Fan Zhen (c. 450 - 515), also known as Zizhen, was a famous materialist and atheist during the Southern Dynasties. He was born into a noble family in Wuyin, Nanyang. He lost his father when he was young and relied on his mother for survival. He was known for his filial piety. Fan Zhen became an official in the Southern Qi Dynasty. He successively held the positions of Ningman's main book, Shangshu Dianzhong Lang, leading long history, Yidu prefect, etc. His philosophical work, On the Destruction of Gods, inherited and carried forward the materialistic thoughts of Xun Kuang, Wang Chong and others, and was regarded as an epoch-making work in the history of the development of ancient Chinese thought. Fan Zhen advocated that "when the body dies, the spirit dies." He questioned the Buddhist idea of reincarnation and retribution, and was strongly suppressed and questioned by nobles, aristocratic families, and famous Buddhist monks. Fan Zhen's life was full of ups and downs, but he was upright and unafraid of power. He persisted in his beliefs and ideas.
Fan Zhen (c. 450 - 515) was a materialist philosopher and atheist during the Qi and Liang dynasties of the Southern Dynasties. He was born in Nanyang Wuyin, a descendant of a noble family. Fan Zhen had been an official in the Southern Qi Dynasty and had held many official positions, including the Chief Bookkeeper of Ningman, the Minister of History, the Chief Commander of the Army, and the Governor of Yidu. Later, he was exiled to Guangzhou because of his relationship with Wang Liang, and eventually became a scholar and a doctor. Fan Zhen's life had been full of ups and downs, but he was known for his forthright personality, unafraid of threats and temptations. His philosophical work, On the Destruction of Gods, inherited and carried forward the materialistic thoughts of Xun Kuang and Wang Chong, and was regarded as an epoch-making immortal work in the history of ancient Chinese thought development. In this work, Fan Zhen proposed the atheistic idea of 'the body and spirit are one with each other' and opposed Buddhism's theory of the indestructibility of the spirit. His views caused controversy and discussion in the government and the public. Fan Zhen was an important ideologist and atheist in the Southern Dynasty.
The literature of the Southern Dynasty was an important period in the history of ancient Chinese literature, and its novel creation also presented a unique style. The novels of the Southern Dynasty can be divided into two parts. One part is the novels of the Liang Dynasty, and the other part is the novels of the Chen Dynasty. The novels of the Liang Dynasty in the Southern Dynasty referred to the novels written between the Datong years of Emperor Wu of Liang and the demise of Emperor Xiao Yan of Liang. There were many novels in this period, and the most representative works included Water Margins, Journey to the West, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, etc. These works had a unique charm in expressing social reality, shaping characters, narrating stories and so on. They became important chapters in the history of ancient Chinese literature. The novels of the Chen Dynasty in the Southern Dynasty referred to the novels created between the Yongding years of Emperor Chen Wudi and the demise of Emperor Chen Baxian. There were relatively few novels in this period, but there were some famous works such as The Legend of the White Snake and Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio. The creation of novels in the Southern Dynasty had distinct characteristics of the times and regions. Their works had an important impact on the development and evolution of the history of ancient Chinese literature.
The dynasties of the Southern Dynasties lasted as follows: Liu Song existed for 59 years (420 - 479), Southern Qi for 23 years (479 - 502), Southern Liang for 55 years (502 - 557), and Chen for 32 years (557 - 589).
The four dynasties of the Southern Dynasty were Liu Song, Southern Qi, Southern Liang, and Southern Chen.
The two Xie's of the Southern Dynasty referred to the two poets Xie Lingyun and Xie Mo. They had great achievements in poetry creation, creating a generation of poetry style, and had a great impact on future generations. Xie Lingyun was a poet from the Southern Song Dynasty. He used a large number of landscape poems to break the rule of the Eastern Jin Dynasty's metaphysics poems, which enriched the techniques of poetry creation and had a great influence on later generations of poets. Xie Tiao was a poet of the Southern Qi Dynasty. He, Shen Yue, Wang Rong and others created the Yongming Style and contributed to the development of modern style poetry. Second Xie's poems mainly described natural scenery, fresh and beautiful, giving people a cheerful feeling. They were regarded as the representative figures of the literature of the Southern Dynasty and were also one of the most important poets in the formation of landscape poetry.
The Three Heroes of the Southern Dynasty referred to the three outstanding painters of the Southern Dynasty. They were Gu Kaizhi, Lu Tanxuan, and Zhang Sengyao. Gu Kaizhi was good at landscape painting. His works used landscape as the theme. The composition was rigorous, the brush and ink were exquisite, and the colors were bright. Lu Tankan was mainly good at painting flowers and birds. His works were famous for their delicate strokes and exquisite skills, showing the charm and emotions of flowers and birds. Zhang Sengyao, on the other hand, was good at figure painting. His works used figures as the theme, and the images were vivid, showing the characteristics and emotions of the characters. These three painters had their own unique characteristics and had a profound impact on the history of Chinese painting.
The emperors of the Southern Qi Dynasty were Xiao Daocheng, Xiao Ze, Xiao Baojuan, Xiao Zhaowen, and Xiao Luan.
The capital of the Southern Song Dynasty was in Lin 'an (now Hangzhou). After the Northern Song Dynasty was destroyed by the Jin Dynasty, Zhao Gou rebuilt the Song Dynasty in Lin 'an and became the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty. Lin 'an was the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty, while Kaifeng was the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty. After the Southern Song Dynasty was established in Lin 'an Prefecture, it experienced a period of prosperity and rule until the Yuan Dynasty captured Lin' an in 1276, and the Southern Song Dynasty was completely destroyed.
The Southern Dynasty was founded in 420 AD.
The Three Xie's of the Southern Dynasty referred to Xie Lingyun, Xie Huilian, and Xie Bi.