The Southern dynasties (Chinese: 南朝; pinyin: náncháo) describe a succession of Chinese empires that coexisted alongside a series of Northern dynasties.
The era is generally described as the Northern and Southern dynasties, lasting from 420–589 AD after the Jin and before the Sui dynasty.
The Southern dynasties were as follows: The Western Liang (555–587 AD) was a rump successor to the Liang dynasty and is typically not regarded as a legitimate regime that bore the Mandate of Heaven.
The Western Liang is also sometimes called the "Later Liang" (not to be confused with the Later Liang of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period).