Jin (,
Old Chinese
Old Chinese, also called Archaic Chinese in older works, is the oldest attested stage of Chinese, and the ancestor of all modern varieties of Chinese. The earliest examples of Chinese are divinatory inscriptions on oracle bones from around 12 ...
: ''*''), originally known as Tang (唐), was a major
state during the middle part of the
Zhou dynasty
The Zhou dynasty ( ; Old Chinese ( B&S): *''tiw'') was a royal dynasty of China that followed the Shang dynasty. Having lasted 789 years, the Zhou dynasty was the longest dynastic regime in Chinese history. The military control of China by th ...
, based near the centre of what was then China, on the lands attributed to the legendary
Xia dynasty: the southern part of modern
Shanxi. Although it grew in power during the
Spring and Autumn period, its aristocratic structure saw it break apart when the duke lost power to his nobles. In 403BC, Jin was split into three successor states:
Han,
Zhao Zhao may refer to:
* Zhao (surname) (赵), a Chinese surname
** commonly spelled Chao in Taiwan or up until the early 20th century in other regions
** Chiu, from the Cantonese pronunciation
** Cho (Korean surname), represent the Hanja 趙 (Chine ...
and
Wei
Wei or WEI may refer to:
States
* Wey (state) (衛, 1040–209 BC), Wei in pinyin, but spelled Wey to distinguish from the bigger Wei of the Warring States
* Wei (state) (魏, 403–225 BC), one of the seven major states of the Warring States per ...
. The
Partition of Jin marks the end of the Spring and Autumn Period and the beginning of the
Warring States period
The Warring States period () was an era in History of China#Ancient China, ancient Chinese history characterized by warfare, as well as bureaucratic and military reforms and consolidation. It followed the Spring and Autumn period and concluded ...
.
Geography
Jin was located in the lower
Fen River drainage basin on the Shanxi plateau. To the north were the
Xirong and
Beidi peoples. To the west were the
Lüliang Mountains and then the
Loess Plateau of northern Shaanxi. To the southwest the Fen River turns west to join the south-flowing part of the
Yellow River
The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the sixth-longest river system in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Ha ...
which soon leads to the
Guanzhong, an area of the
Wei River Valley that was the heartland of the
Western Zhou and later of the
Qin. To the south are the Zhongtiao Mountains and then the east-west valley of the Yellow River which was the main route to the Wei Valley to the west. To the east were the
Taihang Mountains and then the
North China Plain. This location gave ambitious Jin dukes the opportunity to move north to conquer and absorb the Xirong tribes, move southwest and fight Qin, and move southeast to absorb the many smaller Zhou states.
Also important to the region were the large states of
Chu to the south in the
Yangtze
The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flows ...
and
Huai River regions and
Qi to the east in
Shandong
Shandong ( , ; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal Provinces of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region.
Shandong has played a major role in His ...
.
Jin had multiple capitals. The first capital of Jin was Tang (唐). The capital was later moved to E (
鄂), then Jiang (
絳), then Xintian (新田). From 746 to 677, Quwo (曲沃) was the capital of a fragment of Jin.
Western Zhou (1046-771BC)
When the Zhou Dynasty was founded, the conquered lands were given to Zhou relatives and ministers as hereditary fiefs.
King Cheng of Zhou, the second Zhou king, gave the land called Tang (唐), west of modern
Yicheng County
Yicheng County () is a county in the prefecture-level city of Linfen, in the south of Shanxi Province, China. The county spans an area of , and is home to 323,517 people as of 2019.
Geography
Yicheng County is located in southern Shanxi Province ...
in
Shanxi, to his younger brother,
Tang Shuyu (唐叔虞) with the rank of a
marquis. Tang Shuyu's son and successor,
Marquis Xie of Jin (晉侯燮), changed the name of Tang to Jin. There is little information about Jin for this period beyond a list of rulers.
Spring and Autumn period
In 771BC the
Quanrong The Quanrong () or Dog Rong were an ethnic group, classified by the ancient Chinese as " Qiang", active in the northwestern part of China during and after the Zhou dynasty (1046–221 BCE). Their language or languages are considered to have been me ...
nomads drove the Zhou out of the
Wei River valley and killed the king.
Marquis Wen of Jin, the eleventh marquis of Jin, supported
King Ping of Zhou by killing his rival,
King Xie of Zhou, an act that King Ping heavily rewarded him for.
The breakaway state of Quwo (745-677BC)
When
Marquis Zhao of Jin (745-739BC) acceded to the throne, he gave the land of
Quwo to his uncle Chengshi who became
Huan Shu of Quwo
Huan Shu of Quwo (, 802–731 BC), ancestral name Ji (姬), given name Chengshi (成師), was the first ruler of the state of Quwo during the Spring and Autumn period. He was the son of Marquis Mu of Jin and uncle of Marquis Zhao of Jin.
In 74 ...
. In 739BC, an official named Panfu (潘父) murdered Marquis Zhao and invited Huan Shu to take the throne. Huan Shu entered Jin but was driven out by the people and retreated to Quwo. All three Quwo rulers, Huan Shu (745-731),
Zhuang Bo (731-716) and
Duke Wu (716-678) made attempts to take over Jin. In 678BC, Duke Wu of Quwo conquered Jin and killed
Marquis Min of Jin
Min, Marquis of Jin () was the last ruler of the state of Jin from the original branch of the ruling House of Ji. His ancestral name was Ji (姬), given name Min (緡). When Duke Wu of Quwo killed Marquis Xiaozi of Jin, King Huan of Zhou insta ...
(704-678). One year later, after receiving gifts from Duke Wu,
King Xi of Zhou made Duke Wu the legal ruler of Jin, who became known as
Duke Wu of Jin
Duke Wu of Jin (, died 677 BC), ancestral name Ji (姬), given name Cheng (稱) and also known as Duke Wu of Quwo (), was the eighteenth ruler of the state of Jin. He was also the last ruler of the state of Quwo before he gained the title as the ...
(679-677).
Ascendency
With the establishment of the Quwo line, Jin became the most powerful state for three generations and remained powerful for a century or more after that. Duke Wu died soon after gaining control of Jin. He was followed by
Duke Xian of Jin (676-651BC). Xian broke with Zhou feudalism by killing or exiling his cousins and ruling with appointees of various social backgrounds. He annexed 16 or 17 small states in Shanxi, dominated 38 others, and absorbed a number of
Rong tribes. Some of the states conquered were Geng (耿), Huo (霍), old Wei (魏), Yu (虞) and
Western Guo. His death led to a succession struggle which ended with the enthronement of
Duke Hui of Jin (650-637). In 646BC, Duke Hui was captured by
Qin and restored as a vassal.
Another son of Duke Xian was
Duke Wen of Jin (636-628), who spent 19 years exile in various courts. He came to the throne in 636 escorted by the troops of his father-in-law,
Duke Mu of Qin
Duke Mu of Qin (died 621BC), born Renhao, was a duke of Qin (659–621BC) in the western reaches of the Zhou Kingdom during the Spring and Autumn Period of Chinese history. Sometimes considered one of China's Five Hegemons, he greatly expanded ...
. Duke Wen quickly established himself as an independent ruler by driving the
Di barbarians west of the Yellow River. In 635BC he supported
King Xiang of Zhou against a rival and was rewarded with lands near the royal capital. In 633BC, he confronted the rising power of the southern state of
Chu which was then besieging
Song
A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetiti ...
. Instead of directly assisting Song, he attacked two vassals of Chu,
Cao and
Wei
Wei or WEI may refer to:
States
* Wey (state) (衛, 1040–209 BC), Wei in pinyin, but spelled Wey to distinguish from the bigger Wei of the Warring States
* Wei (state) (魏, 403–225 BC), one of the seven major states of the Warring States per ...
. The following year, he formed a military alliance with Qin,
Qi and Song that defeated Chu at the
Battle of Chengpu, perhaps the largest battle in the Spring and Autumn period. Shortly after the battle, he held an interstate conference at
Jitu (踐土) with
King Xiang of Zhou and the rulers of six other states. He affirmed the lords' loyalty and received from the King the title of "ba" or hegemon. At some point there was a war with Qin which ended in peace. Duke Wen erected monuments to the fallen on both sides. The Chinese proverb "The Friendship of Qin and Jin", meaning an unbreakable bond, dates from this period.
Over the next century, a four-way balance of power developed between Qin (west), Jin (west-center), Chu (south) and Qi (east), with a number of smaller states between Jin and Qi. In 627BC, Jin defeated Qin while it was attacking
Zheng. Jin invaded Qin in 625BC and was driven back the following year. In 598BC, Chu defeated Jin at the Battle of Mi. In 589BC, Jin defeated Qi, which had invaded
Lu and
Wei
Wei or WEI may refer to:
States
* Wey (state) (衛, 1040–209 BC), Wei in pinyin, but spelled Wey to distinguish from the bigger Wei of the Warring States
* Wei (state) (魏, 403–225 BC), one of the seven major states of the Warring States per ...
. About this time Jin began to support the southeastern state of
Wu as a means of weakening Chu.
Duke Li of Jin
Duke Li of Jin (, reigned 580–573 BC) was a ruler of the State of Jin, a major power during the Spring and Autumn period of ancient China. His ancestral name was Ji, given name Zhoupu (州蒲), though ''Shiji'' records his given name as Shouma ...
(580-573) allied with Qin and Qi to make an east-west front against the threat of Chu from the south. In 579BC, a minister of the state of Song arranged a four-power conference in which the states agreed to limit their military strength. Four years later, fighting broke out again; Jin and its allies defeated Chu at the battle of Yingling.
Duke Dao of Jin
Duke Dao of Jin (, 586–558 BC) was from 573 to 558 BC the ruler of the State of Jin, a major power during the Spring and Autumn period of ancient China. His ancestral name was Ji, given name Zhou (周), and Duke Dao was his posthumous title.
...
(572-558) strengthened the state by internal improvements rather than external wars. He absorbed a number of
Rong
Rong or RONG may refer to:
Places China
* Rong County, Guangxi, Yulin, Guangxi, China
* Rong County, Sichuan, Zigong, Sichuan, China
Nepal
* Rong, Ilam, a rural municipality in Ilam District, Nepal
Norway
* Rong, Norway, a village in Øygard ...
tribes and was recognized as Hegemon.
Decline and fall
In 607BC,
Duke Ling of Jin (620-607) was killed by Zhao Chuan (趙穿) under the orders of his uncle
Zhao Dun. Prince Heitun was placed on the throne as
Duke Cheng of Jin
Duke Cheng of Jin (, died 600 BC) was from 606 to 600 BC the ruler of the State of Jin, a major power during the Spring and Autumn period of ancient China. His ancestral name was Ji, given name Heitun, and Duke Cheng was his posthumous title. H ...
(606-600). This was the beginning of the slow shift of power from the Jin dukes to the ministerial clans.
Duke Li of Jin
Duke Li of Jin (, reigned 580–573 BC) was a ruler of the State of Jin, a major power during the Spring and Autumn period of ancient China. His ancestral name was Ji, given name Zhoupu (州蒲), though ''Shiji'' records his given name as Shouma ...
(580-573), the grandson of Duke Cheng, tried to break the power of the clans by fostering conflicts between them. In 573BC, he was killed by the Luan (欒氏) and Zhonghang (中行氏) clans.
Duke Dao of Jin
Duke Dao of Jin (, 586–558 BC) was from 573 to 558 BC the ruler of the State of Jin, a major power during the Spring and Autumn period of ancient China. His ancestral name was Ji, given name Zhou (周), and Duke Dao was his posthumous title.
...
(572-558) strengthened the ducal power, but could not eliminate the power of the other aristocratic families.
After the reign of
Duke Zhao of Jin (531-526), the Jin dukes were figureheads and the state was controlled by six clans:
Fan (范) , Zhonghang (中行), Zhi (智), Han (韓), Zhao (趙) and Wei (魏).
The clans soon began to fight among themselves. During the time of
Duke Ding of Jin
Duke Ding of Jin (, died 475 BC) was from 511 to 475 BC the ruler of the state of Jin, a major power during the Spring and Autumn period of ancient China. His ancestral name was Ji, given name Wu, and Duke Ding was his posthumous title. He suc ...
(511-475), the Fan and Zhonghang clans were eliminated by
Xiangzi of Zhi. By about 450BC, the Zhi were dominant and began demanding territory from the other clans. When Zhao resisted, Zhi attacked Zhao and brought along Han and Wei as allies. After a
long siege at
Taiyuan, Han and Wei switched sides and the three weaker clans annihilated the Zhi. They then divided the Zhi lands, as well as most of the rest of Jin, among themselves. When
Duke You of Jin (433-416) came to the throne, the three clans had taken over much of the remaining Jin lands, leaving the dukes only the area around
Jiang
Jiang may refer to:
* ''Jiang'' (rank), rank held by general officers in the military of China
*Jiang (surname), several Chinese surnames
**Jiang Zemin (1926–2022), as general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party
*Jiang River
The Jiang Rive ...
and
Quwo. From then on, the three clans were known as the "Three Jins" (三晉).
In 403BC, during the reign of
Duke Lie of Jin (415-389),
King Weilie of Zhou recognized
Marquis Jing of Han,
Marquis Wen of Wei
Marquess Wen of Wei (Wèi Wén Hóu; died 396 BCE) was the first Marquess to rule the State of Wei during the Warring States period of Chinese history (475 – 220 BCE). Born Wei Si (魏斯), he belonged to the House of Wei, one of the noble h ...
and
Marquess Lie of Zhao, as marquises of
Han in the south,
Wei
Wei or WEI may refer to:
States
* Wey (state) (衛, 1040–209 BC), Wei in pinyin, but spelled Wey to distinguish from the bigger Wei of the Warring States
* Wei (state) (魏, 403–225 BC), one of the seven major states of the Warring States per ...
in the center and
Zhao Zhao may refer to:
* Zhao (surname) (赵), a Chinese surname
** commonly spelled Chao in Taiwan or up until the early 20th century in other regions
** Chiu, from the Cantonese pronunciation
** Cho (Korean surname), represent the Hanja 趙 (Chine ...
in the north, completing the
partition of Jin. The state of Jin still nominally existed for several decades afterwards. The ''
Bamboo Annals'' mentions that in the 20th year of
Duke Huan's reign (369 BC),
Marquess Cheng of Zhao and
Marquess Gong of Han moved Duke Huan to
Tunliu
Tunliu () is a district of the city of Changzhi, Shanxi province, China. Lord Chang'an, Chengjiao, brother of Qin Shi Huang
Qin Shi Huang (, ; 259–210 BC) was the founder of the Qin dynasty and the first emperor of a unified China. Rathe ...
, and after that there were no more records of Duke Huan or any other Jin ruler.
Modern historians such as
Yang Kuan
Yang Kuan (1914 − September 1, 2005) was a Chinese historian specializing in pre-Qin Dynasty Chinese history. He is considered an authority of the Warring States period, and his ''History of the Warring States'', first published in 1955, rema ...
,
Ch'ien Mu, and Han Zhaoqi generally consider 369 BC the final year of Jin's existence.
Military forces
Jin united civil and military authority.
Traditionally, Jin had three armies: the upper army, the central army and the lower army. Three more armies were later added. Each army contained 12500 soldiers.
According to the convention of Zhou dynasty, a large fiefdom was allowed to have as many as three armies. Since Jin was a large fiefdom, it was permitted by the Zhou king to own three armies. However, Jin originally had only one army: the limitation was imposed by the Zhou dynasty king in order to observe the rite of Zhou. In
679 BCE,
Duke Wu of Quwo
Duke Wu of Jin (, died 677 BC), ancestral name Ji (姬), given name Cheng (稱) and also known as Duke Wu of Quwo (), was the eighteenth ruler of the state of Jin. He was also the last ruler of the state of Quwo before he gained the title as the ...
assassinated
Marquis Xiaozi of Jin
Marquis Xiaozi of Jin (), ancestral name Ji (姬), given name unknown, was the sixteenth ruler of the state of Jin. He was also the sixth ruler of Jin in the Spring and Autumn period. He reigned for four years.
In 705 BC, the fourth year of the ...
and became the ruler of Jin. Quwo was a cadet branch of Jin's ruling house; Ji clan descended from
Shu Yu of Tang. The Zhou court, which regarded the lineal legitimacy as an extremely important matter, could not agree with such an usurpation. As a consequence, the king revoked Jin's permission to have three armies.
In
661 BCE,
Duke Xian of Jin lifted this prohibition by establishing the upper army; led by himself and the lower army; commanded by his son Shengshen. Jin's central army was established in the year of 633 BCE by
Duke Wen of Jin. In 634 BCE, Duke Wen additionally formed three "ranks" (三行) with the purpose of defending against a
Beidi invasion.
The three ranks were later redeployed into the "New armies" (新軍). The new armies were largely dependent on the actual military necessity instead of being permanent units. Due to their flexibility, the new armies were sometimes omitted.
According to Tang dynasty scholar
Kong Yingda, The central army was the most prestigious army among Jin's three armies.
Its commander ''Zhongjunjiang'' (中軍將) also governs the state of Jin as ''Zhengqing'' (正卿)----Jin's prime minister.
Commander of the upper army (''Shangjunjiang'', 上軍將) and commander of the lower army (''Xiajunjiang'', 下軍將) did not have the access of political influence in Jin's court and were merely military staffs. Every commander (''Junjiang'') of an Jin army was accompanied by a ''Junzuo'' (軍佐) who was the assistant of ''Junjiang'' (軍將). Other posts in Jin' army were: ''Junsima'' (軍司馬) and ''Junwei'' (軍尉). The two were subordinated under ''Junjiang'' and ''Junzuo''.
Military ranks
*''
Zhongjunjiang'' (中軍將), also known as ''Yuanshuai'' (元帥), ''Jiangjun'' (將軍) and ''Zhengqing''; Prime minister of Jin.
*''Zhongjunzuo'' (中軍佐)
*''Zhongjunwei'' (中軍尉), when the country is not at war, ''Zhongjunwei'' is in charge of the actual affairs of the central army.
*''Shangjunjiang'' (上軍將)
*''Shangjunzuo'' (上軍佐)
*''Shangjunwei'' (上軍尉), when the country is not at war, ''Shangjunwei'' is in charge of the actual affairs of the upper army.
*''Xiajunjiang'' (下軍將)
*''Xiajunzuo'' (下軍佐)
*''Zhongjunsima'' (中軍司馬)
*''Shangjunsima'' (上軍司馬)
Rulers
List of Jin rulers based on the ''
Records of the Grand Historian
''Records of the Grand Historian'', also known by its Chinese name ''Shiji'', is a monumental history of China that is the first of China's 24 dynastic histories. The ''Records'' was written in the early 1st century by the ancient Chinese his ...
'' and the ''
Bamboo Annals''.
The original branch:
The Quwo branch, replacing the original branch in 678BC:
The ''
Records of the Grand Historian
''Records of the Grand Historian'', also known by its Chinese name ''Shiji'', is a monumental history of China that is the first of China's 24 dynastic histories. The ''Records'' was written in the early 1st century by the ancient Chinese his ...
'' (''Shiji'') also has another
Duke Jing after Duke Xiao. However, ''Shiji's'' account of the last rulers of Jin is often self-contradictory, and is further contradicted by the ''
Bamboo Annals'', which does not mention any Jin ruler after
Duke Huan of Jin
Duke Huan of Jin () was from 388 to 369 BC the titular ruler of the State of Jin during the beginning of the Warring States period of ancient China. His ancestral name was Ji, given name Qi, and Duke Huan was his posthumous title recorded in t ...
.
['' Annals of Wei'', '' Bamboo Annals''.] Historians such as
Yang Kuan
Yang Kuan (1914 − September 1, 2005) was a Chinese historian specializing in pre-Qin Dynasty Chinese history. He is considered an authority of the Warring States period, and his ''History of the Warring States'', first published in 1955, rema ...
,
Ch'ien Mu, and Han Zhaoqi generally regard the ''Bamboo Annals'' as more reliable, as it was unearthed from the tomb of
King Xiang (died 296 BC) of the
State of Wei, one of the three successor states of Jin. Duke Huan is therefore generally considered the final ruler of Jin.
Later tradition
Claimed descendants
The
Sui dynasty
The Sui dynasty (, ) was a short-lived imperial dynasty of China that lasted from 581 to 618. The Sui unified the Northern and Southern dynasties, thus ending the long period of division following the fall of the Western Jin dynasty, and la ...
Emperors were from the northwest military aristocracy, and emphasized that their patrilineal ancestry was ethnic Han, claiming descent from the Han official Yang Zhen. and the
New Book of Tang traced his patrilineal ancestry to the
Zhou dynasty
The Zhou dynasty ( ; Old Chinese ( B&S): *''tiw'') was a royal dynasty of China that followed the Shang dynasty. Having lasted 789 years, the Zhou dynasty was the longest dynastic regime in Chinese history. The military control of China by th ...
kings via Ji Boqiao (姬
伯僑), who was the son of Duke Wu of Jin. Ji Boqiao's family became known as the "sheep tongue family" (
羊舌氏).
The Yang of Hongnong (
弘農楊氏)
were asserted as ancestors by the Sui Emperors like the Longxi Li's were asserted as ancestors of the Tang Emperors.
The Li of Zhaojun and the Lu of Fanyang hailed from Shandong and were related to the Liu clan which was also linked to the Yang of Hongnong and other clans of Guanlong.
Duke Wu of Jin was claimed as the ancestors of the Hongnong Yang.
The Yang of Hongnong, Jia of Hedong, Xiang of Henei, and Wang of Taiyuan from the Tang dynasty were claimed as ancestors by Song dynasty lineages.
There were Dukedoms for the offspring of the royal families of the Zhou dynasty, Sui dynasty, and Tang dynasty in the
Later Jin (Five Dynasties).
Astrology
Jin is represented by the star
36 Capricorni (b Capricorni) in the asterism ''Twelve States'',
''Girl'' mansion. Jin is also represented by the star
Kappa Herculis in asterism ''Right Wall'',
Heavenly Market enclosure (see
Chinese constellation
Traditional Chinese astronomy has a system of dividing the celestial sphere into asterisms or constellations, known as "officials" (Chinese ''xīng guān'').
The Chinese asterisms are generally smaller than the constellations of Hellenistic t ...
).
[AEEA (Activities of Exhibition and Education in Astronomy) 天文教育資訊網 2006 年 6 月 24 日]
/ref>
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jin (State)
States and territories established in the 11th century BC
11th-century BC establishments in China
349 BC
States and territories disestablished in the 4th century BC
4th-century BC disestablishments in China