SOUTHERN DYNASTIES

Chinese (Wade-Giles) Nan-ch'ao, or (Pinyin) Nan chao (AD 420589), four succeeding short-lived dynasties based at Chien-k'ang (now Nanking), which ruled over a large part of China south of the Yangtze River during much of the period of the Six Dynasties (q.v.). The four dynasties were the Liu-Sung (420479), the Nan (Southern) Ch'i (479502), the Nan Liang (502557), and the Nan Ch'en (557589). Although it was a time of comparative political weakness, Chinese culture flourished during this period.