Barbarian Invasions -- The Migration Southwards of Chinese People
In the later period of the Western Jin (西晋) Empire, this empire was very weak because of long internal conflicts. Since the foundation of this empire, she had implemented a policy to permit the nomadic tribes immigrate into China, and then the Great Wall had been nominal. When the Jin Empire was strong, she could enslave other ethnic groups and taxed them heavily. But when she was weak, other ethnic groups started to show their disaffection and reveal their ambitions. In the last days of the Western Jin Dynasty, the Huns (匈奴) rebelled against the Jin (晋) Empire under the leadership of Liu Yuan (刘渊). Other ethnic groups responded to them. The northern ruling of the Jin Empire was disintegrated quickly. Because of hatred and ambitions, those ethnic groups brought untold suffering to the Han people. So we can see it is very important and necessary for the future of a people to respect other ethnic groups and treat them equally.
The armies of Jin were defeated continuously. Lots of innocent armymen and citizens were killed. A prince of Jin led one hundred thousand people including armymen, nobles and their families to leave the capital Luoyang (洛阳) and move to the east. But they were caught and all of them were shot by the cavalry of the Huns. The Huns started to attack Luoyang, the capital of the Jin Empire. Jin Huai-Emperor (晋怀帝), the emperor of the Jin Empire, asked other cities for aid and told them, “Now you can have a chance to save me, but afterwards even if you want but you can’t.” But few armies relieved the capital. In A.D. 311, Hun’s army captured Luoyang. Three ten thousand Han people were killed by the Huns, and the prosperous city was laid in ruins. After two years, the Huns forced Jin Huai-Emperor to wear jail dress and toasted. A minister of Jin wept sadly. Liu Cong (刘聪) who was the son of Liu Yuan was very angry, and he killed Jin Huai-Emperor. Jin Huai-Emperor was a young wise man who was interested in literature and collection. If he lived in a peaceful time, he could be an excellent scholar and a wise emperor. But cruel situation destroyed his dreams and life.
In Chang’an (长安), the former capital of the Western Han Dynasty which was a great and powerful dynasty, many ministers organized an army and beat back the enemy. In 313, they set Jin Min-Emperor (晋闵帝) up on the throne. The conditions of Chang’an were very poor. In 316, Chang’an was captured by the Huns. The next year, the Huns insulted and killed Jin Min-Emperor because Jin’s ministers and people all wept for their emperor.
In 317, a prince Sima Rui (司马睿) who was Langya-King (琅邪王) ascended the throne in Jiankang (建康, modern-day Nanjing), and he was Jin Yuan-Emperor (晋元帝). The dynasty was called the Eastern Jin (东晋). In order to resume lost northern territory, the Eastern Jin Empire waged many northern expeditions. In the end of the Eastern Dynasty, this empire recaptured all territory of the south of the Yellow River. But later in the Southern Dynasties, northern enemy became very strong, and captured the territory of the north of the Yangtze River. At last, the Sui Empire, the dynasty which was built by Yang Jian (杨坚) who was the prime minister of the Northern Zhou (北周) Empire, annexed the southern Chen (陈) Dynasty. Though at last all territory were ruled by the Han people, but the Han’s culture was influenced by some nomadic ethnic groups from the north and had many changes.
We can’t forget a tragic hero, Liu Kun (刘琨). He was the minister of the Western Jin Dynasty, and the military mainstay of the last days of this empire. He persisted in strong resistance in Bingzhou (并州) where was in modern-day Shanxi Province. The life was very hard, and he had to get support from some tribes of the Sibo (鲜卑) ethnic group. These tribes were loyal to the Jin Empire and gave much support to Liu Kun. But when Liu Kun organized resistance with his whole heart, Duan Pidi (段匹磾) who was a noble of Xianbei believed a calumny and mistrusted him. When Liu Kun himself went to clarify matters, Duan Pidi detained him and killed him at last. He had a last poem, and this poem showed his eternal regret. After the death of Liu Kun, those tribes were subdued one after another by the Huns and the Jie (羯) which were nomadic ethnic groups from the north.
Since the last days of the Western Jin Dynasty, very many Han people migrated southwards. And it is called “Migration Southwards of Yongjia Years” (永嘉南渡). “Yongjia” (永嘉) was the title of the years when Jin Huai-Emperor was on the throne from A.D.307 to 313. This migration was the first large migration of the Huaxia people because of national fall. The roads were full of blood and tears. Countless people were killed by hunger, cold, diseases and invaders. The Han people of the north wished King-Army (the honorific title of armies of the supreme ruler of the Huaxia nation) to rescue them. Once the army of the Eastern Jin started a northern expedition, more than two hundred thousand people of the north responded to them. The people crossed the Yellow River. But the army of Jin suddenly withdrew, and then the people lost the support of army. All of them were massacred by ferocious invaders.
We remember the Zhou Dynasty. In that period, the Huaxia nation expelled other ethnic groups and migrated to their places. We recalled the Han Dynasty, and in that period, the Huaxia nation subdued many new areas and migrated to there. But when the Huaxia nation became weak, we lost the Central Plains (中原), our native land where our Huaxia nation had lived in several thousand years, and our people had to tread the migrating roads which were full of blood and tears. We can't forget our national humiliation. We can’t forget our ancestors’ sufferings. Wars brought sufferings to the people of other ethnic groups including Hun, Jie, Di (氐), Qiang (羌) and Sibo which were called five "Hu"(胡, "Hu" means foreign people from the west or the north). These ethnic groups killed each other savagely in revenge, and in the turbulent times, the four ethnic groups Hun, Jie, Di and Sibo disappeared. Wars brought endless miseries to people. How can avoid wars? Different ethnic groups should respect each other and treat each other equally.
