Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Later Shu Kingdom - 935 to 965 - 30 Years

Founding The original Shu Kingdom that was founded in 907 from the ashes of the Tang Dynasty was conquered by the Later Tang Dynasty, the second of the five dynasties that ruled the north during this period of time.

Meng Zhixiang commanded elements of the Later Tang Dynasty in the conquered territories of the Shu Kingdom. He was named military governor in 925, but had plotted to make himself emperor, an action he took in 934 as, Li Siyuan, emperor of the Later Tang Dynasty, had seen relations with their powerful neighbors to the north, the Khitan, sour by his rule.

Territorial Extent The Later Shu Kingdom held essentially the same territory as the Former Shu kingdom. The kingdom held most of present-day Sichuan, along with southern Gansu and Shaanxi, western Hubei and all of present-day Chongqing. As with the Former Shu, the capital of the kingdom was at Chengdu.

Succession Meng Zhixiang died the year following his self-declaration of ascending to the position of emperor of the Shu. His son, Meng Chang ruled very ably for thirty years until the kingdom was incorporated into the expanding Song Dynasty from the north in 965.