This article is about China. For the same-name period in Vietnam, see Southern and Northern Dynasties of Vietnam.

 This article is part of the

 Shang Dynasty

 Zhou Dynasty

 Qin Dynasty

 Han Dynasty

 Three Kingdoms

 Jin Dynasty

 Sixteen Kingdoms

 S. and N. Dynasties

 Sui Dynasty 

 Tang Dynasty

 5 Dynasties & 10 Kingdoms

 Song Dynasty

 Yuan Dynasty

 Ming Dynasty

 Qing Dynasty

 Republic of China

 PRC (1949-1976)

 PRC (1976-present)

 Timeline of Chinese history

 This article the top of the Southern
 and Northern Dynasties series.

 Southern Dynasties

 Song Dynasty (420-479)

 Qi Dynasty

 Liang Dynasty

 Chen Dynasty

 Northern Dynasties

 Northern Wei Dynasty 

 Eastern Wei Dynasty

 Western Wei Dynasty

 Northern Qi Dynasty

 Northern Zhou Dynasty

Southern and Northern Dynasties (南北朝, pinyin Nánběicháo) (420-589) followed the Sixteen Kingdoms and preceded Sui Dynasty in China and was an age of civil wars and disunity.

During this period the process of sinicization accelerated among the non-Chinese arrivals in the north and among the aboriginal tribesmen in the south. This process was also accompanied by the increasing popularity of Buddhism (introduced into China in the first century A.D.) in both north and south China.

Despite the political disunity of the times, there were notable technological advances. The invention of gunpowder (at that time for use only in fireworks) and the wheelbarrow is believed to date from the sixth or seventh century. Advances in medicine, astronomy, and cartography are also noted by historians.

See also

• Southern dynasty
• Northern dynasty
• Chinese sovereign
• Avars
• Buddhism
• Buddhism in China