The Five Dynasties. The Ten Kingdoms. The names themselves suggest a dark age of chaos and collapse between China's two most celebrated eras, the Tang and the Song. This book argues the opposite: that this was one of the most pivotal and creative periods in Chinese history, a foundational crucible where the aristocratic world of the Tang was violently reforged into the China of the next millennium.

Journey through this fragmented landscape. In the north, witness the brutal succession of the Five Dynasties, where military innovation was forged in the fires of constant warfare. In the south, explore the vibrant courts of the Ten Kingdoms—centers of breathtaking artistic achievement and bold economic experimentation. And on the frontier, encounter the mighty Khitan Liao not as barbarians, but as a peer empire whose ambitions reshaped the continent.

But Between Tang and Song looks beyond the thrones and battlefields. It uncovers the remarkable resilience of everyday life, the flourishing of trade that defied political borders, and the philosophical and religious shifts that laid the groundwork for the Song renaissance.

The result is a masterful re-evaluation of a forgotten age, one that proves the celebrated Song dynasty was not a restoration of the Tang, but a direct response to the lessons of this era. This is the definitive story of the violent, chaotic, and indispensable birth of a new China.