Tsins

The Tsjinh (Shinasthana: 晉, tsjinh) was a dynasty and polity located in modern-day Themiclesia that appearead in the Dark Ages and in 256 established a hegemony over other states. In canonical historiography, it is remembered as first dynasty over a unified Themiclesia. The Tsjinh is thought to have appeared as a clan or league of clans until finally settling near what is now Kien-k'ang, then establishing a true state. During Antiquity, it engaged in military expansion and absorbed surrounding polities. The Treaty of Five was passed by five pre-eminent states 256, accepting Tsjinh as hegemon, though it never annexed the others. The eponymous polity was overthrown in 420 by Sungh.

History

Dark Ages and Early Archaic

The rise of the Tsjinh polity is not well understood. Archaeologically, there are at least eight settlements of varying age in the 5th and 4th centuries, the later part of the Dark Ages and first of the Archaic Period, in the area associated with the early Tsjinh. Prior to 500 BCE, there is no evidence of Meng-cultural activity in Tsjinh. There is also no settlement obviously dominant in population size or military strength, nor are there recovered written materials that identify them with settlements part of the Tsjinh polity's influence per received documents. Nevertheless, there are some prominent, richer burials, usually associated with local rulers of uncertain identity. The first historic ruler of Tsjinh was Elder Brother ′Rjut (大兄乙) or ′Rjut IV (四乙) or oracles, who reigned between 302 and 295 BCE.

While there is a lengthy family tree in received and unearthed texts, the first ruler Pêk (辟) or P.rjang′ VI with a historical profile led the polity between 295 and 265 BCE. Pêk's most noted accomplishment was the fouding of a new settlement after the old one was destroyed by flood. Archaeologists have contended, however, that several new settlements appeared during his reign, and the one he founded cannot be identified. His ancestry can be traced with some certainty, but little other than their names are known. The Tsjinh are not the first Meng group in Themiclesia to keep annals, entering the historical record in the Springs and Autumns of Six States in 302 BCE.

According to earlier conclusions, Pêk instituted major reforms to the succession systems with broad consequences, but current scholars tend towards the idea that his reforms were actually consequences of his disorderly succession, which did not fully materialize until over a century after his death. Before Pêk, succession within the Tsjinh may have passed between siblings and maternal cousins, with father-son and paternal cousin successions prohibited. Though this system would have given each lineage opportunity to lead, it appears Pêk, who may have been a younger brother, desired to pass leadership to his son or nephew rather than his cousins. According to a different interpretation, Pêk himself may not have been in line to take the throne according to succession rules, as he was denied the customary title of "the second brother" in cultic activities. His succession is considered highly suspect or anomalous, including the identity of his consort and relationship with his predecessor.

Pêk's successor, Sjin III, was given the epithet "the middle brother", repeating the pattern of the old succession and suggesting this was the person actually in right to succeed Elder Brother ′Rjut in 295. After him, the kingship passed in 254 to P.rjang′ VII the Minor who appears to be Pêk's son, but the transition may not have been peaceful. His epithet seems be derogatory, suggesting that his succession was disorderly. The Ninth Generation ended with this ruler, who is paired with a consort called Krek, Madam Sjin; again, this is disorderly in light of the fact that most generations ended with a ruler without a paired spouse. The want of a paired spouse does not necessarily mean the ruler was unmarried or childless—only that a spouse is not honoured in his memory.

In the beginning of the Tenth Generation, the archaic order of succession appears restored with the first two rulers given the titles "elder brother" and "second brother", and these two rulers enjoyed relatively long reigns, combined measuring 62 years. Yet after Têng III died in 170, the ruler Middle Mjet came to the fore, with an unusual epithet. In combination with his other epithet, his full title would have been Second Brother Middle Mjet (中兄中戊), a strange repetition of the same word in Shinasthana otherwise unknown in royal cultic titles. While this could mean his succession was disorderly, most scholars instead think the appelation "second brother" was extraordinarily added some time after his death, to legitimate him as the "second brother" in place of Têng IV, in the Tenth Generation. His successor is called Second Brother Sjin the Younger, whose title is even more unusual, as he does not increment the usual numbering of rulers with identical names—the next of his name was Sjin IV, not Sjin V. He too was given the epithet "middle brother", making three "middle brother" in this generation. During Sjin the Minor's reign, the Rebellion of the Princes began.

Rebellion of Princes

The Antiquities of Themiclesia, written in 432, provides that in 160 BCE, the "senior house [was] weakened and debased" (公室卑微), inducing the Rebellion of Princes (六子之亂, rjuk-tsje′-tje-ronh). The Rebellion left no archaeological trace, leading some to believe that it was a series of assassinations or broken and rapidly-shifting alliances, rather than civil war as ancient and medieval historians believed. Indeed, the disorder was said to have lasted 30 years, astoundingly long in an age when wars lasted days. The Rebellion was a moment of pivotal change in histographic terms, as it generated some of the first literature in the continuous style—treatises that dealt with politics—albeit only two centuries later. The event was extensively referenced in the political treatises of the 2nd century CE and cited as the cause for many contemporary events. The eponymous princes were Rui, G′or, Djêng, Gem, Trjibh, and N′ors. They are called "princes" as they were understood to be high-ranking individuals in the ruling household, but their biological relationship is unclear.

During the course of the Rebellion, there are still recorded rulers in the Tenth Generation, who are Sjin the Minor, K.rang III, and ′Rjut V. These three individuals do not appear to have made any impact on the progression of the Rebellion, which in surviving narratives is propelled by the aggression, greed, and lust of the six princes. While the princes did not solicit the sympathy of major ancient or medieval historians, the ancient historians partly blamed the continued chaos on the weakness, ineptitude, ignorance, or innocence of rulers. This characterization was most vigorously expanded and expounded by historians of the 5th century, who were eager to describe the Archaic Period as peaceful and its kings powerful enough to rein in subjects. Modern historians tend to argue that the six princes were at least supported by a deeper conflict between commercial and mineral rights, cultural tension, and other factors in their rebellion against rulers and each other.

At the close of the Rebellion, a new line took power, possibly with foreign assistance, and with it introduced a new succession system, which preferred fraternity to collinearity. Tsjinh, the city, was moved two miles to the south around 130 BCE, a transition supported by archaeology.

Some scholars have portrayed the Rebellion of Princes as the transition to a true state in Tsjinh, though this is contingent on the interpretation of earlier political structures. The Rebellion has also been connected with the growing prominence of Meng culture in Themiclesia, which, by those supporting this theory, is responsible for the deterioration for the exchange marriage system that had governed the Tsjinh clan up to this point. This group of scholars contrast the relatively orderly system of intermarriages prior to P.rjang VI and the relatively disorderly situation after his reign to argue in favour of the destabilizing marriage alliance between the Tsjinh clan and a group of native societies.

After the Rebellion, the annals grew in scope. It is theorized that the Rebellion required pretenders to enlist support from proximal and consanguineous polities, cadet branches, and new settler groups. Functions once within the clan began to involve a novel class of outsiders, and declinist historians spoke the "moral degenerency" in placing "foreigners" in positions of trust over one's own clan. Once the Quarrel ended, the Tsjinh court was aflood with new bloodlines that posed a severe threat to the unity of the Tsjinh clan. Power struggles were no longer occurring between branches of the royal family, but between them and new aristocrats. The need to communicate ideas may have been responsible for generating the earliest literature created by the Tsjinh court.

Late Archaic

The Late Archaic was a period of dramatic expansion for the city of Tsjinh, archaeologically speaking. From a settlement of no more than 2,000 people, it grew to 20,000 by the end of the Archaic Period, and much of this wealth did not come from agriculture in surrounding fields, but rather colonial profits, plunder, and new settlement.

After the Rebellion of Princes, the succession of rulers was apparently restricted to a single lineage and rarely passed outside. The divination records contain the Eleventh through Fifteenth generations, where the behaviour of rulers' names are at considerable odds froThe 2nd century BCE is associated with a sudden growth in Meng population in Themiclesia, contrasted with the stagnancy of the 4th and 3rd centuries; this migration is thought to have provoked a cascade of effects, such as the adoption of iron tools and the colonization movement. The transition between bronze and iron metallurgy appears to be peaceful in Themiclesia, with the former metal increasingly associated with cultic and political objects, and the latter with the mundane and military.

Classical Period

Main article: Themiclesian Antiquity § Classical Period

The Hexarchy (六邦之治, rjok-prong-tje-lrjegh) is so named due to the diplomatic order that emerged at its termination in 256 CE, with six major states extant; for most of this period, states vied for dominance and aggressively colonized territories hitherto unpopulated or populated by non-Meng populations. The process of colonization had a strong influence on the histories of all states, such that some historians have preferred to use the term "colonization period" to refer to the Hexarchy; they argue that the name "hexarchy" implies it was an era dominated by these six states that flourished at its end and their survival appear predestined. From a historiographic perspective, the historical traditions of these six states have been the best-studied, and the "six states" trope is itself highly historical. It is a radical position, with some mainstream attention, that the native population of Themiclesia may have remained numerically dominant until the colonial period but escaped the treatment of historians due to poor attestation.

The Tsjinh state faced major offensives from Teng and Pjang states during the Quarrel of Six Princes, and Patriarch Tjaw, who re-established stability after two decades of infighting, seems to have intensified colonization efforts by both the patriarchal and other houses. His desire to secure the support of surrounding Meng states may have compelled him to distance native populations, who have been intermarrying with the Tsjinh house for centuries. Furthermore, the need to provide allied Meng clans, whose populations were growing rapidly, with opportunities to develop economically could have contributed to that policy, which outlasted several reigns and which some historians seek to explain through social pressures in addition to political considerations.

Imperial expansion

Main article: Treaty of Five Kings

Regency of N.rang

After King Kl′ang died in 334 without an heir, his childless brother, King Mugh, was enthroned at the advanced age of 74. Two years later, Mugh also died, leaving the throne vacant. A succession crisis occurred between at least fourteen princes of the royal house, whose claims are all questionable, and after an unrecorded altercation at court, the Duke of N.rang (唐公) came to dominate the royal court. This event is described as smjangh-gwjang-stjit (相王室), or "supervision of the royal house" in histories, but excavated materials suggest that Sungh did not merely place the royal house "under wardship", but actually took the throne—bronze inscriptions record that he "sat upon the throne and made charges to the many dukes, earls, manorial elders, lords of the land, and the many lineages" (公即立舍羣公眔徹侯眔伯眔君眔百姓). For the next fifty years, N.rang and his successor dominated the royal house, enthroning and deposing puppets as they saw fit.

Geography

Before the Hexarchy, the embryonic Tsjinh state began to distinguish several types of regions, but state boudaries in the modern sense did not yet exist. The royal household itself owned agricultural land, called "royal land" (公田, klong-lin) and worked by cadet branches and slaves.  Forests controlled by the royal household was sometimes granted to agricultural clans permanently (甸, linh), on condition of tribute at harvest. Land was also occupied by other clans performing services to the royal clan, such as manufacturing, construction, hunting, mining, winemaking, writing, and many others.  Though canonical histories described these clans to be enfeoffed by the king, most modern authorities favour a looser relationship bound by mutual defence, economic reliance, common ancestry, or marriage. These clans were collectively called the "several lineages" (羣姓).

By the 3rd c. BCE, the royal clan began to expand its military power in more distant quarters, creating barons that provided military services, in a more classical feudal sense. Some barons

Government

Kingship

There is little agreement on the nature of kingship in the Dark Ages and the early Archaic Period. It has been pointed out that, while there is a stable list of names that later rulers venerate as a succession of rulers, nothing internal list and the documents that recover them actually portray these early rulers as doing anything suggesting of a temporal kingship. Rather, their activities are usually confined to cults. Archaeologically, the Tsjinh area during the 5th through 3rd centuries BCE do not suggest that a strong centre of wealth existed during this period; materials were fairly evenly distributed through a handful of settlements, which are of similar size. Nathan Prat believes that the early kingship was really a priestly office with limited temporal responsibilities, but Charles Brut says that this would be a misimpression arising from the genre of surviving materials.

On the other hand, the fact that the early kingship seems to have passed from lineage to lineage in a strict manner motivates some scholars to argue that the office must have been one of considerable influence and importance, whether for commercial or spiritual reasons, or it would not warrant such strict rules over its demise. These scholars propose that the office was important within the conceptual or metaphorical clan that ultimately made up the Tsjinh people, including its Meng and native elements; yet the behaviour of the kingship was distinct from ordinary patrimony, which was inherited patrilineally in other cases.

The figure of P.rjang VI "possesses characteristics of temporal kingship" according to Brut, as he was recorded in the Six States to have sent emissaries to foreign states, organized campaigns, and built new settlements. Prat instead thinks that P.rjang VI was the exception to the rule, given his nickname "the warlord" and the fact that he was denied the funerary epithet the "middle brother" that a person in his order of succession usually received. Scholars following Prat hold that kingship only arose in Tsjinh after the Rebellion of Six Princes, whereby a ruler was able to assert power through force across multiple settlements and their hereditary leaders. There remains disagreement on whether P.rjang VI's actions were normal, innovative, or extraordinary.

Longer narratives since the end of the Rebellion allowed scholars to draw insight into the increasing wealth of the Tsjinh settlement.

Clans

In the study of early Themiclesian state structures, historians frequently utilize comparisons with Menghean precedents and contemporaries, on the assumption that settlement in Themiclesia was done not by individuals but entire clans en masse, which were the functional units of political actors in early Menghean society. This practice had come under doubt, and some peripheral assumptions have been expunged due to lack of support from the archaeological evidence; however, the fact that early Meng people in Themiclesia lived in clans is still accepted by most scholars.

The primitive form of the Tsjinh polity is characterized as a clan-based government; opportunities and responsibilities were shared as a matter of course between different branches of the clan. The highest leader of the clan, appearing in inscriptions without a fixed title until the Archaic Period, may have been selected not purely on a hereditary basis but by other figures, and these figures are linked to the kong, a group of hereditary leaders who appear, from the epigraphic perspective, to hold power by virtue of descent. The word kong connotes a preference for seniority, as it is the word describing a generic grandfather or granduncle. The relevance of the kong with the moiety and group system, which features most prominently in naming and marriage, is unclear; while some scholars believe that a marriage-group was a substantive social unit, others think they were only ceremonial affinities held by high-ranking individuals. There are no known references to a kong of a marriage-group. Accoring to Njap, it seems in the Archaic Period, the functional groups of Tsjinh society were distinct from the marriage-groups.

Branches of the clan may be assigned to colonize a new area, to extract or work a certain resource, or to perform a certain set of skilled or unskilled tasks. These designations may be temporary or hereditary. In the event of threat of force, the different branches of the clan marshalled in each other's defence.

The clan-based government appears to have functioned smoothly in a settlement, or league of settlements linked by blood, of limited size and membership, but disputes occurred as the branches subdivided and created more settlements and encountered other clans active in the same areas. Those branches assigned to territorial occupation tended to diversify, whether out of inconvenience of distance or ambition, as much as their parent clans did and thus became self-sufficient, encourage their transformation into polities as well. In some cases, these new polities became completely independent, but in others they remained subordinate to their parent clan, fulfilling some sort of fixed obligation in exchange for recognition or common defence. Other, smaller clans active in the same region may have sought protection of the Tsjinh and performed some function as compensation.

A pre-eminent centre of wealth appears in middle of the 3rd c. BCE, which is interpreted as the emergence of a central authority amongst the groups that made up the Tsjinh people. From the 2nd century, longer epigraphic references to the patriarch (伯), cadets (子), and outsiders (外) shed light on the dynamics between them. The extent of the patriarch's authority dealing with the branches of his extensive clan is at best unclear, but the patriarch is assumed to have some redistributional power over certain lands and rights to exploit and trade resources, as well as to demand payment for them.

The Tsjinh at the end of the 3rd c. BCE was evidently not very territorial and had few borders. While the Tsjinh fortified settlements, they defended territories beyond the fortifications only for reasons of economic production. Other clans were able to pass through the general area settled by the Tsjinh clan freely, or even settle amongst them while maintaining independence, as long as they did not threaten the incumbents' activities. This suggests that political power was primarily an interpersonal relationship, not one based on access to land in the feudal sense. This may have been a result of the sparsity of settlement and abundance of land in Themiclesia; a settlement could move to a new location with its belongings in tow, since at least some forms of production that were migratory.

Tsjinh state

The Quarrel of Six Princes deeply disrupted the balance of power between the senior line, the cadets, and the outsiders, all of which had been hereditary interests to that point. The need to prepare for civil and external war with Teng and Pjang forced Tsjinh leaders to rely increasingly on unaffiliated advisors to administer resources more efficiently. The end result of the Quarrel is the weakening of all of the six pretenders to the throne, allowing the senior house to acquire influence in each pretender's support base or to motivate their defection. This was justified, as appears from sparse records, on the grounds of pressure applied by outsider clans; however, this act of centralization also offended the cadet houses, who complained that the senior house had betrayed them. To compete with them, outsider houses formed an important alliance with the senior house, which came to define Tsjinh politics in the aftermath of the Quarrel.

Cognizant of the dangers of an overly-independent hereditary aristocracy, the senior house only recognized the local influences of outsider aristocrats as much as will lead them to lend their services and forces to counterbalance the cadets and to partake in the defence of Tsjinh interests. One measure taken was to limit the new aristocrats' ability to create new settlements and make themselves polities. These new aristocrats, of more limited ability, generally assented to these diminished terms and agreed to serve the senior house. In older historical works, this change is seen as the civic genesis of the Themiclesians, the state's breaching the confines of family ties, whereas previously it had been such a compelling force that it defined virtually all policies. In more recent analyses, scholars have reframed the decision to replace "ties of blood" with "ties of interest" as a change compelled by necessity, rather than a conscious decision to create public politics that transcended clan-based interests.

Non-land titles

The earlier practice of establishing cadet colonies effectively limited the size of the demesne land of the major house in earlier Tsjinh history. After this practice was abandoned in consequence of the Quarrel of Six Princes, there was considerable development in the administrative apparatus to make effective use state resources. This allowed the senior house to acquire a larger income and was intrumental in establishing its supremacy over others. The rise of a professional bureaucracy followed closely with the appearance of the first historical records and preserved prose compositions; some historians have described this as a democratization of political access, where rulers were willing to grant wealth and honour to the under-class for the provision of knowledgeable services.

During this period, the ultimate prize for an aspiring bureaucrat was titular aristocracy, which entitled the holder and descendants to a permanent monetary income. This form of aristocracy was distinct from the cadet and outsider houses, which could create branch houses and colonize more land, receiving political, military, and material support from them and thereby grow to rival the senior house. Titular aristocracy did not pose the same threat, since financial income could not multiply itself or be converted as easily to political and military power. Most importantly, it did not reduce the tax-base for the senior house or create potential opponents. Furthermore, since the senior house was the sole guarantor of the benefits that the title carried, it also encouraged the holder and his successors to support the senior house, to protect their continued income.

Though the Tsjinh had virtually stopped creating land-based titles, the number of financial ones multiplied as heritable rewards were culturally coveted. For bureaucrats who achieved this form of nobility, it alleviated them from governing settlements and allowed them to focus on their jobs. To a certain extent, the creation of permanent bonds of seems to have been preferred by the Tsjinh senior house as well. This added a fourth faction to the Tsjinh court and a novel dynamic to court life. Bureaucrats, who were prized across the states due to their ability to centralize administration and combat established aristocrats, became the subject of controversies stirred up mostly aristocrats. The cadet houses, who were out-competed by bureaucratic rule, openly circulated rumours that bureaucrats could not be trusted, instead asking for positions themselves arguing that only blood could guarantee loyalty. They pointed to historical situations two centuries ago when houses normally embroiled in infighting could unit against a common external enemy. Tsjinh politics was characterized by struggles between the factions in the 1st century BCE.

Suppression of the cadets

The currency by which the cadets and some outsider houses courted support of the Tsjinh king was military cadre, as a tradition. In earlier eras, military organization had a directive influence on the perambulating state. While the Tsjinh king had a peasant levy, the better-trained and better-armoured troops were produced by the cadet houses, mostly from their junior members. They filled roles such as heavy infantry, chariotry, and cavalry. The reason why the royal house did not produce professional warriors, or did but in insignificant numbers, is not well-understood. It is possible that the cadet houses were sometimes threatened by coups led by military officers, and the bureaucracy did not wish to entertain such a possibility at the royal house.

After a particularly bloody phase of the Hexarchy, in which the cadet houses mobilized to assist the royal house, they prevailed on the Tsjinh king in 70 BCE to curb the bureaucracy. They argued that the king should not support "pen-pushers" at the expense of those who had bled for him. The chancellor, the chief bureaucrat, replied that the cadets' warriors would have starved without the bureaucracy's sending food from a great distance away. He also said that the warriors had outlived their usefulness, now that a peace treaty was in force. Sending them home, they found out that the royal court had made a private agreement with Pjang to ransack and take the cadets' territories while the majority of their troops were away. Moreover, they also provoked the cadet houses' slaves and serfs to defect to the royal house. Since this episode, the number of active cadet houses dropped sharply, and the existing ones forced to submit to central administration in one degree or another. The poet Rjar Sngw′jan, such a cadet warrior, lamented in 68 that "as the last rabbit is caught for dinner, so shall the hound join it on the table".

Bureaucracy

Approaching the start of the Common Era, a centralized bureaucracy began to develop around and supplant the royal court, which is understood to function like an assembly of senior officials and deliberated on all areas of government. Not all members of the court had fixed positions, and nobles by heritage had a voice on assemblies. By sidestepping the court and embracing administrators, the ruler was able to make decisions more independently.

The early bureaucracy was led by several important officers, who had fixed jurisdictions. Amongst them, there were the Royal Secretary (御史大夫, ngjah-srje′-ladh-pja), Royal Councillor (中大夫, trjung-ladh-pja), and Comptroller of the House (公族大夫, kong-tsok-ladh-pja). When troops were levied, a general (將軍, tsjang-kwjer) was appointed. While the Royal Secretary was later to become the leader of the Tribunes, in this era he was allowed to read all state papers and probably advise the monarch over them; his later supervisory function was, probably, a by-product of his power over papers. The Royal Councillor was also able to advise the monarch but did not have the same access to reports sent to the monarch. The Comptroller of the House managed the monarch's household. Other important officials were introduced on the model of the Meng dynasty, such as the Inner Administrator and Privy Treasurer. In time, these tended to displace extant ones.

When it was necessary, a Chancellor (相邦, smjangh-prong) and Vice Chancellor (丞相, gljing-smjangh) would be appointed above them.

Locally, settlements directly controlled by royal court were grouped into counties, which were administrative and productive units. A non-heriditary country magistrate was appointed in each county and was subject consistent, instituionalized oversight from the monarch. The magistrate was responsible for maintaining order, resolving disputes, collecting taxes, and levying troops. If bronze or other natural resources were present, he would also oversee their extraction and manufacture. Around 100 BCE, counties were few and interspersed between fiefs, but they have become dominant in Tsjinh at the start of the Common Era, corroborating the waxing of royal authority. Due to their direct control by the royal court, these counties were said to be kong-stjit, "royal household", as opposed to an aristocratic one. While the portion of land ruled by the hereditary nobility would decrease during this time, they also increased when the ruler had to rely on nobles against another faction at court. Under the county were village aldermen.

Cultural heritage

Human sacrifice

Main article: State cult of Themiclesia § Human Sacrifice

The early Tsjinh extensively used human sacrifice in a number of contexts. This custom began to wane at the start of the Common Era and was out of fashion by the end of the dynasty. In principle, normal members of society were not used as victims, though exceptions exist. Most victims were combatants or civilians from enemy states or slaves of other provenance. Human sacrifice was practiced in various cults towards deities or ancestors and for funerals of the elite; except for funerals, every known ceremony could be done with or without human victims or any quantity of them.

It is not known whether certain factors required or motivated the use of human victims, though the fact that human victims were always mentioned before animals seems to suggest they were considered of higher value. Single victims were the most common, but up to 500 have been sacrificed at one time. In some instances, the identity or quantity of victims was selected by divination. There did not appear to a preference for gender or age in most circumstances, and victims both male and female and from infancy to old age have all been discovered. However, nationality was a factor considered; in sacrifices towards ancestors who have military accomplishments against a certain group, victims of that origin are preferred.

Politics

The political systems established by the Tsjinh under the Treaty of Five Kings were revered by Themiclesian scholars of later generations as those of an age of peace and prosperity. Historian C. Cwang wrote in 1852 that Themiclesian politics for many centuries was dominated by the struggle between two political traditions, the native one under the Treaty and the imperial one introduced by the Menghean monarchy. Extended freely, it touches upon the identity of early Themiclesians and their relationship to contemporary Menghe. In the early Meng dynasty, many dissidents believed that the autocratic form of government advanced by Emperor Ngjon (元皇帝, Standard Menghean: Wŏn) was alien; however, historians point out that King Ngjon of Rjang (who was almost contemporary with the former) enjoyed a successful reign contending for the same sort of autocratic power and was not then considered alien.

Kinship and marriage

The kinship and marriage customs practiced by the Tsjinh royal family has puzzled Themiclesian scholars since the Mrangh dynasty, who fell into two camps to explain their distinctiveness compared to canonical Meng culture. One held that the Tsjinh's customs were primitive to those later attested in Menghe, while another believed it was a result of corruption in the process of colonization. Modern scholars have generally accepted that neither can be regarded as a satisfactory description of the origins of the Tsjinh kinship and marriage system.

According to the anthropologist Arnold Bap writing in 1966, the Tsjinh culture could be divided into two broad eras, which he names "endogamous and "exogamous". He takes changes in kinship systems to underlie his interpretation of phenomena in the succession, deduced through the repetition and variations in rulers' names. In his theory, the Tsjinh nobility in the endogamous era divided itself into ten patrilineal lineages, which married each other and all shared the right to inherit the leadership. These ten lineages were further grouped into two moieties between which the leadership must pass after each generation, though all siblings in one generation inherited in order of age.

Moiety A		Moiety B
Krap	甲	′Rjut	乙
P.rjang′	丙	Têng	丁
Mjet	戊	Kje′	己
K.rang	庚	Sjing	辛
Njem′	壬	Kwrji′	癸

Under this early system, he proposes that succession between father and son was prohibited. Within each generation, each sibling must marry into the same lineage in the other moiety, and once the siblings all died, the leadership would pass to maternal cross-cousins, and so forth, until the entire generation ran out. Such a theory would explain the relative emphasis on generations rather than individual monarchs in cultic activity and the earliest written material. This, however, is not an uncontroversial interpretation, and some traditionalist scholars still accept a wholly-patrilinial model of agnatic seniority, which more accurately characterized later generations.

In 1970, this system was modified by Charles Brut, who argued from an epigraphic perspective that the ten lineages are not only subdivided into two moieties, but also two groups representing Menghean and native cultures, between which some sort of exchange marriage took place. He finds that the names of the lineages found at Dark Ages sites associated with Meng culture are distributed unevenly: p.rjang′ and mjet from Moiety A and ′Rjut, Kje′, and Sjing from Moiety B are found frequently, while the others are almost never found. This has led him to believe that after the Tsjinh clan settled in Themiclesia at some uncertain point during the Dark Ages, it was "defective", i.e. it did not possess all ten lineages that its culture memory requires. On this basis, he further argues that the need to restore the ten canonical lineages encouraged it to forge a long-lasting and stable marriage alliance with a group of native cultures, who were identified with the five missing lineages.

	Moiety A		Moiety B
Native group	Krap	甲	Têng	丁
	K.rang	庚	Kwrji′	癸
	Njem′	壬
Meng group	P.rjang′	丙	′Rjut	乙
	Mjet	戊	Kje′	己
			Sjing	辛

Brut stated that, in the canonical list of royal spouses paired with rulers, every ruler noted as "the elder brother" and "the second brother" was paired with a member of the opposing moiety and group, while rulers without either epithet were paired with the opposite moiety but not necessarily group. He argues that the Tsjinh clan created this difference to sustain an alliance between two cultural groups, and that marriage partners from the opposing cultural group were labelled as stêk (奭) or "spouse", while marriage partners from the same cultural group were not noted this way. Brut's modification of Bap's theories remains controversial but is accepted by academics as a viable theory to explain the phenomena observed from the lists of rulers.

Scholars have debated the significance of the epithets "the elder brother" and "the second brother" in the years after Brut's thesis. It is uncontroversially linked to the practice of dividing former rulers into "generations", each generation beginning with an elder brother and a second brother and containing an unlimited number of other rulers with neither epithet. This practice is "undoubtedly most ancient" according to Brut. One interpretation is that an exchange marriage involving a pair of siblings occurred between the two groups and moieties, who acquired the preferred rights to succession by reason of their special marriage. However, Martin Kit believes that the "siblings" must be considered metaphorical siblings, not biological siblings.

The "generations" recovered from oracular tablets are astonishingly stable until the end of the 10th generation, which corresponded with the Rebellion of Six Princes. While scholars who think the early Tsjinh succession was primarily patrilineal tend to think that the generations represented biological generations, the majority view is that they are metaphorical generations, defined through intermarriage. Those who take the latter view point out that the length of the 10th generation, which continued for over 100 years, is indicative of its metaphorical nature, as few natural sets of siblings could last that long. Some scholars also believe that the "elder brother" and "second brother" are coregents.

John Chat writes:

The fascinating question of Tsjinh kinship in the Dark Ages and the early Archaic Period can probably never be resolved until there is a satisfactory theory explaining the way lineage-names descend and the biological relationship between the early rulers. What we do know is that lineage-names existed independently of personal and family names, which descended patrilineally. The prevailing belief at present is that lineage names may descend matrilineally or even irregularly, the latter being a unwanted conclusion that may actually be true.

List of rulers

The earlier part of the list of Tsjinh kings is controversial. For centuries, Themiclesian historians accepted a list of 11 rulers in a 4th-century essay regarding sacrifices as authoritative, but in the 19th century earlier documents and inscriptions came to light, and a much-different list has been drawn from it. The following represents the list of kings prior to and slightly later than P.rjang′ VI, who was on the throne between 295 and 265 BCE. He is distinguished from his predecessors by the fact that his actions have survived in the historical record, whereas only their names are known.

Dark Ages and Archaic Period

Generation	Name		Epithet		Reign	Spouse name
1	Former P.rjang'	先丙				Ancestor 'Rjut	台乙
2	Former 'Rjut	先乙	"The elder brother"	大兄		Spouse Krap	先奭甲
	Bright Njem	光壬				Bright Kwji	光癸
3	Former Têng	先丁	"The elder brother"	大兄		Former Spouse P.rjang	先奭丙
	Ancestor Krap	台甲	"The second brother"	中兄		Former Spouse 'Rjut	先奭乙
	Ancestor Kje'	台己				Former Mjet	先戊
						Former Ancestor Sjin	先台辛
						Njem the Heir	司壬
4	Rjut II	二乙	"The elder brother"	大兄		Spouse Krap II	二奭甲
	Former K.rang	先庚	"The second brother"	中兄		Former Ancestor Kje	先台己
	Têng the Face	彥丁				Former Ancestor K.rang	先台庚
	Njem II the Tall	大二壬
	2 or 4 rulers and their spouses missing
5	Krap II	二甲	"The elder brother"	大兄		Spouse Sjin	奭辛
	Têng II	二丁	"The second brother"	中兄		Spouse P.rjang II	二奭丙
	P.rjang III	三丙				Ancestor 'Rjut III	三台乙
	Former Sjin	先辛				Spouse Krap III	三奭甲
	Njem III	三壬				Spouse Sjin III	三台辛
	Kje II	二己
	Mjet the Heir	司戊
6	Late Sjin	後辛	"The elder brother"	大兄		Spouse K.rang I	先奭庚
	P.rjang IV	四丙	"The second brother"	中兄		Spouse Kwji I	奭癸
	Rjut III	三乙
						Former Ancestor Kwji	先台癸
7	Later K.rang	後庚	"The elder brother"	大兄		Spouse Sjin II	二奭辛
	Têng III	三丁	"The second brother"	中兄		Later Ancestor Mjet	台戊
						Ancestor P.rjang	台丙
	Kwji the Heir	司癸
8	Krap III	三甲	"The elder brother"	大兄		Spouse Rjut II	二奭乙
	Later Kje	三己	"The second brother"	中兄		Spouse Krap IV	四奭甲
	P.rjang V	五丙				Greater Spirit Companion ′Rjut	大示妣乙
	′Rjut the Heir	司乙				Lesser Spirit Companion Mjet	小示妣戊
	K.rang the Tall	大庚			d. 302 BCE	Lesser Spirit Companion Sjin	小示妣辛
9	Rjut IV	四乙	"The elder brother"	大兄	302 – 295 BCE	Spouse K.rang II	二奭庚
	P.rjang VI the Warlord (?)	王六丙			295 – 265	Companion ′Rjut	妣乙
	Sjin III	三辛	"The second brother"	中兄	265 – 241	Spouse Krap V	五奭甲
	P.rjang VII the Minor (?)	亞七丙	"The younger brother"	小兄	241 – 232	Krek, Madam Sjin	母辛克
10	Rjut IV	四甲	"The elder brother"	大兄	232 – 209	Spouse K.rang III	三奭庚
	Têng IV	四丁	"The second brother"	中兄	209 – 170	Spouse P.rjang III	奭丙
	Middle Mjet	中戊	"The second brother"	中兄	170 – 163	Spouse Kwji II	奭癸
	Younger Sjin	小辛	"The second brother"	中兄	163 – 151	Madam P.rjang	母丙
	K.rang III	三庚	"The second brother"	中兄	151 – 149	Madam Têng	母丁
	'Rjut V	五乙	"The younger brother"	小兄	149 – 130	Madam Njem	母壬
11	Sjin IV the Outsider (?)	四出辛			130 – 125	Spouse Madame Sjin	奭婦辛
	'Rjut VI the Outsider (?)	六出乙			125 – 117	Ngar/Our Madam P.rjang	我母丙
Regency by Three Fathers and Two Elders (三父公二)
11	Krap V	五甲	"The second brother"	中兄	117 – 92	Middle Sister Madam Sjin	中兄辛台
	Têng V	五丁			92 – 80	Younger Sister Madam Sjin	弟辛台
12	K.rang III	三庚	"The second brother"	中兄	80 – 56	Madam Têng	母丁
11	'Rjut V	五乙			56 – 23	′Rjut V's Madam Njem	五乙母壬
	K.rang IV	四庚			23 – 12	Spouse ′Rjut of Sjin	辛奭乙
12	P.rjang the Outsider (?)	出丙			12 BCE – 3 CE	K.rang III's Madam Têng	三庚母丁
	Krap VI	六甲			3 – 7	Madam Mjet of Sjin	辛司戊
13	Têng the Outsider	出丁	"The complex middle brother"	文中兄	7 – 40	Spouse Krap the Complex	文奭甲
	Njem IV	四壬	"The dark middle brother"	幽中兄	40 – 52	Spouse Kwji the Dark	幽奭癸
	Kje IV	四己	"The middle brother"	中兄	52 – 57	Middle Sister Spouse 'Rjut	中兄奭乙
14	P.rjang VII the Dark	七幽丙	"The priestly middle brother"	中兄綤伯	57 – 90	Middle Sister Spouse 'Rjut	中奭丁
15	K.rang V	五庚	"The glorious middle brother"	中兄皇伯	90 – 112	Glorious Lady P.rjang	皇君丙

See also

• Themiclesia