Later Tang

• Native Name — 唐 • Conventional Long Name — Tang • Common Name — Later Tang • Era — Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period • Status — Empire • Government Type — Monarchy • Year Start — 923 • Year End — 937 • Event Start — Established in Daming • Date Start — May • Event End — Overthrown by Khitan and Shi Jingtang • Date End — January 11, • P1 — Jin (Later Tang precursor)Jìn 1 • P2 — Later Liang (Five Dynasties)Later Liang • P3 — Qi (Li Maozhen's state)Qi • P4 — Former Shu • S1 — Later Jin (Five Dynasties)Later Jìn 2 • S2 — Jingnan • S3 — Later Shu • Capital — Daming (923) Luoyang (923–936) • Common Languages — Chinese • Currency — Chinese coin, Chinese cash • Leader1 — Li Cunxu (Zhuangzong) • Leader2 — Li Siyuan (Mingzong) • Leader3 — Li Conghou • Leader4 — Li Congke • Year Leader1 — 923–926 • Year Leader2 — 926–933 • Year Leader3 — 933–934 • Year Leader4 — 934–936 • Title Leader — Emperor • Footnotes — 1.The preceding entity of the Later Tang was the State of Jin, which was established by Li Keyong in 895 under the Tang dynasty and existed as an independent state in 907–923. 2.With the support of the Liao dynasty. • Today — China

The Later Tang dynasty emerged when Li Cunxu (李存勖), son of Shatuo Turk chieftain Li Keyong (李克用), conquered the Later Liang (后梁). After inheriting the Jin (晋) state, Li Cunxu waged a prolonged war against the Later Liang, culminating in the fall the Liang capital, Daliang (Kaifeng) in 923. His victory marked the first of the Five Dynasties' successive dynastic transitions. The Later Tang dynasty was officially proclaimed in 923, though its origins lay in the precursor Jin dynasty (907-923), known in historiography as the Former Jin. Its founder Li Cunxu already possessed the Li surname - shared with the Tang emperors - which helped legitimize his claim as the Tang dynasty's rightful successor. The Li Clan of Shatuo received the surname "Li" from Emperor Xianzong of Tang as a reward for their loyalty and military service. By deliberately adopting the Tang dynastic name and emphasizing this genealogical connection, the Shatuo Turk ruler strengthened his regime's political legitimacy through symbolic continuity with the fallen Tang empire.

Despite its initial military strength, the Later Tang dynasty eventually collapsed due to internal rebellions, administrative mismanagement, and external pressure from the Khitan-led Liao Dynasty. Li Cunxu, after founding the dynasty, increasingly focused on theatrical interests rather than governance, weakening central authority. His inability to restrain the power of regional military governors (jiedushi 节度使) led to widespread dissatisfaction. Following Li Cunxu's assassination in 926 AD, subsequent rulers, including Mingzong (Li Siyuan), faced challenges such as corruption and factional infighting. The dynasty’s final collapse came in 937 when Shi Jingtang, a rebellious jiedushi, allied with the Khitan to overthrow Li Congke. Shi established the Later Jin Dynasty and ceded the strategic Sixteen Prefectures to the Liao, marking the end of the Later Tang.

The Later Tang emperors, particularly Li Cunxu, were known for their patronage of Buddhism, continuing the Tang Dynasty's tradition. Buddhist monasteries remained influential, though the Later Tang did not have the same level of state-sponsored Buddhist projects as the earlier Tang. • Illustration — Rubbing from pillar carved with the Uṣṇīṣa Vijaya Dhāraṇī Sutra - Later Tang Dynasty - 4th year Tongguang Reign (926)

• Temple names — Posthumous names — Family names and given name — Durations of reigns — Era names and their according durations • Zhuāngzōng (莊宗) — Emperor Guāngshèng Shénmǐn Xiào (光聖神閔孝皇帝) Too Tedious; thus, unused when referring to this sovereign — Lǐ Cúnxù (李存勗) — 923–926 — Tóngguāng (同光) 923–926 • Míngzōng (明宗) — Hewu (和武) — Lǐ Sìyuán (李嗣源) or Lǐ Dǎn (李亶) — 926–933 — Tiānchéng (天成) 926–930 Chángxīng (長興) 930–933 • none — Mǐn (閔) — Lǐ Cónghòu (李從厚) — 933–934 — Yìngshùn (應順) 933–934 • none — Mòdì (末帝) — Lǐ Cóngkē (李從珂) — 934–937 — Qīngtaì (清泰) 934–937