Former Liang in the context of "Southern Liang (Sixteen Kingdoms)"

The Sixteen Kingdoms (simplified Chinese: 十六国; traditional Chinese: 十六國; pinyin: Shíliù Guó), less commonly the Sixteen States, was a chaotic period in Chinese history from AD 304 to 439 when northern China fragmented into a series of short-lived dynastic states. Most of these regimes were created by groups such as the Xiongnu, Xianbei, Di, Jie, and Qiang, who had moved into northern and western China over earlier centuries and rose in rebellion against the Western Jin dynasty in the early fourth century. Some states were founded by the Han as well. Regardless of their rulers' background, every state adopted dynastic institutions in the Han tradition and styled itself as a legitimate monarchy. These states often fought one another and also contended with the Eastern Jin dynasty, which governed the south after the collapse of Western Jin in 317. The era ended in 439, when Northern Wei, founded by the Tuoba clan of the Xianbei, reunified the north. The Eastern Jin dynasty had already collapsed in 420 and been replaced by the Liu Song dynasty, the first of the Southern Dynasties. After the consolidation of the north, Chinese history entered the period known as the Northern and Southern Dynasties.

The term "Sixteen Kingdoms" was first used by the 6th-century historian Cui Hong in the Spring and Autumn Annals of the Sixteen Kingdoms and refers to 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. Cui Hong did not count several other kingdoms that appeared at the time including 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, because the Northern Wei is considered to be the first of the Northern Dynasties in the period that followed the Sixteen Kingdoms.

Zhao, briefly known officially as Wei (衛) in 350 AD, known in historiography as the Later Zhao (simplified Chinese: 后赵; traditional Chinese: 後趙; pinyin: Hòu Zhào; 319–351) or Shi Zhao (石趙), was a dynasty of China ruled by the Shi family of Jie ethnicity during the Sixteen Kingdoms period. Among the Sixteen Kingdoms, the Later Zhao was the second in territorial size to the Former Qin dynasty that once unified northern China under Fu Jian. In historiography, it is given the prefix of "Later" to distinguish it with the Han-Zhao or Former Zhao, which changed its name from "Han" to "Zhao" just before the Later Zhao was founded.

When the Later Zhao was founded by former Han-Zhao general Shi Le, the capital was at Xiangguo, but in 335 Shi Hu moved the capital to Yecheng, where it would remain for the rest of the state's history (except for Shi Zhi's brief attempt to revive the state at Xiangguo). After defeating the Han-Zhao in 329, the Later Zhao ruled a significant portion of northern China and vassalized the Former Liang and Dai; only the Former Yan in Liaoning remained fully out of their control. For roughly twenty years, it maintained a stalemate with the Eastern Jin dynasty in the south before its rapid collapse in 349 following the death of Shi Hu.

The Later Liang (simplified Chinese: 后凉; traditional Chinese: 後凉; pinyin: Hòu Liáng; 386–403) was a dynastic state of China and one of the Sixteen Kingdoms in Chinese history. It was founded by the Lü family of the Di ethnicity and given the prefix of "Later" in historiography to distinguish it with the Former Liang dynasty before them and the three Liang states (Southern, Northern and Western) that emerged during their collapse.

All rulers of the Later Liang proclaimed themselves "Heavenly King" (Tian Wang). The state's founder, Lü Guang initially took on lesser titles before declaring himself Heavenly King of Liang in 396, and so the state was only known as "Liang" (涼) from 396 to 403. The Later Liang at its peak controlled the Hexi Corridor in Gansu with Guzang (姑臧, in modern Wuwei, Gansu) as their capital. After the Southern Liang and Northern Liang broke away in 397, their territory was gradually reduced to their capital region in central Gansu.

Pingliang (simplified Chinese: 平凉; traditional Chinese: 平涼; pinyin: Píngliàng; lit. 'Pacify Liang') is a prefecture-level city in eastern Gansu province, China, bordering Shaanxi province to the south and east and the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region to the north. The city was established in 376 AD. It has a residential population of 2,125,300 in 2019. The urban population is almost 900,000.

Pingliang is well known for the nearby Kongtong Mountains, which are sacred to Taoism and location of the mythical meeting place of the Yellow Emperor and Guangchengzi, an immortal.