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Jin dynasty

 
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: Jin dynasty
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Period of Chinese history (AD 265 – 420) following the Three Kingdoms (Sanguo) and preceding the Southern Dynasties (Nanchao) periods. It is the first of two major Chinese dynastic periods to bear that name, the other Jin (or Juchen) dynasty ruling in 1115 – 1234. The dynasty had two distinct phases: the Western (Xi) Jin (265 – 317) and the Eastern (Dong) Jin (317 – 420). The latter is considered one of the Six Dynasties that ruled China between the fall of the Han (220) and the establishment of the Sui (581). China was reunited under Sima Yan (Ssu-ma Yen), first of the Jin emperors, but after his death the empire rapidly crumbled. The Xiongnu nomads of the north overran the Jin capital of Luoyang and later defeated the Jin again at Chang'an. For the next two centuries China was divided into two societies, northern (plagued by barbarian invasions) and southern. The Eastern Jin, founded by another Sima prince at Nanjing, suffered revolts, court intrigues, and frontier wars but also saw the flourishing of Buddhism in China and the birth of China's first great painter, Gu Kaizhi (344 – 406?).

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