Min

Min (閩) was one of the Ten Kingdoms which was in existence between the years of 909 and 945. It existed in a mountainous region of modern day Fujian province of China and had a history of quasi-independent rule. Its capital was Fuzhou 福州. It was founded by Wang Shenzhi (王审知). Wang Shenzhi’s older brother Wang Chao was given the title of Surveillance Commissioner in 892. Wang Shenzhi himself was named military commissioner, and in 909, in the wake of the collapse of the Tang Dynasty two years earlier, named himself the Prince of Min. Wang Shenzhi’s son declared himself the Emperor of Min in 933. At that point, his father was posthumously named Min Taizu. The capital of the Min Kingdom was Changle, now known as Fuzhou. The kingdom was essentially limited to modern-day Fujian Province in China’s southeast. The territory of the Min was relatively isolated and rugged, thus not as economically prosperous as other regions of the Chinese realm. The Min court attempted to attract scholars that...