History Of. Later Qin

Later Qin Regime was firstly founded by Yao Chang (330-393) on the northern bank of Weihe River in 384. In 386, Yao Chang moved the capital to Chang'an (Xi'an city, Shaanxi) and ascended to the throne. Yao Xing (366-416) succeeded to the throne in 394. The year 417 saw the surrender of the monarch Yao Hong (387-417) of the Later Qin Dynasty to Eastern Jin Dynasty (317-420). During the 34 years of Later Qin regime,3 monarchs had reigned over the country in succession. During its flourishing period, Later Qin Dynasty set the Sili Ministry and controlled 14 districts including Yongzhou, Qinzhou, Hezhou and Bingzhou, which covers today's Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia and parts of Shanxi and Henan Province. Many ethnic groups like Han, Qiang, Di, Jie and Hun lived in the domain ruled by Later Qin, which meant the ethnic relations there were very complex.This paper conducts a research of Later Qin's history and society from the following 6 aspects. Chapter I gives a general description of its history, which mainly describes the social background of the foundation of the country, social condition under the control of Yao Xing and the reasons of the country's destruction. Chapter II discusses its political and military policies, especially focusing on its military system of tribe, the army defense system and the military towns and campuses. Chapter III attempts to analyze the changes of its territory and population, which lays stress on the influence of the war on the gain and loss of the territory and the change of the population. Chapter IV makes an analysis of the ethnic groups. This chapter analyzes the distribution and status of development of the ethnic groups, such as Qiang, di, Hun, Xianbei and Jie. The national amalgamation is discussed from the aspect of the ethnic policy adopted by the ruling class. Chapter V studies its economy. The tragedies of the government, the building of the water conservancy projects and the innovation of the farming tools greatly prompted the development of agriculture. And the border trade between Later Qin and Eastern Jin and Northern Wei propelled the business forward. Chapter VI carries out the study of cultural policy, which focuses on the development of Confucianism and Buddhism. Through the exposition of these 6 aspects, the original features of Later Qin Dynasty is attempted to restore.