Jin dynasty (265–420)

Jin dynasty
晉朝
←   ← 265–420 →   →
Western Jin dynasty circa 280 AD
Capital		Luoyang (265–311) Chang'an (312–316) Jiankang (317–420)
Languages		Old Chinese
Religion		Buddhism, Daoism, Confucianism, Chinese folk religion
Government		Monarchy
Emperor
•	265–290 AD	Emperor Wu of Jin
•	419–420 AD	Emperor Gong of Jin
History
•	Establishment	265
•	Reunification of China under Jin rule	280
•	Jin evacuates to region south of the Huai River, Eastern Jin begins	317
•	Abdication to Liu Song	420
Population
•	300 est.	35,000,000
Currency		Chinese coin, Cash
Today part of		China (PRC), Vietnam, Mongolia

Jin dynasty
Traditional Chinese	晉朝
Simplified Chinese	晋朝
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Jìn cháo Wade–Giles Chin^4 ch'ao^2 IPA [tɕîn ʈʂʰǎu̯] Gwoyeu Romatzyh Jinn chaur Yue: Cantonese Jyutping Zeon^3 ciu^4 Yale Romanization Jeun chìuh Southern Min Tâi-lô Tsìn tiâu Middle Chinese Middle Chinese Tsìn ɖjew

Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove, an Eastern Jin tomb painting from Nanjing, now located in the Shaanxi Provincial Museum.

The Jin dynasty (Chinese: 晉朝; pinyin: Jìn cháo, IPA: [tɕîn tʂʰɑ̌ʊ]) was a Chinese dynasty lasting between the years AD 265 to 420. There are two main divisions in the history of the dynasty, the first being Western Jin (西晉, 265–316) and the second Eastern Jin (東晉, 317–420). Western Jin was founded by Sima Yan, with its capital at Luoyang, while Eastern Jin was begun by Sima Rui, with its capital at Jiankang. The two periods are also known as Liang Jin (兩晉; literally: two Jin) and Sima Jin (司馬晉) by scholars, to distinguish this dynasty from other dynasties that use the same Chinese character, such as the Later Jin dynasty (後晉).

Foundation

The Sima clan was initially subordinate to the Wei dynasty, but the clan's influence and power grew greatly after the coup d'état in 249 known as the incident at Gaoping Tombs. In 263, Sima Zhao unified the lands of Shu and captured Liu Shan, which was followed a year later by Zhong Hui's Rebellion.

In 265, Sima Yan forced Emperor Cao Huan of Wei to abdicate the throne to him, ending Wei and founding the Jin. Sima Yan was enthroned as Emperor Wu of Jin. He named his dynasty after the state of Jin of the Spring and Autumn period that once ruled the Sima clan's home county of Wen in Henei (modern Wen County, Henan). In 280, the Jin conquered Eastern Wu and unified China, but internal conflicts, corruption and political turmoil quickly weakened the dynasty, and the unification lasted only ten years. Upon the advent of the second Jin emperor, Emperor Hui, various imperial princes tried to grab power in the devastating War of the Eight Princes. The Uprising of the Five Barbarians followed, during which large numbers of refugees fled south while the north was occupied by various nomadic groups. This marked the end of the Western Jin dynasty in 316 when the Jin court evacuated to the region south of the Huai River, and the beginning of the Eastern Jin and the Sixteen Kingdoms period.

Sima Rui founded the Eastern Jin at Jiankang in 317, with its territory stretching across most of today's southern China. The combination of the Eastern Jin and Sixteen Kingdoms period is sometimes called the "Eastern Jin Sixteen Kingdoms" (東晉十六國). During this period, huge numbers of people moved south from the central plain, stimulating the development of Southern China. The Emperors of Eastern Jin had limited power, owing to their dependence on the support of both local and refugee noble families which possessed military power. These families included the Wang family, including the chancellor Wang Dao, and the Xie family of Xie An and Xie Xuan. Many fangzhen (方鎮; literally: military county) started to have ambitions which resulted in military revolts, like the rebellions of Wang Dun, Su Jun, and the dictatorship of Huan Wen. Even though there was the stated goal of getting back the "northern lost lands", paranoia within the royal family and a constant string of disruptions to the throne caused the loss of support of many officials.

In 383, Former Qin mobilized its troops and intended to conquer Eastern Jin. Faced by the threat of invasion, many Jin officials cooperated hoping to repel the attack. After the battle of Fei river, Xie An, Xie Xuan, and other generals were able to push back the Qin's assault and seized back a huge amount of territory from their enemy. However, more internal political battles from different groups of officials followed Huan Xuan's usurpation of the throne. As civilian administration suffered, more revolts from Sun En, Lu Xun, and the declaration of a new kingdom called Western Shu by the militarist Qiao Zong in Eastern Jin's Shu region. Ultimately, Liu Yu's rise ended major chaos and later he took the throne for himself, marking the ending of the Jin dynasty and the start of the Liu Song dynasty, and the Northern and Southern dynasties period of Chinese history.

History

Hunping jar of the Western Jin, with Buddhist figures.

The Western Jin dynasty (西晉, 265–316) was founded by Emperor Wu, better known as Sima Yan. Although it provided a brief period of unity after conquering Eastern Wu in 280, the Jin suffered a devastating civil war, War of the Eight Princes, after which they could not contain the revolt of nomadic tribes known as the Wu Hu.

The capital, Luoyang was captured in 311 by Liu Cong, and Emperor Huai was captured and later executed. His successor, Emperor Min was also captured in Chang'an in 316, and later executed. The remnants of the Jin court fled to the east and reestablished the government at Jiankang, near modern-day Nanjing, under a member of the royal family.^[1]

This Prince of Langye was proclaimed the Emperor Yuan of the Eastern Jin dynasty (東晉, 317–420) when news of the fall of Chang'an reached the south. (The rival Wu Hu states in the north, which did not recognize the legitimacy of Jin, would sometimes refer to it as "Langye".)

Eastern Jin c. 400 AD

Military crises, such as the rebellions of generals Wang Dun and Su Jun, plagued the Eastern Jin throughout its 104 years of existence. However, the Battle of Fei River turned out to be a major Jin victory, due to the short-lived cooperation of Huan Chong, brother of a great general Huan Wen, and Prime Minister Xie An. Later, Huan Xuan, son of Huan Wen, usurped the throne and changed the dynasty's name to Chu. He, in turn, was toppled by Liu Yu, who after reinstating Emperor An, ordered him strangled and installed his brother, Emperor Gong, in 419.

Emperor Gong abdicated in 420 in favor of Liu Yu, ushering in the Liu Song dynasty the first of the Southern dynasties. The Jin Dynasty thus came to an end.

Meanwhile, North China was ruled by the Sixteen Kingdoms, many of which were founded by the Wu Hu. The last of these, Northern Liang, was conquered by the Northern Wei dynasty in 439, ushering in the Northern dynasties period.

Jin ceramics

Yue ware with motif, 3rd century CE, Western Jin, Zhejiang.

The Jin dynasty is well known for the quality of its greenish celadon porcelain wares, which immediately followed the development of proto-celadon. Jar designs often incorporated animal, as well as Buddhist, figures.^[2]

Examples of Yue ware are also known from the Jin dynasty.^[3]

• 

  Celadon lion-shaped bixie, Western Jin, 265–317 CE.

• 

  Celadon lian bowl with Buddhist figures, Western Jin, 265–317 CE.

• 

  Celadon jar, Eastern Jin, 317–420 CE.

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  Celadon jar with brown spots, Eastern Jin, 317-420 CE.

Imperial Family

Sima Fei (司馬朏) was a descendant of the Jin dynasty royalty who fled north to the Xianbei Northern Wei in exile and married the Xianbei Princess Huayang (華陽公主), the daughter of Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei.

The Song dynasty chancellor Sima Guang (1019–1086) was descended from the Jin Imperial family.

List of emperors

Posthumous names	Family name and given names	Durations of reigns	Era names and their according range of years
Chinese convention: "Jin" + posthumous name + "di"
Western Jin dynasty 265–316
Wu Di	Sima Yan	266–290	Taishi 266–274 Xianning 275–280 Taikang 280–289 Taixi January 28, 290 – May 17, 290
Hui Di	Sima Zhong	290–307	Yongxi May 17, 290 – February 15, 291 Yongping February 16 – April 23, 291 Yuankang April 24, 291 – February 6, 300 Yongkang February 7, 300 – February 3, 301 Yongning June 1, 301 – January 4, 303 Taian January 5, 303 – February 21, 304 Yongan February 22 – August 15, 304; December 25, 304 – February 3, 305 Jianwu August 16 – December 24, 304 Yongxing February 4, 305 – July 12, 306 Guangxi July 13, 306 – February 19, 307
none	Sima Lun	301	Jianshi February 3 – June 1, 301
Huai Di	Sima Chi	307–311	Yongjia 307 – 313
Min Di	Sima Ye	313–316	Jianxing 313–317
Eastern Jin dynasty 317–420
Yuan Di	Sima Rui	317–323	Jianwu 317–318 Taixing 318–322 Yongchang 322–323
Ming Di	Sima Shao	323–325	Taining 323–326
Cheng Di	Sima Yan	325–342	Xianhe 326–335 Xiankang 335–342
Kang Di	Sima Yue	342–344	Jianyuan 343–344
Mu Di	Sima Dan	344–361	Yonghe 345–357 Shengping 357–361
Ai Di	Sima Pi	361–365	Longhe 362–363 Xingning 363–365
Fei Di	Sima Yi	365–372	Taihe 365–372
Jianwen Di	Sima Yu	372	Xianan 372–373
Xiaowu Di	Sima Yao	372–396	Ningkang 373–375 Taiyuan 376–396
An Di	Sima Dezong	396–419	Longan 397–402 Yuanxing 402–405 Yixi 405–419
Gong Di	Sima Dewen	419–420	Yuanxi 419–420

Major events

• Battle of Fei River
• Butterfly Lovers
• War of the Eight Princes
• Wu Hu people

See also

• Chinese sovereign
• Ge Hong
• List of tributaries of Imperial China
• Liu Song dynasty
• Northern dynasties
• Northern Wei dynasty
• Romance of the Three Kingdoms
• Six Dynasties
• Sixteen Kingdoms
• Southern dynasties

References

Citations

1. Grousset, Rene (1970). The Empire of the Steppes. Rutgers University Press. pp. 56–57. ISBN 0-8135-1304-9.
2. Shanghai Museum permanent exhibit
3. Guimet Museum permanent exhibit

Sources

• Gernet, Jacques (1990). Le monde chinois. Paris: Armand Colin.

External links

• Chinese History, the Jin Dynasty 晉
• Largest Jin Dynasty Tomb Discovered in NW China
• Early Imperial China: A Working Collection of Resources
• History of China: A good catalogue of info