Jin Dynasty (265–420) - Foundation

Foundation

The Sima clan was initially subordinate to the Wei dynasty, but the clan's influence and power grew greatly after the incident at Gaoping tombs in 249. In 265, Sima Yan forced emperor Cao Huan of Wei to abdicate the throne to him, ending Wei and starting Jin (as Emperor Wu). 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 (present day 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 Wu Hu uprising 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 (ch: 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 (ch:方鎮 lit. 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 Southern and Northern Dynasties period of Chinese history.