the not-very-distant past / modern times, excluding recent decades / (in the context of Chinese history) the period from the Opium Wars until the May 4th Movement (mid-19th century to 1919) / capitalist times (pre-1949)
Five Dynasties, period of history between the fall of the Tang dynasty (907) and the founding of the Song dynasty (960), when five would-be dynasties were established in quick succession in North China