Why was the Western Jin Dynasty so short-lived? It only lasted 50 years.

1, because the enfeoffment system was short-lived, the military source expanded and the princes became independent.

2. In the history of China, the Western Jin Dynasty had a brief unified dynasty of the Three Kingdoms and the Northern and Southern Dynasties, which lasted only 50 years from 266 to 3 16.

There were only four emperors in the Western Jin Dynasty, which was largely attributed to Sima Yan's confusion in choosing successors. His first son had no emperor's life at all, and died shortly after his birth. Sima Yan was very sad that he could not inherit what he had built, and then he gave the position of Prince to his second son, Sima Zhong. But Sima Zhong, not to mention being an emperor, is not even as good as an ordinary person. His story went down in history. One year, there was a natural disaster in the country, and there was almost no output of food. Surnames can't fill their stomachs, and many poor surnames starve to death.

When Sima Zhong got the news, he didn't feel sorry for what happened to them, but he was puzzled. Since the attendants have no food, why don't they eat meat? You may be satisfied when you see this. This is not what an emperor can say, but what an extremely stupid person said. Therefore, Sima Yan also showed his son's character and always wanted to abolish him.

However, the Queen of Sima Yan Palace disagreed. She begged Sima Yan that although the prince was not a clever man, he was very honest and kind, and his behavior was not bad. If such people become emperors, the country will be more stable and there will be no problems. Besides, it was a very easy decision to abolish the prince in ancient times. If Sima Zhong is abolished, I'm afraid our situation will be difficult to control. Sima Yan thought for a long time what not to do, and decided to send someone to test the prince. The people sent didn't want to offend the prince, so they fooled the emperor and said that the prince was a good man, with good popularity, good ability and honesty. Therefore, Sima Yan did not abolish him and let him take his place. Later history also told Sima Yan how serious the consequences of his wrong decision were.

The second reason is the climate. Having said that, many people may think, what is the relationship between the change of dynasties and the climate? In fact, the temperature in the north has changed frequently in history. By the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the climate in the north was constantly bad, the temperature plummeted, and the grasslands where Huns lived for generations gradually dried up. Grass can't grow on the grassland, and Huns can't raise cattle and sheep, so they have no food. They had to move to the south of the Great Wall, and a large number of Huns poured into the Central Plains. The frontier defense in the Western Jin Dynasty was greatly threatened, which contained the country's military strength, made the country's demand for armaments and materials increase sharply, and the society began to become unstable. This is very similar to the Ming and Qing dynasties, so there is a certain regularity in the replacement of dynasties in history.

Another important reason is that Sima Yan was afraid that the country he founded would be taken away by others, so at the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic, he enfeoffed his family to all parts of the country and gave them some soldiers. He feels that this practice can maximize the interests of Sima's family. If someone has an accident, the governors he assigned to various places can lead troops to support the court. Besides, even if some of them rebel, the world will still be named Sima. His practice weakened the power of the central government and laid a hidden danger for the later national subjugation.

Another reason is that the imperial court consumed heavily at that time, which gave the invaders an opportunity. There are strongmen occupying state capital everywhere, and the state's financial resources and strength are seriously insufficient. Therefore, when there is a rebellion, they can't get enough strength to suppress it.