Lesson 18 Development of the Jiangnan area during the Eastern Jin and Southern

The Rise and Fall of the Eastern Jin Dynasty

In 316, the Xiongnu, who had moved inland, destroyed the Western Jin Dynasty. Subsequently, Sima Rui, an imperial family defending the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, reestablished the Jin dynasty in 317, with Jiankang as its capital, known as the Eastern Jin. Sima Rui interacted closely with Wang Gui, a great nobleman from Shandong in the north, and he became emperor thanks to the support of the great nobles from the north and south led by Wang Gui. Sima Rui relied on Wang Gui politically and Wang Gui's cousin Wang Dun militarily. Other sons and daughters of the Wang clan were also relied upon to varying degrees. When Sima Rui held the ceremony of his accession to the throne, he invited Wang Guiding to sit on the royal bed together, which was called "Wang and Ma, sharing the world".

At the beginning of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, he made many northern expeditions and recovered some areas south of the Yellow River in the Western Jin Dynasty. However, due to the court's suspicion of the northern expedition leaders and the multiple constraints, the northern expedition lacked backup and the Eastern Jin eventually failed to restore the Central Plains.

The Eastern Jin Dynasty defeated the former Qin in the Battle of Chashui and removed the threat from the north. The relatively stable situation led to socio-economic development, and there was a scene of "Jing and Yang in peace and prosperous households" in Jiangnan. At the end of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, power fell into the hands of military generals. In 420, the Eastern Jin Dynasty fell.

Politics of the Southern Dynasty

During the 170-year period from 420 to 589, there were frequent regime changes in southern China, with four dynasties - Song, Qi, Liang, and Chen - emerging one after another. All of these dynasties had their capitals in Jiankang, which is collectively known as the Southern Dynasty.

Song was the largest dynasty in the South. During the reign of Emperor Wu and Emperor Wen of Song, which lasted about 30 years, the people of Jiangnan were rich and the society was relatively stable.

During the Southern Dynasty, the local nobles and generals were very powerful. After Emperor Wu of Liang Xiao Yan seized the throne with a local army, he indulged the royal family and bureaucratic landlords to exploit the common people, and his politics became increasingly corrupt. Later, there was a large-scale rebellion, Jiankang fell, and the most affluent areas of Jiangdong were burned and plundered, resulting in a thousand miles of smoke and few people. From then on, the southern dynasty was at a distinct disadvantage in the comparison of power between the north and the south.

Development of the Jiangnan region

During the Qin and Han dynasties, the economic development of the north and the south was very uneven. The Yellow River basin was economically developed and was the center of economic gravity of the country, while the southern region was sparsely populated and backward in agricultural production. Since the end of the Western Jin Dynasty, a large number of people from the north moved south to escape from the war. By the late Eastern Jin Dynasty, the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River were filled with southern migrants, especially in Jiangsu; some of them continued to move southward into present-day Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong. The southward migration of people from the north brought a large amount of labor to the Jiangnan area, as well as advanced production tools and production techniques from the Central Plains, which led to the development of the Jiangnan area with superior natural conditions and rapid economic development.

At that time, the Jiangnan area was not as warlike as the north, and the society was relatively stable. With the joint efforts of immigrants and local people, a large amount of wasteland was reclaimed and the area of cultivated land increased, and many water conservancy projects were built. Agricultural production techniques were also greatly improved, including the promotion and improvement of plowing and intensive cultivation, as well as the promotion of more advanced production techniques such as machine breeding, field management and manure application. For example, rice was changed from direct seeding to transplanting, which was a major advancement in rice production technology; wheat and rice were generally practiced in combination, and double-season rice was planted in the areas south of the Five Ridges, which greatly improved grain production. In addition, they also developed mulberry sericulture, cultivated fruits and trees, and planted medicinal herbs, and carried out various kinds of agricultural operations.

The handicraft industry in the south also made rapid progress. There was a remarkable development in misty silk, cloth weaving, porcelain making, smelting and casting, shipbuilding, paper making, and salt making. The development of agriculture and handicraft industry also promoted the exchange of commerce and the prosperity of cities. Jiankang, with a large population, was the most commercially active metropolis during the Southern Dynasty.（849words）