Xie Lingyun, also known as the Duke of Kangle (康樂公), was one of the foremost Chinese poets of the Southern and Northern Dynasties and a famous practitioner of the Six Dynasties poetry.
Xie Lingyun, painted by Kanō Tsunenobu in the 18th century.
Chenghuang Pagoda Scenic Area, Hangzhou, China.
Image: Pagoda on Lake (2514)
Northern and Southern dynasties
The Northern and Southern dynasties was a period of political division in the history of China that lasted from 420 to 589, following the tumultuous era of the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Eastern Jin dynasty. It is sometimes considered as the latter part of a longer period known as the Six Dynasties (220–589). Albeit an age of civil war and political chaos, it was also a time of flourishing arts and culture, advancement in technology, and the spread of Mahayana Buddhism and Daoism. The period saw large-scale migration of the Han people to the lands south of the Yangtze. The period came to an end with the unification of all of China proper by Emperor Wen of the Sui dynasty.
Army of Northern Wei terracotta soldiers in Xianbei uniform, tomb of Sima Jinlong, 484 CE.
Northern Wei officer. Tomb statuette, Luoyang Museum.
Northern Wei Buddha Maitreya gilt-bronze figurine, 443
Civil officer, Western Wei, 535–557
