Contents
State of Jin
Dukedom
11th century BC–376 BC
→ → →Capital Tang (唐)
Quwo (曲沃)
Jiang (絳)
Political structure Dukedom
History
- Established 11th century BC
- Disestablished 376 BC
Currency Chinese coin; Spade coin
The State of Jin (simplified Chinese: 晋国; traditional Chinese: 晉國; pinyin: Jìn Guó), formerly known as Tang (唐), was one of the states during the Western Zhou Dynasty and the Spring and Autumn Period, based in Shanxi, China. Jin was founded when King Cheng of Zhou gave the land called Tang to his younger brother, Tang Shuyu. In 403 BC, King Weilie of Zhou acknowledged Han Qian, Zhao Ji, Wei Si as marquis of Han, Zhao and Wei respectively, therefore Jin was split into three states: Han, Zhao and Wei. The Partition of Jin was the end of the Spring and Autumn Period and the beginning of the Warring States Period.
Jin founded a new city north of the capital at Quwo (曲沃) in 746 BC. Jin had multiple capitals. The initial capital of Jin was Tang (唐); the remains of Tang are at modern Qucun (曲村). The capital was later moved to E (鄂), then Jiang (絳), then Xintian (新田). The remains of Xintian are at modern Houma.
Early history
During the early years of the Zhou Dynasty, King Cheng of Zhou gave the land called Tang (唐), west of modern Yicheng County in Shanxi, to his younger brother, Tang Shuyu (唐叔虞). Therefore, Tang Shuyu became the ruler of the State of Tang with a rank of a marquis. His son and next successor, Marquis Xie of Jin (晉侯燮), changed the name of Tang to Jin.
During the end of the Western Zhou Dynasty, Marquis Wen of Jin (晉文侯), the eleventh marquis of Jin, supported King Ping of Zhou while establishing the Eastern Zhou Dynasty and moving the capital from Haojing to Luoyi. Marquis Wen of Jin also killed King Xie of Zhou (周攜王), someone who was put into throne by a Zhou official and opposed the rule of King Ping of Zhou. All these helped in the foundation of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, therefore Marquis Wen of Jin was heavily rewarded by King Ping of Zhou.
Splitting of Jin
In the early years of the Spring and Autumn Period, civil battles were fought between the royal Jin family and nobles seeking the throne. When Marquis Zhao of Jin (晉昭侯) ascended the throne in 745 BC, he gave the land of Quwo (曲沃), modern Quwo County in Shanxi, to his uncle named Ji Chengshi (姬成師). This is considered as when Jin split into two, the two being Jin and Quwo. Ji Chengshi was then called Uncle Huan of Quwo (曲沃桓叔) since he was the uncle of Marquis Zhao of Jin.
In 739 BC, the seventh year of the reign of Marquis Zhao of Jin, a Jin official named Panfu (潘父) murdered him, and welcomed Uncle Huan of Quwo to ascended the throne of Jin. He accepted Panfu's welcome and entered Jin. When he entered, the Jin people brought troops to stop him from entering. He lost and receded back to Quwo. Then, the Jin people asked the son of Marquis Zhao of Jin to ascend the throne and he became the next marquis: Marquis Xiao of Jin (晉孝侯).
In 678 BC, the 28th year of the reign of Marquis Min of Jin (晉侯緡), Duke Wu of Quwo (曲沃武公), the third ruler of Quwo, attacked Jin and killed Marquis Min. Then, Duke Wu offered gifts to King Xi of Zhou (周釐王), who in turn made Duke Wu the next ruler of Jin and gave him the title of Duke Wu of Jin (晉武公).
The Rise of Jin
After Duke Wu of Jin ascended the throne, Jin rose in power. In 676 BC, Duke Xian of Jin (晉獻公) ascended the throne. In 672 BC, he attacked the Lirong tribe (驪戎) and obtained two women from the tribe: Li Ji (驪姬) and her younger sister, Shao Ji (少姬). Both women were favored greatly by Duke Xian of Jin. He also vastly expanded the territory of Jin, conquering small states like Geng(耿), Huo (霍),old Wei (魏),Yu (虞) and Guo (虢).
During the early years of the Spring and Autumn Period, Uncle Huan of Quwo continuously tried to expand his own power, therefore Quwo annexed Jin in the end. Duke Xian of Jin applied this event in history by slaughtering the royal family members of Jin having the same surname as the duke and some he sent to exile, resulting in a situation wherein the clan of the duke having no control over the politics of Jin.
Afterwards Jin suffered a small civil disorder due to the Li Ji Rebellion. In 636 BC, Duke Wen of Jin (晉文公) ascended the throne of Jin and rose to hegemony, therefore becoming one of the Five Hegemons in the Spring and Autumn Period. In the Battle of Chengpu in 632 BC, probably the greatest battles during the Spring and Autumn Period, Jin confirmed its hegemony over the states of the Spring and Autumn Period by defeating Chu, therefore stopping Chu from rising to hegemony. After hearing of Jin's victory, King Xiang of Zhou (周襄王) met him in Jitu (踐土), southwest of modern Yuanyang County in Henan, as he was going back to Jin after the Battle of Chengpu. King Xiang of Zhou then granted him the title of a hegemon.
Duke Wen of Jin advocated the strategy coined by the first hegemon of the Spring and Autumn Period, Duke Huan of Qi - "Uphold the King, repel the barbarians" (尊王攘夷), with the king being the King of Zhou. He was also famous for his chivalry - after a massive war with his erstwhile ally and friend, the King of Qin, he ordered relations between the two kingdoms to return to normal, and constructed monuments honouring both the sacrifice of the Jin and Qin troops. The Chinese proverb "The Friendship of Qin and Jin", meaning an unbreakable bond, originates from this period.
States like Qin and Qi had no sufficient strength in fighting with Jin for the power of hegemony and only the state of Chu had the strength to fight for it. So continuous victories and defeats on Jin and Chu resulted in an exchanging hold over the power of hegemony in the Central Plains of China.
Decline and fall
In 607 BC, Zhao Dun (趙盾) ordered his nephew, Zhao Chuan (趙穿), to kill Duke Ling of Jin and invited Prince Heitun to ascended the throne of Jin and he became Duke Cheng of Jin. This the the beginning of the gradual increase of the power of the court officials of Jin and gradual decrease of the power of the dukes of Jin.
Duke Li of Jin, the grandson of Duke Cheng of Jin, made an attempt to increase his power over the state by using the conflicts between officials to annihilate clans of officials that control power over Jin. In 573 BC, he was finally killed himself by the Luan clan (欒氏) and the Zhonghang clan (中行氏). During the time of Duke Dao of Jin, there was an increase in the power of the duke but he failed to return the power of Jin to the dukes. After the reign of Duke Zhao of Jin, the state of Jin was controlled by six clans: Han clan (韓氏), Zhao clan (趙氏), Wei clan (魏氏), Fan clan (范氏), Zhonghang clan (中行氏) and the Zhi clan (智氏). From then on, the power of Jin never returned to the duke of Jin, the duke themselves serving only as a figurehead.
The clans themselves began to battle for power. During the time of Duke Ding of Jin, the Fan and Zhonghang clan were annihilated. In 453 BC, the 24th year of the reign of Duke Chu of Jin, the Han, Zhao and Wei clan united and annihilated the Zhi clan and divided the clan's land to themselves. During this time, the three clans left have already divided the land of Jin into three. In 434 BC, Duke Ai of Jin died and Duke You of Jin ascended the throne. Han, Zhao and Wei have already divided the remainder of the land of Jin, leaving the lands of Jiang, modern Jiang County in Shanxi, and Quwo, to Duke You of Jin. From then on, the three clans were known as the "Three Jins" (三晉).
In 403 BC, the 13th year of the reign of Duke Lie of Jin, King Weilie of Zhou acknowledged Han Qian, Zhao Ji, Wei Si as marquis of Han, Zhao and Wei respectively, therefore, in an act known as the Partition of Jin, the Jin state was split into three states: Han, Zhao and Wei. In 349 BC, the second year of the reign of Duke Jing of Jin, Zhao and Wei killed Duke Jing of Jin and divided his land, therefore ending more than 700 years of Jin reign.
List of Jin rulers
Title(s) Personal name Reign yearsTang Shuyu
唐叔虞 Jī Yú
姬虞 1042 BC - ?
Marquis Xie of Jin
晉侯燮 Jī Xiè
姬燮
Marquis Wu of Jin
晉武侯 Jī Níngzú
姬寧族
Marquis Cheng of Jin
晉成侯 Jī Fúrén
姬服人
Marquis Li of Jin
晉厲侯 Jī Fú
姬福 ? - 859 BC
Marquis Jing of Jin
晉靖侯 Jī Yíjìu
姬宜臼 858 BC - 841 BC
Marquis Lí of Jin
晉釐侯 Jī Sītú
姬司徒 841 BC - 823 BC
Marquis Xian of Jin
晉獻侯 Jī Jí
姬籍 823 BC - 812 BC
Marquis Mu of Jin
晉穆侯 Jī Fèiwáng
姬費王 812 BC - 785 BC
Uncle Shang of Jin
晉殤叔 Jī Shāng
姬殤 785 BC - 781 BC
Marquis Wen of Jin
晉文侯 Jī Chóu
姬仇 780 BC - 746 BC
Marquis Zhao of Jin
晉昭侯 Jī Bó
姬伯 745 BC - 739 BC
Marquis Xiao of Jin
晉孝侯 Jī Píng
姬平 739 BC - 724 BC
Marquis E of Jin
晉鄂侯 Jī Xì
姬郤 724 BC - 718 BC
Marquis Ai of Jin
晉哀侯 Jī Guāng
姬光 717 BC - 709 BC
Marquis Xiaozi of Jin
晉小子侯 Jī Xiǎozǐ
姬小子 708 BC - 705 BC
Marquis Min of Jin
晉侯緡 Jī Mín
姬緡 704 BC - 678 BC
Uncle Huan of Quwo
曲沃桓叔 Jī Chéngshī
姬成師 745 BC - 731 BC
Count Zhuang of Quwo
曲沃莊伯 Jī Shàn
姬鱓 731 BC - 716 BC
Duke Wu of Quwo
曲沃武公 Jī Chēng
姬稱 716 BC - 678 BC Duke of Quwo
679 BC - 677 BC as Duke Wu of Jin
Duke Xian of Jin
晉獻公 Jī Guǐzhū
姬詭諸 676 BC - 651 BC
Duke Hui of Jin
晉恵公 Jī Yíwú
姬夷吾 650 BC - 637 BC
Duke Huai of Jin
晉懷公 Jī Yǔ
姬圉 637 BC - 637 BC
Duke Wen of Jin
晉文公 Jī Chóngěr
姬重耳 636 BC - 628 BC
Duke Xiang of Jin
晉襄公 Jī Huān
姬歡 627 BC - 621 BC
Duke Ling of Jin
晉靈公 Jī Yígāo
姬夷皋 620 BC - 607 BC
Duke Cheng of Jin
晉成公 Jī Hēitún
姬黑臀 606 BC - 600 BC
Duke Jǐng of Jin
晉景公 Jī Jù
姬據 599 BC - 581 BC
Duke Li of Jin
晉厲公 Jī Shòumàn
姬壽曼 580 BC - 573 BC
Duke Dao of Jin
晉悼公 Jī Zhōu
姬周 572 BC - 558 BC
Duke Ping of Jin
晉平公 Jī Biāo
姬彪 557 BC - 532 BC
Duke Zhao of Jin
晉昭公 Jī Yí
姬夷 531 BC - 526 BC
Duke Qing of Jin
晉頃公 Jī Qìjí
姬棄疾 525 BC - 512 BC
Duke Ding of Jin
晉定公 Jī Wǔ
姬午 511 BC - 475 BC
Duke Chu of Jin
晉出公 Jī Záo
姬鑿 474 BC - 452 BC
Duke Ai of Jin
晉哀公 Jī Jiāo
姬驕 451 BC - 434 BC
Duke You of Jin
晉幽公 Jī Liǔ
姬柳 433 BC - 416 BC
Duke Lie of Jin
晉烈公 Jī Zhǐ
姬止 415 BC - 389 BC
Duke Xiao of Jin
晉孝公 Jī Qí
姬頎 388 BC - 357 BC
Duke Jing of Jin
晉靜公 Jī Jùjiǔ
姬俱酒 356 BC - 349 BC