Dynasties of ChinaWestern JinWestern Jin lineage
Taishi and others · Reign 266—290
The Wei Dynasty, Jianjin Dynasty, and Pingwu Dynasty unified China, ending nearly a hundred years of division. However, in his later years, he created a large number of clans and passed down the throne inhumanely, sowing the seeds of the Eight Kings Rebellion.
Sima Yan, courtesy name Anshi, was born in Wen County, Hanoi. He was the eldest son of Sima Zhao and his biological mother Wang Yuanji. He served as the Central Protector and General of the Fu Army in Cao Wei. In August 265, Sima Zhao died and he succeeded him as Prime Minister and King of Jin. In December (266 in the Gregorian calendar), he forced Wei Emperor YuanCao Huanabdication and became the emperor in Luoyang. The country was named Jin. It was changed to Yuan Taishi and was known as Western Jin in history. He granted Cao Huan the title of King of Chenliu, treated the Wei clan with courtesy, and made twenty-seven of the clan kings in one breath, hoping to protect the royal family with vassal kings.
Emperor Wu appointed Yang Hu, Du Yu, Zhang Hua and others to plan the expedition against Wu. In the winter of 279, the troops were divided into six groups. In March 280, Wang Jun's ship arrived at Jianye, and Sun Hao surrendered, ending the nearly one hundred years of division since the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty. After unification, he enacted the land occupation system and household adjustment system, and dismissed the state and county soldiers. Social production was restored for a time, and the household registration increased. It is known as the "Taikang Rule" in history. He also promulgated the "Taishi Code", established the Guozi School, and rectified the ritual and music system.
However, after Wu was defeated, Emperor Wu gradually became arrogant and neglectful. He selected five thousand people from the Wu palace to enter the palace, rode sheep carts and let them go where they wanted. He also indulged Wang Kai, Shi Chong and others in their extravagant fights for wealth. He ignored the advice of his ministers and insisted on passing the throne to the low-intelligence Crown Prince Sima Zhong, and forced away his prestigious younger brother Sima You. He also granted various titles to the clan kings, giving them military power. In April 290, he died of illness in Hanzhang Hall, Luoyang, at the age of fifty-five. He was assisted by his relative Yang Jun, and Western Jin immediately fell into the Eight Kings Rebellion.
Sima Yan inherited the legacy of his father and brother and succeeded the Wei and Jin Dynasties. He also destroyed Wu and unified it, ending nearly a hundred years of separatism. He promoted land occupation, household transfer, Taishi law and Guozixue, which restored the social economy and his achievements cannot be denied. However, after unification, he was complacent, indulged in pleasure, and indulged in the extravagance of the gentry. He enfeoffed the clan and granted military power, and insisted on passing the throne to the dull Crown Prince. This caused Western Jin to fall into chaos in the past ten years or so. Most historians comment on it as "the country was founded well, but not established well enough."
PoliticsSuccessor to the Jin Dynasty
In August, Sima Zhao died of illness, and Sima Yan succeeded him as prime minister and king of Jin. His father had made full preparations for the Wei Dynasty during his lifetime. He also used Jia Chong, Pei Xiu and others as his masterminds, and immediately began to take over the abdication.
Politicsaccession following abdication
In February 266 of the Gregorian calendar, he forced Wei Emperor YuanCao Huanabdication to assume the throne of emperor in the southern suburbs. The country was named Jin, changed to Yuan Taishi, and made Luoyang the capital. Cao Huan was named King Chenliu, and twenty-seven members of the clan were named kings at the same time.
DiplomacyThe Japanese came to offer gifts
According to "Jin Shu Emperor Wu Ji", in November of the second year of Taishi, the Japanese came to offer gifts. Tongshuo believes that this is the envoy sent by Queen Taiyu (Ilyu) of the Japanese Kingdom, which is in the same vein as the envoys of the Wei Dynasty recorded in "Three Kingdoms".
PoliticsMake Sima Zhong Crown Prince
He made his eldest son Sima Zhong the Crown Prince. Even though Emperor Wu knew that he was stupid, he still refused to change his ways. It was said that it was because his son Sima Yu was smart and Emperor Wu had high hopes for his grandchildren, so he insisted on letting Crown Prince succeed to the throne.
Politics"Taishi Law" was promulgated
It was revised by Jia Chong and others based on the old laws of the Han and Wei dynasties, with a total of 20 chapters and more than 600 articles. For the first time, it "approved the five observances to control crimes" and incorporated Confucian etiquette into the law. Du Yu and Zhang Fei annotated it, which became an important source of Northern and Southern Dynasties and Sui and Tang dynasties.
Lasting legacyThe Tang Code follows the "Taishi Code" series in style and spirit. Today, the study of ancient legal systems must still take the Jin Code as the starting point.
Science & technologyPei Xiu map
Sikong Pei Xiu presided over the compilation of eighteen chapters of "Yugong Regional Map". In the preface, he proposed the "Six Cartographic Elements" of dividing rate, quasi-wang, daoli, high and low, square evil and roundabout, and systematically summarized the principles of map drawing.
Lasting legacy"Fraction" is equivalent to the scale in today's cartography, and the "Six Elements of Cartography" is regarded as the theoretical basis of ancient Chinese cartography.
PeopleYang Hu Town Xiangyang
Yang Hu served as the commander-in-chief of all military affairs in Jingzhou. He guarded Xiangyang for ten years, cultivated fields and accumulated grains, and treated the Wu people with kindness and trust. He also wrote many times to state the plan to defeat Wu, making full preparations for the future defeat of Wu.
MilitaryChaos in the functions of the bald tree
The leader of Xianbei, Tufa Shuji, raised troops in Qin and Liang states, killed the governor of Liangzhou, and besieged the counties of Liangzhou, causing a shock in the northwest. In 279, Ma Long recruited 3,000 warriors, used homemade sidecars to fight, killed Shu Jie Feng, and pacified Liangzhou.
CultureEstablished Guozixue
In the second year of Xianning, an additional Guozixue was established in addition to Taixue, which specifically admitted the children of officials with fifth rank or above to enroll, and created a specialized school for the children of nobles, integrating the family status of the gentry with the official academic system.
Lasting legacyFrom then on, the Guozixue and Guozijian of successive dynasties continued in one continuous line until the end of the Qing Dynasty; the Guozijian in Beijing today is a relic of its Ming & Qing period.
MilitaryPut down Soochow
Emperor Wu adopted the suggestions of Yang Hu, Du Yu, and Zhang Hua. In the winter of 279, he sent more than 200,000 troops to attack Wu in six directions. Wang Junlou's ship sailed down the river from Bashu, and Sun Hao surrendered in March 280. The Three Kingdoms were unified, and more than 500,000 Dongwu households and 230,000 soldiers were merged into the territory of Western Jin.
CultureBamboo calligraphy unearthed from Jizhong
The people of Jijun were not allowed to rob the tomb of King Xiang of Wei in the Warring States period (some say King Anli). They obtained dozens of carts of bamboo slips, which were compiled by Xunxu, Heqiao, Shuxi, etc., and more than ten kinds of ancient books were released, such as "Bamboo Book Annals" and "Mu Tianzi Biography".
Lasting legacyThe "Bamboo Book Annals" was originally lost, but now there is a compiled version; the "Biography of Emperor Mu" is still circulated to this day and is an important document for studying the history of Early China.
EconomyField occupation and household transfer
After the Ping Wu Dynasty, a land occupation system was enacted: men were assigned 70 acres of land, women were assigned 30 acres, and men were assigned 50 acres of land. The household adjustment system stipulated that each household should be taxed with three pieces of silk and three pounds of cotton. The state and county soldiers were also dismissed, so that the people returned to farming. In the early years of Taikang, the number of registered households nationwide increased significantly.
Culture"Three Kingdoms" written by Chen Shou
Chen Shou, an old minister of the Shu Han Dynasty, served as a writer in Western Jin. After the victory of Wu, he compiled the "Three Kingdoms Chronicles" in sixty-five volumes. Wei was the orthodox and the Three Kingdoms were narrated separately. The writing style is concise. It is the most important official history recording the history of the Three Kingdoms.
Lasting legacy"Three Kingdoms", "Historical Records", "Hanshu" and "Later Hanshu" are collectively called the "First Four Histories". They are the basic historical materials for understanding Three Kingdoms today and are also the main basis for "The Romance of Three Kingdoms".
SocietyShi Chong Wang Kai fights against wealth
Wang Kai, a relative, and Shi Chong, a Weiwei officer, competed to show off their wealth. Wang Kai used sugar water to wash pots and purple silk steps for forty miles, while Shi Chong used candles as firewood and brocade steps for fifty miles to resist. Emperor Wu once gave Wang Kai a coral tree, but Shi Chong smashed it into pieces and took a larger one as compensation.
SocietySelect people from Wu Palace to enter the palace
In the second year of Taikang, an imperial edict was issued to select 5,000 people from the Sun Hao Palace to enter the palace. Emperor Wu favored him too much and often traveled around the palace in a sheep cart, sleeping wherever the sheep were parked. The palace people put bamboo branches in front of the door and sprinkled salt water to attract the sheep, which became the so-called "sheep cart looking for luck" in later generations.
PeopleDeath of King Qiyou
Emperor Wu's younger brother Sima You has outstanding talents, and many people in the government and the public are interested in his succession. In order to protect the Crown Prince, Emperor Wu ordered King Qi to return to the country. Sima You petitioned to mourn for his mother, but was not allowed.
PoliticsDied of illness in Luoyang
He died of illness in Hanzhang Hall in April at the age of fifty-five. Yang Jun, the father of Empress Yang Zhi, took the opportunity to control the government and forged a posthumous edict to exclude Sima Liang, the king of Runan. The following year, a dispute broke out between Empress Jia and the kings, and the Eight Kings Rebellion began.
Sima Zhao's confidant once ordered Cheng Ji to assassinate Cao Mao and presided over the revision of "Taishi Law". After the establishment of Western Jin, he rose to the rank of Taiwei, and his daughter Jia Nanfeng married Crown Prince Sima Zhong and became the future Emperor Hui.
He guarded Xiangyang for ten years, cultivated fields and accumulated grains, treated the Wu people with virtue, and made many efforts to attack Wu. On his deathbed, he recommended Du Yu to replace him. After Wu was defeated, Emperor Wu burst into tears and said, "This is the merit of Grand Tutor Yang."
After Yang Hu was the governor of Jingzhou, he conquered Jiangling during the expedition against Wu and inspired the generals with "like breaking bamboo". He claims to have "Zuo Zhuan addiction", and his "Spring and Autumn period Zuo Shi Jing Zhuan" is the earliest existing complete annotated version of "Zuo Zhuan".
The governor of Yizhou was ordered to build large buildings and ships in the middle of Shu. During the expedition against Wu, he led his navy down the river eastward, burned the iron locks blocking the river, and was the first to arrive in Jianye to accept Sun Hao's surrender.
He was born in a humble family but was very knowledgeable. He praised Emperor Wu for his contribution to the conquest of Wu and his overall planning. He also compiled "Natural History". When Emperor Hui returned, he was in charge of the government together with Pei Wei and others. King Zhao Sima Lun was killed during the coup.
The younger brother of Emperor Wu, he succeeded his uncle Sima Shi and was granted the title of King Qi. He had outstanding talents and was favored by both the government and the public for his succession. In 283, he was forced to leave the country. He fell ill due to worry and anger, and died of vomiting blood.
Assisted Emperor Wu to establish the etiquette and official system of the Jin Dynasty, and became an official. He presided over the compilation of the "Yugong Regional Map" and proposed the "Six Elements of Cartography", which laid the theoretical foundation for ancient Chinese cartography.
It is said that Shi Bao's son made rich by plundering merchants during his tenure in Jingzhou, built Jingu Garden, and competed with Wang Kai for wealth. Later, he offended Sun Xiu by doting on his concubine Luzhu and was killed by King Sima Lun of Zhao.