Tentative Study Of Eastern Army In The Early Period Of Jin Dynasty

The Eastern Army was founded for Jin Dynasty's going south to attack Song Dynasty in October, the third year of TianHui (in 1125), it was a military force which was under the control of Du YuanShuaifu that was primarily made up of the aristocrats in Jin Taizu's family. This article makes the Eastern Army of Jin Dynasty as a whole, elaborates its function evolution, and makes a corresponding elaboration to its inside structure which includes the general system, general organization's establishment, multi- national ingredient, military establishment, and so on. The time is from the breaking out of the war between Jin Dynasty and Song Dynasty to the signing of HuangTong negotiations (ShaoXing negotiations), that is 1125 - 1141 in the early period of Jin Dynasty.Based on the inherits to general systems of before the Jin Dynasty founding a state and the beginning of Jin Dynasty and during the war to Song Dynasty, the Eastern Army gradually founded a much stricter general system that is Du YuanShuaifu's official…DuTong…WanHu- MengAn- MouKe- PuNian's. Except the Yanjing YuanShuaifu,the Eastern Army eastablished offices in Shandong and Shanxi. The main commanders chose assistants independently to make sure the full display the Eastern Army's force function. The Eastern Army was made up by the nations of Jurchen, Bohai, Han, Kitay, Xi, Tieli and so on. Adapted to the general system of the Eastern Army, the army under YuanShuaifu included four levels of WanHu, MengAn, MouKe and PuNian, but which didn't strictly obeyed the decimal system and had the phenomenon of not being full.In the process of perishing North Song Dynasty, the Eastern Army's military officers had the authorities of military decision, enlisting soldiers independently, appointing and dismissing all levels of military officers. After seizing large advanced and developed areas of Central Plains where the nation of Han gathered, the Eastern Army replaced the Jin Dynasty to exercised governing authority in that areas, the Yanjing area and the north of Yellow River that were the areas of Hebei Road in North Song Dynasty became the center of governed area. The Eastern Army'generals grasped the authorities of appointing and dismissing the officers, selecting scholars for public office by examination, formulating and issuing government orders, legal action and judiciary, levying taxes and so on, which were implemented through the Yanjing ShuMiyuan. The Eastern Army had those authorities so that the so-called"East royal"appeared.The fifth year (in 1127) and the sixth year of TianHui, the Eastern Army's leader Wanyan Zongwang and Yanjing ShuMiyuan's officer Liu Yanzong died one after another, the Western Army whose leader was Wanyan Zonghan gradually controlled the authorities, the Eastern Army's military authority was weakened. In the administrative aspect, the Western Army's military officers often interfered in the Eastern Army's officer's appointment and dismissment, monopolized the authority of electing scholars for public office by examination, and policies's formulation, issuing, implementing and so on in central areas of the nation of Han. The Eastern Army generals only could govern in the scope of their own place to appoint and dismiss some government officials for administrating. Moreover, in holding and supervising the Liu Yu government, the Western Army's Wanyan Zonghan held the actual power. In military aspect, although the Eastern Army was still authorized to independently enlist soliders, appoint and dismiss all levels of military officers and had the authority of military decision-making with the Western Army together. But the Western Army's leader Zonghan played the leading role in the military decision-making. The Western Army was authorized to enlist soldiers from the scope of Yanjing (now Beijing) that was governed by the Eastern Army, and then the soldiers were commanded by the Western Army's military officers. The issues between Jin Dynasty and Song Dynasty were also mainly dealt with by the Western Army's leader Zonghan.When the Western Army's monopolization posed a threat to the imperial power, Jin Dynasty central relied heavily on the Eastern Army to take measures to gradually weaken the authorities of the Western Army's military officers, who once enhanced the Eastern Army's status, its administrative and military powers were recovered to some extent. But eventually, because Jin Dynasty gained more and more experiences in governing Central Plains area and the centralization was increasingly reinforced, like the Western Army generals, the Eastern Army's administrative power was gradually taken back. Especially central government had taken back YuanShuaifu's authorities of electing scholars for public office by examination and appointing and dismissing the government officers in Central Plains area, then weakened general's controlling power to Central Plains area by reforming the organizations which were set up in Central Plains area to reinforce the direct controlling to Central Plains area. The Eastern Army's ruling centre was also switched to be under direct controlling of central government, it's authority was confined to Liu Yu regime's once ruling scope and Shanxi that Salihe controlled, the Eastern Army's own function inclined to monotonous. In the first year of HuangTong (1141), Jin Dynasty and Song Dynasty signed"HuangTong negotiations"(called"Shaoxing negotiations"in Song Dynasty), and got the time of peace, and the peaceful situation of co-exist intensified this trend. As the main force of attacking Song Dynasty, the Eastern Army had the same destiny with the Western Army ---- changed into a military force to defend Central Plains and garrison the border region for consolidating Jin Dynasty, and completely lost administrative function. In the process, it was also essential that the Eastern Army's military force was weakened. The authority of enlisting soldiers was taken back to central government, the generals couldn't enlist soldiers again by themselves. In war, the generals needed to report the situation on the battlefield to center government time to time. Then the center government made a plan about marching.The military function of the Eastern Army kept unchanged all the time, from the time of dying the North Song Dynasty to the signing of HuangTong negotiations, the war between Jin Dynasty and Song Dynasty appeared frequently. The Eastern Army always took a main place in Central Plains area's fighting, that made its military function enforced, and promoted the balanced situation between Song Dynasty and Jin Dynasty to come true.The Eastern Army's function changed with the political circumstances changing in the early period of Jin Dynasty, but the Eastern Army had produced important effects to the course of history in the early period of Jin Dynasty. After the Eastern Army united north of the Yellow River areas, it had provided an advantageous environment for production, and strengthened the economic strength for Jin Dynasty, and brought an important effect on cultural exchange, the nation merge, ensuring the centralization's stability and completing smoothly the reformation of sinicization. But the Jurchen people's own developing level fell behind, so that made the Eastern Army's ruling had brutal and low character unavoidably, and disharmony to Central Plains where developed relatively higher, so that conflicted mutually. Therefore in the early period of Jin Dynasty, as the agent of central authority governed Central Plains area, the Eastern Army only made Central Plains area be free from Jurchen's old system, and adjusted the development current in Central Plains area in certain degree.