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Upheaval of the Five Barbarians
The Upheaval of the Five Barbarians also translated as the Uprising, Rebellion or the Revolt of the Five Barbarians (simplified Chinese: 五胡乱华; traditional Chinese: 五胡亂華; lit. 'Five foreign tribes disrupting China') is a Chinese expression used to refer to a chaotic period of warfare from 304 to 316 during the fall of the Western Jin dynasty. Overlapping with the War of the Eight Princes, these conflicts which involved non-Han groups living within China eventually drove the Jin imperial court out of the northern and southwestern China.
The "Five Barbarians" were the Xiongnu, Jie, Qiang, Di and Xianbei, many of whom had resettled within China during the preceding centuries. Despite the period's name, many Han Chinese and other tribal people like the Wuhuan were also involved, wavering their support between Jin and the separatist regimes. Years of poor administration and civil wars between the ruling princes left the empire open to its disaffected and opportunistic subjects. Ethnic tensions in the Guanzhong region between the Han and the tribes, primarily the Qiang and Di, led to major revolts which resulted in an exodus of refugees into southwestern China. Efforts to force them back to Guanzhong were met with resistance and culminated in the rebellion of the Ba-Di refugee, Li Te in 301.
In the north, the Five Divisions of Bing province, descendants of the Southern Xiongnu, took advantage of the Jin prince's infighting to declare independence and establish the Han-Zhao in 304, acclaiming the noble, Liu Yuan as their leader. As anti-Jin revolts spread to Hebei and Shandong, a former Jie slave, Shi Le, rose to prominence, and after joining Liu Yuan, he would effectively control the eastern part of his empire. The Xianbei Duan tribe in Liaoxi and Tuoba tribe in Dai were initially important allies of Jin in helping them fight against Han, but later pulled out from the conflict to consolidate control over their territories.
Li Te's son Li Xiong captured Chengdu and established Cheng-Han in 304. In 311, Han captured Emperor Huai of Jin and the ancient capital, Luoyang in an event known as the Disaster of Yongjia. In 316, Jin's hope of restoring imperial authority in the north were crushed when Han defeated and captured Emperor Min in Chang'an. The establishments of Cheng-Han and Han-Zhao in 304 were seen as the start of the Sixteen Kingdoms period, and the defeat of Emperor Min led to the formation of the Eastern Jin dynasty by Emperor Yuan in Jiankang in 318. For the next 130 years or so, China would be divided between the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Eastern Jin before the eventual dissolution of Jin by the Liu Song dynasty and the unification of the north by the Northern Wei dynasty.
During the early days of the Western Jin, the imperial Sima family began allowing their princes to assume the roles of military governors, a privilege that was non-existent under the preceding Cao Wei dynasty. Following the unification of the Three Kingdoms in 280, Emperor Wu of Jin also issued orders for the demobilization of every province and commandery in the empire, and reduced the military authority of the provincial inspector into a civilian role. Only 100 military officials were stationed in large commanderies, while smaller commaderies only had 50.
The policy of concentrating military power in the hands of the princes was intended to safeguard the dynasty from potential usurpers and keep the power of the gentry clans in check. However, this decision became a contributing factor to the War of the Eight Princes (291–306); after the death of Emperor Wu, he was succeeded by his eldest son, Emperor Hui of Jin, who was developmentally disabled. With the emperor a mere figurehead in his own court, the princes instead pitted their armies against one another for real control over the empire.
As the Jin military weakened itself under the princes, many counties and commaderies were left defenceless to rebellions. In the finals years of the Western Jin, tribal subjects collectively known as the Five Barbarians started to dominate northern and western China; they were known as the Xiongnu, Jie, Xianbei, Di and Qiang.
The migration of the nomadic people into the Chinese interior had been ongoing since the early Han dynasty. In 50 CE, after the Xiongnu empire was divided into two, the Southern Xiongnu became a vassal state for the Han on the northern frontier within the Great Wall. The chanyu's court was moved to Xihe Commandery in Bing province while his followers served as auxiliaries in defending the border from nomadic forces such as the Northern Xiongnu and Xianbei. However, their relation with the Han remained tense due to the poor living conditions on the frontiers and the Chinese court interfering in their politics. The Southern Xiongnu thus frequently rebelled, eventually exiling their chanyu and dissolving his government in 189, just as the Han was experiencing their own collapse.
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Upheaval of the Five Barbarians
The Upheaval of the Five Barbarians also translated as the Uprising, Rebellion or the Revolt of the Five Barbarians (simplified Chinese: 五胡乱华; traditional Chinese: 五胡亂華; lit. 'Five foreign tribes disrupting China') is a Chinese expression used to refer to a chaotic period of warfare from 304 to 316 during the fall of the Western Jin dynasty. Overlapping with the War of the Eight Princes, these conflicts which involved non-Han groups living within China eventually drove the Jin imperial court out of the northern and southwestern China.
The "Five Barbarians" were the Xiongnu, Jie, Qiang, Di and Xianbei, many of whom had resettled within China during the preceding centuries. Despite the period's name, many Han Chinese and other tribal people like the Wuhuan were also involved, wavering their support between Jin and the separatist regimes. Years of poor administration and civil wars between the ruling princes left the empire open to its disaffected and opportunistic subjects. Ethnic tensions in the Guanzhong region between the Han and the tribes, primarily the Qiang and Di, led to major revolts which resulted in an exodus of refugees into southwestern China. Efforts to force them back to Guanzhong were met with resistance and culminated in the rebellion of the Ba-Di refugee, Li Te in 301.
In the north, the Five Divisions of Bing province, descendants of the Southern Xiongnu, took advantage of the Jin prince's infighting to declare independence and establish the Han-Zhao in 304, acclaiming the noble, Liu Yuan as their leader. As anti-Jin revolts spread to Hebei and Shandong, a former Jie slave, Shi Le, rose to prominence, and after joining Liu Yuan, he would effectively control the eastern part of his empire. The Xianbei Duan tribe in Liaoxi and Tuoba tribe in Dai were initially important allies of Jin in helping them fight against Han, but later pulled out from the conflict to consolidate control over their territories.
Li Te's son Li Xiong captured Chengdu and established Cheng-Han in 304. In 311, Han captured Emperor Huai of Jin and the ancient capital, Luoyang in an event known as the Disaster of Yongjia. In 316, Jin's hope of restoring imperial authority in the north were crushed when Han defeated and captured Emperor Min in Chang'an. The establishments of Cheng-Han and Han-Zhao in 304 were seen as the start of the Sixteen Kingdoms period, and the defeat of Emperor Min led to the formation of the Eastern Jin dynasty by Emperor Yuan in Jiankang in 318. For the next 130 years or so, China would be divided between the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Eastern Jin before the eventual dissolution of Jin by the Liu Song dynasty and the unification of the north by the Northern Wei dynasty.
During the early days of the Western Jin, the imperial Sima family began allowing their princes to assume the roles of military governors, a privilege that was non-existent under the preceding Cao Wei dynasty. Following the unification of the Three Kingdoms in 280, Emperor Wu of Jin also issued orders for the demobilization of every province and commandery in the empire, and reduced the military authority of the provincial inspector into a civilian role. Only 100 military officials were stationed in large commanderies, while smaller commaderies only had 50.
The policy of concentrating military power in the hands of the princes was intended to safeguard the dynasty from potential usurpers and keep the power of the gentry clans in check. However, this decision became a contributing factor to the War of the Eight Princes (291–306); after the death of Emperor Wu, he was succeeded by his eldest son, Emperor Hui of Jin, who was developmentally disabled. With the emperor a mere figurehead in his own court, the princes instead pitted their armies against one another for real control over the empire.
As the Jin military weakened itself under the princes, many counties and commaderies were left defenceless to rebellions. In the finals years of the Western Jin, tribal subjects collectively known as the Five Barbarians started to dominate northern and western China; they were known as the Xiongnu, Jie, Xianbei, Di and Qiang.
The migration of the nomadic people into the Chinese interior had been ongoing since the early Han dynasty. In 50 CE, after the Xiongnu empire was divided into two, the Southern Xiongnu became a vassal state for the Han on the northern frontier within the Great Wall. The chanyu's court was moved to Xihe Commandery in Bing province while his followers served as auxiliaries in defending the border from nomadic forces such as the Northern Xiongnu and Xianbei. However, their relation with the Han remained tense due to the poor living conditions on the frontiers and the Chinese court interfering in their politics. The Southern Xiongnu thus frequently rebelled, eventually exiling their chanyu and dissolving his government in 189, just as the Han was experiencing their own collapse.