The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms was the historical period from the fall of the Tang Dynasty to the establishment of the Northern Song Dynasty. The five dynasties include the Later Liang, the Later Tang, the Later Jin, the Later Han and the Later Five Dynasties. In 907, Zhu Wen of Bianzhou usurped the Tang Dynasty and established the Later Liang, and the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms began. Li Cun, the son of Li Keyong in Taiyuan, destroyed the Later Liang and the Tang Dynasty after the founding of the People's Republic of China. The Later Tang Dynasty was strong, but after civil strife, it was destroyed by the Khitan army led by Shi Jingjiao, and the Later Jin Dynasty was established. Soon the Khitan army went south to destroy the Later Jin. Liu Zhiyuan established the Later Han Dynasty in Taiyuan and recovered the Central Plains. Guo Wei usurped the Later Zhou of the Han Dynasty, in 960, the Later Zhou was usurped by Zhao Kuangyin, and the five dynasties ended. The Ten Kingdoms refer to more than a dozen secessionist regimes, including Former Shu, Later Shu, Wu, Southern Tang, Wu Yue, Fujian, Chu, Southern Han, Nanping (Jingnan), and Northern Han. After Zhao Kuangyin established the Northern Song Dynasty, he and his younger brother Taizong of the Song Dynasty swept away the heroes one after another, and finally unified in 979.
