China after the Tang Dynasty

After the collapse of the Tang Empire in 907 AD, China plunged into chaos. This period of Chinese history is called the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period.

In the north there arose the five dynasties, all of whom tried but were unsuccessful at unifying China. They were the Later Liang (907 - 923), the Later Tang(923 - 936), the Later Jin (936 - 946), the Later Han (947 - 950) and the later Zhou (950 - 960). In the south the Ten Kingdoms, coexisted but warred with each other continually. They were:
  902-937   Wu (Did not issue coins)
  903-925   Earlier Shu
  907-978   Wu Yue (Did not issue coins)
  907-951   Chu
  907-945   Min
  917-971   Southern Han
  924-963   Jing Nan (did not issue coins)
  933-965   Later Shu (issued very few coins)
  937-975   Southern Tang
  951-979   Northern Han (did not issue coins)

In 960, General Zhao Kuangyin, an officer in the army of the Later Zhou Dynasty, was elected emperor by his disgruntled soldiers. He marched on the capital and deposed the last emperor of Later Zhou, establishing the Sung Dynasty, taking the title Taizu.