kingdom · China, Tibet and Mongolia

Southern Qi

479 CE – 502 CE · capital Jiankang

The second of the Southern Dynasties, short-lived and bloody, but remembered for the literary salon of Prince Jingling and the Yongming style of poetry.

Origins

Xiao Daocheng, a general who had become the power behind the Liu Song throne, forced its last emperor to abdicate in 479 and founded the Qi dynasty at Jiankang. Historians call it Southern Qi to distinguish it from the Northern Qi.

Rule and society

Under Emperor Wu (483 to 493) the south enjoyed relative peace. His son Xiao Ziliang, Prince of Jingling, gathered scholars and Buddhists at his residence, including the Eight Friends of Jingling such as Shen Yue and Xiao Yan, who developed the tonal rules of Yongming-style verse. Later rulers, especially Emperor Ming and Xiao Baojuan, killed ministers and relatives in large numbers.

Decline and legacy

In 501 Xiao Yan, a distant relative and governor at Xiangyang, rebelled against Xiao Baojuan, took Jiankang and in 502 founded the Liang dynasty.

Lineage

Liu Song 420 CE – 479 CESouthern QiLiang dynasty 502 CE – 557 CE

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Southern Qi. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/southern-qi
MLA
“Southern Qi.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/southern-qi. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Southern Qi.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/southern-qi.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Southern Qi’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/southern-qi (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻