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The second development was in painting. A distinctive style known as Wu-tai painting 'monumental ink landscapes' dominated. This was inspired by the Taoist notion that mountains were essentially sacred pillars linking heaven and earth. Artists, using black ink on silk, depicted the natural world as the source of harmony and enlightenment. 民俗节庆门户网站
Gu Hongzhong's painting the 'Evening Feasting held by Han Xi' is a highly revered work of this period.
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Buddhism 1155815.cn
Buddhism was adversely affected in the north of the country from 955 AD. This was due to the fact that men were discouraged from entering the monasteries as a means to avoid military service. Some 30,336 temples and monasteries were secularized and monks were forced to leave. The construction of new temples and monasteries was limited as were the number that were allowed in each district. Every monk was required to carry six identification cards.
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Taoism 民俗节庆门户网站
This form of worship, popular during the Tang Dynasty, survived and was used by the rulers of The Five Dynasties and The Ten States as a means to consolidate their influence over the people. Its teaching of immortality had its appeal but the ceremonies and alchemy required of its practitioners meant that in the main it was a religion of the ruling classes and wealthy aristocrats.
End of the Division 1155815
Throughout this period there was no central government despite a struggle for power between the various ruling factions. The conditions for reunification were set in place by Chairong, the 'Shizong' of the Later Zhou Dynasty. A general in the army, Zhao Kuangyin, led a mutiny at Chenquiaoyi in 960 AD and founded the Song Dynasty. For the next twenty years every effort was made to reunify the entire country. One by one the Ten States came under the rule of the Song and with the fall of the Northern Han, China was reunited and the empire that was to last for a thousand years re-established. www.1155815.com
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