Later Tang

Tang, known in history as Later Tang, was a short-lived imperial dynasty that lasted from 923 to 936 during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period in the history of China.

The first three of Later Tang's four emperors were ethnically sinicized Shatuo.<ref name=http://books.google.se/books?id=SQWW7QgUH4gC&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=Imperial+China:+900%E2%80%931800&source=bl&ots=j7zwpy_kAh&sig=S4nTOx01EZ7y3AcabOgF68Ivbh0&hl=sv&sa=X&ei=uJ18VMLSI8bIyAOHloDQCQ&ved=0CHYQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=Imperial%20China%3A%20900%E2%80%931800&f=false>Mote, Frederick W (2003). Imperial China 900-1800. pp. 12–13. </ref> The name Tang was used to legitimize itself as the restorer of the Tang dynasty (618–907). Although Later Tang officially began in 923, the dynasty already existed in the years before, as a polity called Jin (907–923).

At its height, Later Tang controlled most of northern China.

Formation of the Later Tang

From the fall of the Tang Dynasty in 907, a rivalry had developed between the successor Later Liang, formed by Zhu Wen, and the State of Jin, formed by Li Keyong, in present-day Shanxi. The rivalry survived the death of Li Keyong, whose son Li Cunxu continued to expand Jin territories at the expense of the Later Liang.