Min Kingdom

Min 闽
909–945
Capital	Changle
Common languages	Middle Chinese, Proto-Min
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
• Wang Yanjun declared himself the Emperor	933
• Independence of Yin	943
• Ended by Southern Tang	945
Preceded by Succeeded by Tang Dynasty Southern Tang Yin Wuyue
Today part of	China

Min (Chinese: 闽; 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.

Etymology of "Min"[]

The early Chinese exonym Mǐn (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 who 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. However, in the year 949, the warlord Liu Congxiao, who nominally submitted to him but controlled Quan (泉州, in modern Quanzhou, Fujian) and Zhang (漳州, in modern Zhangzhou, Fujian) Prefectures in de facto independence and ruled by several of those generals called Qingyuan Jiedushi in succession until 978, when the territory was seized by Song Dynasty.

Rulers of Min[]

Rulers family tree of Min[]

References[]

Citations[]

Sources[]