552 BOTANICON SINICUM. 
In the reign of Mine t1 [713-756] another division of. 
China proper took place. Some of the larger provinces were 
divided and there were then 15 tao. The term chou for 
prefecture was replaced by the older term kin. The 15 
provinces comprised 328 kin, of which 49 were termed 
4b & WF tu tu fu (seats of a governor-general) and 12 
K Bh BF WF ta (great) tu tu fu. There were 1,573 hien or 
districts. 
After the downfall of the T'ang dynasty five short- 
lived dynasties followed in succession. None of them ruled . 
over the whole of China, for ten smaller independent king- 
doms had risen in different parts of China, and the Ki tan 
or Liao penetrated China from the north. This period is 
known in Chinese history under the name of Hr f{ Wu 
tai, the Five Dynasties [907-960], viz. :— 
1.—The #% 9% Hou (later) Liang [907-923]. The 
capital was at Yf Pien (now K‘ai feng fu in 
Ho nan). 
2.—The #8 §f Hou Tang [923-936]. Capital at Lo 
yang. 
3.—The # % Hou Tsin [936-946]. Capital at Pien. 
4.—The #% jf Hou Han [946-951]. 
5.—The #% J§J Hou Chou [951-960]. 
The 3 Sung dynasty [960-1280]. This dynasty succeeded 
in destroying all the small kingdoms and reuniting all 
China into one empire. In 997 China was divided into 15 
BE lu (cireuits or provinces). In the beginning of the 
12th century there were 22 lu with 10 tw tu fu, 40 fu 
(larger prefectures), 245 chou (smaller prefectures), 1,221 hien 
(districts) and 69 Sf hin (military districts). The Sung had - e. 
their capital at Pi df WF Kai feng fu, also called K# Ta 
Liang (now K‘ai feng fu in Ho nan). Bat as in 1126 the 
Sung were forced to abandon the northern part of their 
