Period in Chinese history betweeen the fall of the Tang dynasty (907) and the founding of the Song dynasty (960), when five would-be dynasties (the Hou Liang, the Hou Tang, the Hou Jin, the Hou Han, and the Hou Zhou) followed one another in quick succession in northern China. The period is also called the Ten Kingdoms because of the 10 regimes that dominated separate regions of southern China in the same period. Though unstable politically, culturally it was a period of great accomplishment. Printing with wooden blocks was fully developed; the first complete printing of the Confucian Classics was completed in 953. The form of lyric poetry called ci (tz'u) flourished, and flower painting, previously distinctively Buddhist, became a branch of nonreligious painting
(AD 220-589) In China, the period between the end of the Han dynasty and the foundation of the Sui. The name is derived from the six successive dynasties that had their capital at Nanjing: the Wu (222-280), the Eastern Jin (317-420), the Liusong (420-479), the Southern Qi (479-502), the Southern Liang (502-557), and the Southern Chen (557-589). During this period northern China was ruled by a succession of kingdoms established by Central Asian invaders. Important among these were the Northern Wei, Eastern Wei, Western Wei, Northern Qi, and Northern Zhou. Despite the chaos of the age, great advances were made in medicine, astronomy, botany, and chemistry. Buddhism and Daoism became great popular religions, and the translation of Buddhist texts focused Chinese attention on literature and calligraphy. Architecture and the visual arts also bloomed during the period
A ruling family who remains in power for generations by choosing successors from among blood relatives Examples include the rulers of both the ancient Chinese and Egyptian civilizations
A succession of kings who were usually related Egyptologists usually divide ancient Egypt's history into 31 dynasties up to the arrival of Alexander the Great The system was initially devised by the priest Manetho in the third century BC
A dynasty is a family which has members from two or more generations who are important in a particular field of activity, for example in business or politics
a line of related kings; 31 roughly successive dynasties were defined by the priest-historian Manetho in the third century BC based on earlier Egyptian traditions
Original form means a group of rulers of the same lineage, but in Egypt dynasties mean only historic relations Sometimes rulers of same family are sorted into different dynasties like Huni and Sneferu In the other hand, some kings of different families are in the same dynasty (like in the hyksos era), according to their political, economical and historical role
A dynasty often represents a family line of rulers in the usual sense of the word Often, however, it represents a convenient and logical division of the time-span of a region Thus for example, Israel's history is commonly divided into blocks of time corresponding to the most significant social and structural changes recorded in the Bible For example, one can reasonably speak of the patriarchal time (which was based on a family line) but also the Northern Kingdom of Israel (which consisted of several families over its span) The break between dynastic periods can therefore be when one family usurps another, but also when one convenient logical grouping gives way to another
A succession of rulers from the same family or line A family or group that maintains power for several generations: a political dynasty controlling the state