Partition of Jin (403 BC): The Birth of Han, Zhao and Wei

The partition of Jin was the break-up of the powerful Chinese state of Jin by three of its leading ministerial families, Han, Zhao and Wei. The families destroyed their last great rival in 453 BC and divided Jin’s lands, and in 403 BC the Zhou king formally recognised their heads as feudal lords. The event is often used to mark the start of the Warring States period, an age of almost constant war that ended with the unification of China by Qin in 221 BC.

Background: Jin and its ministers

Jin, centred on the Fen River valley in what is now Shanxi province, was one of the great powers of the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC). Its rulers led alliances of northern states and checked the southern state of Chu at battles such as Chengpu in 632 BC.

Over time, however, real power in Jin passed from the dukes to the hereditary ministerial lineages who commanded its armies. By the 6th century BC six families dominated the state: Zhi, Fan, Zhonghang, Han, Zhao and Wei. In the 490s BC a civil war eliminated the Fan and Zhonghang families, leaving four.

The siege of Jinyang

The strongest of the four was the Zhi family, led by Zhi Yao, also called Zhi Bo. According to the historian Sima Qian, Zhi Yao demanded land from the other three families. Han and Wei gave way, but Zhao Xiangzi, head of the Zhao family, refused.

Around 455 BC Zhi Yao, with Han and Wei forces, besieged Zhao Xiangzi in his stronghold of Jinyang, near modern Taiyuan. The attackers diverted river water to flood the city. Ancient accounts say the water rose so high that people cooked in hanging pots, though such details may be dramatised.

In 453 BC Zhao Xiangzi secretly persuaded the Han and Wei leaders that they would be next once Zhao fell. The two families switched sides, broke the dykes to flood the Zhi camp and joined Zhao in destroying the Zhi army. Zhi Yao was killed and his family wiped out, and the three victors divided the Zhi lands between them.

Recognition in 403 BC

After 453 BC Han, Zhao and Wei were independent states in all but name, while the dukes of Jin kept only a small territory. In 403 BC King Weilie of Zhou, the nominal overlord of all Chinese states, formally named the three family heads as marquises (zhuhou), the rank of a feudal lord.

The men recognised were Wei Si, known as Marquis Wen of Wei; Zhao Ji, Marquis Lie of Zhao; and Han Qian, Marquis Jing of Han. The Zhou king had little real power, but his recognition gave the new states legitimacy. It also showed that the old order, in which titles passed only through recognised ruling houses, could be overturned by force.

Key people

• Zhao Xiangzi (died c. 425 BC), head of the Zhao family, who survived the siege of Jinyang and organised the alliance against Zhi.
• Zhi Yao (Zhi Bo), head of the Zhi family, the most powerful man in Jin until his defeat in 453 BC.
• Marquis Wen of Wei (reigned c. 445–396 BC), who made Wei the leading power of the early Warring States, employing reformers such as Li Kui.
• King Weilie of Zhou (reigned 425–402 BC), who granted the formal recognition.

Consequences

The three new states became members of the seven great powers of the Warring States period, alongside Qin, Qi, Chu and Yan. Wei, under Marquis Wen, was the strongest for much of the 4th century BC. Zhao moved its capital to Handan in 386 BC, and Han conquered the state of Zheng in 375 BC and moved its capital to Xinzheng.

The remnant of Jin did not last long. Its remaining lands were divided and the ducal line came to an end in the 4th century BC, usually dated to 376 BC. In the long run, the division of Jin removed a strong northern power that might have blocked Qin. The three successor states were later defeated one by one; Qin’s victory over Zhao at Changping in 260 BC was the decisive blow.

Legacy and dating debates

Historians do not agree on a single starting date for the Warring States period. Sima Qian’s chronological tables begin in 476 BC and many modern works use 475 BC; others choose 453 BC, when Zhi was destroyed, and others 403 BC, the year of recognition.

The 403 BC date became famous through the Song-dynasty historian Sima Guang, whose Zizhi Tongjian (Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government), completed in 1084, begins in that year. Sima Guang argued that the Zhou king’s acceptance of usurpers destroyed the proper order of ruler and minister. For later Chinese readers the episode became a classic lesson in how a state could be hollowed out by overmighty officials.

Timeline

• 497–490 BC: Civil war in Jin eliminates the Fan and Zhonghang families.
• c. 455 BC: The Zhi, Han and Wei families besiege Zhao Xiangzi at Jinyang.
• 453 BC: Han and Wei change sides; the Zhi family is destroyed and its lands divided.
• 403 BC: King Weilie of Zhou recognises the heads of Han, Zhao and Wei as marquises.
• 386 BC: Zhao moves its capital to Handan.
• 376 BC: The last Jin lands are divided, ending the ducal line by the usual reckoning.
• 230–222 BC: Qin conquers Han, Zhao and Wei.

Why it matters

The partition of Jin turned one great state into three and showed that military strength now counted for more than inherited legitimacy. It opened the competitive, reform-driven world of the Warring States, which ended with China’s first empire.