Why was the Western Jin Dynasty so short-lived? Was the Western Jin Dynasty really weak?

The Western Jin Dynasty was a short-lived unified dynasty between the Three Kingdoms and the Southern and Northern Dynasties in Chinese history. Guozuo lasted only 50 years from 266 to 316, and in this short 50 years, it also experienced 16 years. After the Eight Kings Rebellion, and then the Xiongnu invasion, it can be said that the stable life lasted only about twenty years. This is a joke for a unified dynasty. So why was the Western Jin Dynasty so short-lived?

1. Sima Yi’s bloody massacre of the Liao Dynasty laid the foundation for disaster: Sima Yi was the founder of the Western Jin Dynasty. In the later period of Wei Ming Emperor Cao Rui, Wei’s talents were withering, and there were fewer and fewer generals who were good at fighting. Sima Yi had to be valued In 237 AD, Gongsun Yuan, the governor of Liaodong, rebelled and claimed to be King of Yan. He established a reign and appointed hundreds of officials. Cao Rui sent Sima Yi to quell the rebellion. After nearly a year of war, Sima Yi captured and killed Gongsun Yuan. Logically speaking, he should punish the culprit. That's it, but Sima Yi showed his extremely cruel side in this war. Not only did he behead thousands of Gongsun Yuan's subordinates and set them up as a "Jingguan", but there was also a bloody massacre wherever Sima Yi's army passed. Liaodong The people in the four counties of Daifang, Daifang, Lelang and Xuantu were brutally massacred, and Liaodong was completely wiped out. Without the Liaodong defense line that had been painstakingly managed for more than 400 years since Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the barbarians in the Northeast rose rapidly and later became a serious trouble in the Central Plains. For example, Xianbei, who later caused trouble in the Central Plains for 400 years, came from the Northeast.

2. The nine-level Zhongzheng system leads to centrifugation between the upper and lower levels: The nine-level Zhongzheng system originated from the Wei State during the Three Kingdoms period. This system only looks at family background, not talent. People with noble births can be officials from generation to generation. As a wealthy family in Hanoi, the Sima family has been humbled for generations. They have enjoyed many benefits of this system, and even became emperor thanks to this system. However, the Sima family is so obsessed with this system that no matter what they do, In everything, the parentage is checked first, and then officials are selected. The final result was that the imperial court of the Western Jin Dynasty was filled with nobles. These nobles enjoyed superior living conditions and naturally had no bearing on the life and death of the common people. In the end, a scene where the wealthy and famous families had splendid homes while the common people were displaced. As a result, the resistance among the people became more and more intense. Frequently, the foundation of the political power is not strong.

3. Continuous civil strife among the feudal princes: Sima Yan's original intention of granting the princes a great deal was to allow the kings to serve as vassals for the court, and to "clear the emperor's side" when something happened. But in fact, the kings had military power and were all ambitious. When Sima Yan was alive, they did not dare to act arrogantly. When Sima Yan died, the kings quickly rebelled, and a war that lasted for 16 years broke out. The Western Jin Dynasty The princes rebelled and became emperors purely for pleasure. After sitting on the throne, they began to live a luxurious life, completely ignoring the dilapidated country. The Western Jin Dynasty would not be destroyed, which was not allowed by nature.

4. Sima Yan took the lead in corruption: As the founding emperor of the Western Jin Dynasty, Sima Yan eliminated Dongwu and achieved national unification. It stands to reason that he would become an emperor like Qin Shi Huang, but after unifying the world, Sima Yan Instead of working hard to bring prosperity to the country, he instead took the lead in corruption. There were more than 10,000 women in the harem alone, which can be called a Guinness record. In addition, in order to maintain his luxurious life, he openly sold his officials and titles. Official positions at all levels were clearly marked, and those who bought them The first thing a person who becomes an official does when he comes back is to plunder the common people to get his money back