Research On Social Characteristics In The Wei And Jin Dynastie

The periods known as the Cao Wei and the Western Jin Dynasty were a turbulent and relatively short era lasting somewhat one hundred years,from 220 to 317 AD.Many historians share the view that this period is characterised by corruption and further decline in all aspects of life.Meanwhile,the period had its own unique characteristics,which make it possible to give the period a proper place in history,but also had a certain impact on the following periods.Despite the fact that the Cao Wei Dynasty was founded in 220 AD with Cao Pi as its first emperor,Cao Cao was practically the ruler of the Northern China years before Cao Wei was officially established.Cao Cao had to face the results of turbulent times on the later Han,which lead to decline in economics,society and culture.The system to make garrison troops to cultivate and farm lands,thus providing the army with food was one of the most traits of the Cao Wei.Yet,heavy taxes on the farmers and military service obligations lead to an increasing number of refugees.There were a lot of migrations during the periods and the exact scope of them is not clear.The ambiguity of the data on the registered dwellers might be the reason of the drastic decline population.By the time when the Western Jin conquered the Wu Kingdom thus uniting China,total population was equal to approximately one tenth of the number recorded during the last days of the Later Han.When it comes to the social stucture of the society,it should be noted that different forms of slavery still existed,though social standing of some groups is still unknown or ambiguous.The leading role in society belonged to the upper classes,which were divided into noblemen,aristocrats and a new emerging class called scholar noblemen.The latter was different from other classes by the involvement in the scholar activities and not always belonged to the prosperous families.Still,the Western Jin is heavily reprimanded by the historians for corruption when it came to distribution of government posts.It was a well known fact that governmental posts were mostly assigned to the powerful officials’ relatives.The political struggle during the period is characterized by the rise of the Sima clan,that usurped the power of the Cao family and established the Western Jin.When it comes to culture,the tradition of Pure Talk and metaphysical school of though called Xuan were one of the most notable traits of the time,that perished eventually.