Jin (Traditional Chinese Traditional Chinese characters refers to one of the two standard sets of printed Chinese characters, the other being simplified Chinese characters. The modern shapes of traditional Chinese characters first appeared with the emergence of the clerical script during the Han Dynasty, and have been more or less stable since the 5th century The retronym: 晉; Simplified Chinese Simplified Chinese Characters are one of two standard sets of Chinese characters of the contemporary Chinese written language. The government of the People's Republic of China (Mainland China) has promoted them for use in printing in an attempt to increase literacy. They are officially used in the People's Republic of China and Singapore: 晋; pinyin Pinyin , or more formally Hanyu Pinyin (汉语拼音 / 漢語拼音), is currently the most commonly used romanization system for Standard Mandarin (标准普通话 / 標準普通話). Hànyǔ (汉语 / 漢語) means the Chinese language, and pīnyīn (拼音) means "phonetics", or more literally, "spelling sound" or ": Jìn) was one of the most powerful states in the Spring and Autumn Period During the Spring and Autumn period, China was ruled by a feudal system. The Zhou Dynasty kings held nominal power, but only directly ruled over a small Royal Demesne, revolving around their capital . They granted fiefdoms over the rest of China to several hundred hereditary nobles (Zhuhou 諸侯). These were descendants of members of the Zhou, based in Shanxi Shanxi (Chinese: 山西; pinyin: Shānxī; Wade-Giles: Shan-hsi; Postal map spelling: Shansi) is a province in the northern part of the People's Republic of China. Its one-character abbreviation is Jin (晋 pinyin jìn), after the state of Jin that existed here during the Spring and Autumn Period, China China is seen variously as an ancient civilization extending over a large area in East Asia, a nation and/or a multinational entity. Jin was founded by Tang Shuyu, a descendant of the Zhou The Zhou Dynasty followed the Shang Dynasty and was followed by the Qin Dynasty in China. The Zhou dynasty lasted longer than any other dynasty in Chinese history — though the actual political and military control of China by the dynasty only lasted during the Western Zhou. During the Zhou Dynasty, the use of iron was introduced to China, while royal family. At the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, Jin was split into three states: Han Han (403 BC-230 BC) was a kingdom during the Warring States Period in China. Not to be confused with South Korea which shares the same character, Zhao Zhao was a significant Chinese state during the Warring States Period, along with six others. At the beginning of the Warring States Period, Zhao was one of the weakest states but gained strength during the reign of King Wuling of Zhao: by the end of the Period, Zhao was the only state strong enough to oppose the mighty Qin and Wei The Wei was a state during the Warring States Period in China. Its territory lay between the states of Qin and Qi and included modern areas in Henan, Hebei and Shanxi and Shandong. After its capital was moved from Anyi to Daliang (today Kaifeng) during the reign of King Hui of Wei, Wei was also called the state of Liang. The split of Jin is sometimes referred to as the beginning of the subsequent Warring States Period The Warring States Period , also known as the Era of Warring States, covers the period from 475 BC to the unification of China under the Qin Dynasty in 221 BC. It is nominally considered to be the second part of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, following the Spring and Autumn Period, although the Zhou Dynasty ended in 256 BC, 35 years earlier than the; all three new states later became prominent states in the new period.
Probably the most famous of all the Jin kings was Duke Wen of Jin, the second of the Five Hegemons in the Spring and Autumn Period. Originally named Chong'er (重耳), he was second in line, and no-one expected him to become Duke. Fearing assassination, he fled the country during his father Duke Xian of Jin's reign to the Qin, only returning when Duke Huai, who was a nephew of Duke Wen, was killed.
As Duke he led the Jin to glory - he fought many wars with his greatest rival, the Chu (the most famous battle was the Battle of Chengpu in 632 BC), and advocated the strategy coined by the first Great Leader of the Warring States, Duke Huan of Qi - "Uphold the King, repel the barbarians", with the king being the Zhou court in Luoyang Luoyang is a prefecture-level city in western Henan province, People's Republic of China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyang to the south, Sanmenxia to the west, Jiyuan to the north, and Jiaozuo to the northeast. The Duke was also famous for his chivalry - after a massive war with his erstwhile ally and friend, the King of Qin, he ordered relations between the two kingdoms to return to normal, and constructed monuments honouring both the sacrifice of the Jin and Qin troops. The Chinese proverb "The Friendship of Qin and Jin", meaning an unbreakable bond, originates from this period.
Jin, however suffered from multiple succession struggles. Jin founded a new city north of the capital at Quwo (曲沃) in 746 BC. In 679 BC, the Quwo lineage usurped the rulership of Jin. Duke Xian of Jin's rule was notorious for the bloody purging of family members.
Jin had multiple capitals. The initial capital of Jin was Tang (唐); the remains of Tang are at modern Qucun (曲村). The capital was later moved to E (鄂), then Jiang (絳), then Xintian (新田). The remains of Xintian are at modern Houma.
In 403 BC, the Wei, Zhao and Han lords all went to the Zhou king in Luoyang and were made dukes in their own right, separated from Jin. However most historians, when referring to those 3 states as a whole, call them the "3 of Jin". The state of Jin still continued to survive, albeit with minimal hold of power.
The Jin was officially abolished when the last duke of Jin, Duke Jing, left his position and had his territories annexed by the Three Jins in 349 BC.
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Categories: Former countries in Chinese history Definition: same as Category:Former countries. States under this category appeared in Chinese history, and their appearance in human history is largely found in Chinese records . They do not have to be part of, or tributary of imperial China | 349 BC disestablishments | State of Jin | States and territories established in the 11th century BC |