Min (Ten Kingdoms)

Min (Chinese: 閩; pinyin: Mǐn) was one of the Ten Kingdoms which was in existence between the years of 909 and 945. It existed in a mountainous region of modern-day Fujian province of China and had a history of quasi-independent rule. Its capital was Fuzhou. It was founded by Wang Shenzhi.

Founding

Wang Shenzhi’s older brother Wang Chao was given the title of Surveillance Commissioner in 892. Wang Shenzhi himself was named military commissioner, and in 909, in the wake of the collapse of the Tang Dynasty two years earlier, named himself the Prince of Min. Wang Shenzhi’s son declared himself the Emperor of Min in 933. At that point, his father was posthumously named Min Taizu.

The early Chinese exonym Min (閩) was a graphic pejorative written with Radical 142 虫, the "insect" or "reptile" radical. Xu Shen's (c. 121 CE) Shuowen Jiezi dictionary defines min as:^[1] "Southeastern Yue [i.e., Viet]; snake race. [The character is formed] from [the] insect / serpent [radical and takes its pronunciation from] mén.

Territorial extent

The capital of the Min Kingdom was Changle, now known as Fuzhou. The kingdom was essentially limited to modern-day Fujian Province in China’s southeast.

Administration

The territory of the Min was relatively isolated and rugged, thus not as economically prosperous as other regions of the Chinese realm. The Min court attempted to attract scholars that would assist in constructing an effective bureaucratic and tax system to bring the kingdom up to contemporary standards. Maritime trade developed over this period of time. This would set the stage for a successful regional maritime trade that could continue during future Chinese dynasties.

Yin Kingdom

In 943, one of Wang Shenzhi’s sons rebelled and declared independence from the Min in the northwest of the territory of the kingdom, proclaiming the Yin dynasty. The Min court asked the Southern Tang for assistance in quelling the rebellion in Yin. Rather than assisting the Min government, the Southern Tang came in and absorbed the territory into its own holdings.

Fall of the Min

Seeing the threat posed by the Southern Tang, the Min court declared its allegiance to the Wuyue kingdom to its north. However, this did not stop the Southern Tang from marching in and incorporating the remainder of the Min Kingdom into its holdings in 945

Rulers

**Sovereigns in Min (Ten Kingdoms) Kingdom 909-945 (including Yin (943-945))**
Temple Names	Posthumous Names	Personal Names	Period of Reigns	Era Names and dates
Tàizǔ (太祖)	Zhōngyì Wáng (忠懿王)	Wáng Shěnzhī (王審知)	909-925	Did not exist
Did not exist	Did not exist	Wáng Yánhàn (王延翰)	925-926	Did not exist
Hùizōng (惠宗)	Qísù Míngxiào Huángdì (齊肅明孝皇帝)	Wáng Yànjūn (王延鈞)	926-935	Lóngqǐ (龍啟) 933-935 Yǒnghé (永和) 935
Kāngzōng (康宗)	Too tedious thus not used when referring to this sovereign	Wáng Jìpéng (王繼鵬)	935-939	Tōngwén (通文) 936-939
Jǐngzōng (景宗)	Too tedious thus not used when referring to this sovereign	Wáng Yánxī (王延羲)	939-944	Yǒnglóng (永隆) 939-944
Did not exist	Did not exist	Zhū Wénjìn (朱文進)	944-945	Did not exist
Did not exist	Tiāndé Dì (天德帝) (both as Emperor of Yin and Emperor of Min)	Wáng Yánzhèng (王延政)	943-945	Tiāndé (天德) 943-945

Rulers family tree

Wang Nin 王恁

Wang Chao 王潮
b.846-d.898

Wang Shenzhi 王審知 b.862–d.925
Tàizǔ 太祖
r.909－925

Wang Shengui
王審邽
b.858－d.904

Wang Yanhan 王延翰
r.925－926; d.927

Wang Yanjun 王延鈞 d.935
Huìzōng 惠宗
r.927－935

Wang Yanxi 王延羲 d.944
Jǐngzōng (景宗)
r.939－944

Wang Yanzheng 王延政 d.951
Tiande (天德帝)
r.943－945

Wang Jipeng 王繼鵬 d.939
Kāngzōng (康宗)
r.935－939

References

↑ Mair, V. H. (2010). "How to Forget Your Mother Tongue and Remember Your National Language". Quotation translated from Chinese ("東南越蛇穜从虫門聲")

General References

Schafer, Edward H. (1954). The Empire of Min. Tuttle. OCLC 845108660.
Mote, F.W. (1999). Imperial China (900-1800). Harvard Univ. Press. pp. 15–16. ISBN 0674012127.
Theobald, Ulrich. "Min 閩". Chinese History - The Ten Kingdoms 十國 (902-979). Retrieved 18 May 2005.

Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period

Five Dynasties	Later Liang Later Tang Later Jin Later Han Later Zhou

Ten Kingdoms (States)	Wu Former Shu Chu Wuyue Min Southern Han Jingnan Later Shu Southern Tang Northern Han

Other states	Jin Qi Zhao Yan Yin

De facto independent entities	Yiwu Jiedushi Dingnan Jiedushi Qingyuan Jiedushi Jinghai Jiedushi Wuping Jiedushi Guiyi Jiedushi

Neighboring states	Balhae Gansu Uyghur Kingdom Liao dynasty Tibetan kingdoms Dali Ngô dynasty

Histories	Old History of the Five Dynasties New History of the Five Dynasties Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms Wudai Huiyao

Xia → Shang → Zhou → Qin → Han → 3 Kingdoms → Jìn / 16 Kingdoms → N. & S. Dynasties → Sui → Tang → 5 Dynasties & 10 Kingdoms → Liao / Song / W. Xia / Jīn → Yuan → Ming → Qing → Modern China

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 9/14/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.