"八王之乱"成因新见

“八王之乱”的爆发是有其原因的,在晋武帝死前,西晋已经形成了一个金字塔式的权力结构,自上而下依次为皇帝、外戚、宗王和门阀。晋武帝死后,即位的惠帝是一位弱智皇帝,来自顶端的操纵力量不复存在,各种势力于是依次上台和灭亡,门阀则在最后居于主导地位。整个事件的发生,最终应归因于皇权与门阀的矛盾。

An Outline of the "War of the Eight Princes"

This article, by analyzing the causes of ascending and descending of different power groups that appear in the war of the eight princes, considers that a pyramid-shaped structure of power has been established before the death of Emperor Jinwu. Emperor is on the top of the pyramid; the followings are maternal relatives, imperial princes and great families. After the death of Emperor Jinwu, the different power groups ascend and descend one by one because the idiotic Emperor Hui can't control the structure, the great families come to power at last. This disturbance can be attributed to the contradiction of emperor and great families.