A Grand Blueprint for Empire

At the end of the Western Jin dynasty, the Rebellion of the Eight Princes led to the migration of northern peoples into the heartland. They established numerous regimes, ushering in the turbulent era of the Sixteen Kingdoms. Fu Jian of the Di people occupied the Guanzhong region and founded the Former Qin.

In 357, Fu Jian staged a coup, killed the tyrant Fu Sheng, and proclaimed himself king. During his reign, Fu Jian placed the Han official Wang Meng in positions of responsibility and introduced reforms based on Han customs. He lightened corvée labor and taxes, developed the economy, promoted Confucianism, encouraged ethnic integration, and advanced the Sinicization of the Five Hu peoples. Under his rule, the Former Qin grew powerful. He successively conquered the Former Yan, Qiuchi, Former Liang, and Dai, unifying northern China. In 383, Fu Jian launched the Battle of Fei River in an attempt to destroy the Eastern Jin, but his arrogance and underestimation of the enemy led to a crushing defeat. The Former Qin fell into chaos, and the north was once again divided. In 385, Fu Jian was strangled to death by Yao Chang of the Later Qin at the age of forty-eight. His legacy was mixed. Though he failed to complete the unification of the realm, the Former Qin under his rule brought its people a brief era of peace and prosperity.