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Chinese History - Jin Dynasty 晉代 (265-316-420)

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Jin Dynasty
economy

period before (Sanguo)
-- 16 Kingdoms
-- Northern Wei (Tuoba)
next period (Southern Dynasties)
Map and Geography

The Cao-Wei Dynasty system of the agrarian colonies (tuntian 屯田) with their semi-militarian character that were run by a special administration of agrarian colony officials (diannongli 典農吏) gradually deteriorated and was given up when the Jin Dynasty was founded. It was given up because it was not furthermore necessary to enforce a state-guided agriculture, because the colony peasants (tunke 屯客, dianke 佃客) wanted to possess their own land, and because it was more reasonable for them to engage in trade or to work as tenant farmer for a landowner. The former colony administration (diannong jiaowei or jiaoyu 典農校尉 and diannong duwei or duyu 典農都尉) was now installed as normal governors and magistrates, and the colony inhabitants now belonged directly to the state as state households (bianhu 編戶). Many refugee peasants ("flowing people" liumin 流民) roamed around the countryside in search for food and a job. The Jin government, abolishing the agrarian colonies, tried everything to bring the peasants back to their homelands. Leaving one's land to engage in merchandise was prohibited. The household tax system (hudiaoshi 戶調式) was based on the demilitarization of the former agrarian colonies. Peasants had furthermore no duty to serve in the infantry ranks, and this measure generally contributed to a rising agricultural production because farmers could more consistently engage in working the fields. The first kind of tax was the tax in kind (diao 調) that consisted in silk and brocade that every person had to deliver to the state, depending on gender and age. But in fact, also the size of the owned land, the size of the farm, the number of the owned trees and the production rate was considered too when levying the nine degrees of tax in kind. The second kind of tax, a grain tax (zu 租) was oriented at the size of the land. Every person, depending on age and gender, was alloted a certain size of land (zhantian 佔田 or 占田). The levied tax was measured out at the size of the taxable land (ketian 課田) that could theoretically not surpass a certain size. These rules were valid for the peasants working of state-owned land. Officials in duty were given a certain piece of land too, and furthermore were exempt of any tax for a couple of years or even for generations (their families being called yinzu 蔭族), depending on their rank. Except this favour, officials could empbr>In the years between 523 and 531 several rebellions and uprisings starting in the western and northern garrisons shook the fundaments of the Wei empire (big yellow dots in the map).
Map Northern DynastiesMap Northern DynastiesMap Northern Dynasties
Map Northern DynastiesMap Northern DynastiesMap Northern Dynasties
The Northern Wei empire fell apart into two states: Eastern Wei (Dongwei 東魏) and Western Wei (Xiwei 西魏). The political disruptures of these years were a phase of international peace for the southern Liang Dynasty 梁. Although there still existed commanderies, the two Wei states administered their territory by prefectures. This new administration pattern introduced many new names into the historical geography of China.
Map Northern DynastiesMap Northern DynastiesMap Northern Dynasties
Map Northern DynastiesMap Northern DynastiesMap Northern Dynasties
Map Northern DynastiesMap Northern DynastiesMap Northern Dynasties
Map Northern Dynasties
With the Liang Dynasty in the south disintegrating, the lacking central power gave the two new northern dynasties of Northern Zhou (Beizhou 北周) and Northern Qi (Beiqi 北齊) the chance to conquer vast territories of the south, down to the Yangtse River 長江 and the whole area of modern Sichuan and Yunnan provinces. In the region of Jiangling 江陵 (modern Shashi 沙市/Hubei) was the small territory of the last rulers of the Liang Dynasty, called Later Liang (Houliang 後梁; don't be confused with the Later Liang of the Five Dynasties).
At that time, a new nomadic people in the north appeared: the Turks (Tujue 突厥).
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