The Sixteen Kingdoms (simplified Chinese: 十六国; traditional Chinese: 十六國; pinyin: Shíliù Guó), also known as the "Sixteen Kingdoms of the Five Barbarians" (simplified Chinese: 五胡十六国; traditional Chinese: 五胡十六國; pinyin: Wǔhú Shíliù Guó), lesser known as the Sixteen States, was a period of political disorder and division in northern and southwestern China from 304 to 439 AD. It ran concurrently with the Jin dynasty (266–420 AD) and later overlapped with the early decades of the Northern and Southern dynasties era.

The period was preceded by the brief reunification of China under the Western Jin following the Three Kingdoms (220–280 AD) before it was violently disrupted by the War of the Eight Princes. The princely civil wars led to widescale famines and numerous uprisings, and the imperial court was eventually driven out from the northern and southwestern parts of their empire. As they reestablished themselves as the Eastern Jin in the south at Jiankang, the political vacuum they left behind was filled by a series of dynastic states that rose and fell in quick succession. These states were founded by non-Han peoples who had resettled and lived in northern China for generations, known in recent historiography as the “Five Barbarians” (Xiongnu, Jie, Di, Qiang, Xianbei), although a few regimes were also established and led by Han Chinese.

While the resettled non-Han groups had long been sinicized to varying degrees, the process was heightened during this period as their rulers adopted Chinese institutions of imperial governance and customs. Their states were all short-lived due to fierce competition among the states and the Eastern Jin as well as internal political instability. The Former Qin briefly unified northern China for seven years from 376 to 383 AD, but this ended when the Eastern Jin inflicted a crippling defeat on it at the Battle of Fei River, after which the Former Qin splintered and fell. Amidst the chaos and fighting, Mahayana Buddhism became increasingly accepted and popular, receiving official state backing for the first time in China. The Sixteen Kingdoms ended with the reunification of the north under the Northern Wei dynasty of Xianbei ethnicity, which would last for roughly a century.

The term "Sixteen Kingdoms" was first used by the 6th-century historian Cui Hong in the Spring and Autumn Annals of the Sixteen Kingdoms, which was a compilation of available records from the states that appeared during the period. These were the five Liangs (Former, Later, Northern, Southern and Western), four Yans (Former, Later, Northern, and Southern), three Qins (Former, Later and Western), two Zhaos (Han/Former and Later), Cheng-Han and Xia.

Despite the name, there were also several other states from this period that Cui Hong did not include, likely due to their short existence or lack of recordkeeping. Among the notable exceptions were the Ran Wei, Zhai Wei, Chouchi, Duan Qi, Qiao Shu, Huan Chu, Tuyuhun and Western Yan. Nor did he include the Northern Wei and its predecessor Dai, as the Northern Wei was still in power during Cui Hong's lifetime and doing so would have went beyond the scope of his annals. The history of the Dai and Northern Wei is mainly found in a later record, the Book of Wei, and historiography usually classifies the Northern Wei as the first of the Northern dynasties.

Left: Bronze seal conferred by the Han government upon a Xiongnu chieftain who had submitted to the Eastern Han dynasty (25–220). The seal was unearthed in Shangsunjiazhai, Datong Hui and Tu Autonomous County, Qinghai province in 1979. The Xiongnu that settled in modern-day Hexi Corridor and eastern Qinghai during the Eastern Han became known as the "Lushuihu". Juqu Mengxun, who seized control of the Northern Liang kingdom in 401 was a Lushuihu chieftain.^[1] Right: An iron sword with a ring-shaped pommel of the Xianbei from the Western Jin dynasty (266–316) unearthed in Meiligaitu Village, Zhuozi County, Ulanqab, Inner Mongolia. During the Western Jin, the Tuoba Xianbei clan settled in modern-day central Inner Mongolia, serving as a vassal to the Jin court.^[2]

Since the Western Han dynasty (202 BC–9 AD), the non-Han peoples of the northern steppe and western highlands had been resettling into northern China. Along the frontiers in the north, the Chinese court employed a policy of recruiting surrendered tribes to serve as auxiliaries to defend against attacks from nomadic enemies. In the northeast, the Wuhuan tribes submitted as Chinese tributaries, and in 50 AD, the Eastern Han dynasty (25–220) established the Southern Xiongnu vassal state in the northern Bing province. In the Guanzhong region in the northwest, western herders known as the Qiang and Di were brought in, predominantly to work as farmers and slaves. As migrants, these people lived among the ethnic Han and were sinicized to different degrees while retaining their tribal affiliations. However, they also faced discrimination and oppression, leading to racial tension and frequent rebellions.^[3]

The fall of Eastern Han (189–220) and the Three Kingdoms period (220–280) brought the non-Han people closer to the Chinese heartlands. After revolting and murdering their pro-Han chanyu, the Southern Xiongnu tribes dissolved their government and dispersed throughout Bing province. By the time he reunified northern China, the Han Chancellor, Cao Cao had to abandon several frontier commanderies in Bing but retained the area that corresponds with modern Shanxi, where he reorganized the remaining Southern Xiongnu forces into the Five Divisions near Taiyuan. The Wuhuan also rebelled but were defeated, with many forcibly relocated and scattered throughout the Central Plains. The Xianbei tribes of the steppe such as the Murong and Tuoba were drawn to the power vacuum left behind in the northeast, and they too became Chinese vassals. In the Guanzhong, the population of the Qiang, Di and other tribes continued to grow, supplemented by the arrival of other migrating Xianbei groups. By the late 3rd-century, an edict to the court claimed that half of the Guanzhong population were "Rong and Di (non-Han)".^[4][5]

Despite efforts to appease and punish, disparity between the ethnic Han and tribes persisted into the Western Jin period (266–316). The War of the Eight Princes (291–306) during the reign of the Emperor Hui of Jin severely weakened and divided imperial authority. Corruption was rampant among the Chinese elites and administrators, and popular rebellions against heavy taxation and repression erupted throughout the country. As the Jin princes exhausted the imperial army with their civil wars, they turned to the frontier auxiliaries as their source of military power, placing the tribes in prime position to exploit the chaos.^[6]

The beginning of the Sixteen Kingdoms period is often considered to be 304 AD. That year, as part of a rebellion that began back in 301, Li Xiong, a Ba-Di chieftain and refugee from the Guanzhong, formally claimed the imperial title of King and formed his state of Cheng-Han (304–347) in Sichuan, notably becoming the only state among the Sixteen Kingdoms to be based in southwestern China. Most of the later states were also founded by non-Han leaders whose family had lived in China for generations, collectively known in more recent historiography as the "Five Barbarians".^[7]

During the Jin civil wars, Liu Yuan, a noble from the Five Divisions and a descendant of the Southern Xiongnu chanyu, was serving as a general for one of the princes. The Five Divisions plotted to take advantage of the disorder by staging a revolt with Liu Yuan as their leader. After convincing his prince that he would rally his people to fight for his side, Liu Yuan was allowed to return home to Shanxi, and upon his arrival, he rebelled and openly declared his intent to restore the fallen Han dynasty. His regime, later renamed Zhao, is designated by historians as the Han-Zhao (304–329).^[8]

By the end of the War of the Eight Princes in 306, the Jin military in northern China had become severely weakened and ineffective in dealing with the various uprisings led by both the Han Chinese and the tribes. Many of these rebel groups, aggrieved by the civil wars and ongoing famines, flocked to join the Han-Zhao and soon encroached on the Chinese capital of Luoyang. In 311, less than a year after the ascension of Liu Cong to the Han throne, his forces annihilated the Jin imperial army and captured Luoyang along with Emperor Huai in the Disaster of Yongjia. In 316, the Western Jin came to an end after Liu Cong's cousin Liu Yao seized Chang'an and Emperor Min, though pockets of Jin resistance continued to resist in the north. In the south, where the regions were mostly unaffected by the chaos in the north, the prince, Sima Rui claimed the imperial title at Jiankang, preserving the dynasty as the Eastern Jin (318–420).

After Liu Cong's death in 318, a failed coup was launch which saw his successor and most of the Han imperial family wiped out. The empire soon split between Liu Yao in the west and the powerful general, Shi Le in the east. Shi Le was an ethnic Jie of Southern Xiongnu descent in Bing province. He initially worked as an indentured farm laborer before joining Liu Yuan's rebellion, and during his stint as a Han general, he gained considerable power over the Hebei region, ruling in all but name. In 319, he founded the Later Zhao (319–351), and after a decade-long confrontation, he decisively defeated Liu Yao at the Battle of Luoyang and destroyed the Han-Zhao in 329, placing most of northern China under his control.

To consolidate his rule, Shi Le reinforced the dual-system of government introduced by the Han-Zhao to impose separate governance for the Chinese and non-Chinese. After he died, his adoptive brother, Shi Hu seized the throne from his son in 334 and ruled the empire for the next 15 years. Shi Hu was described by records as a cruel and tyrannical ruler, especially towards the Han Chinese. On the other hand, he supported the proliferation of Buddhism in the north. He employed the Kuchean monk, Fotu Cheng as one of his chief court advisors, allowing him to spread his teachings among the common people and build hundreds of monastries.^[10] Shi Hu maintained a stalemate with the Eastern Jin, Cheng-Han and other neighbouring states, unable to make significant gains from his military campaigns. After his death in 349, his family members engaged in a fratricidal succession for the throne, culminating in his adopted Han Chinese grandson, Ran Min, seizing the government and carrying out a large-scale ethnic cleansing of the Jie people. The Later Zhao was soon destroyed by Ran Min in 351.

During the fall of Western Jin, some Chinese officials opted to find refuge in the farthest reaches of northern China, which later remained largely independent from Later Zhao control. In Gansu, the Chinese provincial inspector, Zhang Gui and his family governed the region as early as 301 and continued to do so long after the Western Jin's demise. Though they outwardly remained loyal to the Eastern Jin and never claimed the imperial title (with the exception of Zhang Zuo), their remoteness from the southern court allowed them to self-govern without much intervention, so historiography often refer to them as a sovereign regime known as the Former Liang (301–376). The Former Liang preserved much of Han literati culture in the north and expanded their influence into the Western Regions.^[11]

Around the Liao river basin, the Murong clan of Xianbei ethnicity also professed their allegiance to the Eastern Jin, but internally vied for independence. The Murong allowed Chinese refugees to settle in their domain and employed them as officials to serve in their civil administration. In 337, while still claiming to be a vassal of Jin, their chieftain, Murong Huang took the title of Prince and founded the Former Yan (337–370). He conquered the rival Duan and Yuwen tribes as well as forced the Goguryeo and Buyeo into submission, thus allowing his state to compete with the Later Zhao.^[12] Other regimes that existed around this time but are not listed among the Sixteen Kingdoms are the Tuoba-Xianbei of Dai and the Di-led Chouchi.

Left: Painting of heavy cavalry (cataphracts) from the 4th-century tomb of Dong Shou, a Former Yan general who fled to Goguryeo. Right: The earliest extant of the double stirrup from the tomb of a Northern Yan noble. The development of the stirrup during this period gave rise to widespread use of heavy cavalry and allowed the Xianbei horsemen to dominate the battlefield.^[13]

In the course of the Later Zhao collapse, Ran Min formed his new state of Ran Wei (350–352). However, many Zhao generals refused to acknowledge him, and northern China fragmented into numerous regions controlled by warlords. The Former Yan, under Murong Jun, seized the moment to expand into the Central Plains. In 352, his brother, Murong Ke defeated and captured Ran Min at the Battle of Liantai. Murong Jun thereupon broke away from the Eastern Jin and proclaimed himself as emperor. The Yan continued their southward expansion, reaching all the way to the Huai river and establishing dominance over the northeast. After Murong Jun's death in 360, Murong Ke acted as regent for his child heir and maintained the Yan's military supremacy through his competent leadership. However, when he too died in 367, the issues of unbridled corruption among the aristorcracy and infighting within the imperial family became evident and rapidly worsened.^[14]

Among the states that emerged from the chaos was the Former Qin (351–394), established by the Later Zhao general, Fu Jiàn of Di ethnicity who captured and secured control over the Guanzhong region. In 357, his nephew Fu Jiān seized the throne from his despotic son in a coup. Despite his ethnicity, the younger Fu Jiān revered Confucianism and entrusted most of state affairs to his ethnic Chinese advisor, Wang Meng. The two enacted policies to help the Qin recover from the early wars and famines, while also effectively putting down rebellions and corruption throughout their domain. Within a decade, the Former Qin was transformed into a regional power in the northwest, competing with both the Former Yan and Eastern Jin.^[15]

In 370, Wang Meng led the Former Qin to invade the Former Yan, and though outnumbered, he was able to vanquish them in one fell swoop. Riding on his momentum, Fu Jiān unified northern China by subjugating the Chouchi, Former Liang and Dai while also capturing Sichuan from the Eastern Jin by 376. Fu Jiān had a tendency to spare and recruit his enemies, employing many of them in his government and military. With most of China under his rule, he wanted to complete the unification by ending the Eastern Jin once and for all. Wang Meng opposed this move, and before his death in 375, he warned Fu Jiān that he first needed to address the growing issues between the different ethnic groups in his domain, but Fu Jiān did not heed his advice.^[16] In 383, he launched an invasion of southern China, where his vast army was defeated in a devastating rout at the Battle of Fei River by a significantly smaller Eastern Jin force.^[17]

After the Battle of Feishui, the power of the Former Qin quickly unraveled as various regimes in the north broke loose. In 384, Fu Jiān's general and a prince of the fallen Former Yan, Murong Chui rebelled in the Hebei and founded the Later Yan (384–409), intending to restore his family's empire. His relatives responded by forming the Western Yan (384–394; not listed among the Sixteen Kingdom) and laid siege on Fu Jiān at his capital in Chang'an. During the war, Fu Jiān's general of Qiang ethnicity, Yao Chang also rebelled and established the Later Qin (384–417). In 385, the Western Yan ousted Fu Jiān from Chang'an, and he was soon captured and executed by Yao Chang.^[19]

More states began to spring up in light of Fu Jiān's death. That same year, the Xianbei former vassal, Qifu Guoren founded the Western Qin (385–431) in eastern Gansu and the Chouchi was restored. In 386, the Di general, Lü Guang established the Later Liang (386–403) in western Gansu while another Xianbei leader, Tuoba Gui revived the Dai as the Northern Wei (386–535; not listed among the Sixteen Kingdoms). During the Later Yan's conquest of the northeast, the Dingling troops under Murong Chui mutinied, and in 388, they formed their state of Zhai Wei (388–392; not listed among the Sixteen Kingdoms).

For the next decade, Yao Chang fought against remnants of the Former Qin for supremacy over the Guanzhong. In 394, he was succeeded by his son, Yao Xing, who shortly after crushed the last remaining power of the Former Qin. He then ushered the Later Qin into a period of relative peace and prosperity. During his reign, the Later Qin received the nominal submissions of several neighbouring states such as the Later Liang and Western Qin and conquered the Henan region from the Eastern Jin, including the city of Luoyang.

Much like Fu Jiān, Yao Xing strongly adhered to Confucian principles. He turned Chang'an into an education hub by establishing schools and attracting many prospective scholars near and far. He was also a devout follower of Buddhism and actively spread the religion through widespread state support. In 401, after defeating the Later Liang into submission, he welcomed into his court the Kuchean monk, Kumārajīva and sponsored him to translate many Buddhist sutras, treatises and other texts from Sanskrit to Chinese. Mahayana Buddhism flourished under Yao Xing, with most of the Later Qin population following the teachings of the Buddha.^[20]

North of the Later Qin heartlands was the Ordos Plateau, which had long been home to various roaming tribes. These tribes, under constant threat by the Northern Wei in the east, submitted to the Qin and acted as a buffer on their northern frontier. As the raids on these tribes intensified, the Later Qin carried out a retaliatory campaign against the Northern Wei, but suffered a decisive defeat at the Battle of Chaibi in 402. From there, the empire stagnated, and as the Qin entered peace talks with the Wei, Helian Bobo of the Tiefu tribe rebelled in the Ordos and founded the Helian Xia (407–431), beginning a protracted war that drained the Qin's power and resources. Yao Xing soon lost control over his other vassals, and when he died in 416, he left his heir contending with his relatives over the throne. In 417, the Eastern Jin commander, Liu Yu took advantage of the tumultuous situation to conquer the Later Qin.

In the Gansu, the Later Liang and Western Qin fought each other for supremacy over the region. The Later Liang had the upper hand early on, but they were badly routed and suffered heavy losses during their invasion of Western Qin in 397. The defeat sparked upheaval in Later Liang, as soon after, the Xianbei chieftain, Tufa Wugu broke away and founded the Southern Liang (397–414), followed by the Chinese governor, Duan Ye, who established the Northern Liang (397–439) with the support of the Lushuihu chieftain, Juqu Mengxun. In 400, the Chinese general, Li Gao rebelled against the Northern Liang and formed the Western Liang (400–421). The next year, Juqu Mengxun deposed Duan Ye and took over the Northern Liang.^[21]

Between 400 and 401, the Later Qin carried out two western expeditions to Gansu, annexing the Western Qin and forcing the four Liangs into nominal submission. Unable to withstand anymore attacks, the Later Liang gave up their remaining territory to the Later Qin in 403. As the Later Qin weakened, the Southern Liang broke off relations in 407 while the Western Qin reestablished themselves in 409. The Southern Liang suffered heavy losses on the battlefield and fell to the Western Qin in 414. In 421, Juqu Mengxun pacified the Western Liang, leaving Northern Liang and Western Qin to compete for Gansu. Due to internal and external pressure, the Western Qin declined and were subjugated by the Helian Xia in 431, giving the Northern Liang sole control over Gansu for a brief period of time.

Procession

Mounted warrior

Warrior with shield

Horse

Terracotta warriors of the Northern Wei dynasty

In the northeast, Murong Chui spent the majority of his reign waging war and quelling rebellions to recover his family's holdings in the northeast. He extinguished the Zhai Wei in 392 and conquered the Western Yan in 394. Yet, his former ally, the Northern Wei under Tuoba Gui remained a nuisance to his empire. In 395, he sent his sons to lead a punitive expedition against the Northern Wei, but Tuoba Gui dealt them a grave defeat at the Battle of Canhe Slope. In 396, Murong Chui personally led another campaign to Northern Wei in retribution, but died of illness along the way.^[22]

Not long after Murong Chui's heir took the throne, Tuoba Gui launched his own invasion of Later Yan. The Murong clan decided to concentrate their forces to their major cities, which allowed the Northern Wei to overrun the Central Plains. Though Tuoba Gui initially struggled to take their cities, he eventually won a decisive victory over the main Later Yan forces at the Battle of Baisi.^[23] The Murong family fell into infighting; the emperor decided to evacuate the Central Plains for his ancestral home in Liaodong, while an offshoot led by his uncle, Murong De founded the Southern Yan (398–410) and occupied the Shandong region. Following a coup, the Later Yan branch was later replaced by the Northern Yan (407–436), whose founder, Gao Yun was of Goguryeo descent, but his successor, Feng Ba, was a Han Chinese.^[24]

With the Later Yan divided and a foothold on the Central Plains, the Northern Wei became the new regional power in the northeast. After Tuoba Gui's assassination in 409, his son, Tuoba Si, posthumously known as Emperor Mingyuan, succeeded him and prioritized in stabilizing the state over expanding. In the northwest, shortly after the Eastern Jin destroyed Later Qin, Helian Bobo took the opportunity to seize the Guanzhong region as Liu Yu returned to the south in 418.

In 423, Emperor Taiwu of Northern Wei ascended the throne with ambitions to unify northern China. Following the death of Helian Bobo in 425, he intensified his assault on the Helian Xia that by 428, he had captured both the Xia capital, Tongwancheng and their emperor. The emperor's brother, Helian Ding succeeded him and continued to resist. He made a last-ditch effort to save the empire by expanding westward, even conquering the weakened Western Qin in 431. However, as he attempted to invade the Northern Liang later that year, he was captured in a raid by the Tuyuhun nomads of modern Qinghai and sent to the Northern Wei as a prisoner.

With the defeat of their last major rival in northern China, reunification under the Northern Wei was inevitable. Emperor Taiwu turned his focus to the Northern Yan in 432, launching incessant attacks on their border. Eventually, in 436, the Northern Yan ruler was unable to resist a large-scale invasion by the Northern Wei and fled his territory for Goguryeo. The Northern Liang became the last of the Sixteen Kingdoms. Despite a marriage alliance between the two sides, Emperor Taiwu accused the Northern Liang of plotting rebellion and sent an expeditionary force into Gansu in 439. Placed under siege, the last ruler of Northern Liang soon surrendered. The Sixteen Kingdoms era came to an end, as the Northern Wei unification would last for nearly a century.

For the majority of the period, the Sixteen Kingdoms coincided with the Eastern Jin dynasty in southern China. Most people at the time viewed the Eastern Jin as a direct continuation of the Western Jin, since they were ruled by the same imperial Sima clan albeit distant members, and therefore had more right to rule than the other coinciding states. The Eastern Jin insisted on their status as supreme overlord and refused to treat any of their adversaries as equals. For instance, when the Later Zhao sent a diplomatic mission to the south to establish equal relations, they burnt the embassy's gifts and expelled the envoy. Some of the Sixteen Kingdoms such as Former Liang and Former Yan also agreed to nominally recognize the Eastern Jin as their suzerain for their source of legitimacy.^[25]

Yet, the Eastern Jin court was often divided on the subject of reclaiming lost territory. Many among the Jin elites, both the southern natives and northern migrants, enjoyed their new influence in the south and were content with maintaining a border along or above the Huai river in the north. On the other hand, reunification was still recognized as a moral obligation, and military generals who bring success from their campaigns were rewarded with titles and prestige. There were real concerns that powerful commanders would use the influence they gained from their campaigns as leverage against the court and the emperor. Hence, the court was often reluctant and passive in supporting expeditions against the Sixteen Kingdoms.^[26]

The first significant attempt to retake the north was carried out by Zu Ti, who led a voluntary expedition force in response to Emperor Min's call to arms in 313. Sima Rui, then still a prince, showed little interest in the expedition, and only provided Zu Ti very meager resources. Despite his limitations, Zu Ti managed to recapture a large swath of the Henan south of the Yellow River and repeatedly defeated the Later Zhao. However, with civil war looming back home, Sima Rui abruptly ended the expedition by stripping Zu Ti off his commanding role in 321, and his gains were swiftly reversed the following year.^[27]

The aftermath of Wang Dun and Su Jun's rebellions further discouraged the Jin court from launching expeditions as they required time to recuperate. Nonetheless, in 346–347, without prior authorization of the court, the general, Huan Wen invaded and ended the Cheng-Han state, bringing Sichuan back under Jin rule.^[28] Interest in recovering lost territory grew during the collapse of the Later Zhao, and Huan Wen was able to pressure the court into giving him command over the expeditionary forces. His first expedition against the Former Qin in 354 was unsuccessful, but his second expedition in 356 saw him recover the old capital of Luoyang. In 369, in his bid to claim the Jin throne, Huan Wen launched his third and final northern expedition against the Former Yan, but the campaign ended in failure as he suffered defeat at the Battle of Fangtou.

Not long after, Huan Wen died of illness and the Eastern Jin had to deal with the meteoric rise of the Former Qin. Early on, the Jin lost Sichuan in 373 and then the major city of Xiangyang in 379. However, after their victory at the Battle of Feishui in 383, Jin forces led by Xie Xuan, Liu Laozhi others were able to recover them and push the Former Qin back all the way to the Yellow River. From there, the Eastern Jin reached a deadlock, and as internal strife and civil war plagued the Jin once more, the Later Qin seized the chance to annex the Henan region while the Southern Yan occupied Shandong in 399.

In 404, the Jin general, Liu Yu defeated the usurper, Huan Xuan and restored Emperor An to the throne. Liu Yu had ambitions to claim the throne for himself and built his legitimacy by launching northern expeditions. In 409–410, he led Jin forces to defeat and destroy the Southern Yan, thus recapturing the Shandong. In 416, taking advantage of the death of Yao Xing, he invaded Henan and captured Luoyang before turning towards the Guanzhong and seizing Chang'an. The last Later Qin ruler surrendered and was sent to Jiankang for execution. With the Later Qin destroyed, the Western Qin, Northern Liang and Western Liang nominally submitted to Eastern Jin authority. However, due to pressing matters back in the south, Liu Yu was forced to return, and in his absence, the Helian Xia invaded and conquered the Guanzhong. Despite the loss of the region, Liu Yu's expeditions were enough for him to usurp the throne and establish the Liu Song dynasty (420–479). The Liu Song and the rest of the Southern dynasties continued to wage war against their northern counterparts before the Sui dynasty (581–618) eventually unified China in 589.

• 
  304 – Beginning of the Sixteen Kingdoms
• 
  317 – Fall of Western Jin
• 
  326 – Former Zhao–Later Zhao confrontation
• 
  338 – Later Zhao "reunification" of northern China
• 
  350 – Ran Min Disturbance
• 
  369 – Former Qin–Former Yan confrontation
• 
  376 – Former Qin reunification of northern China
• 
  391 – Aftermath of the Battle of Fei River
• 
  400 – Later Qin–Northern Wei confrontation
• 
  404 – Campaign against Huan Chu
• 
  410 – Decline of Later Qin
• 
  423 – Northern Wei–Helian Xia controntation
• 
  436 – End of the Sixteen Kingdoms

Through generational exposure and cooperation with the ethnic Han scholar gentry, the Sixteen Kingdoms heavily adopted the Chinese style of imperial governance and customs. Many of their rulers claimed the titles of Emperor (帝; Dì) or King (王; Wáng), used era names and appointed their followers to official positions from the imperial Chinese system such as Grand Chancellor (丞相) and Grand Tutor (太傅). Additionally, the title of Heavenly King (天王; Tiān Wáng) was widely used during this period as a way for rulers to acknowledge that they still lack the requisite of an Emperor while still effectively acting as one.^[29]

Many of the Sixteen Kingdoms also upheld separate governance between the Han and non-Chinese. During the Han-Zhao period, Liu Yuan claimed the title of Grand Chanyu, but later deferred the title to his crown prince for him to manage the affairs of the tribes with a status second only to the Emperor. Variations of the chanyutai (單于台; Office of the Chanyu) were implemented by later states such as the Later Zhao and Former Qin, either as a permanent or temporary function. The system was even applied by the Chinese-led regimes of Ran Wei and Northern Yan.^[30][31]

The Goguryeo kingdom was a powerful and influential state in northern Korea and parts of northeastern China at the beginning of the Sixteen Kingdoms period. With the arrival of the Murong and the collapse of centralized authority in northern China, Goguryeo clashed on several instances with the Xianbei clan and their states in a century-long conflict. In 342, Former Yan captured and sacked the capital of Hwando, forcing Goguryeo into submission. After the fall of Former Yan, Goguryeo established friendly relations with the Former Qin, who introduced them to Buddhism through the monk Sundo in 372. Their feud with the Murong was reignited following the restoration of the Later Yan in 384. Under the dynamic leadership of King Gwanggaeto the Great, Goguryeo repeatedly defeated the Later Yan and conquered Liaodong in 404. Peace along the Goguryeo-Yan borders was finally attained in 407 with the founding of Northern Yan, as Gwanggaeto recognized their first ruler, Gao Yun, as a distant member of the Goguryeo imperial clan. Gwanggaeto and his son, King Jangsu, maintained relations with Northern Yan even after Chinese Feng clan succeeded Gao Yun. When Northern Yan fell in 436, Jangsu granted asylum to their last Heavenly King, Feng Hong, but as Feng was said to have acted insubordinately and demanded royal courtesy, Jangsu later had him executed.

After the Yuwen Xianbei tribe was defeated by the Former Yan in 344, the Kumo Xi and Khitan branches of the tribe survived and began increasing in strength north of You province. In 414, the Kumo Xi tribes sent a trade caravan to Northern Yan, then joined with the Khitan in declaring allegiance to Northern Yan, and then to Northern Wei after its destruction of Northern Yan. Thus, the Northern Wei held de facto rule over the entire Mongolian Plateau and the Liao River region.

In the Western Regions (modern Xinjiang) of the former Han Empire lay the kingdoms of Shanshan, Qiuzi, Yutian, Dongshi, and Shule. These kingdoms were often controlled or influenced by the various Liang kingdoms that existed during the Sixteen Kingdoms period. The Former Liang organized Gaochang Commandery (Chinese: 高昌郡) and Tiandi County (Chinese: 闐地縣) in the west, both under the administration of the Gaochang Governor. Day-to-day administration was run out of several forts: Western Regions Chief Clerk, Wu and Ji Colonel, and Jade Gate Commissioner of the Army. Other Liangzhou states generally followed this administrative system. In 382, the Former Qin ruler Fu Jiān sent General Lü Guang on a military expedition to the Dayuan kingdom and promoted him to Protector General of the western border regions. After Qin collapsed and Lü Guang founded the Later Liang, the western border forts and the Shanshan kingdom all became parts of or vassals to the Later Liang

Though Buddhism first arrived in China in the 1st-century CE, the religion only began receiving mainstream recognition and popularity during the Sixteen Kingdoms period. Several rulers of the northern kingdoms patronized Buddhism which spread across northern China during the Sixteen Kingdoms and flourished during the subsequent Northern Dynasties. The Later Zhao was one of the earliest regimes in China to provide Buddhism with state recognition. Monks such as Fotu Cheng and Dharmakṣema all occupied high-ranking positions in their governments and were allowed to spread their teachings to the masses.^[10][32]

During the Former Qin, Fu Jiān was a strong patron of Buddhist scholarship. After capturing Xiangyang in 379, he invited the monk Dao An to Chang'an to catalogue Buddhist scriptures. When the teachings of the famed Kuchean monk, Kumārajīva, reached Chang'an, Dao An advised Fu Jiān to invite the Kumārajīva. In 382, Fu Jiān sent general Lü Guang to conquer the Western Regions (Tarim Basin) and bring Kumārajīva to Chang'an. Lü Guang captured Kucha and seized Kumārajīva, but the Former Qin collapsed after the Battle of Feishui in 383. Lü Guang founded the Later Liang and held Kumārajīva captive in western Gansu for 18 years. In 401, the Later Qin under Yao Xing conquered the Former Liang and Kumārajīva was able to settle in Chang'an and become one of the most influential translators of Buddhist sutras into Chinese. Another monk, Faxian began a pilgrimage from Later Qin territory in 399 to acquire Buddhist texts in India. He returned to China in 412 and resettled at Jiankang under the Eastern Jin, also making great contributions to the translation and accessibility of Buddhist scriptures.^[33]

With monks frequently travelling between the Western Regions and China, Buddhist cave arts also began to take root in the Hexi Corridor of modern-day Gansu. The earliest grottoes in the Mogao Caves of Dunhuang were carved in the Former Liang. Later on, work on the Maijishan Grottoes in Tianshui first took place during the Later Qin, while the Bingling Grottoes in Yongjing County were started during the Western Qin. Numerous other grottoes were built in the Hexi Corridor under the Northern Liang such as the Tiantishan Caves.^[34]

Taoism was less prevalent among the Sixteen Kingdoms compared to their Buddhist counterpart. A notable exception was the Cheng-Han, which was partly influenced by the Way of the Celestial Masters as most of the population of Sichuan, including the ruling Li clan, were followers of the school. A Taoist sage from the sect, Fan Changsheng, was appointed as the state's first Prime Minister and given the title of Grand Preceptor of Heaven and Earth.^[35] Taoism would only regain its prominence in northern China during the reforms of Kou Qianzhi (365–448) under the Northern Wei, who reenvisioned the Way of the Celestial Masters by incorporating many Buddhist precepts and rituals that were prevalent at the time.

• Battle of Fei River
• Ethnic groups in Chinese history
• Family trees of the rulers of the Sixteen Kingdoms
• Five Barbarians
• Upheaval of the Five Barbarians
• Sinicization