Chapter 18 - Northern Material Culture

Summary

Although gradually setting up their own cultural identity, the Cao-Wei and the Western Jin were still strongholds of the Han dynasty legacy. In contrast, the cultural changes after the fall of the Western Jin capital, Luoyang, in 312 and Chang’an in 316 were abrupt and obvious. The major reason was the massive influx of heterogeneous non-Han peoples into the greatly depopulated Yellow River region, who brought with them their own preferences for materials and styles. These non-Han peoples remained the rulers of north China for more than the next two centuries, creating a new civilization by blending their own with the Jin spiritual and technical elements.