Jin

  General Description   The Spring and Autumn period was a period of the Eastern Zhou dynasty in which strong vassal states competed for dominance. ^[1] When King You of Zhou was killed by an allied force of Quan Rong barbarians and the state of Shen, King Ping moved the capital to Luoyang in 770 BCE and founded the Eastern Zhou dynasty. ^[2] The weak Eastern Zhou state was responsible for diplomacy and rituals, while governmental authority lay in the hands of large vassal states. ^[1] There were 15 major vassal states in the Spring and Autumn period, but by the mid-7th century BCE the region was dominated by the Qi, Jin, Qin, and Chu states. ^[3] The period is marked by constant warfare between different states. ^[4]
The Spring and Autumn period takes its name from the Confucian book Chunqiu, which chronicles events from 722 to 429 BCE. ^[1] During this time, the moral values of Confucius helped bring China into the ’Axial Age’. ^[2] The use of bronze agricultural tools became more widespread in China and there is evidence of the use of steel and iron in the middle and late Spring and Autumn period. ^[4] Coinage appeared in this period, and there are some indications that individuals could own land. ^[5]
The Jin state dominated the Spring and Autumn period from 636 to 628 BCE. Duke Xian of Jin (676-651 BCE) conquered 16 small states in modern Shanxi. ^[3] His son, Duke Wen, was given the title of ba (’senior’ or ’hegemon’) ^[6] by the Zhou king after defeating the encroaching state of Chu in 632 BCE. ^[3]
The Jin state covered an estimated 160,000 square kilometres. The state was located in modern Shanxi, ^[7] and extended east and north from the Yellow River. ^[8]
Population and political organization
The multi-state Spring and Autumn system changed the feudal structure of China. In the Western Zhou period, the political elite was made up of kings, feudal lords, and hereditary ministers. ^[4] In the Spring and Autumn period, a class of knights and warriors became the political ruling class. ^[4] Intellectuals served as both government officials and ’cultural carriers’. ^[9] States became more centralized as the central government continued to weaken. ^[4]
In the ba system, first institutionalized in 651 BCE, the Zhou king bestowed the title of ba on the ruler of the vassal state that represented the Zhou court in war. ^{[4] [10]} However, this system of political organization began to weaken in the 6th century BCE. ^{[4] [10]}
Substantiated estimates for the population of the Jin state are lacking.

[1]: (Encyclopedia Britannica n.d.) “Spring and Autumn Period.” Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/event/Spring-and-Autumn-Period. Accessed June 5, 2017. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/Z2EVWH4P.

[2]: (Hsu 1999, 545) Hsu, C-y. 1999. “The Spring and Autumn Period,” in M. Loewe and E. L. Shaughnessy, eds. The Cambridge History of Ancient China From the Origins of Civilization to 221 BC. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 545-86. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/MMECH3VW.

[3]: (Hsu 1999, 559) Hsu, C-y. 1999. “The Spring and Autumn Period,” in M. Loewe and E. L. Shaughnessy, eds. The Cambridge History of Ancient China From the Origins of Civilization to 221 BC. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 545-86. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/MMECH3VW.

[4]: (Roberts 1999, 13) Roberts, John A.G. 1999. A History of China. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/H9D8H5E9.

[5]: (Roberts 1999, 14) Roberts, John A.G. 1999. A History of China. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/H9D8H5E9.

[6]: (Lewis 2000, 365) Lewis, Mark Edward. 2000. “The City-State in Spring-and-Autumn China.” In A Comparative Study of Thirty City-State Cultures: An Investigation Conducted by the Copenhagen Polis Centre, edited by Mogens Herman Hansen. Copenhagen: The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/DXXZV8CS.

[7]: (Theobald 2010) Theobald, Ulrich. 2010. “The Feudal State of China.” Chinaknowledge.de http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Zhou/rulers-jin.html Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/8735F2AW.

[8]: (Eno 2010) Eno, Robert. 2010. Spring and Autumn China. Indiana University, History G380, Class Text Readings. http://www.iub.edu/~g380/1.7-Spring_Autumn_Narrative-2010.pdf Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/32FGZ2UI.

[9]: (Hsu 1999, 549) Hsu, C-y. 1999. “The Spring and Autumn Period,” in M. Loewe and E. L. Shaughnessy, eds. The Cambridge History of Ancient China From the Origins of Civilization to 221 BC. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 545-86. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/MMECH3VW.

[10]: (Hsu 1999, 562) Hsu, C-y. 1999. “The Spring and Autumn Period,” in M. Loewe and E. L. Shaughnessy, eds. The Cambridge History of Ancient China From the Origins of Civilization to 221 BC. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 545-86. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/MMECH3VW.