian prefectures like Dezhou and Cangzhou with irrigation systems comparable to those described in texts by Qi Jiguang and Song dynasty treatises. Commercial hubs within its territory connected to trade routes leading to Kaifeng, Luoyang, and maritime gateways toward Hangzhou and Quanzhou, linking Zhao to markets frequented by merchants travelling the routes noted by Xuanzang and referenced in Bianji’s accounts. Social elites comprised aristocratic clans such as the Cui clan of Boling, Wang clan of Taiyuan, and officials shaped by examinations influenced by Zhuangzi-era curricula and later compilation efforts like Tang Huiyao. Artisans and guilds produced ceramics and textiles similar to wares exported through ports famous in chronicles by Ibn Battuta and trade registries akin to those of Song dynasty urban centers.
Zhao’s military relied on levies raised from garrison towns at Zhongshan, Youzhou, and Fanyang and commanded by officers seasoned in campaigns against forces led by Li Keyong, Zhu Quanzhong, and Liu Rengong. It deployed cavalry contingents modeled after steppe tactics used by allies such as the Khitan and engaged in sieges and skirmishes recalling battles like the Battle of Hulao and campaigns chronicled in annals involving Li Cunxu and Zhu Wen. Diplomatic maneuvers included marriage alliances with families allied to Wang Chuzhi and emissary exchanges with Jiedushi across Hebei while negotiating non-aggression pacts with Later Liang and covert understandings with Jin. Zhao fortifications paralleled practices seen in frontier defenses, and its commanders interacted with mercenary groups comparable to contingents in accounts of An Lushan’s rebellions.
Zhao’s cultural life reflected continuities with Tang dynasty literati, patronizing poets and calligraphers in the circles of Du Fu, Li Bai, Wang Wei, and heirs to courtly aesthetics like Han Yu and Meng Haoran. Buddhist monasteries within Zhao drew pilgrims and clerics connected to lineages traced to Xuanzang and institutions resembling Shaolin Temple and Mount Tiantai communities; Daoist adepts linked to Zhang Daoling traditions maintained ritual ties with local elites. Religious patronage supported lacquerware, monastic sutra copying echoing practices recorded by Fayu and iconography akin to examples cataloged in collections associated with Dunhuang. Artistic exchange occurred with neighboring courts such as Later Liang and Jin, and Zhao scholars contributed to historiographical projects inspired by Sima Guang’s method and cataloguing traditions found in Twenty-Four Histories precursors.
Zhao’s decline followed military pressure from Li Cunxu of Jin and political isolation as Later Liang consolidated power under Zhu Quanzhong. Its absorption into surrounding regimes resembled patterns seen in the annexations of Wu and Chu while local elites were integrated into the administrations of Later Tang and later Song dynasty precursors. Material culture and archival fragments survived in collections later studied by historians following methodologies of Sima Qian and Ban Gu, and Zhao’s brief sovereignty influenced territorial arrangements that affected the rise of Later Tang, the retreat of Khitan ambitions, and the administrative evolution that culminated in the reunification efforts of the Song dynasty. Category:Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms states