Jin (晉; 883 (or 896 or 907)–923), also known as Hedong (河東) and Former Jin (前晉) in

Chinese historiography Chinese historiography is the study of the techniques and sources used by historians to develop the recorded history of China. Overview of Chinese history The recording of events in Chinese history dates back to the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 ...

, was a dynastic state of China and the predecessor of the Later Tang dynasty. Its princely rulers were the ethnic

Shatuo The Shatuo, or the Shatuo Turks (; also transcribed as Sha-t'o, Sanskrit SartZuev Yu.A., ''"Horse Tamgas from Vassal Princedoms (Translation of Chinese composition "Tanghuyao" of 8-10th centuries)"'', Kazakh SSR Academy of Sciences, Alma-Ata, ...

warlords Li Keyong and Li Cunxu (Li Keyong's son). Although the

Five Dynasties period The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (), from 907 to 979, was an era of political upheaval and division in 10th-century Imperial China. Five dynastic states quickly succeeded one another in the Central Plain, and more than a dozen concu ...

began only in 907, Li Keyong's territory which centered around modern

Shanxi Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-leve ...

can be referred to as Jin as early as 896, when he was officially created the Prince of Jin by the failing and powerless

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

court, or even (by extension, anachronistically) as early as 883, when he was created the ''

jiedushi The ''jiedushi'' (), or jiedu, was a title for regional military governors in China which was established in the Tang dynasty and abolished in the Yuan dynasty. The post of ''jiedushi'' has been translated as "military commissioner", "legate ...

'' military governor of Hedong Circuit, which controlled more or less the same territory.

History

The Jin rulers Li Keyong and Li Keyong's son Li Cunxu, of

extraction, claimed to be the rightful subjects of the defunct

(618–907), in a struggle against the usurper state of the Later Liang dynasty. At the time of the Tang dynasty's fall in 907, the Jin state consisted of most of Shanxi (Linfen, Hezhong, Jincheng, Qinyang were taken by Later Liang) and several parts of Inner Mongolia. In 912, Jin took over Jincheng and in 913, conquered Yan, and eventually expanded to cover all of the territory north of the

Yellow River The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the sixth-longest river system in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Ha ...

. Eventually, in 923, Li Cunxu, claiming rightful succession to the Tang throne, declared himself emperor, transitioning his state to the Later Tang dynasty, which shortly after destroyed the Later Liang dynasty. * Former countries in Chinese history 10th-century establishments in China 907 establishments 923 disestablishments 10th-century disestablishments in China States and territories established in the 900s States and territories disestablished in the 920s History of Shanxi {{china-hist-stub