Longmen Grottos in Luoyang, Henan Province constructed in the Northern Wei

The Northern and Southern dynasties lasted from 386 to 589. During the Northern Dynasty (386-581), the Northern Wei was split into the Eastern Wei and Western Wei. Later, the Eastern Wei was replaced by the Northern Qi, while the Western Wei was conquered by the Northern Zhou. And the Northern Zhou was overthrown by the Northern Qi. The Southern Dynasty (420-589) refers to four successive dynasties, namely the Song, Qi, Liang and Chen.

Stone kylin

The economy of the Southern Dynasty was better than that of the Northern one because people living in the Central Plains fled south to avoid war, which increased manpower and introduced new advanced manufacturing technologies. Yangzhou City was one of the key developed economic places in the Southern Dynasty.

The Southern and Northern dynasties witnessed the spread of the Xuan Xue School, where the turbulent situation provided a space for the development of various thoughts. During the period cultural development also reached a high level, especially poetry. At the same time, foreign exchanges were also active, spreading from Japan and Korea in the east to Central Asia and Daqin (Roman Empire), together with vast areas in Southeast Asia.

The Southern and Northern dynasties proved to be a period of national amalgamation most notably of the cultural exchanges between north and south. Although the chaos caused by war produced much suffering, it also provided an opportunity for cultural development.