The Wei, Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties (also known as: Three Kingdoms, Two Jins and Southern and Northern Dynasties) were the period with the most frequent regime changes in Chinese history. They were mainly divided into the Three Kingdoms (Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu), the Western Jin, the Eastern Jin, and the Southern and Northern Dynasties. During this period of more than 360 years (AD 220-AD 589), more than 30 dynasties, large and small, rose and fell alternately in Japan. Due to the long-term feudal separatism and continuous wars, the development of Chinese culture during this period Development has been particularly affected. Its outstanding manifestations are the rise of metaphysics, the import of Buddhism, the rise of Taoism and the integration of Persian and Greek culture.

Historical Introduction

The Three Kingdoms (220-280) was a period in Chinese history, with three main regimes: Cao Wei, Shu Han and Sun Wu. The wars between the Three Kingdoms at the end of the Han Dynasty continued, causing China's population to drop sharply and the economy to be severely damaged. Therefore, the three countries all attached great importance to economic development. Coupled with the needs brought about by the war, various technologies have made many advances.

The Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out in 184 during the reign of Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty. In order to stabilize the local area, Zhou Mu had local control. Later, the imperial court was controlled by the warlord Dong Zhuo due to civil strife, and powerful officials from various places sent state pastoralists to raise troops to resist Dong Zhuo. In 190, Dong Zhuo took the imperial court hostage and moved the capital. The local governors and governors allocate land to one area, and the heroes divided the country. Dong Zhuo was eventually assassinated by Lu Bu and Wang Yun, and Chang'an was finally occupied by Li Jue. Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty took the opportunity to flee eastward, and was welcomed to Xuchang by Cao Cao in 196, and was renamed Yuan Jian'an. Cao Cao adopted the policy of "serving the emperor's orders but not his ministers" (commonly known as "holding the emperor's orders to order the princes"), defeated many forces, defeated Yuan Shao in the Battle of Guandu in 200, and generally controlled northern China by 208. However, he was defeated by the coalition forces of Sun and Liu in the Battle of Chibi in the winter of that year, forming the prototype of the Three Kingdoms. Cao Cao died of illness in 220, and his son Cao Pi forced Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty to abdicate and established the country as Wei, which was called Cao Wei in history. At this point, the Eastern Han Dynasty was destroyed and the Three Kingdoms period officially entered. The following year, Liu Bei, who was based in Yizhou, also proclaimed himself emperor. The country's name was continued to be Han, and it was called Shu Han in history. Liu Bei and Sun Quan expanded their power after the Battle of Chibi. They had many disputes and wars over the Jingzhou issue. In the end, Liu Bei failed in the Battle of Yiling in 222, and Sun Quan gained most of Jingzhou. Liu Bei died of illness the following year, and Zhuge Liang, who assisted his son Liu Chan, restored an alliance with Sun Quan in the same year. Sun Quan, who controlled Yangzhou, Jingzhou, Jiaozhou and other places, did not proclaim himself emperor until 229. His country was named Wu, and it was called Sun Wu or Soochow in history. The situation in the Three Kingdoms is mainly between the Shu and Wu alliance against Wei, and the territories of each country have not changed much. The Cao Wei court was gradually controlled by the Sima family. In 263, in order to establish military merit and prepare to usurp the throne, Sima Zhao launched a war between Wei and Shu to destroy Shu, and the Shu Han Dynasty perished. Sima Zhao died of illness two years later. His son Sima Yan deposed Emperor Yuan of Wei and established himself. The country was named Jin, which was called the Western Jin in history. Cao Wei died. In 280, the Western Jin Dynasty launched the Jin War to destroy Wu, destroyed Sun Wu, and unified China. At this point, the Three Kingdoms period ended and the Jin Dynasty entered.

The Jin Dynasty (265-420) inherited the Three Kingdoms and started the Southern and Northern Dynasties. It was one of the Six Dynasties. It is divided into the Western Jin Dynasty (265-316 AD) and the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317-420 AD). The Sima family belonged to the Cao Wei family during the Three Kingdoms period, and took control of the Wei state after the Gaopingling Incident. In 265, Sima Yan forced Wei Yuan Emperor Cao Huan to abdicate the throne, and the country was named Jin, that is, Emperor Wu of Jin. In 280, the Western Jin Dynasty destroyed Sun Wu and unified the world, but the peaceful and stable situation only lasted for a short dozen years. After Emperor Hui of Jin succeeded to the throne, the court gradually became chaotic, and the kings with military power fought for power, which was known as the Rebellion of the Eight Kings in history. After the vitality of the Jin Dynasty was severely damaged, the ethnic groups that moved inland took the opportunity to raise their troops, causing chaos in China. A large number of people and noble families began to migrate south. In 316, the Western Jin Dynasty fell, and the north entered the period of the Five Hu and Sixteen Kingdoms.

In 317, Sima Rui, a clan member of the Jin Dynasty, proclaimed himself emperor in Jiankang, and the Eastern Jin Dynasty was established, occupying the territory of southern China. The aristocratic families and common people from the Central Plains gradually moved southward, forming a situation where expatriates in northern China and indigenous people in the south lived together. In the early Eastern Jin Dynasty, Wang Dao and others adopted a strategy of calming down the situation to stabilize the situation. The imperial power declined, and the power of the court was mainly controlled by the aristocratic families. Due to the external emphasis on military power and the weak control of the court, many Fangzhen had ambitions. Wang Dun's Rebellion, Su Jun's Rebellion and Huan Wen's dictatorship occurred successively. Although some nobles in power had a desire to recover and launched several Northern Expeditions, the court was worried that careerists would use this to expand their power, so most of them passively supported it. In 383, the former Qin Dynasty sent out all the troops of the country with the intention of destroying the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Faced with the calamity of national subjugation, the kings and ministers of the Eastern Jin Dynasty worked together to win the decisive battle of Feishui. Xie Xuan and other generals took advantage of the victory to pursue the victory and successfully recovered a large amount of lost territory, which led to the collapse of the former Qin Dynasty and triggered changes in the military and political structure of the north. However, in the late Eastern Jin Dynasty, factional fighting and Huanxuan's rebellion occurred again. The burden on the common people was heavy, and the rebellions of Sun En and Lu Xun occurred again.

Qiao Zong also relied on Shu to establish himself. Finally, Liu Yu rose up, put down all the chaos, won the throne with military power, and entered the Northern and Southern Dynasties period.

The Southern and Northern Dynasties (420-589) started from 420 when Liu Yu usurped the Eastern Jin Dynasty and established the Southern Dynasty and Song Dynasty, and ended in 589 when the Sui Dynasty destroyed the Chen Dynasty in the Southern Dynasty. . Because the two forces of the north and the south had been in opposition for a long time, they were called the Southern and Northern Dynasties. The Southern Dynasty (420-589) included the Song, Qi, Liang, and Chen dynasties; the Northern Dynasty (439-581) included the Northern Wei, Eastern Wei, Western Wei, Northern Qi, and Northern Zhou.

The royal families of the Southern Dynasties were mainly from poor families or common people. Because military power was gradually controlled by poor families or common people, they were able to usurp the throne. In the early stage, the economy gradually recovered and the military strength was strong. Due to strategic mistakes and the strong military power of the Northern Dynasty, the border gradually moved southward. The emperor and his clan often fought bloody battles for the throne. In the Southern Dynasties, Liang was improved by Emperor Wu of Liang, which made the country strong again. In his later years, the country was corrupted and the Hou Jing's Rebellion greatly reduced the strength of the Southern Dynasty and fragmented it. The overseas Chinese family that dominated the political situation completely collapsed. Although Emperor Chen Wen of the Southern Dynasties unified the Southern Dynasties, their national power had declined and they could only rely on the Yangtze River to resist the Northern Dynasties. The Northern Dynasties inherited the Five Hu and Sixteen Kingdoms and was an emerging dynasty integrating the Hu and Han Dynasties. The royal family of the Northern Wei Dynasty belonged to the Xianbei ethnic group. Han officials were influenced by Wuhu culture and often married with Hu people. The Xianbei royal family was also influenced by Han culture. The Northern Wei Dynasty was restrained by Rouran in the north. It was not until the friendly Turks annexed Rouran that they fully dealt with the Southern Dynasties. Later, after the civil uprising and peasant riots in the six towns, its strength declined greatly. After the Northern Wei Dynasty split into the Eastern Wei Dynasty and the Western Wei Dynasty, they were soon replaced by the Northern Qi Dynasty and the Northern Zhou Dynasty respectively. The Northern Qi Dynasty was mainly composed of six town groups, and its military strength was strong in the early stage. The Xianbei army in the Northern Zhou Dynasty was smaller than that of the Northern Qi Dynasty, and its political status was not as good as that of Chen in the Southern Dynasty. In the end, the Guanlong Group founded by Yu Wentai was used to annex the increasingly corrupt Northern Qi Dynasty. After the death of Emperor Wu of the Zhou Dynasty, Han Chinese Yang Jian took control of the court and established the Sui Dynasty by conferring Zen to Emperor Jing of the Northern Zhou Dynasty. After eight years of operation, he sent troops to destroy the Southern Chen Dynasty and unified China. After the Sui Dynasty unified the world, the people of Guandong and Jiangnan were merged to form the New Han people, creating an open and inclusive Sui and Tang empire.