Who can give me a brief summary of the history of the Jin Dynasty? I recently read the Romance of the Two Jin Dynasties... I only read about 15 of them in half a month... I'm tired!

The replacement of the throne in the Western Jin Dynasty

Sima Yan usurped Wei

At least after Cao Mao's death, Cao Wei's regime was completely controlled by Sima Zhao, but he had no choice It was up to him to complete the task of self-reliance on Wei's behalf, but left him to his heir.

Sima Shi had no sons. Sima Zhao’s first wife Wang gave birth to two sons, Sima Yan and Sima You. Sima Zhao adopted Sima You to his elder brother. Sima You’s talents exceeded Sima Yan, Sima Yi's "every weapon" ("Book of Jin? Biography of King You of Qi"), Sima Zhao also liked him very much and once expressed his desire to make him his heir. However, Sima Yan's appearance was very unique, "his hair was on the ground, his hands were above his knees" ("Book of Jin? Emperor Wu Ji"), and he was supported by ministers He Zeng, Pei Xiu and others, so in 264 AD, Sima Zhao was still Sima Yan was made the crown prince.

In 265 AD, Sima Zhao died, and Sima Yan succeeded to the throne as King of Jin. In December of the same year, he accepted Cao Huan's abdication and proclaimed himself Emperor Wu, and the Jin (Western Jin) Dynasty was officially established.

When Sima Yan proclaimed himself emperor, the Shu Han regime had been eliminated, and the only country that opposed the Jin Dynasty was the Wu State, which was content with the south of the Yangtze River. At this time, the state of Wu was under the rule of Sun Hao. "There were doubts in the court, and scholars were trapped in the wild... Everyone had their own thoughts of separation... It was inevitable to overcome them" ("Book of Jin? Biography of Yang Hu"), Yang Hu and others He repeatedly asked for troops to attack Wu, and secretly ordered Wang Jun, the governor of Yizhou, to build a large ship in preparation for going eastward. Sima Yan himself had this intention, but the main opinion of the court at that time was to solve the problems of Qin and Liang first. The Hu people who rebelled several times in the state also believed that the Wu State, which had been established for decades, was deeply entrenched and could not be conquered in a single battle.

It was not until 279 AD that Sima Yan sent out a large army to attack the state of Wu. At this time, "Wu will be destroyed, and the wise and foolish know it" ("Three Kingdoms? Book of Wu? Biography of the Three Successors"), Jin The army's process of destroying Wu was naturally well-established and completed. Sun Hao, the leader of Wu, surrendered the following year, and all parts of China were temporarily unified under the Jin Dynasty.

Sima Yan believed that the reason why Cao Wei's regime could not be maintained for a long time and was easily usurped was due to its policy of transitional weakening of the clan. Therefore, after becoming emperor, he enfeoffed the clans and enfeoffed the princes. The country not only has a vast territory and a large population, but also has its own armed forces. At the same time, in order to prevent these princes and kings from becoming too powerful, it was stipulated that each prince and king "only enjoys the land but does not govern the people" ("Tongkao of Documents? Feudal Examination of Twelve? Princes and Kings of Jin"), depriving them of appointments and dismissals within the country. The power of officials.

During Cao Wei's time, because the world was in chaos and wars were going on, each state and county had its own armed forces. After Sima Yan unified the country, he believed that the world was settled and there was no need to continue the armed forces of the states and counties. If this continues, all state and county armies will be abolished, leaving only a very small number of military officials. This direction is correct. If it can be implemented step by step and reasonably based on the actual situation at the time, it will be very helpful to consolidate the rule of the Jin Dynasty, strengthen centralization of power, and form a unified dynasty for a longer period of time. However, Sima Yan is one-size-fits-all. However, his attitude was rude. Not only did he fail to achieve the desired results, but he also planted huge hidden dangers.

After Sima Yan became emperor, although he greatly rewarded Sima You, who was extremely talented and highly popular, and even appointed him to important positions, he was actually quite cautious. In his later years, he realized that the existence of such a brother was a huge threat to the prince's heir status, especially when the prince was very stupid and bordered on being an idiot.

Among Queen Yang’s sons for Sima Yan, the eldest son Sima Gui died at the age of two. Therefore, in the third year of Taishi (267 AD), Queen Yang’s second son , Sima Zhong was established as the prince at the age of nine. In the eighth year of Taishi (272 BC), Sima Yan's favored minister Jia Yun (Jia Yun played a lot of role in Sima Yan being established as the prince) married his 16-year-old daughter Jia Nanfeng to Sima Zhong. As a wife.

The replacement of the throne in the Eastern Jin Dynasty

The king and the horse, ruling the world

The founder of the Eastern Jin Dynasty was Sima Rui.

Sima Rui is the great-grandson of Sima Yi and the grandson of Sima Min, the king of Langxie. His father Sima Jin died early, so he attacked the king of Langxie. During the Eight Kings Rebellion, Sima Rui chose to support Sima Yue, whose fiefdom was adjacent.

On February 28th of the first year of Jianwu (AD 317), Pingdong General Song Zhe arrived in Jiankang (i.e. Jianye) and ordered Sima Rui to take charge of all national affairs in the name of Sima Ye's edict. On the ninth day of March, Sima Rui ascended to the throne. On the seventh day of March the following year, news of Sima Ye's death reached Jiankang. Three days later, Sima Rui ascended the throne as Emperor Yuan, and the Eastern Jin Dynasty was officially established.

The process of Sima Rui establishing the Eastern Jin Dynasty was not as smooth as outlined above, but was full of difficulties.

Although the regime of Soochow Wu was eliminated by the Western Jin Dynasty, the power of the aristocratic families was not weakened much. Their attitude towards Sima Rui was quite cold. Without their support, it would be difficult for Sima Rui to establish political power here without considerable prestige and strength.

However, as a relative of the royal family of the Western Jin Dynasty, Sima Rui's "prestige has not yet been written" ("Book of Jin? Biography of Wang Dun"), and "the theory of reputation is still light" ("Book of Jin? Biography of Wang Dao") , he really lacks enough appeal; and his status as a guest living in Nandu makes him not very strong at all. It can be said that he is not strong in both hands.

In this way, if Sima Rui wants to gain a foothold in Jiankang and then start a business, he must obtain the support of strong external forces. The support he received came from the aristocratic families in Nandu. During the period before and after the establishment of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the Langxie Wang family was mainly led by Wang Dao.

Since the Langxie Wang family played a major or even decisive role in the establishment of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, it was inevitable that the main power of this regime would be in their hands. After Sima Rui crossed to the south, Wang Dao always controlled the central court. His brother Wang Dun was based in Jingchu again, holding a heavy army and commanding the prefectures and counties in the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River. The most powerful people inside and outside the Eastern Jin Dynasty were King Langxie. Controlled by the clan. Sima Rui's title of emperor, the supreme ruler, is to a large extent just a name. At the beginning of the establishment of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the imperial power was in a quite weak position.

The Langxie Wang family was unwilling to give up their control over the Eastern Jin Dynasty. In the first year of Yongchang (322 AD), Wang Dun raised troops from Wuchang and went eastward in the name of Qingjun, and soon conquered the Eastern Jin Dynasty. The capital was Jiankang, Sima Rui's generals were killed, and Sima Rui's territory was dispersed.

Wang Dun's easy success this time is of course not unrelated to his strong military strength, but the more critical reason is the support of the aristocratic family. The other aristocratic families in Nandu were naturally the opponents of the Langxie Wang family in controlling the politics of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, but this was an internal conflict after all; Sima Rui was different. Although he was only targeting the Langxie Wang family on the surface, he actually Pointed to almost all the aristocratic families. In the face of Sima Rui, a foreign communist enemy, they naturally wanted to support Wang Dun. This is the same reason as brothers who fight with each other for family property, but can stick together to deal with outsiders when outsiders want to invade the family property.

In the leap eleventh month of the same year, Emperor Sima Rui of the Yuan Dynasty, who became ill with grief and anger, passed away. Prince Sima Shao succeeded him as Emperor Ming.

Sima Shao is the eldest son of Sima Rui. He has been very smart since he was a child and is very popular with Sima Rui. Wang Dun also likes him because he is "attention to the heart near and far" (Book of Jin? Chronicles of Emperor Ming). He was afraid that after occupying Jiankang, he "wanted to falsely accuse Yan of being unfilial and abolish it" (ibid.), but he gave up after the firm opposition of Wen Qiao and other ministers.

After Sima Shao learned the news, he made preparations in advance, causing Wang Dun's attempt to fail quickly. Wang Dun himself also died of illness during the war.

Wang Dao played an important role in quelling this rebellion, but don’t think that he suddenly became a loyal minister of the Eastern Jin Dynasty because of his conscience: his performance in Wang Dun’s two rebellions The reason for the difference is that he is more knowledgeable than Wang Dun and knows that Wang Dun is likely to fail in doing so. Even if he succeeds temporarily, it will push the Langxie Wang family to the forefront of the storm. Sooner or later, they will fall down and be smashed into pieces. of. Only maintaining the previous situation is in line with the long-term interests of the Langxie Wang family.

Changing the soup without changing the medicine

After Wang Dun's defeat, Wang Dao's status not only did not decline, but was improved. The Langxie Wang family still had the greatest influence on the Eastern Jin Dynasty. of aristocratic families. However, after this battle, the reputation of Sima Shao, who had recently ascended the throne, had been greatly improved, and the status of other aristocratic families had also been improved. The Langxie Wang family could no longer completely control the political power in their own hands as before.

After the Langxie Wang family was weakened, although Sima Shao strengthened the imperial power to a certain extent and improved his weak position, he failed to establish a situation where he could preside over the power of the government. : Most of the power separated from the Langye Wang family went to other aristocratic families in the south. The one who gained the most was the Yu family headed by Yu Liang.

Yu Liang’s sister is Sima Shao’s wife. Sima Shao had a good relationship with him when he was the crown prince. After Sima Shao ascended the throne, in order to fight against Wang Dao, Wang Dun and others, they had a close and close relationship with him. As he is quite talented, he is naturally a good candidate. In this way, the power and position of the Yu family, represented by Yu Liang, increased after Sima Shao ascended the throne.

However, no matter how close Yu Liang was, he could not be closer than Sima Shao's clan members, let alone himself. And Yu Liang's actions indeed proved that he put his family's interests before the Eastern Jin Dynasty. above gains and losses. Therefore, Sima Shao, who wanted to revitalize the weak imperial power, both reused and guarded against him: not only did he add clan members to strengthen the power of the royal family, but because of his low family status, he "respected the superior and restrained the inferior every time." Bian Yi and others who were loyal to the royal family of the Eastern Jin Dynasty came to curb the power of the aristocratic families represented by Yu Liang and Wang Dao.

In the third year of Taining (AD 325), Emperor Ming Sima Shao died. Prince Sima Yan, who was five years old at the time, succeeded to the throne and became emperor.

With Sima Shao's talent and courage, it would have been possible to gradually revitalize the imperial power and change the situation in which the royal family and the aristocratic families dominated the world. However, the young man died early and the young Sima Yan succeeded to the throne. After that, the political power of the Eastern Jin Dynasty inevitably continued to be controlled by aristocratic families. The weak Eastern Jin Dynasty royal family lost the perfect opportunity for revitalization and had to fight against these aristocratic families until they perished.

Sima Shao knew something about this. When he was seriously ill, he wanted to entrust his funeral affairs to Yu Yin (brother of Queen Sima Rui) and Sima Zong (grandson of Sima Liang, son of Sima Yi). , but due to the opposition of Yu Liang and others, they had to be replaced by Sima Yi (grandson of Sima Liang), Wang Dao, Bian Yi, Xi Jian, Yu Liang, Lu Ye, Wen Qiao, who also accepted the imperial edict, and Mao Zedong assisted him. Sima Yan. After Sima Yan ascended the throne, the Queen Mother Yu came to the court to listen to the government, and the major decisions of the government were mainly made by Yu Liang.

For the Eastern Jin royal family, this change was just a matter of replacing the "king" who dominated the world with this "Yu".

The troops directly controlled by the Eastern Jin Dynasty were so small and weak that when Wang Dun rebelled for the second time, he needed to borrow the troops from the refugee commanders Liu Xia and Su Jun to quell the rebellion. However, this powerful army that was unwilling to be controlled by the imperial court became a headache for the Eastern Jin Dynasty imperial court and aristocratic families after the Wangdun Rebellion was put down.

Yu Liang had the intention to do this, but his methods were not very clever. Instead of solving the problem, it actually aroused conflicts, causing Su Jun to launch an army in the second year of Xianhe (327 AD). , Winning Zu Yue (Zu Ti's younger brother) to join the rebellion, and captured the capital Jiankang in February of the next year.

However, Su Jun's political talent was not as good as that of Wang Dun. He failed to use the court under his control to consolidate the results achieved through military operations. He soon lost power under Wen Qiao and Tao. Kan and others were defeated in their crusade, and he himself was killed in the battle.

The Eastern Jin royal family has lost the ability to change the situation of being in conflict with the aristocratic families. The powerful forces represented by Su Jun, which threatened the Eastern Jin royal family and the aristocratic families, were temporarily suppressed. The conflict over the distribution of rights between aristocratic families inevitably became the main contradiction within the ruling class of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and the replacement of the king (emperor) in the Eastern Jin Dynasty was determined by the results of the previous struggle between the royal family and the aristocratic families. , the outcome will be decided by the wrestling between the aristocratic families.

After the Su Jun Rebellion was put down, Yu Liang, who caused the incident, had to take the blame and leave the capital city of Jiankang. However, he was stationed in an important town in the Eastern Jin Dynasty and was close to Jiankang, so he could still rely on this The power in his hands controls the imperial court and prevents the Langxie Wang family (Director Wang) or other aristocratic families from taking their place.

Tao Kan, who replaced Wang Dun in Jingchu after his death, was a figure outside the first-class aristocratic families. And Xi Jian, who was in an important position and held military power (also from outside a first-class family), was good at coordinating the balance of forces among all parties and preventing one family from becoming too powerful. This had to make those wealthy families have some scruples. Therefore, at the beginning, Yu Liang, Director Wang and others were able to fight and cooperate at the same time, controlling the struggle between each other within a certain range.

In the ninth year of Xianhe (334 BC), Tao Kan died, and Yu Liang was able to command Jing, Jiang, Yu and other states, expanding his territory and strength. However, in order to effectively control these areas, he , had to move the garrison from Wuhu, which is adjacent to Jiankang, to Wuchang. In this way, Director Wang's control over the central government (Jiankang) was strengthened. In this situation where each had their own gains, the Langxie Wang family and the Yu family still couldn't decide the winner in the wrestling match.

In less than a year from July of the fifth year to the first month of the sixth year of Xiankang (AD 339-340), Wang Dao and Xi Jian stood together and had a huge influence on the situation of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. , Yu Liang passed away. The heirs of the Langye Wang family and the Yu family lacked the talents and reputation of their predecessors, and had to consolidate the power and status they had already achieved. The struggle between these two aristocratic families also entered a low ebb.

Under such circumstances, Emperor Cheng Sima Yan died in the eighth year of Xiankang (AD 342), and Langxie King Sima Yue (son of Sima Shao, brother of Sima Yan) succeeded to the throne as Emperor Cheng.

Sima Yan is "young but smart, with the strength of an adult... and as long as he is tall, he is very attentive to all opportunities." It seems that he is not a fatuous master and will not be willing to be a puppet emperor, but he "Seldom is under the control of my uncle's family, and I am not close to the common people." And he lacks the "magnificent attitude" (see also "Jin Shu? Cheng Di Ji" above). In such a situation, he naturally did nothing. In Yu Bing (Yu Liang's younger brother) When he was asked to give up his son and marry his younger brother Sima Yue, he could only accept it.

After Sima Yue ascended the throne, King Sima Xi of Wuling (son of Sima Rui), King Sima Yu of Kuaiji (son of Sima Rui), Yu Bing, He Chong, and Zhuge Hui all assisted. However, Yu Yi (Yu Liang's younger brother) sat outside and Yu Bing assisted in the government. The internal and external power of the Eastern Jin Dynasty was mainly controlled by the Yu family who took the lead.

In the first year of Jianyuan (AD 343), Yu Yi claimed the Northern Expedition, transferred Hengxuan, who had been in Xiangyang for more than ten years, and brought the area under his jurisdiction, further strengthening the Yu's control over internal and external affairs.

In the second year of Jianyuan (AD 344), Emperor Kangdi Sima Yue passed away. Before his death, he rejected brothers Yu Bing and Yu Yi's suggestion that Sima Yu be his heir, and made the prince Sima Dan the crown prince. On September 26 of the same year, Sima Yue died. Prince Sima Dan, who was two years old at the time, succeeded to the throne the next day as Emperor Mu.

It will remain infamy for thousands of years

After Sima Dan came to the throne, the Queen Mother Chu (the queen of Sima Yue) came to the court to take the throne. The brothers Yu Bing and Yu Yi were respectively in this year and the following year. After his death, the Yu family, which had just reached the peak of power, began to decline.

Since no other aristocratic family could stand out at this time and quickly replaced the Yu family, Sima Yu became the product of their mutual compromise and gained the position of being in the middle and assisting the government. On the other hand, Huan Wen, who was rapidly expanding his power in the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River, and his family lacked enough talents to help him participate in the management and even control of the central government. Therefore, in the early days of Mu Zong's Yonghe reign, the court and public in the Eastern Jin Dynasty temporarily showed a peaceful scene.

Huan Wen was a very capable person, but also very ambitious. He once said to himself, "Even if he cannot be famous for a century, he should be infamous for thousands of years." Since he has the ambition to restore the Central Plains, but cannot use the power of his family to expand his power, he wants to support his ambition through the achievements of restoring and expanding the territory.

In the third year of Yonghe (347 AD), Huan Wen destroyed the Shu Han separatist force Li Shi. In the fifth year of Yonghe (AD 349), after Huan Wen learned about the chaos in Zhao State (Shi Zhao), he began to prepare for the Northern Expedition and wrote a letter requesting the Northern Expedition. The imperial court, which had long been worried about Huan Wen's strength, naturally refused to give him such an opportunity and shelved the proposal of the Northern Expedition.

When Huan Wen failed to receive a satisfactory answer to his repeated requests, at the end of the seventh year of Yonghe (AD 351), he went down the river in the name of the Northern Expedition and stationed himself in Wuchang, in order to force the imperial court to accept his proposal. react. The imperial court had no choice but to send Yin Hao to lead the army in the Northern Expedition in the ninth year of Yonghe (AD 353), but the result was a disastrous defeat. Under such circumstances, the imperial court had no excuse for Huan Wen's request for the Northern Expedition, and could only make him responsible for the Northern Expedition.

In the tenth and twelfth years of Yonghe (AD 354 and 356), Huan Wen made two northern expeditions and achieved a series of victories. "In this way, he neither interfered in the central government affairs nor brought the important Yuzhou and Xuzhou into his jurisdiction. He was still in an anxious confrontation with the imperial court without much advantage.

Under such a situation, Emperor Mu Sima Dan died in the fifth year of Shengping (361 AD). Sima Dan had no heirs, so Empress Dowager Chu ordered that Langxie King Sima Pi (the eldest son of Cheng Emperor Sima Yan) be his heir. Sima Pi succeeded to the throne as Emperor Ai.

In the third year of Xingning (365 AD), Emperor Ai Sima Pi passed away. Sima Pi also had no heirs, so Empress Dowager Chu ordered that Langxie King Sima Yi (son of Cheng Emperor Sima Yan) be his heir. Sima Yi succeeded to the throne as the Duke of Haixi.

In the fourth year of Taihe (369 AD), after many years of management, Huan Wen once again launched the Northern Expedition after bringing the towns of Jing and Yang under his rule. This Northern Expedition enabled Huan Wen to realize his dream of many years and bring the central court under his control. However, due to his own mistakes and the constraints of the powerful families, his Northern Expedition ended in a major defeat, which destroyed his reputation. It has been greatly damaged. It can be said that what is gained is lost, but what is lost is lost.

In November of the first year of Xian'an (AD 371), Huan Wen, who was already very old and could not wait any longer, deposed Sima Yi as King of the East China Sea and appointed Sima Yu, King of Kuaiji, as the emperor. Emperor Wen. After Sima Yi was deposed, he "knew that his destiny could no longer be fulfilled", "Du Sai was smart, careless, contented all day long, indulged in domestic favors, had children but was infertile, and the concubine had a long life." ("Book of Jin? Hai") "Xi Gong Ji"), lived for another fifteen years, and died in the eleventh year of Taiyuan (AD 386).

At this time, the internal and external power of the Eastern Jin Dynasty was completely controlled by Huan Wen. Sima Yu "Although he was in an honorable position, he only maintained the Taoism silently, and was always afraid of being deposed." ("Book of Jin? Jian Wen Di Ji"). However, although Huan Wen held great power, he lacked confidants who had both reputation and talent and were willing to use them. Those influential aristocratic families naturally did not dare to make any obvious resistance in the face of Huan Wen's overwhelming advantage. However, once they had the opportunity, they would use their energy to make Huan Wen fail at the critical moment. This is particularly evident in the legacy of Emperor Jian Wen.

On July 23 of the second year of Xian'an (AD 372), Sima Yu was seriously ill. He issued urgent orders all day and night to summon Huan Wen to assist the government, but Huan Wen refused. Five days later (the 28th), Sima Yu made his ten-year-old eldest son Sima Yao the crown prince, and then issued a posthumous edict, asking Huan Wen to "photograph the story according to the Duke of Zhou's residence." He also said, "The younger son can be assisted by those who can. If not, the king will take care of himself." "Take it." Wang Tanzhi tore up the edict in front of Sima Yu and informed Sima Yu. Sima Yu then asked him to change it to "A great Sima of family and state affairs, such as the story of Zhuge Wuhou and Prime Minister Wang." ”

Despite this, after Sima Yu’s death, the courtiers still “were doubtful and did not dare to establish an heir.” Or they said, “Sima Yu should be punished.” In this case, Wang Biao. He stood up and took responsibility for his righteousness, so "the meeting was decided", and Prince Sima Yao was established as emperor, which was Emperor Xiaowu.

After Sima Yao ascended the throne, Queen Mother Chu ordered Huan Wen to "photograph stories in the residence of Duke Zhou". The edict had been issued, and Wang Biaozhi returned it.

(These three paragraphs are all quoted from "Zizhi Tongjian? Volume 103")

Wang Tanzhi is the leader of the Wang family of Taiyuan, a wealthy family. Wang Biaozhi is the nephew of Dao Wang. ) Representative of the Langxie Wang family. From the stories about what happened in the short few days between Sima Yu's serious illness and Sima Yao's accession to the throne, it can be seen that when the Eastern Jin Dynasty royal family had completely surrendered to Huan Wen to a certain extent, the aristocratic family The wealthy people still tried their best to crush Huan Wen's expectation that "the simple text will be meditated on him before his death, and he will be photographed by Zhou Gong." ("Jin Shu Huan Wen Biography").

After receiving such a result, although Huan Wen was "very angry", he once had the idea of ????executing Wang Tanzhi and Xie An (the leaders of the Xie family in Chen County) and forcing Jin to establish himself on his own. In the end, he had to accept reality.

Huan Wen became seriously ill soon after. He was obsessed with the throne of emperor and hinted several times to the court to add nine tins (a kind of honor before the Zen throne) to him. As a result, he was dismissed by Xie An , Wang Tanzhi, Wang Biaozhi and others deliberately delayed, and on July 14, the first year of Ningkang (AD 373), they finally dragged this generation of heroes to death.

After Huan Wen's death, his younger brother Huan Chong succeeded him, and Xie An, who "returned to the public opinion" ("Book of Jin Huan Chong Biography"), was his main opponent. After Xie An took control of the power of the government by asking the Queen Mother Chu to "make decisions at the court, and the replacement is only for herself." ("Book of Jin? Biography of Wang Biao"), he did not have the ambition and ambition of Huan Wen. Huan Chong, who was ambitious and had the overall situation in mind, surrendered Yangzhou to Xie'an in the third year of Ningkang (AD 375), and left the capital Jiankang for Jingkou, the town of Xuzhou.

In the second year of Taiyuan (377 AD), Huan Huo (Huan Wen's younger brother) who was guarding Jingzhou passed away. Huan Chong took over as the governor of Jingzhou and moved further away from Jiankang. The Xie family of Chen County, led by Xie An, became the third family to rule the Eastern Jin Dynasty, following the Langxie Wang family and the Yu family, and competed with the Sima royal family in the world.

Together, *** to die

At this time, Fu Jian's former Qin Dynasty had basically unified the north, and it was possible to move south in large numbers at any time. Under the pressure of this powerful external force, the aristocratic families who were already tied to the Eastern Jin Dynasty temporarily put aside their quarrels with each other and united.

Under such a situation, Fu Jian's former Qin army was defeated by the main force of the Eastern Jin Dynasty led by Xie Xuan (Xie An's nephew) in the Battle of Feishui in the eighth year of Taiyuan (383 AD). Defeated in one fell swoop, it never recovered, and the North fell into division again.

After the Battle of Feishui, external pressure eased, and the internal contradictions in the Eastern Jin Dynasty became prominent again. This time, in addition to the conflicts between the central and local governments, there is also the conflict between the royal family and the aristocratic families, with the latter occupying a more dominant position.

Since Xie An and others were mainly concentrated in the imperial court and failed to form a strong and solid force in the local area like the Langye Wang family and the Yu family before, their control over the power of the government was also limited. It cannot be as stable as the first two, and it may be shaken simply through internal struggles within the court.

This wavering occurred shortly after the war: Xie An was forced by the Eastern Jin clan represented by Sima Daozi (brother of Emperor Xiaowu Sima Yao) to leave the court in the name of the Northern Expedition until Yu Tai He died in the tenth year of Yuan Dynasty (AD 385). And Xie Xuan, who had made great military exploits, had to give up control of the army.

The control of the Eastern Jin Dynasty by aristocratic families was done through outstanding figures in the family. Without such figures, this family would not be able to stand out from the numerous aristocratic families and obtain the ruling status; if so If a person dies and the family has no one with talent and reputation to replace him, then the family's ruling status will also be lost. The rise and fall of Wang Dao and the Langxie Wang family, and the deeds of the Yu Liang brothers and the Yu family are proof of this.

After Xie An and others died or retreated, the Xie family of Chen County also stepped down from the ruling position. At this time, no one in the aristocratic family had an outstanding figure who could replace Xie An. The reputation of the Eastern Jin Dynasty court was greatly enhanced by the Battle of Feishui. As one goes and the other goes, the strong position of the aristocratic family in the world will inevitably be weakened.

If a few outstanding talents could appear in the Eastern Jin Dynasty royal family, there would be a good chance of returning to the tradition of supremacy of imperial power and changing the situation of ruling the world with aristocratic families to using aristocratic families to rule the world.

But Sima Yao and Sima Daozi are both corrupt figures. Although they have such intentions, they lack the corresponding talents, coupled with the friction between the Lord (Sima Yao) and the prime minister (Sima Daozi). This gave the aristocratic families an opportunity to take advantage of it: although they could not continue to maintain their absolute dominance in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, they were still able to maintain their dominance over the world with the royal family.

After this situation was formed, the main contradiction within the Eastern Jin Dynasty became the conflict between the emperor and the powerful clans, and the power they relied on in the conflict was the aristocratic families that relied on each other. .

In the later years of his reign, Sima Yao was very dissatisfied with Sima Daozi's intrusion, and began to cultivate forces in many local towns to restrain him, but "because of the concubine, "Advocating etiquette and order" ("Book of Jin? Jianwen Sanzi Biography"), continue to tolerate it for the time being. If Sima Yao hadn't died unexpectedly, this increasingly fierce conflict would have probably exploded in a big way.

The following year, Wang Gong raised troops again, and Yin Zhongkan and Guangzhou Governor Huan Xuan (son of Huan Wen, who was in Jingzhou at the time) responded with troops. As a result, Wang Gong's forward Liu Laozhi defected under the bribe of Sima Yuanxian (son of Sima Daozi), resulting in Wang Gong's defeat and death, and Yin Zhongkan and Huan Xuan retreated hastily. The following year, Huanxuan eliminated Yin Zhongkan and Yang Quanqi (Sima of Jingzhou) who tried to attack him, monopolized the upper reaches, and became a powerful force with overwhelming advantages over Jiankang.

At this time, Sima Yuanxian had taken over the power of the court on behalf of Sima Daozi. In order to build an army that he could fully control to counter threats from the upper reaches, he forcibly recruited strong men from the counties in the east, which not only caused This caused strong dissatisfaction among the aristocratic families (the aristocratic families in Nandu, in order to avoid conflicts with the aristocratic families in Jiangdong, went to places like Dongtu where the degree of development was not high to open estates and establish estates to ensure their own economic income), which even triggered Sun En The leading peasants revolted.

In the 21st year of Taiyuan (AD 396), Emperor Xiaowu Sima Yao ordered his maid to suffocate herself to death with a quilt because of a joke. Prince Sima Dezong succeeded to the throne as Emperor An.

Sima Dezong was an idiot who couldn't even tell the difference between hot and cold, and couldn't take care of himself when eating or dressing. With such a person as emperor, the power of the Eastern Jin Dynasty would naturally be taken over by Sima Daozi alone, but his control was limited to the central court.

In the first year of Long'an (397 AD), Wang Gong (the Wang family of Taiyuan) who was attached to Emperor Xiaowu Sima Yao raised troops from Jingkou to kill Wang Guobao (son of Wang Tanzhi) who was attached to Sima Daozi. As an excuse, Jingzhou Governor Yin Zhongkan (also appointed by Sima Yao) also raised troops in Jingzhou to respond. Sima Daozi was unable to resist, so he had to execute brothers Wang Guobao and Wang Xu in exchange for Wang Gong's withdrawal.

In the first year of Yuanxing (AD 402), after the peasant uprising was basically suppressed, Sima Yuanxian used Liu Laozhi as the vanguard to attack Huan Xuan, but Liu Laozhi switched sides again and refused to fight. And then surrendered, causing Huanxuan to drive straight down into Jiankang. Sima Daozi, Sima Yuanxian and his son were killed successively. In December of the following year, Huan Xuan, who had completely controlled the Eastern Jin Dynasty, forced Sima Dezong to abdicate, proclaimed himself emperor on behalf of Jin, and named his country Chu, fulfilling his father Huan Wen's legacy.

However, Huanxuan did not sit on the throne for long. In the third year of Yuanxing (404 AD), Liu Yu and others raised troops in Jingkou; on the same day, Liu Yi, Meng Chang, Liu Daogui ( Liu Yu's brother) and others raised troops in Guangling and went to Jingkou to join forces with Liu Yu to attack Jiankang. Huan Xuan was defeated and fled to Jiangling, and was killed soon after. In March of the first year of Yixi (AD 405), Sima Dezong was welcomed back to Jiankang by Liu Yu and restored to the throne.

Under the blows of fratricide, Huan Xuan's usurpation and peasant uprisings, the royal family and the aristocratic families of the Eastern Jin Dynasty were in ruins. Not only did they no longer have the power of the past, they also lost the ability to protect themselves. Almost exhausted. In December of the fourteenth year of Yixi (AD 418), Wang Shaozhi, on Liu Yu's order, strangled Sima Dezong to death with a rope twisted from his clothes. Liu Yu established Sima Dewen (Sima Dezong's younger brother) as emperor, which was Emperor Gong.

Under Liu Yu's suggestion, Sima Dewen gave up the emperor's position on June 11, the first year of Yongchu (AD 420). On the 14th of the same month, Liu Yu ascended the throne as emperor, and his country was named Song. The Eastern Jin Dynasty, which was located south of the Yangtze River, officially perished after lasting for 103 years. Sima Dewen, the last emperor of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, was also suffocated to death by Liu Yu's soldiers in September of the following year. "Since then, it is rare for a king to abdicate completely." (Hu Sansheng's "Zi Zhi Tong Jian? Kao Yi")

The replacement of the throne in the Western Jin Dynasty

The Western Jin Dynasty (265- —316)

(1) Emperor Wu Sima Yan——┬—— (2) Emperor Hui Sima Zhong

265～290 │ 290～306

│

├—— Sima Yan, King Xiao of Wu—————— (4) Sima Ye, Emperor Min

│ 313～316

│

└—— (3) Jin Huai Emperor Sima Chi

307～313 The former Zhao destroyed the Western Jin and the Western Jin fell

The throne replacement of the Eastern Jin

Eastern Jin (317— —420)

(1) Emperor Yuan Sima Rui—┬—(2) Emperor Ming Sima Shao—┬—(3) Emperor Cheng Sima Yan—┬—(6) Emperor Ai Sima Pi

317～323 │ 323～326 │ 326～342 │ 362～365

│ │ │

│ │ └—(7) Deposed Emperor Sima Yi

│ │ 366～371

│ │

│ └—(4) Emperor Kangxi Sima Yue———(5) Emperor Mu Emperor Sima Dan

│ 343～ 344 345～361

│

└(8) Emperor Sima Yu of Jian Wen——(9) Emperor Xiaowu Sima Yao┬(10) Emperor An of Sima Dezong

371～372 373～396 │ 397～418

│

└—(11) Emperor Gong Sima Dewen

419～420

——The Song Dynasty was destroyed and the Eastern Jin Dynasty was destroyed