Five Dynasties and Ten States
五代十国
Five Dynasties
五代
There were five successive dynasties that dominated the Yellow River Valley in this period.
在这个时期共有五个朝代先后统治着黄河流域。
They were the Later Liang (907—923), Later Tang (923—936), Later Jin (936—946), Later Han (947—950), and Later Zhou (951—960).
他们分别是后梁（907——923）、后唐（923——936）、后晋（936——946）、后汉（947——950）和后周（951——960）。
The prefix “Later” was added to distinguish these dynasties from the earlier ruling houses of the same name.
这些朝代名称之前的“后”字是为了将它们和以前的那些同名的朝代区分开来。
The actual territorial limits varied from one dynasty to another with the Later Liang ruling the smallest while the Later Tang controlled the largest of them.
这些朝代实际的领土面积彼此都不同，后梁最小、后唐最大。
Each dynasty was founded by the frontier commanders of their former states.
每一个国家都是由它前朝的边防长官建立的。
Military expansion, frequent warfare and administrative change became the hall mark of the period.
军事扩张、不断的战争以及行政上的变动成为了这个时代的标志。