TheJin dynasty orJin Empire, sometimes distinguished as theSima Jin or theTwo Jins, was animperial dynasty in China that existed from 266 to 420. It was founded bySima Yan, eldest son ofSima Zhao, who had previously been declared the King of Jin. There are two main divisions in the history of the dynasty. TheWestern Jin (266–316) was established as the successor toCao Wei after Sima Yan usurped the throne fromCao Huan. The capital of the Western Jin was initially inLuoyang, though it later moved toChang'an (modernXi'an). In 280, after conqueringEastern Wu, the Western Jin ended theThree Kingdoms period and reunitedChina proper for the first time since the end of theHan dynasty.
From 291 to 306, a series of civil wars known as theWar of the Eight Princes were fought over control of the Jin state which weakened it considerably. In 304, the dynasty experienced a wave ofrebellions by non-Han ethnicities termed byexonym as "Five Barbarians". The "barbarians" went on to establish nonpermanent dynastic states innorthern China. This helped to usher in theSixteen Kingdoms era of Chinese history, in which states in the north rose and fell in rapid succession, constantly fighting both one another and the Jin.Han-Zhao, one of the northern states established during the disorder,sacked Luoyang in 311, capturedChang'an in 316, and executedEmperor Min of Jin in 318, ending the Western Jin era.Sima Rui, who succeeded Emperor Min, then reestablished the Jin dynasty with its capital inJiankang (modernNanjing), inaugurating theEastern Jin (317–420).
The Eastern Jin dynasty remained in near-constant conflict with its northern neighbors for most of its existence, and it launched several invasions of the north with the aim of recovering its lost territories. In 383, the Eastern Jininflicted a devastating defeat on theFormer Qin, aDi-ruled state that had briefly unified northern China. In the aftermath of that battle, the Former Qin state splintered, and Jin armies recaptured the lands south of theYellow River. The Eastern Jin was eventually usurped by GeneralLiu Yu in 420 replaced with theLiu Song dynasty. The Eastern Jin dynasty is considered the second of theSix Dynasties.
During theThree Kingdoms period, theSima clan—with its most accomplished individual beingSima Yi—rose to prominence within the kingdom ofCao Wei that dominated northern China. Sima Yi was theregent of Cao Wei, and in 249 he instigated a coup d'état known as theIncident at the Gaoping Tombs, the Sima clan began to surpass the Cao clan's power in the kingdom. After Sima Yi's death in 251, Sima Yi's eldest sonSima Shi succeeded his father as regent of Cao Wei, maintaining the Sima clan's tight grip on the Cao Wei political scene. After Sima Shi's death in 255, Sima Shi's younger brotherSima Zhao became the regent of Cao Wei. Sima Zhao further assisted his clans' interests by suppressing rebellions and dissent.
In 263, he directed Cao Wei forces in conqueringShu Han and capturingLiu Shan (the son ofLiu Bei), marking the first demise of one of the Three Kingdoms. Sima Zhao's actions awarded him the title of King of Jin, the last achievable rank beneath that of emperor. He was granted the title because his ancestral home was located inWen County, on the territory of theZhou-erastate of Jin, which was centered on the Jin River inShaanxi. Sima Zhao's ambitions for the throne were visible, but he died in 265 before any usurpation attempt could be made, passing the opportunity to his ambitious sonSima Yan.
The Jin dynasty was founded by Sima Yan, who was known posthumously asEmperor Wu (the "Martial Emperor of Jin"). After succeedinghis father as the King of Jin and regent ofCao Wei in 265, Sima Yan declared himself emperor of the Jin dynasty in February 266 and forced the final Wei rulerCao Huan to abdicate. Emperor Wu permitted Cao Huan to live with honour as the Prince of Chenliu, and buried him with imperial ceremony. Under Emperor Wu, the Jin dynasty conqueredEastern Wu in 280 and united China proper, thus ending the Three Kingdoms period. The period of unity was relatively short-lived, as the Jin state was soon weakened by corruption, political turmoil, and internal conflicts. Emperor Wu's son Zhong, posthumously known asEmperor Hui, wasdevelopmentally disabled.
Emperor Wu died in 290, and in 291 conflict over his succession caused the devastatingWar of the Eight Princes. The dynasty was greatly weakened by this civil conflict, and it soon faced more upheaval when theUpheaval of the Five Barbarians began in 304. During this unrest, the Jin capitalLuoyang wassacked byHan-Zhao rulerLiu Cong in 311, and Jin emperor Sima Chi, posthumously known asEmperor Huai, was captured and later executed. Emperor Huai's successor Sima Ye, posthumously known asEmperor Min, was then also captured and executed by Han-Zhao forces when they seizedChang'an (present-dayXi'an) in 316. This event marked the end of the Western Jin.[2] The surviving members of the Jin imperial family, as well as large numbers of Han Chinese from theNorth China Plain, subsequently fled to southern China. These refugees had a large impact on the lands they moved to—for example, they gaveQuanzhou'sJin River its name upon their settlement there.
Lacquer screen, from the tomb ofSima Jinlong, 484 CE. Untypical of theNorthern Wei style, it was probably brought from the court of the Jin dynasty by Sima Jinlong's father.[3] Alternatively, it could be a Northern Wei work strongly influenced by Jin artistic styles, such as the work ofGu Kaizhi.[4]Western Jin celadon figures
After the fall ofChang'an and the execution ofEmperor Min of Jin, Sima Rui, posthumously known asEmperor Yuan, was enthroned as Jin emperor in 318. He reestablished the Jin government atJiankang (present-dayNanjing), which became the dynasty's new capital. This marked the start of the Eastern Jin period.[2] One of Sima Rui's titles was the prince ofLangya, so the recently establishednorthern states, who denied the legitimacy of his succession, occasionally referred to his empire as "Langya".
The Eastern Jin period witnessed the pinnacle ofmenfa (門閥 'gentry clan') politics. The authority of the emperors was limited, while national affairs were controlled by powerful immigrant elite clans like the Wang (王) clans ofLangya andTaiyuan, the Xie (謝) clan ofChenliu, the Huan (桓) clan ofQiao Commandery, and the Yu (庾) clan ofYingchuan. Among the people, a common remark was that "Wang Dao andSima Rui, they dominate the nation together" (王與馬，共天下).[5] It was said that when Emperor Yuan was holding court, he even invited Wang Dao to sit by his side so they could jointly accept congratulations from ministers, but Wang Dao declined the offer.[6]
In order to recover the lands lost during the fall of the Western Jin, the Eastern Jin dynasty launched several military campaigns against the northern states, such as theexpeditions led by Huan Wen from 354 to 369. Most notably, in 383, a heavily outnumbered Eastern Jin force inflicted a devastating defeat on the state of Former Qin at theBattle of Fei River. After this battle, the Former Qin—which had recently unified northern China—began to collapse, and the Jin dynasty recovered the lands south of theYellow River. Some of these lands were later lost, but the Jin regained them once more whenLiu Yu defeated the northern states inhis northern expeditions of 409–416.
Despite successes against the northern states like the Battle of Fei River, paranoia in the royal family and a constant disruptions to the throne often caused loss of support for northern campaigns. For example, lack of support by the Jin court was a major cause of Huan Wen's failure to recover the north in his expeditions. Additionally, internal military crises—including the rebellions of generalsWang Dun andSu Jun, but also lesserfangzhen (方鎮 'military command') revolts—plagued the Eastern Jin throughout its 104-year existence.
The local aristocrat clans of the south were often at odds with the immigrants from the north. As such, tensions increased, and rivalry between the immigrants and southern locals loomed large in the domestic politics of the Jin. Two of the most prominent local clans, the Zhou (周) clan ofYixing and the Shen (沈) clan ofWuxing, were dealt a bitter blow from which they never quite recovered. There was also conflict between the various northern immigrant clans. This led to a virtual balance of power, which somewhat benefited the emperor's rule.
Special "commanderies of immigrants" and "white registers" were created for the massive amounts of northern Han Chinese who moved south during the Eastern Jin.[7] The southern Chinese aristocracy was formed from the offspring of these migrants.[8] Particularly in theJiangnan region,Celestial Masters and the nobility of northern China subdued the nobility of southern China during the Jin dynasty.[9] Southern China overtook the north in population due to depopulation of the north and the migration of northern Chinese to southern China.[10][11] Different waves of migration of aristocratic Chinese from northern China to the south at different times resulted in distinct groups of aristocratic lineages.[12]
In 403,Huan Xuan, the son of esteemed generalHuan Wen, usurped the Jin throne and declared the dynasty ofHuan Chu. Huan Xuan was soon toppled byLiu Yu, who reinstated Jin rule by installing Sima Dezong on the throne, posthumously known asEmperor An. Meanwhile, the civilian administration suffered, as there were further revolts led by Sun En and Lu Xun, andWestern Shu became an independent kingdom underQiao Zong. In 419, Liu Yu had Sima Dezong strangled and replaced by his brother Sima Dewen, posthumously known asEmperor Gong. Finally, in 420, Sima Dewen abdicated in favour of Liu Yu, who declared himself the ruler of the newSong dynasty (which is referred to as the Liu Song dynasty by historians in order to prevent confusion with theSong dynasty established in 960). Sima Dewen was then asphyxiated with a blanket in the following year. In the north,Northern Liang, the last of theSixteen Kingdoms, was conquered byNorthern Wei in 439, ushering in theNorthern dynasties period.
The XianbeiNorthern Wei accepted the Jin refugeesSima Fei [zh] (司馬朏) andSima Chuzhi [zh] (司馬楚之). They both married Xianbei princesses. Sima Fei's wife was named Huayang (華陽公主), who was a daughter ofEmperor Xiaowen; Sima Chuzhi's son wasSima Jinlong, who married aNorthern Liang princess who was a daughter of theLushuihu kingJuqu Mujian.[13] More than fifty percent of Tuoba Xianbei princesses of the Northern Wei were married to southern Han Chinese men from the imperial families and aristocrats from southern China of theSouthern dynasties who defected and moved north to join the Northern Wei.[14] Much later,Sima Guang (1019–1086), who served aschancellor for theSong and created the comprehensive historyZizhi Tongjian, claimed descent from the Jin dynasty (specifically,Sima Fu, brother ofSima Yi).
Theuprising of the five barbarians led to one in eight northerners migrating to the south. These immigrants were calledqiaoren (僑人 'lodged people'), accounting for one-sixth of the population of the south at the time. With consideration of the material loss refugees had experienced before arrival, they were exempt from thediao (調) tax, and other services. Those whose registers were bound in white paper were calledbaiji (白籍), while the others with registers bound in yellow paper were calledhuangji (黃籍). When the crisis had subsided, this preferential increasingly seemed a heavy burden on the people, arousing dissatisfaction in the natives. Hence,tu duan was an increasingly important issue for the Eastern Jin.[clarification needed]
The Eastern Jin court established three levels of administrative divisions which served as strongholds for theqiaoren: theqiaozhou (僑州, 'province'),qiaojun (僑郡, 'commandery'), and qiaoxian (僑縣, the lodged county), these lodged administrative divisions were merely nominal without possessing actual domain, or rather, they were local government in exile; what could scarcely be denied was their significance in Jin's legitimacy for the northern territory as somewhat an announcement. Furthermore, it was also an action done to appease the refugees' homesickness, which was evoking their desire to reacquire what had been lost.
Ornamental plaque, Eastern Jin dynasty, Metropolitan Museum of Art.
During the rule of Emperor Yuan, Emperor Ming, and Emperor Cheng, the lodged administrative divisions were concentrated in the area south of the Huai River and the Lower Yangtze Plain. At first there was the lodged Langya Commandery within lodged Fei County in Jiankang, but when it began is not exactly known. Then the lodged Huaide County was also established in Jiankang, around 320. According to theBook of Song:
晉永嘉大亂，幽、冀、青、並、兗州及徐州之淮北流民，相率過淮，亦有過江在晉陵郡界者……又徙流民之在淮南者于晉陵諸縣，其徙過江南及留在江北者，並立僑郡縣以司牧之。徐、兗二州或治江北，江北又僑立幽、冀、青、並四州……(After Disaster of Yongjia, the refugees from You, Ji, Qing, Bing, Yan and Xu provinces came across the Huai River, some even came across the Yangtze River and stayed in Jinling Commandery... The lodged administrative divisions were established to govern them. The seats of Xu and Yan provinces perhaps were moved to the area north of the Yangtze River, where the lodged You, Ji, Qing, Bing provinces were established.)[15]
The lodged Pei, Qinghe, Xiapi, Dongguang, Pingchang, Jiyin, Puyang, Guangping, Taishan, Jiyang, and Lu commanderies were established when Emperor Ming ruled. The rebellions and invasions occurring in Jianghuai area led to more refugees switching to settle in the south of the Yangtze River, where the lodged Huainan Commandery was established afterwards.
However, carrying these out was more complex than the policy was formulated. Several actual counties were under the jurisdiction of the lodged commanderies.
A few lodged administrative divisions are still retained in China nowadays. For instance,Dangtu County was originally located in the area ofBengbu, however, the lodged Dangtu County was established in where it is now, and the latter replaced the former, inheriting its place name.
The Eastern Jin dynasty and contemporary Asian politiesc. 400
Thetu duan (土斷) is the abbreviation foryi tu duan (以土斷, means classifying people according to their present habitation to register). It was a policy to ensure the ancienthukou system working since the Western Jin. These terms were first recorded in the biographies of Wei Guan and Li Chong included in theBook of Jin:
Taoism was polarised in the Jin dynasty. The Jin emperors repressed Taoists harshly, but also tried to exploit it, given the way it had been used near the end of theHan era in theYellow Turban Rebellion. Amidst the political turmoil of the era, many successful merchants, small landowners, and other moderately comfortable people found great solace in Taoist teachings and a number of major clans and military officers also took up the faith.Ge Hong emphasized loyalty to the emperor as a Taoist virtue; he even taught that rebels could never be Taoist immortals,[18] which made Taoism more palatable to the imperial hierarchy. As a result, popular Taoist religions were consideredheterodoxy while the official schools of the court were supported, but the popular schools like TianshiTaoism were still secretly held dear and promulgated amongst ordinary people.[citation needed]
Disunity, disintegration, and chaos also made Buddhism more popular, in part due to the focus on addressing suffering. The Jin dynasty marked a critical era for theMahayana school in China.Dharmarakṣa's 286 translation of theLotus Sutra was the most important one beforeKumārajīva's 5th-century translation. It was said that there were 1,768 Buddhist temples in the Eastern Jin.[19]
Furthermore, Taoism advancedchemistry and medicine in China, whereas the contribution of Mahayana was concentrated inphilosophy and literature.[citation needed]
The Jin dynasty is well known for the quality of its greenishceladon porcelain wares, which immediately followed the development ofproto-celadon. Jar designs often incorporated animal, as well as Buddhist, figures.[20] Examples ofYue ware are also known from the Jin dynasty.[21]
^abTaagepera, Rein (1979). "Size and Duration of Empires: Growth-Decline Curves, 600 B.C. to 600 A.D.".Social Science History.3 (3/4): 128.JSTOR1170959.
^"Sima Rui"司马睿. Office of the Committee for Local Records, Jiangsu Province. 2014. Archived fromthe original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved28 January 2017.
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