Min (Ten Kingdoms)

Min
閩
← 909–945 →   →   →
Capital		Changle
Languages		Middle Chinese
Government		Monarchy
King/Emperor
-	909-925	Wang Shenzhi
-	943-945	Wang Yanzheng
Historical era		Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period
-	Wang Shenzhi became the Prince	909 909
-	Wang Yanjun declared himself the Emperor	933
-	Independence of Yin	943
-	Ended by Southern Tang	945 945

Min (simplified Chinese: 闽; traditional Chinese: 閩; pinyin: Mǐn) was one of the Ten Kingdoms which was in existence between the years of 909 and 945. It existed in a mountainous region of modern-day Fujian province of China and had a history of quasi-independent rule. Its capital was Fuzhou. It was founded by Wang Shenzhi.

Founding

Wang Shenzhi’s older brother Wang Chao was given the title of Surveillance Commissioner in 892. Wang Shenzhi himself was named military commissioner, and in 909, in the wake of the collapse of the Tang Dynasty two years earlier, named himself the Prince of Min. Wang Shenzhi’s son declared himself the Emperor of Min in 933. At that point, his father was posthumously named Min Taizu.

The early Chinese exonym Min (閩) was a graphic pejorative written with Radical 142 虫, the "insect" or "reptile" radical. Xu Shen's (c. 121 CE) Shuowen Jiezi dictionary defines min as:^[1] "Southeastern Yue [i.e., Viet]; snake race. [The character is formed] from [the] insect / serpent [radical and takes its pronunciation from] mén.

Territorial extent

The capital of the Min Kingdom was Changle, now known as Fuzhou. The kingdom was essentially limited to modern-day Fujian Province in China’s southeast.

Administration

The territory of the Min was relatively isolated and rugged, thus not as economically prosperous as other regions of the Chinese realm. The Min court attempted to attract scholars that would assist in constructing an effective bureaucratic and tax system to bring the kingdom up to contemporary standards. Maritime trade developed over this period of time. This would set the stage for a successful regional maritime trade that could continue during future Chinese dynasties.

Yin Kingdom

In 943, one of Wang Shenzhi’s sons rebelled and declared independence from the Min in the northwest of the territory of the kingdom, proclaiming the Yin dynasty. The Min court asked the Southern Tang for assistance in quelling the rebellion in Yin. Rather than assisting the Min government, the Southern Tang came in and absorbed the territory into its own holdings.

Fall of the Min

Seeing the threat posed by the Southern Tang, the Min court declared its allegiance to the Wuyue kingdom to its north. However, this did not stop the Southern Tang from marching in and incorporating the remainder of the Min Kingdom into its holdings in 945

Rulers

Rulers family tree

References

General References