Background and founding

The other Shu kingdom of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, today known as the Former Shu, was founded in 907 after the end of the Tang dynasty. It was conquered in 925 by the Later Tang, the second of the five dynasties that would rule the Central Plain during this period.

Meng Zhixiang, one of the Later Tang military governors assigned to the conquered Shu territories, became remarkably powerful in the years following the invasion. In 930 he entered into open rebellion with fellow military governor Dong Zhang; although their rebellion was initially successful, Meng wished to submit once more to the rule of the Later Tang and so in 932 the two rebel leaders turned on each other. Meng defeated Dong and, in addition to taking control of Dong's lands, was given even greater authority than before by the Later Tang government. This arrangement did not last long: in December of 933 the emperor Li Siyuan died of an illness and was succeeded by the 19-year-old Li Conghou, and in the spring of 934 Meng declared himself the Emperor of a newly independent Shu.

Territorial Extent

The Later Shu kingdom held essentially the same territory as the Former Shu kingdom. The kingdom held most of present-day Sichuan, along with southern Gansu and Shaanxi, western Hubei and all of present-day Chongqing. As with the Former Shu, the capital of the kingdom was at Chengdu.

Succession

Meng Zhixiang died less than a year after declaring himself emperor of Shu. His son Meng Chang ruled for thirty years until the kingdom was invaded by and incorporated into the expanding Song empire in 965.

Rulers of the Later Shu

Rulers family tree

建國

同光三年（925年）後唐滅前蜀，孟知祥（874年－934年）被任為西川節度使，次年入成都，平定叛將李紹琛，整頓吏治，成都始安。長興二年（931年），殺後唐派來的監軍李嚴，與東川節度使董璋起兵叛亂，並擊退唐明宗派來的軍隊。次年（932年），孟知祥與後唐朝廷和解，董璋不滿，興兵來攻，孟知祥反而敗殺董璋，取得東川。

後唐閔帝應順元年（934年），孟知祥在成都建都稱帝，年號明德，國號蜀，史稱「後蜀」，以別于王建的前蜀。同年，後唐鳳翔節度使李從珂起兵推翻閔帝，後唐武定軍節度使孫漢韶、山南西道節度使張虔釗因曾討伐李從珂而不安，以本鎮歸後蜀。但孟知祥在位僅7個月後便卒。

二世即滅

其子孟昶嗣位，沿用明德年號，明德五年（938年）後改元廣政，頗能勵精圖治，境內很少發生戰爭，是五代時期經濟文化較發達的地區，後蜀維持近三十年和平。遼朝滅後晉時，晉雄武軍節度使何重建不附遼，以轄區歸附後蜀，後蜀又迫降鳳州防禦使石奉頵，達到之前前蜀的疆域。但後蜀隨即被新建立的後漢所敗，本已降蜀的鳳翔節度使侯益亦因而投靠後漢；後來後漢叛將河中李守貞、長安趙思綰、鳳翔王景崇也求援于後蜀，孟昶不顧勸阻出兵，但此次出師仍無功，三將叛亂被後漢平定。

晚年，孟昶生活日漸荒淫。廣政十八年（955年），秦、階、成、鳳四州為後周攻佔。

北宋乾德二年（964年）十一月宋太祖發兵攻蜀，次年（965年）正月孟昶向宋朝投降，同年去世。後蜀前後歷二帝，共33年。

歐陽修《新五代史》中對此有「盡力不過二袋（代）」的典故。

君主

君主列表

君主世系圖