A weak central government - The rebellions of the eight princes - Rebellions among the people - The intrusion of Non-Chinese peoples - The escape to the south ("east") - Mighty clans control the imperial house - The downfall of the house of Sima A weak central government The Jin Dynasty, founded by Sima Yan 司馬炎 (posthumous Jin Wudi 晉武帝 - see titles of emperors), emanated from the power struggles of the aristocracy at the top of the Cao-Wei 曹魏 empire and thus inherited the whole political and administrative system of this Three-Kingdom empire, including their weaknesses, especially the lacking power over the state territory and the related taxes. While the social layer of the aristocracy (shijia dazu 世家大族, haozu 豪族, or shizu 士族) during the Eastern Han Dynasty was simultaneously the social group that possessed most of the land and took over the government offices because of their Confucian education, the educated groups of the Wei and Western Jin Dynasties did not that actively take part in the central government like before. The decay of the Confucian education and the Confucian central government lead to an attitude of the aristocracy that kept them rather back on their homelands and their fortified manors (wubao 塢保) than to engage in government policies. The family Sima had therefore far less intellectual background and support than the Han rulers before. Furthermore, the tendency of independent peasants to escape the heavy burden of taxes and corvée labor and to hire themselves as tenant farmers or even to sell themselves as slaves resulted in a very small financial base for the central government as only self-employed and independent farmers could be taxed. The area southeast of the lower Yangtse reaches (Jiangdong 江東) was nominally reigned by the Jin Dynasty. The factual power instead remained by the local magnates and estate owners. The Sun-Wu Dynasty had granted them generous freedom in political and fiscal questions, and the Sima rulers followed this pattern to win the nominal support of the southern gentry. The paramount victory of Sima Yan during the power struggles among the aristocracy of the later period of the Cao-Wei empire lead to a deepgoing neglecting of the expansion of the own power after his throne accession. Instead of further disempowering other clans, Sima Yan generously bestowed titles and princedoms (wangguo 王國) to members of his own family. These princes were even allowed to maintain their own armies. This situation crucially contributed to the disintegrating of the Jin empire after Sima Yan’s death. The rebellions of the eight princes The fifteen years of power struggles inside the Sima clan – by historians called the “rebellions of the eight princes” (Bawang zhi luan 八王之亂; numerated down) indirectly lead to the downfall of the western Jin Dynasty 西晉. Already during the lifetime of Sima Yan, the court officials disagreed about the question who should be the heir apparent, either Sima Yan’s younger brother Sima You 司馬攸 – who died untimely -, or Yan’s son Sima Zhong 司馬衷 (posthumous Jin Huidi 晉惠帝 - see titles of emperors). The new emperor, Sima Zhong, was supported by Yang Jun 楊駿, a relative of his mother. His wife Empress Jia 賈后 tried to shovel important government posts on to her own clan, a pattern of behaviour already in use during the Han Dynasty. Im 291 she allowed Sima Wei 司馬瑋 (1) Prince of Chu 楚) to enter the capital with his troops to extirpate the Yang clan. Together with Wei Guan 衛瓘, Sima Liang 司馬亮 (2) Prince of Runan 汝南) took over the governmental tasks. On order of the Empress, Sima Wei killed the new regent, but he was soon eliminated by the Empress himself. The important governmental posts were filled now with members and supporters of the Jia clan, like Jia Mo 賈模, Jia Mi 賈謐, Zhang Hua 張華, Pei Wei 裴頠, and Wang Rong 王戎. When the Empress had killed the crown prince Sima Yu 司馬遹 in 300 – who was not her own son, the other princes began their rebellion. Sima Tong 司馬彤 (Prince of Liang 梁) and Sima Lun 司馬倫 (3) Prince of Zhao 趙) entered the capital Luoyang 洛陽 and effaced the Empress and her followers. Sima Lun took over the civil and military government and tried to make himself emperor in 301. Another group of princes under the leadership of Sima Jiong 司馬冏 (4) Prince of Qi 齊), among them Sima Yin 司馬穎 (5) Prince of Chengdu 成都) and Sima Yong 司馬顒 (6) Prince of Hejian 河間), rehabilitated the defenseless emperor Sima Zhong. Sima Jiong took over the crucial government functions. When the crown prince Sima Shang 司馬尚 died in 302 without heir, Sima Jiong installed the minor Sima Tan 司馬覃 as heir apparent. This action provoked a new rebellion, this time lead by Sima Yong, Sima Xin 司馬歆 (Duke of Xinye 新野), and Sima Xiao 司馬虓 (Prince of Fanyang 范陽). Sima Yi 司馬乂 (7) Prince of Changsha 長沙) killed Sima Jiong and took over the government functions in Luoyang. The year 303 brought a dramatical increase in belligerent acitivites. With an enormous army, Sima Ying and Sima Yong beleaguered the capital Luoyang. Sima Yue司馬越 (8) Prince of Donghai 東海) killed Sima Yi and took over the government, residing at his come town in. To have a grip on the capital, he installed an army in Luoyang. The attempt of Sima Yue, Sima Chi 司馬熾 (Prince of Yuzhang 豫章), and Sima Fan 司馬范 (Prince of Xiangyang 襄陽), to overthrow Sima Yue, failed. The next attempt to topple him came from the side of Sima Teng 司馬騰 (Duke of Dongying 東瀛), and Wang Jun 王浚, regional inspector (cishi 刺史) of Youzhou 幽州. They made use of armies staffed with Non-Chinese Wuhuan 烏桓 and Xianbi 鮮卑 soldiers. Sima Ying now kidnapped the helpless emperor Sima Zhong and abducted him to Chang’an 長安 (modern Xi’an). Sima Chi took over the regency for the high-jacked emperor. Only in 306, Sima Yue could subdue Sima Ying and finally made an end of the power struggles. Sima Zhong, the emperor, was welcomed back to Luoyang, but he died in the same year. Rebellions among the people During the twelve and more years of power struggle at the court of the Jin Dynasty, the normal agrarian population was afflicted by distress, calamities and hunger. Many peasants had left their fields or the field they had rented, and roamed around the country (thus called „floating people“ liumin 流民) in the search for food and labour. In the northwest, numerous Non-Chinese immigrants from the Di 氐, Xianbei 鮮卑, Qiang 羌, and Xiongnu 匈奴 peoples had settled among the Chinese population since more than a decade. Since the 290es, numerous rebellions against the disintegrating central government of the Jin Dynasty took place. Zhang Chang 張昌 occupied a vast territory in modern Hubei, Qiu Shen 丘沈 called himself Liu Ni 劉尼 and regarded himself as a successor of the great Han Dynasty 漢. He ruled over the whole area of the middle and lower Yangtse River. Similar popular rebellions was undertaken and lead by Wang Ru 王如, Pang Shi 龐實, Hou Tuo 侯脫, Li Xiang 李驤, and Du Tao 杜韜. In Sichuan, the Non-Chinese Li Te 李特 and his descendants founded the first of a line of Non-Chinese “barbarian” kingdoms and empires the should occupy the north of China for more than one century, as successors of the Western Jin Dynasty. The intrusion of Non-Chinese peoples Already during the end of Eastern Han Dynasty 東漢 and the following power vacuum that filled the northwest and west of China, numerous Non-Chinese tribes penetrated into areas that had already been inhabited by Chinese settlers. During the Cao-Wei Dynasty 曹魏, Non-Chinese tribes were even invited to settle within the Chineses borders to compensate the population deficit that had accrued during the previous warfare activities. People like the Xiongnu 匈奴, Qiang 羌 (relatives to the Tibetians), Di 氐, Xianbi 鮮卑 (Murong 慕容, Yuwen 宇文, Duan 段, Tuoba 拓拔, Qifu 乞伏, Tuyuhun 吐谷渾) and Wuhuan 烏桓 more and more became accustomed to Chinese language and customs. In the first years of the Jin Dynasty, many of these tribes were enlisted in the normal household registers (bianhu 編戶) and had to pax taxes, duties and corvée labor. Sometimes discriminated, these foreign peoples started rebellions against their Chinese suppressors, like Tufa Shuji 禿髮樹機 (Xianbei) in 270, Liu Meng 劉猛 (Xiongnu) in 279, and She San 赦散 (Xiongnu) in 294. The court of the Jin forged plans to resettle these peoples in their original homelands. During the rebellions of the Eight Princes, many of the warlords engaged Non-Chinese soldiers – similar to the Romans in the West whose armies consisted of more than 50 percent of German mercenaries. The Xiongnu ruler Liu Yuan 劉淵 was bestowed with Chinese military titles before he made himself King of Han and finally Emperor of Han in 308. His follower, the Qiang chieftain Shi Le 石勒 was employed as „conquerer of the east“. Shi Le should become one of the mightiest and ruthless sixteen “barbarian” rulers and dynasty founders that should govern the north for the next hundred and twenty years as Sixteen Kingdoms of the Five Barbarian Tribes (Wuhu Shiliuguo 五胡十六國). The increasing drive of conquest and the rebellions of the Non-Chinese population in the north against the Jin Dynasty lead to an enourmous exodus of Chinese peasants, landowners, and aristocrats to the south, especially into the lower Yangtse area. Many peasants literally ran for their life ("qihuo 乞活"). The fleeing landowners took with them their whole household including slaves, servants, and tenant farmers working on their fields. The imperial household was evacuated relatively late, in 310, when the “barbarians” had already crossed the Yellow River and beleaguered the capital Luoyang. Lead by Sima Yue 司馬越, Sima Fan 司馬范, and Wang Yan 王衍, the number of the surviving members of the imperial clan was reduced seriously. Emperor Sima Chi (posthumous Jin Huaidi 晉懷帝 - see titles of emperors) who planned to escape to Chang’an, was killed. Sima Rui 司馬睿 (Prince of Langye 琅邪) quickly enthroned Sima Ye 司馬鄴 (Prince of Qin 秦) as the new ruler. He subjected to the Xiongnu chieftain Liu Yao 劉曜 but was killed in 317 (posthumous Jin Mindi 晉愍帝 - see titles of emperors). In 318, Sima Rui continued the rule of the Jin Dynasty as new emperor from the south (posthumous Jin Yuandi 晉元帝 - see titles of emperors), from the old Wu 吳 capital Jianye 建業 (or Jiankang 建康; modern Nanjing). According to the examples of the Zhou 東周 and Han Dynasties 東漢 that both started in the west and ended in the east, the unbroken rulership of the Jin Dynasty was euphemistically called Eastern Jin 東晉 instead of “Southern Jin”. The escape to the south („east“) Together with the surviving ministers of the central government and the imperial clan (zongshi 宗室), numerous landowning families of the aristocracy (tuzu 土族) from northern China had fled to the more secure area of the River Huai 淮 and to the Yangtse delta. Most of them carried their family registers (jiapu 家譜) with them to testify later – in the case they could return to the north – that they had been owners of large estates. In the first decades after the exodus and escape to the south, the household registers of the northern immigrants were seen as provisional and were therefore written on paper that was not treated with the yellow conservant chemical – hence the difference between the yellow household registers (huangji 黃籍) of the southeners and the white household registers (baiji 白籍) of the northern immigrants. Together with the imperial clan, most of the highest officials at the court of Jianye like Zhou Ji 周玘, Wang Dao 王導, and Diao Xie 刁協 were members of the northern aristocracy and the northern magnates. Southeners suddenly saw themselves ruled by foreign clans that came from the north. Scores of local uprisings against the new Eastern Jin officials occurred during the next decades. A very important target not only of the ruling class, but also among the refugees and the intellectuals was to conquer back the north of China. Some of the military campaigns could gain back important territories, like the campaign of Zu Ti 祖逖 in 310 who conquered the River Huai region, the destruction of the Cheng-Han 成漢 empire in modern Sichuan in 346, or the conquest of a great part of modern Shandong by Liu Yu 劉裕. After the victorious battle of Feishui 淝水 (often falsely written 肥水; between modern Hefei 合肥 and Huainan 淮南/Anhui) in 383, the frontier between Eastern Jin and Former Qin 前秦 became a stable border for a long time. Mighty clans control the imperial house The political history of Eastern Jin is characterized by changing constellation of powerful clans and their represantants. These clans all belonged to the immigrated northern aristocracy. The first phase is dominated by the family Wang from the old Langye 琅邪 (Wang Dao 王導, Wang Dun 王敦), the second phase by the Yu clan from Yingchuan 穎川 (Yu Liang 庾亮), the third phase by the Huan clan from Qiao 譙 (Huan Wen 桓溫), and finally the fourth phase by the Xie clan from Chen 陳 (Xie Shang 謝尚, Xie An 謝安, and Xie Xuan 謝玄, the victor of Feishui). Some of these potentates were real challengers of the imperial throne like Wang Dun who tried to make himself emperor in 323 or Huan Wen who dethroned Sima Yi 司馬奕 (Duke of Haixi 海西) in 371 and nominated Sima Yu 司馬昱 as emperor (posthumous Jin Jianwendi 晉簡文帝 - see titles of emperors). Huan Wen’s power was crushed by the new emperor who did not want to install Huan Wen as prince regent but installed Sima Yao as his successor (posthumous Jin Xiaowudi 晉孝武帝 - see titles of emperors). Except the mighty clans, some rebellions and insurgencies endangered the imperial power like the uprising of Su Jun 蘇峻 who occupied and devastated the capital in 328. The downfall of the house of Sima Although Sima Daozi 司馬道子 and Sima Yuanxian 司馬元顯 were able to assure the central position of the imperial power of their family, the last years of the Eastern Jin Dynasty are marked by constant power struggles of the imperial house with the occupants of government posts. Chancellors, regional inspectors, generals and ministers like Wang Guobao 王國寶, Wang Gong 王恭, and Yin Zhongkan 殷仲堪 fought for influence and power, even forging coalitions with members of the imperial clan. During these years, the decisive rebellion was the religious-led movements of Sun En 孫恩 and Lu Xun 盧循 in 399 resp. in 412. Sun En was head of a daoist rebellion whose ideas originated in the sect of the Five-Pecks-of-Grain (Wudoumidao 五斗米道). Many of the local magnates who felt suppressed by the northern immigrant regime sympathized with the rebellion. Although Sun En and later Lu Xun were not able to conquer the capital, there was an opportunity for Huan Xuan 桓玄 to occupy Jiankang and to make himself emperor of Chu 楚. General Liu Yu 劉裕 who was famous for his successful campaigns against the northern kingdoms, overthrew Huan Xuan and installed Sima Dezong 司馬德宗 as emperor (posthumous Jin Andi 晉安帝 - see titles of emperors). He was rewarded with the title of Prince of Song 宋. He killed Sima Dezong and made his brother Sima Dewen 司馬德文 (posthumous Jin Gongdi 晉恭帝) emperor. The next year, he dethroned this last Sima and founded his own dynasty named Song in 420.

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