Later Zhou dynasty

…usurped the throne, founding the Hou (Later) Zhou dynasty. Although progress toward a more stable government began to be made during this time, the emperor died, leaving an infant on the throne. As a result, another general, Zhao Kuangyin (Taizu), seized the throne, founding the more long-lived Song dynasty, thus…

… in 947, and by the Hou Zhou in 951. These rapid successions of dynasties came to an end only with the rise in 960 of the Song dynasty, which finally succeeded in establishing another lasting empire and in taking over much, though not all, of the former Tang empire.

…father soon afterward established the Hou (Later) Zhou dynasty (951–960) at Kaifeng; Zhao’s patron succeeded to the throne in 954 and fought to extend his sway into South China and to eliminate a rival who, established to the north in Shanxi and supported by the Khitan (Chinese: Qidan) empire, laid…