Albert E. Dien

The period from the fall of the Han dynasty until the rise of the Sui mostly saw China divided between two or more concurrent regimes, in the north more often than not ruled by non-Chinese conquerors from the north or west. The titular "six dynasties" were those that ruled from Jiankang (modern Nanjing) in the south, namely the Wu (220-280), the Eastern Jin (317-420), the Liu Song (420-479), the Southern Qi (479-502), the Liang (502-557), and the Chen (557-589). The "missing" years 280-317 are the only time during the period when China was united, under the Western Jin.

The book is divided into a number of essentially chronological chapters covering the abovementioned dynasties, as well as the rather larger number that ruled parts or the whole of the north during the era, plus a number of thematic chapters on various aspects of society, warfare, religion, art, etc.

I found it mostly very good.… (meer)

An excellent volume that opens the doors of the closed room that this period in Chinese history is for most non-specialists. Professor Dien covers the period's history, cities, architecture, tombs, religions, material culture, (including armour and weapons), and other aspects of daily life in a highly informative and readable style. It includes both Pinyin and Chinese characters for those who read Chinese, but is not pretentious nor overly-academic in its approach. And the black & white line drawings and illustrations are superb and very helpful (just one example: an illustration of the Northern Qi tomb figurines from just one tomb showing the diversity of dress, headgear and jewellery of the period). I've recommended this book to the students and docents I work with, all of whom have praised it in turn. Don't skip over the very informative notes (which unfortunately are at the back of the book; be sure to read them in tandem with the text), and the list of resources is enough to keep anyone on the right research path for years.… (meer)