Southern Tang (Chinese: 南唐; pinyin: Nán Táng) was a dynastic state of China that existed during Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. Located in southern China, the Southern Tang proclaimed itself to be the successor of the Tang dynasty. The capital was located at Nanjing in present-day Jiangsu Province. At its territorial peak in 951, the Southern Tang controlled the whole of modern Jiangxi, and portions of Anhui, Fujian, Hubei, Hunan, and Jiangsu provinces.
The Southern Tang was founded by Li Bian in 937, when he overthrew emperor Yang Pu of Wu. He largely maintained peaceable relations with neighboring states. His son Li Jing did not follow this foreign policy, conquering the Min and Ma Chu dynasties in 945 and 951 respectively.
The Later Zhou dynasty invaded the Southern Tang domain in 956 and defeated them by 958. Li Jing was forced to become a vassal of the Emperor Shizong of Later Zhou, cede all territory north of the Yangtze River, and relinquish his title of emperor. In 960, the Southern Tang became a vassal of the newly established Northern Song dynasty. After the Emperor Taizu of Song had defeated the Later Shu and the Southern Han, he ordered the conquest of the Southern Tang, which was completed in 975.
The names and titles used by Southern Tang rulers changed several times throughout its existence. In the 930s Xu Zhigao ruled as king over a sizeable territory called Qi (齊) that existed within Wu. After deposing the Yang Imperial family in 937 he adopted the title of emperor and announced the creation Great Qi (大齊). The Zizhi Tongjian referred to this state as Tang from its foundation, while the majority of historical sources, including the Old History of the Five Dynasties, New History of the Five Dynasties, and the Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms, referred to the state as Qi. They begin to use Tang only after Xu Zhigao adopted the name Li Bian in 939.
Unlike the continual unrest and rebellions of the Central Plains, Tang rule across the Yangtze and Southern China had been generally more successful. These halcyon days had become a source of nostalgia for people in the south. This respect paid to the deposed dynasty became a useful political tool for Li Bian. The Later Tang were overthrown in late 936, which opened the way for Li Bian to claim it. In February 939 Li Bian renamed his realm to Great Tang (大唐). Taking on the name of Tang increased his status. Such a move could be easily construed to mean "the potential unification of [Chinese] territories under one ruler."
Li Jing was defeated in 958 by Later Zhou Emperor Chai Rong. The Southern Tang were forced to cede their territories north of the Yangtze and become a vassal of the Later Zhou. Li Jing additionally had to renounce claims to emperorship. The rump state was centered on Jiangnan, which was used by both the Later Zhou and the Song to refer to the Southern Tang. Later Zhou correspondence called Li Jing the "King of Jiangnan" (江南國主). He however used the title "King of Tang" (唐國主) and "Seal of Tang" (唐國之印) for the government.
Li Yu, the third and final Southern Tang monarch, initially used the title and seal of his father. He attempted to demonstrate obeisance to Emperor Taizu after the Song conquest of Southern Han. Li Yu created a more modest "Seal of Jiangnan" (江南國印) and abandoned "Ruler of Tang" in favor of "Ruler of the State of Jiangnan", which remained used until 976 when he surrendered to the invading Song armies. Taizu gave Li Yu the humiliating title of Marquis of Disobedience (違名侯) when he arrived in Bian.
Historical texts produced during the Song dynasty were named after Jiangnan, with variants of Jiangzuo (江左) and Jiangbiao (江俵) also used. By not using the formal name it claimed, authors denied the Southern Tang "the status of an independent state." Reign titles of rulers were likewise seen as unacceptable and their personal names were used exclusively.
Yang Xingmi was the Jiedushi of Huainan Circuit during the final years of the Tang dynasty. Throughout a series of conflicts with neighboring officials he expanded his control over most contemporary Jiangsu and Anhui, along with parts of Jiangxi and Hubei. In 902 Emperor Zhaozong recognized Yang Xingmi's conquests and granted him the title of the Prince of Wu (吳王). He ruled for three more years and died in 905. Yang Wo succeeded his father as the Prince of Wu.
In 907 the last Tang Emperor was evicted from power by Zhu Quanzhong, who declared the Later Liang dynasty. Yang Wo did not recognize this regime change as legitimate and continued to use the Tang era name of 'Tianyou'. Without a reigning Tang emperor, however, he was in effect an independent ruler. In 921 Yang Longyan proclaimed his own reign title. His brother Yang Pu continued this trend of asserting ideological independence from the Kaifeng-based regimes by claiming the title of Emperor in 927. This irrevocably ended diplomatic contact with the Later Tang.
During a campaign in 895 an orphaned child was captured, whom Yang Xingmi initially took into his household. However, his oldest son Yang Wo disliked the child, and so Yang decided to give the child to his lieutenant Xu Wen. The child was given the name Xu Zhigao. Using the threat of Wu-Yueh raids as an excuse, Xu Wen turned Chiang-nan into his base of operations. This in time would morph into the Kingdom of Qi.
While Xu Wen assumed a position of power over the Yang family, he likely did not depose them due to unfavorable circumstances rather than the lack of will to do so.
In 927 Xu Zhigao inherited Xu Wen's position of power behind the Wu monarchy and laid out the groundwork for his seizure of the throne. He feared that the majority of the bureaucracy still supported the imperial Yang family. The Crown Prince Yang Lian was arranged to marry one of his daughters.
In September 935 Yang Pu and Xu Zhigao settled on the territorial extent of the kingdom of Qi as having 10 of the 25 prefectures then under Wu control. Yang Pu awarded Xu Zhigao the title of King of Qi (齊王) in March of 937. In May he dropped the ranking character 'zhi' from his given name to distinguish from his adopted brothers and was now known as Xu Gao. In October of the same year Yang Pu surrendered the state seal to him, ending Yang rule of Wu
On 11 November 937 Xu Gao formally ascended the throne. Xu Gao took inspiration from Tang governance and established two capitals. Jingling was already his seat of power and became the principal location of the court. The old Wu capital of Guangling meanwhile maintained some significance as the secondary capital. His reign according to Robert Krompart represented the initial rebuilding "of the social, economic, administrative, and religious forces that produce stability in China."
On 12 March 939 Xu Gao took on the name of Li Bian. He additionally authorized a genealogy that claimed descent from the Tang Imperial family. Records vary about whom his supposed Tang progenitor was. Johannes L. Kurz concluded that the more reliable sources state his ancestor was either son or a younger brother of Xuanzong. On 2 May 939 Li Bian performed the traditional sacrifices to Heaven. Jingnan and Wuyue sent ambassadors praising this event.
Li Bian encouraged the bureaucratization of his court, taking power away from military officers. The constant turmoil of the Central Plains created a pool of experienced émigré officials that relocated to the more stable south. Li Bian was in particular interested in men versed in Confucian rituals. Ma Ling (馬令) reported that the civilian government maintained by Li Bian "was humane and attracted men from far and near." Among these recruits was Han Xizai, who rose in prominence during the reign of Li Jing.
The question of succession arose near the end of Li Bian's reign. He preferred his second son Li Jingda. However, his oldest son Li Jing was eventually picked as his heir. In 943 Li Bian died and Li Jing succeeded his father.