Power and Politics in Tenth-Century China: The Former Shu Regime ...

(Wudai shiguo , 907–979), was doubtlessly typical of such times. From the crumbling of the Tang empire (618–907) to the next reunification of China proper under the Northern Song dynasty (960–1127), five short-lived dynasties succeeded one another in the Central Plains (Zhongyuan ), the old political heartland in North China, while about one dozen smaller autonomous regimes occupied the rest of the country (though not concurrently), mostly in the south.² Lasting more than half a century, the period is thought to have been one of unique political intrigue, martial bravery, and romance, in which founding rulers of humble origins engaged in schemes and strategies that increasingly inspire popular interest today.³ Not surprisingly for a significant portion of the Tang–Song transition, this period of political upheaval has recently attracted attention from modern scholars.⁴ This book explores the complicated national politics and intricate interstate relations of the early tenth century with a focus on the Former Shu (891–925), one of the “Ten States” that contributed significantly to the formation of the unique political configuration of the day.

Interest in the political history of the Five Dynasties and Ten States period can be traced back to the late tenth century, when the Song dynasty had consolidated its central authority over China proper. With few exceptions, the period as a whole was depicted as a notorious “age of tumult” (luanshi ) by Song historians, who, obviously influenced by the traditional view that valued the “great unity” (da yitong ) over political division, had enough reasons to condemn the chaotic Five Dynasties period and glorify the historical feat of the Song reunification.⁵ By contrasting the divided Five Dynasties with the “unified” Song, they intended to justify the latter’s ascendancy in the political chaos of the tenth century and strengthen the idea that the new government had received the Mandate of Heaven and legitimately ruled China.

But, interestingly, this strategy of morally distancing Song from the tenth-century regimes was practiced concurrently with another strategy in which the Song historians, either overtly or implicitly, emphasized the political continuity between Song and the five northern dynasties. Understandably for a power that emanated from the Later Zhou