The Kingdom of Jingnan 荊南 (924-963)

The kingdom of Nanping, also called Jingnan 荊南 or Northern Chu 北楚, was one of the Ten States 十國 (902-979) that controlled southern China during the first half of the ninth century, the so-called Five Dynasties period 五代 (907-960).

It was founded by Gao Jixing 高季興 (original name Jichang 季昌, 858-929, ), with the capital seat in Jingzhou 荊州 (modern Jiangling 江陵, Hubei), called prefecture of Jiangling 江陵府. Its territory was very small and only included three prefectures, corresponding to the region bewteen the modern counties of Badong 巴東, Hubei, and Yueyang 岳陽, Hunan.

Gao Jixing 高季興 was a servant of an officer under general Zhu Wen 朱溫, the founder the empire of Later Liang 後梁 (907-923). Zhu's power extended to the middle Yangtze region, and he appointed Gao Jixing military commissioner (jiedushi 節度使) of Jingnan 荊南. Gao assembled scattered troops of the late Tang dynasty 唐 (618-907) and built up a civilian administration under Liang Zhen 梁震, secretly preparing to make his realm independent. The court of the Later Liang became aware of this and therefore made him king of Bohai 渤海. In 923, when the Later Tang 後唐 (923-936) destroyed the Liang empire, Gao Jixing was invited to a court audience in Luoyang 洛陽, and a year later was made king of Nanping 南平 (posthumous title King Wuxin 南平武信王). The Later Tang destroyed the empire of Former Shu 前蜀 (907-925) in Sichuan, and Gao was able to conquer two prefectures west of Nanping (Guizhou 歸州 and Shaanzhou 峽州), and to extend his control over three more prefectures (Kuizhou 夔州, Zhongzhou 忠州, and Wanzhou 萬州). Nanping nevertheless remained the smallest and weakest of the Ten Kingdoms.

Nontheless, because Jingnan was an important turntable within the north-south trade it remained untouched for a long time. A great part of the tax revenue of Nanping consisted of trade taxes. The rulers of Nanping, although more or less autonomous, accepted the suzerainty of all stronger states north and south, even to realms far away as the kingdom of Min 閩 (909-945, Fujian) or the Kitan state of Liao 遼 (907-1125) in the northeast. Gao Conghui 高從誨 (891-948, posthumous title King Wenxian 荊南文獻王, r. 928-947) sometimes dared to interfere into the tribute missions from south to north, and was therefore dubbed Gao Wulai 高無賴 "the Unreliable". Emperor Mingzong of the Later Tang 後唐明宗 (r. 926-933) gave Gao Jixing posthumously the title of king of Chu, for which reason Nanping was also called Northern Chu. In 963 the armies of Song 宋 (960-1279) conquered Nanping.