Jin dynasty (266–420)

Western Jin Dynasty, c. 280 CE.

The Jin dynasty or Jin Empire, sometimes distinguished as the Sima Jin or the Two Jins, was an imperial dynasty in China that existed from 266 to 420. It was founded by Sima Yan, eldest son of Sima Zhao, who had previously been declared the King of Jin.

The Jin dynasty marked a critical era for the Mahayana school in China. Dharmarakṣa's completed his translation of the Lotus Sutra in 286; this was the most influential translation of this sutra before Kumārajīva's 5th-century translation.

There are two main divisions in the history of the dynasty: the Western Jin (266–316) and the Eastern Jin (317–420).

Western Jin (266–316)

The Western Jin (266–316) was established as the successor to the Cao Wei dynastic state. The capital was initially in Luoyang, though it later moved to Chang'an (modern Xi'an). In 280, after conquering Eastern Wu, the Western Jin ended the Three Kingdoms period and reunited China proper for the first time since the end of the Han dynasty. The state was greatly weakened by a series of civil wars (from 291 to 306), followed by a wave of rebellions, which led to the end of the Western Jin era in 316.

Eastern Jin (317–420)

Eastern Jin, c. 400 CE

In 317, Emperor Yuan reestablished the Jin dynasty with its capital in Jiankang (modern Nanjing), inaugurating the Eastern Jin (317–420). The Eastern Jin dynasty remained in near-constant conflict with its northern neighbors for most of its existence, and was eventually usurped by General Liu Yu in 420, and replaced with the Liu Song dynasty.

Further reading

• Jin dynasty (266–420), Wikipedia