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

The 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 Dynasties
• Northern Dynasties
• Chinese sovereign
• Avars
• Buddhism
• Buddhism in China