- Preceded by the Sixteen Kingdoms period and the Eastern Jin dynasty*
- Part of the Six Dynasties period (220 - 589 AD)
- Northern dynasties: Northern Wei, Eastern Wei, Western Wei, Northern Qi, Northern Zhou
- Southern dynasties: Liu Song*, Southern Qi, Liang*, Western Liang*, Chen*
- Spread of Buddhism and Taoism
- Migration of Han people to the south
- Ended when Sui dynasty unified China in 589 AD
* part of the Six Dynasties (along with Eastern Wu)