A History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms begins with the Huang Chao Rebellion in 875 and ends with the Chenqiao Mutiny in 960, unfolding across more than seventy years of chaos. It was an age of collapse, when “the rich feasted behind red gates while frozen corpses lay by the roadside”: the golden throne hall of the Great Tang crumbled beneath Huang Chao’s iron hooves, warlords raised their banners amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood, emperors’ robes were stained with their own sons’ blood, and bandits hid dreams of the throne in their scabbards.

The story begins with flashing blades in the reeds of Caozhou. Huang Chao, a smuggler of salt, clutches salt crystals and vows to make things “fair for all.” Zhu Wen, a cowherd boy, joins the army with moldy millet cakes tucked under his arm. Li Keyong of the Shatuo cavalry sends arrows piercing Chang’an’s dusk. There are no one-dimensional heroes or villains here: Huang Chao distributes government granary rice to refugees, yet allows his men to massacre Chang’an; Zhu Wen holds off powerful foes atop the walls of Bianzhou, yet murders the emperor and usurps the throne deep within the palace; Yang Xingmi brings peace and prosperity to Jianghuai, yet kills his sworn brother with poisoned wine.