What are the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties?

This is

(From modern aesthetician Zong Baihua)

▼

“China’s most politically chaotic and socially painful era”

Over 360 years, more than 90 regimes have taken turns to take the stage

On average, one regime changes every four years

A baby girl born only a few months old can ascend to the throne

The idiot prince who said "Why not eat meat porridge" can inherit the throne

The world is full of wars, and nine out of ten houses are empty.

It can be said

"Bones are exposed in the wild, and no rooster crows for a thousand miles"

(The above is from Cao Cao's "Song of Haoli", the picture below is the " Dynasty Tree " of the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, photographers @肖怡宁, Xu Qin, Zhang Yong, Zhang Zhigang, Wu Wei, Artery Shadow, Yang Hu, Mengwu Ruyan, Liu Xiaoning, Fu Hongchao, Yong Qishui, Bao Haolin, Wu Hongbo, Ju Xiao, map @刘志鹏/星球研究院)

▼

This is also

(From modern aesthetician Zong Baihua)

▼

"An era of the greatest freedom, liberation, wisdom and passion in the history of the spirit"

Wang Xizhi wrote the "Lanting Preface" with his brush

Tao Yuanming wrote, "Picking chrysanthemums under the eastern fence, leisurely seeing the southern mountains"

Cao Zhi met the Goddess of Luo River, "graceful as a startled swan, graceful as a swimming dragon"

Ji Kang was unyielding and said, "The Guangling San is now extinct!"

Hua Mulan joined the army for her father, "traveling thousands of miles to the battlefield, crossing the mountains and hills like flying"

Before the two armies, listen to the song "Prince Lanling's Battle Song"

(The above quotes are from Tao Yuanming's "Drinking·No. 5", Cao Zhi's "Ode to the Goddess of the Luo River", "Book of Jin·Biography of Ji Kang", and "The Ballad of Mulan". The picture below is a Northern Qi Buddha statue in the Qingzhou Museum, which looks like the Venus de Milo. The photographer is @脉影)

▼

This is

Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties

Since Cao Pi replaced the Han Dynasty (220 AD)

Until Emperor Wen of Sui unified the country (589 AD)

How did this deformed and absurd era come into being?

How did it affect China as a whole?

Sometimes the truth

More than one

01

The first truth

-People's perspective-

The general trend of the world is that long-term division will eventually lead to unification, and long-term unification will eventually lead to division.

Cao Pi replaced the Han Dynasty, and the Sima family replaced the Cao family

The Three Kingdoms of Wei, Shu and Wu at the end of the Han Dynasty

It was finally ended by Emperor Wu of Jin, Sima Yan

This marked the beginning of the Western Jin Dynasty

Taikang Era

Although the war consumed part of the country's strength

But the largest war was to destroy Shu and Wu.

All happened in the "borderland"

And a quick solution within 2 months

(Sketch of Jin conquering the Three Kingdoms, drawn by @陈志浩/Planetary Research Institute)

▼

In other words

220 years since the establishment of the Cao Wei regime

280 years until Sima Yan unified the country

The Central Plains region has been peaceful for almost 60 years.

A prosperous and wealthy

Liu Chan, the last emperor of Shu Han

Defeated and captured in Central China

Under the preferential treatment of the wealthy Sima court

I'm so happy that I don't want to leave

Lived until he was 65 years old and died

The unification of the Jin Dynasty in the eyes of the people

It should be the beginning of a peaceful and prosperous era

Emperor Wu of Jin, Sima Yan, also thought so

Even Cao Cao and Liu Bei could not conquer the world

All fell into their own hands

He began to enjoy himself

There are thousands of beauties in the harem, and it is difficult to choose

He went out on a sheep cart

Let the sheep choose beauties for pleasure

(Gold jewelry from the Western Jin Dynasty, photographers @脉影,路客看看, map @刘志鹏/星球研究院)

▼

The officials under his rule also squandered money

For example, Wang Kai and Shi Chong

Once Emperor Wu of Jin gave Wang Kai

A coral tree more than two feet tall

When Wang Kai was showing off to the officials

Shi Chong suddenly smashed the coral

Wang Kai was furious

Shi Chong did not care and asked his followers

Bring a dozen corals from home

For Wang Kai to choose

Among them are some large corals that are three or four feet tall.

(Three feet is about 1 meter. The picture below shows a larger coral artifact currently in the Forbidden City. The total height of the coral is 66 centimeters, which is about half of the three-foot coral in the article. Photographer @柳叶氘, map @刘志鹏/星球研究院)

▼

Showing off wealth and competing for wealth among the rich and powerful

Money from selling official positions

Into the pockets of the rich and powerful

An article titled "The God of Money" was published

People nowadays regard money as God

The people are another scene.

Turmoil during the Late Han and Three Kingdoms Period

The wealthy families took advantage of the opportunity to occupy a large amount of land

A large number of people were forced to become "serfs"

Living under the landlord

The winter winds are getting stronger every year.

It is becoming increasingly difficult to harvest crops.

(Human figurines from the Wei and Jin Dynasties, photographers @傅鸿超, 张志刚, map @刘志鹏/Planetary Research Institute)

▼

also

The loss of able-bodied men caused by war

Let women and their families

Took the primary responsibility of raising offspring

No strong patrilineal bloodline concept

Surnames do not have to be passed down from generation to generation and can be changed at will

Zhang Liao, a famous general of Cao Wei, originally had the surname "Nie"

Changed his surname to avoid enemies

Kong Rong met someone by chance

Think his last name is bad

This person then changed his last name

(The above view is still controversial. Some scholars regard this as a continuation of the weak blood consciousness from the Warring States Period to the Qin and Han Dynasties in the late Han Dynasty. This article adopts the view of surname change caused by war turmoil in Zhang Xinying and Zhang Shuyi's "A Preliminary Discussion on Surname Change in Wei and Jin Dynasties". The picture below is a horse-riding terracotta warrior, collected by Jingzhou Museum, and the photographer is @平如恒)

▼

In the collapse of social order

The individual's self-awareness gradually awakens

For example, the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove, including Ruan Ji and Ji Kang.

They often gather under the bamboo forest and indulge themselves

Contempt for worldliness and greed

Although I am not rich, I still pursue spiritual freedom.

Among them, Liu Ling often indulged in drinking

Naked and drunk in the house

Some people saw this and laughed at him for being rude.

Liu Ling said

(Liu Yiqing's "A New Account of Tales of the World·Ren Dan Chapter 23", 裈 means pants with a crotch)

▼

"I take the heaven and earth as my building, and my house as my trousers. Why do you want to enter my trousers?"

(Please watch in horizontal mode, Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove and Rong Qiqi portrait bricks, photographer @Wang Jun, map @Liu Zhipeng/Planet Research Institute)

▼

However

There is no awakening

It is not painful

He offended the Sima court by refusing to enter the government

Ji Kang was murdered, Ruan Ji and Liu Ling pretended to be crazy and escaped from the world

Ruan Ji drove his car to the end of the road and burst into tears

Ji Kang played Guangling San again before his execution

Leaving behind the last bit of indomitable spirit and character

They are like shining shooting stars

Breaking through the endless darkness

Become a dazzling light

Attracting countless people to follow and yearn for

(The Picture of Gao Yi, also known as the Picture of Seven Sages in the Bamboo Grove, was created by Sun Wei in the Tang Dynasty. It is a colored silk figure painting depicting the Seven Sages in the Bamboo Grove. It is now in the collection of the Shanghai Museum. Only four of the seven sages remain. The picture comes from @Shanghai Museum)

▼

but

This is not the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties

The Darkest Hour

Emperor Wu of Jin, Sima Yan, was even more licentious

Still able to unify the country

His crown prince Sima Zhong is like an idiot

Once the prince heard others talking about

The whole country was in chaos and people were starving to death

He then said, "Why not eat meat porridge?"

Such a stupid person

He ascended the throne just because he was the queen's son

Sima Zhong's uncles and brothers who had been crowned kings

Everyone is jealous of this

The court was not surprised that people were uneasy.

(Western Jin Dynasty horse-riding pottery figurines, collected by the National Museum of China. The following pottery figurines were unearthed from the same tomb. One of them is playing a musical instrument, and the others are holding a square board, which is used to report official business to superiors. The content of the official business to be reported is briefly written on it. The owner of the tomb is a county magistrate in the Western Jin Dynasty. Photographer @包浩霖)

▼

A 16-year-long

8 members of the Western Jin Dynasty royal family participated in the

Riots over central power

This led to the history of

Rebellion of the Eight Kings

The imperial court gradually lost control of the country

When the Central Plains fell into decadence

Northern grassland tribes

Still braving the cold wind and living a hard life

They were very happy about the prosperity of the Central Plains.

Always watching

Wait until the Eight Kings Rebellion

When the Central Plains hurt itself

They finally drew their sabers

Embark on the journey to conquer the Central Plains

(Terracotta figures from the Sixteen Kingdoms period, collected by Xi'an Museum, photographers @walnut egg, Zhang Zhigang, map @Liu Zhipeng/Planet Research Institute)

▼

Xiongnu, Xianbei, Jie, Qiang, Di

Five ethnic groups

Nomadic peoples

Entering the North of the Central Plains

Around 304 AD

Liu Yuan succeeded the Xiongnu Khanate

The capital was Pingyang (now Linfen, Shanxi)

Then the generals of his regime

Successively captured Luoyang and Chang'an

The splendid capital was reduced to a scorched earth

During this period, the northern ethnic minorities

The main regimes established were

One Xia, One Cheng, Two Zhao

Three Qin, Four Yan, Five Liang

Collectively known as the " Sixteen Kingdoms "

(Sixteen Kingdoms Timeline, Map by Liu Zhipeng/Planet Research Institute)

▼

Helian Bobo, a descendant of the Xiongnu

The founding emperor of Daxia

He is devoted to the use of force

After ordering people to build sharp bows and armor

Shoot the armor with a bow and arrow every time

If the armor is broken, kill the armor maker

If the bow and arrow fail, the craftsman who made the bow and arrow will be killed

He also mobilized craftsmen to build a strong city.

If the iron spike can penetrate the city wall one inch

Then kill the craftsmen and build them into the wall.

This is the famous Tongwan City.

(Tongwan City Ruins, Photographer @Ren Shiming)

▼

Shi Le

Founding Emperor of Later Zhao

Start as a slave

But the troubled times gave him

A chance to rewrite your destiny

He continued to fight and make achievements

From a commoner to a general and then to a powerful official

In the end he almost unified northern China

Successfully proclaimed himself emperor and died of illness

Stone Tiger

His uncle Shi Le

Reuse it as king

He wanted the throne

Destroyed Shi Le's entire clan

His atrocities include but are not limited to:

Eliminate your wife for a male lover

"Seizing someone's wife and daughter, a palace filled with 100,000"

"160,000 men and women from nearby counties were dispatched to transport soil to build Hualin Garden... Tens of thousands of people died"

······

Under Shi Hu

Suicide by hanging due to tyranny

Trees facing each other

(In front of the largest tomb of the Sixteen Kingdoms period to date, there are densely packed burial pits, each of which contains human lives. Image from @Ning Yan, Xi'an Institute of Cultural Relics Protection and Archaeology)

▼

Shi Sui

Shi Hu's biological son

He will kill the nun he raped

Cooking with beef and mutton

Tasting with subordinates

Betting on which piece is beef or mutton and which piece is human flesh

His end is

Intends to kill his father and seize power

But was killed by his father Shi Hu

The cruelty of Shi Shi of the Later Zhao Dynasty and Helian Bobo

It is just the tip of the iceberg of the " Five Barbarians' Invasion of China "

The Book of Jin recorded the tragic situation at that time.

"The whole country is in ruins, and there are less than a hundred households in Chang'an"

(The picture below is Jiaohe Ancient City, which was the Jiaohe County City of Gaochang State during the Sixteen Kingdoms to the Northern Dynasties. Photographer: @阿丑摄影)

▼

To avoid war and conflict

The Han Chinese from the Central Plains moved southward like a tide

Looking for a pure land to settle down, history calls it

Yongjia Southern Migration

The Western Jin Dynasty crossed the Yangtze River

Establishment of the Eastern Jin regime

At this time, people of the same clan and family gather together for warmth

Society emphasizes bloodline and identity

Family inheritance forms a written genealogy

People with lofty ideals who hope to recover the Central Plains

When I heard the cock crow, I started practicing martial arts and swordplay

It is for "hearing the cock-crow and getting up to dance"

The Eastern Jin government recruited these refugees and cold people to guard the border

Named " Northern Army "

When the Eastern Jin Dynasty and the Former Qin Dynasty

North-South confrontation

The Former Qin Dynasty wanted to conquer the world

Almost unified northern China

But they were torn apart by the Northern Army in one battle.

(In 384 AD, the Former Qin still occupied a vast territory, but because it lost a war, the monarch of the Former Qin was killed and the country collapsed and disintegrated. Map by @陈志浩/Planetary Research Institute)

▼

Emperor Fu Jian of the Former Qin Dynasty led his army southward

Even hallucinations and auditory hallucinations occurred due to defeat

The slightest sign of trouble makes one shudder with fear

The idioms "the wind is blowing and the cry of despair" and "the grass and trees are all enemies" are derived from this.

After the war, the country was devastated

He himself was killed by the rebels

However

No matter how wolves fight each other

Attitude towards sheep

All consistent

After the Eastern Jin Dynasty

Song, Qi, Liang, and Chen dynasties

The Southern Dynasties

They have essentially the same territory.

Basically the same aristocratic political system

And the unjust monarch who also cruelly harmed the people

(Sketch of the territories of the Southern Dynasties Song, Qi, Liang, and Chen, drawn by @陈志浩/Planetary Research Institute)

▼

For example, Liu Ziye, the sixth emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty

Good at debauchery

He ordered the maids to chase each other naked

Ordered his men to stand before his uncle

Rape his uncle's biological mother

Liu Ziye also killed his uncle and raped his aunt

And with my own sister

Incestuous relationship between Shanyin Princess Liu Chuyu

And gave my sister 30 "male favorites"

(The Southern Dynasty Qianqiu Wansui picture brick, people and animals dancing together, people and animals blending together, photographer @Bao Haolin, map @Liu Zhipeng/Planet Research Institute)

▼

On the other hand

Northern Wei, Eastern Wei, Western Wei

The Northern Qi and Northern Zhou are collectively referred to as the Northern Dynasties

The cruelty of its monarch

It is not much inferior to the Southern Dynasty

(Sketch of the territories of Wei, Qi and Zhou in the Northern Dynasties, drawn by @Chen Zhihao/Planetary Research Institute)

▼

Gao Yang, the first emperor of Northern Qi

My hobby is body art

He dismembered his favorite singer

Use its leg bones to make pipa

He played the guitar and sang: "It's hard to find a beautiful woman again"

Gao Wei, the fifth emperor of Northern Qi

I also inherited this hobby

Once he ordered his men to put a living person into

In a tub with 2-3 liters of scorpions

For him to enjoy

(Northern Qi Terracotta Warriors, from the collection of Shanxi Museum, photographer @赵娟)

▼

In this world

Evildoers may not always receive evil retribution

Good people may not be rewarded

When life and death, disaster and fortune are beyond our control

People at that time could only explain everything with "metaphysics"

And advocate instant enjoyment

Buddhism teaches that suffering in this life and happiness in the next life

Also took advantage of the opportunity

It became one of the spiritual sustenances at that time.

As written in the Diamond Sutra

"All phenomena are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, and shadows."

(A statue of Bodhisattva from the Northern Qi Dynasty, collected by Hebei Museum, photographer @脉影)

▼

The rulers of the Northern and Southern Dynasties

As a tool for maintaining stability

The Northern Wei regime established by the Xianbei people

First, with the power of the royal

Construction of five large Buddha grottoes

The Buddha was carved in the image of a Northern Wei emperor

For the world to worship

This is the origin of the " Yungang Grottoes "

(Yungang Grottoes, photographer @李若渔)

▼

They are also expanding the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang

The mural of the Nine-Colored Deer was left behind

Qingzhou Buddhist statues also began in the Northern Wei Dynasty

(The Deer King’s Birth Story is a mural in Cave 257 of Mogao Grottoes. It depicts a story about a nine-colored deer king who saved a drowning man, was betrayed by the man, and finally got justice. Photographer: @孙志军)

▼

Emperor Wu of Liang in the Southern Dynasty

He sacrificed his life to serve Buddha three times

Under the leadership of the emperor

Buddhist temples are spread all over the country

As the saying goes

"Four hundred and eighty temples in the Southern Dynasties, many pavilions in the mist and rain"

Looking back at the history of the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties

Those in power are always self-centered

Let the world dance for it

The people have always been

The victim of deception

People can be used as playthings

People can put on the table

When social constraints are completely removed

In the end, the world

It's just a playground for the rich and powerful.

This seems to be the truth of everything.

02

The second truth

- Historian's perspective -

However, historians

Different opinions have been put forward

When they reread the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties

Acutely perceive

Behind the tide of the times

There is an extremely powerful force pushing

This force

Named " Aristocratic Family "

Let's go back to the beginning of the story.

Late Han Dynasty, Three Kingdoms Period, etc.

The turmoil caused by regime change

The royal power was taken away by the local

The powerful families

In the midst of war

The nobles built "Wubi" one after another

Annexation of land, stationing of soldiers (civilians) for self-protection

Like the aristocratic castles of the Middle Ages in the West

(Green-glazed pottery building of the Eastern Han Dynasty, this pottery building reflects from the side that the landlords and tyrants have private armed forces, photographer @一一的博物集, map @刘志鹏/星球研究院)

▼

Evolution through generations

They grew into a

The hereditary aristocratic class

The royal family is just a family that ascended the throne

Such as the transfer of power between Han (Liu family) and Wei (Cao family)

Power transfer between Wei (Cao) and Jin (Sima)

Direct abdication

A government without war

Failure to destroy old vested interests

Then the ruling class

Still the same high-ranking officials from the past

This also means

Taikang Era

Although the Central Plains is rich

But this wealth

It was not completely in the hands of Emperor Wu of Jin, Sima Yan.

(Gold ornaments from the Western Jin Dynasty, beautiful cultural relics scattered throughout the country, photographers @平如恒, 我是绿石, 苏李欢, map @刘志鹏/星球研究院)

▼

Calculated from population

At the end of the Han Dynasty, there were about 54.68 million

The Taikang period of the Western Jin Dynasty was about 16.16 million

It actually dropped by 74.4%

For the Central Plains, which had been peaceful for about 60 years,

The population obviously shouldn't be like this.

So

Such a large population

Where did it go?

The answer is to become a private tenant

A large number of people are outside the national household registration system

Becoming a private serf of a wealthy family

Emperor Wu of Jin, Sima Yan, seemed to have pacified the world

In fact, what we get is only " low-quality unification "

(Green glaze stacked barn jar, which can be compared to the "castle" of a wealthy family, where a large number of people are imprisoned. Photographer @柳叶氘, map @刘志鹏/Planet Research Institute)

▼

Still remember

Wang Kai and Shi Chong compete for wealth

The coral Wang Kai showed off was a gift from Sima Yan

But Shi Chong easily smashed it

And took out more precious coral

In other words

Sima Yan's wealth may not be as good as Shi Chong's

After inheriting Cao Wei's family fortune

Sima family as a victorious family

There was a chance to eliminate the problem

But Sima Yan did not choose to create a new era

But in the form of a large family

To maintain the greatest privileges of the clan

imperial power

Rights cannot be divided equally

The family is bound to quarrel

The struggle for power among the princes

Rebellion of the Eight Kings

The tragedy is doomed

at the same time

The ratio of the Han people to other ethnic groups in the Western Jin Dynasty

It plummeted from 33:1 in the Western Han Dynasty to 3.4:1

Population means military strength

When minorities are no longer disadvantaged

War is imminent

(A seal issued by a minority leader during the Wei and Jin Dynasties, photographers @脉影,路客看看,包浩霖, map @刘志鹏/星球研究院)

▼

The Eight Kings Rebellion was the fuse

Northern ethnic minorities

Take this opportunity to occupy the Central Plains

The Han people in the Central Plains were thus forced to

Yongjia Southern Migration

The imperial power was in turmoil at this time.

They have to cooperate with the gatekeepers

The Central Plains nobles who fled south supported the descendants of Sima

Establishment of the Eastern Jin regime

Among them, the four major families of Wang, Yu, Huan and Xie

Control the government

(Eastern Jin Dynasty "Guanzhong Hou Seal", the gold seal is a symbol of power, photographer @路客看看, map @刘志鹏/星球研究院)

▼

The political power of the Wang family

On par with Sima

There is even a faint tendency to overwhelm

People at that time called it "The king and Ma share the world"

This is a "perversion" in the history of imperial power

The emperors lost their direct control over government affairs

The nobles had the privilege of holding official positions.

The Eastern Jin Dynasty court based its genealogy on paternal lineage

Determining the rank of an official

Even developed "genealogy"

(From "Book of Jin·Volume 45·Biography of Liu Yi")

▼

"There are no poor families in the upper class, and no powerful families in the lower class"

They not only monopolize political resources

It also monopolizes high-quality educational resources

Famous scholars of the Eastern Jin Dynasty such as Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi

Xie An, Xie Xuan, Xie Lingyun, Xie Daoyun

All from "Old Wang Xie"

Ultimately leading to cultural monopoly

(Sketch of Eastern Jin Dynasty noble jewelry, collected by Nanjing Museum, photographer @川后、文物君, map @刘志鹏/星球研究院)

▼

They also formed

A "noble" living circle

The nobles can only marry the nobles

No contact with cold people

Endogamy

So Zhu Yingtai, who was born in a noble family,

The combination with the poor student Liang Shanbo

Only death can achieve

In the story of "Dongchuang Kuaixu"

Xi Jian, Grand Tutor of the Eastern Jin Dynasty

Go to "Langya Wang Clan" to choose a son-in-law

Finally, Wang Xizhi, who was sleeping on the east bed with his belly exposed, was chosen.

This is a typical example of marriage within the family

in this way

Class Solidification in the Eastern Jin Dynasty

Wang Xizhi devoted himself to improving his calligraphy

Writing the "Lanting Preface" with a brush

Lamenting the disillusionment of a lifetime

(Please watch it in horizontal mode. The "Lanting Preface to the Lanting Collection" written by Wang Xizhi and copied by Feng Chengsu is from @Wikimedia Commons)

▼

Gu Kaizhi was born in a family of Jiangnan gentry.

Drawing "The Goddess of Luo River"

Pursuing Cao Zhi's

"It is as if a light cloud covers the moon, and it flutters like snowflakes blown by the wind."

(Please watch in horizontal mode, Luoshen Fu Tu, Song Dynasty copy, collected by the Palace Museum, image from @Wikimedia Commons)

▼

Tao Yuanming, as a poor scholar

Then experience the struggle of "not bending for five pecks of rice"

And the darkness of officialdom where "the world is against me"

He wrote "Peach Blossom Spring"

Just to create a beautiful world away from the world

When the southern cultural aristocracy was in power

The north was controlled by military nobles.

Every legendary figure

They all appeared with the smell of blood after the fight

(Northern Wei warrior statue, photographer @鞠潇, map @刘志鹏/Planet Research Institute)

▼

Still remember

Helian Bobo, a descendant of the Xiongnu, founded the country by force

Shi Le, a Jie people, was a slave

Fight all the way and become the king

Hua Mulan joined the army for her father

The general died in a hundred battles, but the warrior returned after ten years.

Prince Lanling of the Northern Qi Dynasty

He defeated the enemy at the foot of Jinyong City and was the bravest among all the armies.

People at that time composed "Lanling King's Battle Song"

To spread his heroic spirit

(Northern Dynasty Tomb Terracotta Warriors, Photographer @李航)

▼

In summary

Political History of the Northern and Southern Dynasties

In a sense

Cultural Aristocrats in the Southern Dynasties

History of Competition with the Military Nobles of the Northern Dynasties

So

Is this the whole truth?

03

The third truth

-Paleoclimatologists' perspective-

Of course not

Under the guidance of geographers and paleoclimatologists

We are about to see the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties

The third truth

Let us go back to the beginning of the story again

I don't know if you noticed a detail.

Early Wei and Jin Dynasties

Serfs living under the landlords

Facing the cold wind that gets stronger year by year

It is becoming increasingly difficult to harvest food

Yes

cold

Around 220 AD

The orange tree planted by Cao Cao in Tongque Tower

Only flowers but no fruit

225 AD

Emperor Wen of Wei Cao Pi 100,000 soldiers

Prepare to enter the Yangtze River from the Huai River and attack Wu

But they were forced to retreat because the river was frozen.

This is the first time in history that the Huai River has frozen over.

(Today, the Huaihe River will not freeze even if it snows, photographer @吴亦丹)

▼

Paleoclimatologist Zhu Kezhen confirmed

The temperature in the middle of the Eastern Han Dynasty was 1-2℃ higher than it is now

During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties

The annual average temperature is 1-2℃ lower than now

Under the premise that other conditions remain unchanged

The annual average temperature drops by one degree

Food production will drop by 10% compared to previous years.

In other words

From the Eastern Han Dynasty to the Wei and Jin Dynasties

Food production has dropped by about 30-40%.

It seems so

Taikang Era

The profligacy is before the darkness comes

The last carnival

(Different methods of reconstructing ancient climates will lead to different conclusions, but the academic community generally believes that the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties were a cold and dry period. The picture below shows a pair of Jin celadon figurines with calligraphy, collected by Hunan Provincial Museum, and photographed by @鞠潇)

▼

Still remember

The idiot emperor Sima Zhong said

The reason why people don’t eat meat

I heard other people talking about

Famine in the world, people starving to death

When the people are cold and hungry

Only rebellion

When there is not enough food for everyone to survive

Then there will be a massacre

Rebellion of the Eight Kings

It is inevitable

The cold also makes the powerful elites in the Central Plains

“Drug addiction”

Hanshi Powder by Zhang Zhongjing, a famous doctor in the Eastern Han Dynasty

It is very popular because of its effect of keeping out the cold.

Including calligraphers Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi

Pan An, the most beautiful man in ancient times

The landscape poet Xie Lingyun and others have taken it.

Even overdose can cause illness or death

(Please watch horizontally, famous people who took Hanshi powder during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties and the effects of taking it, based on "Climate Changes in Chinese Dynasties" by Ge Quansheng et al., map by Liu Zhipeng/Planetary Research Institute)

▼

While the Central Plains was suffering from the cold

The suffering of the northern tribes

But it only increases

Separation of agricultural and nomadic peoples

Agro-pastoral transition zone

Under the influence of the bone-chilling cold wave

The whole moved southward by hundreds of kilometers

The area outside the Great Wall is no longer suitable for survival

(Historical changes of the northern boundary of my country's agricultural and pastoral transition zone, drawn by @陈志浩/Planet Research Institute)

▼

Under the whip of the cold wind

The northern grassland tribes had to

Raise the butcher knife

Entering the relatively warm Central Plains

When today's paleoclimatologists

Re-examining that era was surprising.

It was a dry and cold weather that affected the whole world.

Central Asian nomads migrate westward

The Collapse of the Roman Empire

The Decline of Hopewell Culture in the American Midwest

It's all related to this

The biting cold wind also blew away China

The curtain of a turbulent era that lasted for more than 300 years

(Songyue Temple Pagoda in Dengfeng, Henan, built during the Northern Wei Dynasty, the oldest existing brick pagoda in China, photographer @刘客白)

▼

cold

With the northern nomads

Go south together, step by step

In 334 AD, the Bohai Sea was frozen for three consecutive years.

The ice is thick enough to support a large army.

In 452 AD, the Nanjing Incident of “Rain and Frost Killed Cattle and Horses”

In 481 AD, Nanjing was covered with heavy snow for more than 80 days.

Jinan frequently sees rime

(Rime, photographer @李珩)

▼

The cooling climate directly caused

Rice cultivation in the Yellow River Basin is gradually shrinking

The middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River have lost

A high-yield crop

Grain production has dropped significantly

Dozens of regimes have had to

For the only resources for survival

Central Plains as the main battlefield

Fight

611 wars, 1.65 per year

Population loss of more than 70%

Directly contributed to the Chinese people of all generations

Lowest point in life expectancy

The bloodthirsty and brutal

Shi family of Later Zhao

Gao Family of Northern Qi

Liu family of Southern Song

Facing such fierce competition

Even the runner-up is a loser

The losers have only one way to go.

The Han people in the Central Plains had to flee south to avoid disaster

This is

Yongjia Southern Migration

An unprecedented migration

Sweeping China

Northern ethnic groups migrated to the Central Plains

The Central Plains gentry migrated to the South

The southern barbarians integrated into China

The South has received

Unprecedented development

Jinling Rise in the Six Dynasties

The same is true for Jingzhou, Yangzhou, Yizhou, etc.

They gradually replaced Chang'an and Luoyang

Becoming a new economic center

The core space occupied by Chinese culture

Get expanded

(Sketch of the Han people's migration to the south at the end of the Western Jin Dynasty, drawn by @陈志浩/Planetary Research Institute)

▼

Especially Jinling (also known as Jiankang, now Nanjing)

There was no administrative setting in this area during the Qin and Han dynasties.

After the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties

Wu, Eastern Jin, Song, Qi, Liang, Chen, etc.

Six dynasties established their capitals here

The Han people in the Central Plains regard it as the place of cultural orthodoxy

It can be said

(From Xie Tiao's "Entering the Court")

▼

“The beautiful land of Jiangnan, the imperial city of Jinling”

To describe this period

The splendor and prosperity of Jinling

The term "Six Dynasties Gold Powder"

Born out of necessity

(The picture below is Xinjiekou in Nanjing. According to the current mainstream archaeological view, Xinjiekou and the surrounding area were the location of the capital Jiankang during the Six Dynasties. Photographer: @李毅恒)

▼

Geographical migration from south to north

Make the collision and fusion between various cultures

Create a more prosperous China

First is

Buddhist culture integrates into China

Xianbei and other Hu people who settled in the Central Plains

Believe in and promote Buddhism

Initially, it implied a rivalry with Confucianism and Taoism.

Its murals and sculptures

They all imitated India, the birthplace of Buddhism.

Later, the craftsmen in the Central Plains created according to their own aesthetics.

The Buddha's face has a high nose and deep eyes.

Evolved into a graceful and elegant image that conforms to the aesthetics of the Central Plains

Flying Apsaras in murals

Gradually localized

(The evolution of flying figures in the mural, photographer @Sun Zhijun, map @Liu Zhipeng/Planetary Research Institute)

▼

followed by

Grassland culture integrates into China

During the Qin and Han dynasties, Chinese people still sat on the ground

The nomadic people's "Ma Za"

It was introduced during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties.

Integrate into Zhongyuan's furniture system

Eventually it became the chair we have today.

Permanently changed the living habits of Chinese people

(Silk artifacts from the Northern Dynasties, compared to the wide robes and large sleeves of the Han Dynasty, fit the human body better. Photographers: @walnut egg, Xiao Wenkai, and artery shadow. Map by @Liu Zhipeng/Planetary Research Institute)

▼

The red tape and etiquette of Confucianism in the Central Plains at that time

Also, the law of the jungle, advocating practicality

Grassland culture torn to pieces

A relatively free atmosphere of public opinion emerged

For example, academic freedom

Liu Yiqing wrote Shishuo Xinyu

Jia Sixie wrote "Essential Techniques for the People"

Li Daoyuan wrote "Notes on the Classic of Waterways"

Zu Chongzhi calculated the value of pi

"Witch doctors, musicians, and craftsmen" are no longer "despised by gentlemen"

(Scientists and their major achievements during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, drawn by Liu Zhipeng/Planetary Research Institute)

▼

Aesthetic freedom

Among the four most handsome men in ancient China

In addition to Song Yu

Pan An, Wei Jie and Lanling Wang

All originated from the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties

They are all famous for their feminine beauty.

Even Wei Jie was as beautiful as a jade

Every time I go out on the street I have to run hard

To get rid of the crowd

This led to his death from a serious illness.

People at that time called it "watching Wei Jie to death"

In the eyes of people

The feminine beauty of men

Can be appreciated

The masculine beauty of women like Hua Mulan

Will also be praised

(A mural of welcoming guests in the tomb of Lou Rui of the Northern Qi Dynasty. The man in the mural looks like a handsome man. Photographer: @苏李欢)

▼

The third is

Integration of ethnic minorities into China

Before the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties

The Hu people never had the

Qualifications of the Legitimate Emperor of China

And the smoke of war

Let them step onto the stage to compete for the throne in the Central Plains

A large number of Hu people intermarried with Han people

Eliminating the boundaries between the Han and the Hu

For example, surnames from the Xianbei people

Murong, Yuwen, Tuoba

All integrated into the Chinese blood

(A figurine of a Hu person eating cake and riding a camel in the Northern Qi Dynasty, photographer @邬红波, map @刘志鹏/Planet Research Institute)

▼

Under the influence of this

Bai Juyi and Yuan Zhen in the future

They are all from the Hu people

But it does not affect the society's recognition of them.

This fusion gave birth to

The Glorious Tang Empire

As Mr. Chen Yinke said

"The reason why the Li Tang clan rose to prominence was that they took the blood of the barbarians from outside the Great Wall and injected it into the decadent body of the Central Plains culture. After the old stains were removed and the new opportunities were restarted, they were able to create an unprecedented world situation."

So far

Stories of the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties

Nearing the end

(From the song "The Sky of History")

▼

"The gleam of swords and shadows faded, and the war-torn border town became desolate"

(Xumi Mountain Grottoes, photographer @李文博)

▼

Three Looks Back, Three Explorations

We have dispelled some of the fog of history

Found one truth after another

But the killing and Buddha nature of that era

Integration and division, civilization and degeneration

It seems to have left us long ago.

It seems that everything is flowing into nothingness

However

When I stand in front of the Qingzhou Buddha statue

I found out I was wrong

They are right in front of me.

I was deeply shocked by their beauty

(Northern Qi Dynasty gilded and painted round Buddha statue, Poly Art Museum, photographer @路客看看)

▼

That absurd, painful and numb year

Why can it be carved out?

Such a statue with an expression that is not tainted by the world

Traveling through the ages

Can it still make people feel warmth and compassion?

Maybe

Behind that dark era

There is another truth

(Fragment of a Northern Qi gilded Buddha head, unearthed from the cellar of Longxing Temple in Qingzhou, Shandong in 1996, collected by Qingzhou Museum, photographer @脉影)

▼

Perhaps, in the midst of extreme chaos

The ancients could see through the essence of life.

But they still don't give up

Pursuing the ideal beauty

That beauty may be the Peach Blossom Spring

Maybe it was the Lanting gathering with wine flowing and water winding.

Maybe it was a meeting with Luoshen

Maybe it's picking chrysanthemums under the eastern fence and leisurely seeing the southern mountains

Maybe it is the righteous Nine-Colored Deer that makes the evildoers suffer their evil consequences.

······

(Nine-Colored Deer Mural, Photographer @Sun Zhijun)

▼

Those vivid faces vanished like sand in the wind

The desire and kindness that existed

But it really stays in the world

Never bow to suffering, never kneel to mediocrity

Just as Ji Kang calmly played the

That song "Guangling San"

When the golden light

Once again, it illuminates the Buddha statues in the caves

The setting sun outlines its plump lips

Gentle eyes

And it

Picking flowers and smiling

(Painted Bodhisattva head from the Northern Qi Dynasty, collected by Qingzhou Museum, unearthed from the Longxing Temple cellar, photographer @脉影)

▼

This article was created by

Written by : Lingjun

Image : Pan Chenxia

Design : Liu Zhipeng

Map : Chen Zhihao

Proofreading : Wu Xintian & Huang Taiji & Hong He & PB

Cover Photographer : Artery Shadow

【References】

[1] Yoshiaki Kawamoto (Japan); translated by Yu Xiaochao. Kodansha China’s History: The Collapse and Expansion of China (Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties). Guilin: Guangxi Normal University Press, January 2014.

[2] Chen Yinke. Chen Yinke’s Lectures on the History of the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties. Tianjin: Tianjin People’s Publishing House, 2018.12.

[3] Yan Buke. Peaks and Troughs: Political Civilization in the Qin, Han, Wei, Jin, and Southern and Northern Dynasties. Beijing: Peking University Press, 2017.4.

[4] Qiu Luming. Political Power and Family Networks in the Wei and Jin Dynasties (revised edition). Shanghai: Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House, August 2020.

[Recruitment] Planetary Research Institute is recruiting editors, map designers, video editors, 3D animators, picture editors, business planners, etc. Please reply "Recruitment" in the background to view