Empire on the Brink Chinese Historiography in the Post-Han-Period

Abstract

Abstract Heaven and earth were cut of from us, Spirits and men were equally grieved in heart. With these words, taken from his famous rhapsody ‘Lament for the South’ (‘Ai Jiangnan fu’) and ever since repeated in manifold variations, Yu Xin (513–81), poet and diplomat under the Liang dynasty (502–57), deplores the 549 fall of the Liang dynasty’s capital at Jiankang (modern Nanjing) into the hands of the rebellious general HouJing (503–52). In the course of the ensuing events, HouJing established a short-lived dynasty named ‘Han’, one of the numerous states in the post-Han period that evoked the glorious Han empire (206/202 bc–ad 220). At the same time, HouJing’s dynasty was the last dynasty carrying the name of Han for nearly 400 years to come.