In the third year of the Jing Dynasty (239), on the first day of the first month of dinghai (the first year of the first month), the second emperor of the Three Kingdoms of Cao Wei, Cao Rui was seriously ill, and urgently summoned Sima Yi to assist the eight-year-old Cao Fang with the general Cao Shuang. On the same day, the Wei Ming Emperor Cao Rui died at the Jiafu Hall in Luoyang at the age of thirty-six, with the temple name Liezu and the ming emperor. Twenty-six days later, on the twenty-seventh day of the first lunar month, his body was buried in Gaoping Mausoleum (Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms and the Chronicle of the Ming Emperor).
GaopingLing address
According to the "Luoyang County Chronicle", GaopingLing is under the Baling Mountain in the southeast of Rudian Village in present-day Ruyang County, and there are rammed earth mounds on the ground, about 15 meters high, and it is "beautiful in mountains and rivers and beautiful in scenery".
According to Wang Lu's "Archaeological Survey and Preliminary Study of the Gaoping Mausoleum of Cao Rui, Emperor Cao Rui of Wei Ming", gaoping mausoleum is located on a high-pitched terrace 23 kilometers north of ruyang county. The terrace is high in the east and low in the west, and the baling Mountain (also known as the Five Vertical Mountains) runs north-south in the east.
If there is no "gaopingling change", it will slowly drown in the long river of history, and even disappear without being mentioned. However, this coup brought it to the foreground and named it after it. By reproducing the beginning, end, and direct impact of gaopingling's changes, this paper analyzes the far-reaching impact of Gaopingling's changes on the Western Jin Dynasty's "division of feudal states to build a ping domain" and "rebellion of the eight kings".
The change of Gaopingling began and ended
In the first month of the tenth year (249 AD), on the tenth anniversary of the death of the Wei Ming Emperor Cao Rui, the great general Cao Shuang accompanied the Wei Emperor Cao Fang to visit Gao Ping's mausoleum and visit the tomb of Emperor Wei Ming. Sima Yi, the prince of Taifu, seized this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to gather three thousand dead soldiers privately raised by Sima Shi (Emperor Yin raised three thousand dead soldiers in the Book of Jin), occupy the imperial palace, and in the name of Empress Guo, ordered the closure of the gates of Luoyang, and sent troops out of the city to occupy the Luoshui Pontoon Bridge.
At the same time, Sima Yi ordered Situ Gao Rou to hold the post of acting general Cao Shuang and the taifu Wang Guan to act as the leader of Cao Xi. Sima Yi then played a song to Emperor Wei and denounced Cao Shuang's guilt, and the impeachment table was intercepted by Cao Shuang, who did not dare to inform Emperor Cao Fang. Among them, the main four counts are as follows:
First, Cao Shuang violated the will of the former emperor Cao Rui and undermined the state system;
Second, Cao Shuang overtook the duties of the monarch and the courtiers above the court, such as receiving the talents of Emperor Ming of Wei;
Third, Cao Shuang arbitrarily monopolized power outside the court and formed a party for personal gain;
The fourth is that Cao Shuang is claustrophobic and the empress dowager, dividing the relationship between Her Majesty and the Empress Dowager's second palace.
Faced with the above four crimes, Cao Shuang thought about it for a night, thinking that Sima Yi would not do anything wrong, so he handed this impeachment table to Emperor Cao Fang, asking the emperor to depose himself and become a rich man himself. After Sima Yi seized power, after a multi-party trial, Huangmen Zhangdang, under severe torture, confessed that Cao Shuang and He Yan and others intended to rebel. As a result, Cao Shuang, Cao Xi, Cao Xun, He Yan, Deng Biao, Ding Mi, Bi Rail, Li Sheng, huan fan, and others were all arrested and imprisoned, and the three tribes were slaughtered for the crime of "great rebellion".
In the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, it is recorded that Shuang Yi was a subordinate, and the world was favored, and he personally accepted the emperor's handshake and testament, and cursed the world, while hiding evil intentions and despising Gu Fate, but conspiring with Yan, Biao and Dang to plot artifacts, Fan Dang and sinners, all of them were great rebels." Therefore, Shu Shuang, Xi, Xun, Yan, Biao, Mi, Track, Sheng, Fan, Dang, etc., all of them were ambushed and yi of the three tribes.
The direct impact of the gaopingling change
The change of Gaopingling was a redistribution of power within Cao Wei, and the rulers changed from the Cao and Xiahou clans of TanJun to the Sima clan of Hanoi. After that, the Sima family, represented by Sima Yi, overthrew the Wei Emperor Cao Fang, just like Cao Cao in those days, "holding the Son of Heaven hostage to order the princes". This laid a solid foundation for Sima Yi's grandson Sima Yan to replace Wei in the Jin Dynasty.
The Deep Impact of the Change of Gaopingling - The Western Jin Dynasty "Divided the Feudal State to Build a Ping Domain"
When Cao Pi claimed the title of Emperor of the Wei Dynasty, he learned the lesson of the "Rebellion of the Seven Kings" in the early years of the Western Han Dynasty, he stripped the rights of the kings of the domain, and the fiefs of the kings of the various domains changed from time to time, and every move was closely monitored. Therefore, the kings of Cao Wei had no real power or military power, but were just rich men. Cao Pi wielded great power and established Zhongshu Province, which adopted the Jiupin Zhongzheng system and ruled the world together with the scholars. To a certain extent, this maintained the emperor's rule and centralized the imperial power, but it led to Cao Weizong's personal strength being weak, having no right to speak in the court, and unable to "Qing Jun's side".
Cao Pi's policy of restricting the power of the clan provided a heavenly opportunity for the Sima family to usurp. During the Gaopingling Rebellion in 249 AD, the Sima family raised deep doubts about Cao Wei's efforts to weaken the power of the emperors. They came to power by coup d'état and stole the fruits of Cao Wei. If the Western Jin Dynasty continued to adopt this system, feeding the king of the clan clan with good food and drink, and not giving real power, there might be a similar coup d'état, and the power of the western Jin dynasty would be used to subvert the rule of the Sima family.
Sima Yan, emperor of the Jin Dynasty, was eventually replaced by a lesson in view of Cao Wei's "decline in the imperial family and the weakness of the imperial family". Therefore, he changed the county system since the Qin and Han Dynasties, implemented the retro, restored the system of dividing the feudals in the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, and made the imperial family the king of the domain to oppose the Mengmen clan. In the first year of the Tai Dynasty (265), at the beginning of the founding of the Western Jin Dynasty, Sima Yan, the emperor of the Jin Dynasty, was given the same surname as the king, with the county as the state. They may appoint their own Chinese military officials and collect taxes on the feudal state.
Among these clan kings were Sima Yan's uncle Sima Gan the Prince of Pingyuan, Sima Lun the Prince of Lang, Sima Liang the King of Fufeng, and Sima Yan's brother Sima You the Prince of Qi, all of whom were large countries, with 20,000 households and more than 5,000 people in the upper, middle, and lower armies. In addition to Sima Yan's other younger brothers, cousins, uncles, uncles, cousins, uncles and others, 27 people were crowned kings at the same time.
At first, these feudal kings did not take the throne, but supplemented the royal family in the capital Luoyang, and soon after, they went to their respective fiefdoms. Some feudal kings also oversee the military, sit in military strongholds, and hold real local power. Sima Yan's original intention was to fight against the ambitionists among the GateKeeper Clan.
Because at this time in the Western Jin Dynasty, due to the selection of officials in the Nine Pins Zhongzheng system, "there is no cold door in the upper grade, and no power in the lower grade" (Liu Yi of the Western Jin Dynasty, "Please Strike Zhongzheng except for the Nine Pins"), which is actually a situation in which the imperial family and the Door Valve Clan share the world. These gatekeeper clans also had great power, and Sima Yan divided the clan chambers and gave them certain powers, allowing these clan kings to defend the imperial power.
However, it was these feudal lords who were divided by Sima Yan, the emperor of the Jin Dynasty, who became oblivious because they held great power, and gave birth to the desire to fight for power and profit, and became new careerists. These clan kings not only did not play the role of "Qing Jun's side" when the imperial power was threatened, but also caused the turmoil.
The Western Jin Dynasty's "division of feudal states to build a ping domain" triggered the "Rebellion of the Eight Kings"
The direct factor that triggered the "Rebellion of the Eight Kings" was Empress Jia Nanfeng's interference in politics and power, and the deep-seated reason was the Western Jin Dynasty's system of "dividing feudal states to build a ping domain". After many empresses, empresses and foreign relatives intervened in the government of the two Han Dynasties, it did not cause major clan turmoil. Therefore, even if there is no Western Jin Dynasty Jia Nanfeng interfering in politics and provoking the "Rebellion of the Eight Kings", there will be other events as a fuse, triggering turmoil similar to the "Rebellion of the Eight Kings". Coupled with the fact that Emperor Wu of Jin's successor was Sima Zheng, the Emperor hui of Jin, who was born stupid, the imperial power at this time had long since fallen into the hands of Empress Jia Nanfeng and the kings of various clans. The "Rebellion of the Eight Kings" has the following two stages:
The first stage: From March to June of the first year of Yuan Kang (291), which lasted for three months, in this turmoil, a total of two ministers and two princes of the clan were killed, namely, yang jun, the elder Wei Wan, the king of Runan, and Sima Wei, the king of Chu. At this stage, only two clan kings were involved in the turmoil, and they were still under control. Empress Jia Nanfeng was the biggest winner, she held the power of the government, reusing her brother Jia Mo, nephew Jia Mi, cousin Guo Zhang, and other pro-party parties.
The second stage: the ninth year of YuanKang (299) to the first year of Guangxi (306), which lasted seven years. In this turmoil, more clans participated, and the casualties were heavy. For example, Empress Jia Nanfeng, Crown Prince Sima Sui, Sima Lun the Prince of Zhao, Sima Ran the King of Qi, Sima Yuan the King of Hejian, Sima Qi the King of Changsha, Sima Ying the King of Chengdu, Sima Xuan the Prince of Dong'an, and even Sima Zheng, the Emperor of Jinhui, died suddenly.
In this turmoil, the victor of the first stage, Jia Nanfeng, also suffered a tragic accident, and the entire Western Jin Dynasty Hall was sung by you, and the princes and kings of the clan who participated in it were killed. In 307, Sima Jue, the Emperor of Jinhuai, assumed the throne as emperor and changed his name to Yuan Yongjia, with Taifu and Sima Yue the Prince of Donghai assisting him. Sima Chi, the Emperor of Jinhuai, and Sima Yue, the King of the Eastern Sea, became the final victors, declaring the end of the sixteen-year-long Rebellion of the Eight Kings.
The similarities and differences between the "Change of Gaopingling" and the "Rebellion of the Eight Kings"
"Gaopingling's change", after the death of the Wei Ming Emperor Cao Rui, the eight-year-old Cao Fang took the throne, and the general Cao Shuang was a powerful minister who monopolized power and had threatened the imperial power. Therefore, Sima Yi, as the elder of the Four Dynasties, entrusted himself with a lonely and heavy subject, and had the obligation to "qing junfang" and get rid of the powerful ministers Cao Shuang, He Yan, Ding Mi, Bi Rail, and others.
In the first stage of the "Rebellion of the Eight Kings", Sima Yan, the emperor of the Jin Dynasty, died, and his foreign relative Yang Jun was an extremely popular subject and had great power. At this time, Empress Jia Nanfeng, for the sake of her own power and in order to prevent Yang Jun from monopolizing power, first used Sima Liang, the king of Runan, and Sima Wei, the king of Chu, to get rid of Yang Jun, and then eliminated Sima Liang, the king of Runan, and Sima Wei, the king of Chu, and became the victor and held the power of the imperial government.
In the second stage of the "Rebellion of the Eight Kings", the ship overturned in the gutter of Jia Nanfeng, who won the first stage, and opened the prelude to the struggle for power and profit between the princes of the Western Jin Dynasty. In order to get rid of those in power, they took power themselves, and they fought endlessly and their lives were ruined.
In essence, the "Change of Gaopingling" and the "Rebellion of the Eight Kings" are the same, both are the imperial power is not strong, and the power and the courtiers are fighting endlessly. It is just that the victors of the "Gaopingling Change" were people with foreign surnames, and the victors of the "Rebellion of the Eight Kings" have always been sima clans of the Western Jin Dynasty.
Conclusion: Sima Yi launched the "Gaopingling Rebellion", eliminated the political enemy Cao Shuang, gradually vacated the Cao Wei Emperor, and seized the power of the dynasty, laying a solid foundation for the establishment of the Western Jin Dynasty. Therefore, Sima Yan, the Emperor of JinWu, learned the lesson of Cao Wei's "GaopingLing Change" and lost Jiangshan, abandoned the Wei Emperor Cao Pi's policy of restricting the power of the emperors and princes, and emulated Liu Bang, the ancestor of Han Gao, to "divide the feudal state and build a ping domain" to ensure that power was in the hands of the Sima family. To a certain extent, this played a role in preventing the rebellion of the powerful ministers, but it triggered the "Rebellion of the Eight Kings" that was more severe than the "Rebellion of the Seven Kings" in the Western Han Dynasty.
During the Jing Emperor of the Western Han Dynasty, there was the "Rebellion of the Seven Kings", and the name of the rebellion of these princes was "Qing Junfang". Fortunately, the "Rebellion of the Seven Kings" was quickly put down by Zhou Yafu, while the "Rebellion of the Eight Kings" of the Western Jin Dynasty lasted for sixteen years and had a great impact on society, and finally the Five Hu Chaos Hua and the fall of the Western Jin Dynasty.
Primary references
Book of Jin
Romance of the Three Kingdoms: Chronicles of the Ming Emperor
Zizhi Tongjian
《Luoyang County Chronicle》
"A Brief Analysis of the Impact of the Gaopingling Incident on the Political Situation of Wei and Jin", Department of History, Fang Qian Anhui University
"Archaeological Investigation and Preliminary Study of cao rui gaoping mausoleum of Emperor Cao Rui of Wei Ming", Wang Lu Luoyang City Cultural Relics Drilling Management Office