What were the political systems in the Eastern Jin Dynasty?

political system

ruling class

The ruling class of the Jin Dynasty was mostly composed of the famous families in the Central Plains and the indigenous clans in the south of the Yangtze River who took refuge across the river, and there were differences in region and culture, which kept pushing each other out. During the more than one hundred years in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the clans in the Central Plains occupied the dominant position, while the clans in the South were always excluded. During the Yuan Di period, Beiyang Minister Wang Dao hoped to change this situation. He ran between the northern and southern clans, trying to persuade all ethnic groups to repair, but with little effect. Later, the clans in the south of the Yangtze River rebelled against the rule of the Eastern Jin Dynasty many times, which greatly shook the rule of the Eastern Jin Dynasty.

From the first year of Emperor Jin Yuan (3 17) to the third year of Emperor Jin An's Long 'an (399), the development of the Eastern Jin Dynasty was relatively stable. Although there were some rebellions during this period, they were all suppressed. In the last years of Yuan Di, Wang Dao's brother Wang Dun rose up against Jin, but was resisted by his brother Wang Dao and courtiers and failed. Later, Huan Wen once coveted the throne and was resisted by two families in Xie Wang. In 385 AD, Xie An, an important official in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, died of illness. Emperor Xiaowu of Jin Dynasty handed over power to his younger brother Sima Daozi, and he and his son Sima Yuan Xian were in charge of state affairs. Their tyrannical incompetence and wanton exploitation of the people gave the royal family an opportunity. In 398 AD, the allied forces of Wang Gong, Yin Zhongkan, Wakai and others, with Huan Xuan as the leader, occupied the counties west of Jiankang, which limited the rule of the imperial court to eight counties in the east and began to decline.

Huaqiaozhou county

When the northern gentry crossed to the south, they mainly belonged to the clan, the Hakka and the township party. Together with the powerful families, these refugees naturally became their dependent population, and most of them were annexed by the powerful families.

Most of these people who went south did not go to the hukou at first. Later, in order to maintain the feudal ruling order and protect the interests of the gentry who moved south, the Eastern Jin government set up overseas Chinese in places where immigrants concentrated, using their original names. Overseas Chinese have only one household registration, which is called overseas Chinese households. At first, overseas Chinese families enjoyed the preferential treatment of not serving the country, but later they paid less rent than ordinary families.

The establishment of overseas Chinese counties and counties is mainly to take care of the interests of the aristocratic families who moved south. On the one hand, it increases their status as officials. On the other hand, they control a large number of accounts without paying service rent, and their political and economic interests are taken care of.

economic development

During the Eastern Jin and Southern Dynasties, Jiangnan was further developed and its social economy developed greatly. The working people in the north are constantly moving south, which not only provides a large number of labor, but also brings advanced production tools and technologies.

The working people in the north and south learn from each other and work hard, which is an important reason for the economic development and prosperity in Jiangnan. First of all, economic development is manifested in agriculture. The cultivated land area is increasing day by day, and the farming technology has been greatly improved. It has been widely implemented in Niu Geng, and manure is also being popularized. The output per unit area has increased, such as wheat and rice. Will be popular in the north.

Jiangnan began to grow square crops. Agriculture in Sanwu area is particularly developed, and the construction of water conservancy projects is highly valued. People build weirs in the river to control the water level. When the river dries up, they will open the weirs to divert water for irrigation. If it is waterlogging, it will be closed to avoid flooding. Build a weir to surround the lake and cultivate a "lake field" with fertile soil and high yield. Therefore, Sanwu became the main grain producing area in the south of the Yangtze River.

Secondly, in handicraft industry, iron smelting workshops, such as Meigenye (now Guichi County, Anhui Province) and Tang Ye (now Wuchang, Hubei Province), are mostly production tools and household appliances except weapons. The technology has also made remarkable progress, creating a method of miscellaneous smelting raw bamboo, that is, mixing raw and cooked iron and hammering it repeatedly to become pure steel, and the reeling technology has been greatly improved. Zhang Yu County (now Nanchang, Jiangxi Province) harvested cocoons four or five times a year, and Yongjia County (now Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province) harvested cocoons eight times a year. The state has set up a special brocade department and gradually developed the silk industry. Due to the crisscross of rivers in the south of the Yangtze River, in order to meet the economic and military needs, the shipbuilding industry is particularly prosperous, which can not only manufacture large ships with a load of 20,000 tons, but also manufacture high-speed ships. Others, such as porcelain, paper, lacquerware, etc. , also has a high level. Economic development has promoted the prosperity of commerce and cities.

The capitals Jiankang (now Nanjing, Jiangsu) and Huiji (now Shaoxing, Zhejiang) were two central cities in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, which were very prosperous politically, economically and culturally, and became the distribution centers of agricultural and handicraft products everywhere. In addition, Jiangling, Jingkou, Xiangyang, Shouyang and Panyu are also famous commercial cities.

Science and technology culture

When the Eastern Jin Dynasty was established in the south of the Yangtze River, the northern part of China was controlled by Xianbei, Qiang and other ethnic minorities, which was called "Five Lakes and Sixteen Countries" in history. As ethnic minorities entered the Central Plains, they were more exposed to Chinese culture, which gradually developed into a nation with the same living habits as the Han nationality, and was later integrated by the Han nationality. Since Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the population structure in the northern part of the Central Plains, in which Han people predominate and other ethnic minorities live together, has made China a multi-ethnic country with similar living habits.

However, the Eastern Jin Dynasty made some achievements in literature, and all kinds of poems and songs flourished in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Famous writers include Xie Lingyun, Tao Yuanming, Wang Xizhi and others. There are also outstanding achievements in calligraphy and painting, such as the paintings of Gu Kaizhi, a native of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and the calligraphy of Wang Xizhi, all of which have high artistic value. The story background of Butterfly Lovers, one of the four great folklores in China, also happened in Huiji, a metropolis in the Eastern Jin Dynasty.

academic ideas

1956 Ruian Li 'ao Eastern Jin Tomb Unearthed

However, the Eastern Jin Dynasty made some achievements in literature, and all kinds of poems and songs flourished in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Famous writers include Xie Lingyun, Tao Yuanming, Wang Xizhi and others. There are also outstanding achievements in calligraphy and painting, such as the paintings of Gu Kaizhi, a native of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and the calligraphy of Wang Xizhi, all of which have high artistic value. The story background of Liang Zhu, one of the four great folklores in China, also happened in the Eastern Jin Dynasty.

Because the rulers of the Eastern Jin Dynasty settled in the south of the Yangtze River and had no intention of restoring the Central Plains, they devoted themselves to manor management in the south. Northern clans and a large number of Han Chinese migrated to the south of the Yangtze River, which provided more opportunities for celebrities in the south of the Yangtze River and promoted the development of social culture. Since Cao Wei, China's literary development has been in a period of great strides, among which the Eastern Jin literati are the most famous. Xie Lingyun, a landscape poet, and Tao Yuanming, an idyllic poet, appeared in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. They reformed the old-style poetry, which created a prerequisite for the prosperity of poetry in the Sui and Tang Dynasties. In terms of social production, the handicraft technology in the north and the technology in the south are integrated with each other, which makes the handicraft level in the Eastern Jin Dynasty much higher than that in the Western Jin Dynasty. Farmers in the north and indigenous farmers in the south made great efforts to explore the vast Shan Ye in the south, which promoted the development of the south of the Yangtze River and the economic development of the Yangtze River basin.