Book of Jin in the context of "Liu Yuan (Han-Zhao)"

The War of the Eight Princes, Rebellion of the Eight Kings, or Rebellion of the Eight Princes (simplified Chinese: 八王之乱; traditional Chinese: 八王之亂; pinyin: bā wáng zhī luàn; Wade–Giles: pa wang chih luan) was a series of coups and civil wars among kings/princes (Chinese: wáng 王) of the Chinese Western Jin dynasty from 291 to 306 AD. The key point of contention in these conflicts was the paramountcy over the empire in light of the developmentally disabled Emperor Hui of Jin. The name of the conflict is derived from the biographies of the eight princes collected in Chapter 59 of the Book of Jin.

The "War of the Eight Princes" is somewhat of a misnomer: rather than one continuous conflict, the War of the Eight Princes saw intervals of peace interposed with short and intense periods of internecine conflict. At no point in the whole conflict were all of the eight princes on one side of the fighting (as opposed to, for example, the Rebellion of the Seven States). The initial conflicts prior to the coalition against Sima Lun in 301 also cannot be considered as wars, but rather a series of political intrigues and coups d'état. The literal Chinese translation, Disorder of the Eight Kings, may be more appropriate in this regard.

The Canon of Laws or Classic of Law (simplified Chinese: 法经; traditional Chinese: 法經; pinyin: Fǎ Jīng) is a lost legal code that has been attributed to Li Kui, a Legalist scholar and minister who lived in the State of Wei during the Warring States period of ancient China (475-220 BCE). This code has traditionally been dated to the early fourth century BCE. Still, a considerable amount of scholars now consider it to be a forgery from the fifth or sixth-century CE.

According to the traditional account, which first appeared in the monograph on law (Xingfa Zhi 刑法志) of the Book of Jin, the Canon of Laws was the earliest legal canon of ancient China and became the basis for all later legal works. It is said that Legalist reformer Shang Yang took it to the State of Qin where it became the basis of the law of the State of Qin (Chinese: 秦律; pinyin: Qīn Lü) and later, the law of the Qin dynasty.

The Spring and Autumn Annals of the Sixteen Kingdoms, also known by its Chinese title Shiliuguo Chunqiu (simplified Chinese: 十六国春秋; traditional Chinese: 十六國春秋; pinyin: Shíliùguó Chūnqiū; Wade–Giles: Shihliukuo Ch'unch'iu) is a Chinese biographical historical work of the Sixteen Kingdoms compiled by the Northern Wei official Cui Hong between 501 and 522. It became one of the chief sources for the compilation of the Book of Wei and Book of Jin.

Parts of the book went missing from the early Tang dynasty and did not survive intact. It originally contained 100 volumes, a preface and a chronological table. By the time of the early Song dynasty, many of them were lost and only about 20 volumes remained, which were quoted extensively by Sima Guang. There are two extant versions dating from the late Ming dynasty, the edition by Tu Qiaosun containing 100 volumes, and the one by He Tang containing 16 volumes, reprinted in the Hanwei Congshu, a compilation of histories. Tu's edition was published for the third time in 1781. Also there is a 100 volumes edition together with a chronological table from the mid-Qing dynasty by Tang Qiu, taken from the edition by He Tang and from other materials.

The Southern Liang (Chinese: 南涼; pinyin: Nán Liáng; 397–404, 408–414) was a dynastic state of China listed as one of the Sixteen Kingdoms in Chinese historiography. Members of the ruling Tufa clan were of Xianbei ethnicity and distant relatives of the Tuoba imperial house of the Northern Wei dynasty. According to the Book of Jin, the surname of the ruling house was changed from Tuoba to Tufa because one of the Tufa ancestors was born on a blanket, and in the Xianbei language, "Tufa" meant "blanket."

All rulers of the Southern Liang proclaimed themselves wang (king). The state was briefly discontinued in 404 after Tufa Rutan surrendered to the Later Qin, but restored in 408. As the state grew in power, the Tufa rulers also elevated their peerages before claiming the title of King of Liang in 402. It was hence only known as "Liang" (涼) from 402 to 404 and 408 to 414. They are given the prefix of "Southern" in historiography as they were based south of the other Liang states in northeastern Qinghai, although after occupying central Gansu, they briefly shifted the capital to the major city of Guzang (姑臧, in modern Wuwei, Gansu).

Murong Huang (Chinese: 慕容皝; 297 – 25 October 348), courtesy name Yuanzhen (元真), also known by his posthumous name as the Emperor Wenming of Former Yan (前燕文明帝), was the founding monarch of the Xianbei-led Former Yan dynasty of China. When he first succeeded his father Murong Hui in 333, he carried the Eastern Jin-bestowed title Duke of Liaodong, but in 337 claimed the title of Prince of Yan, which is traditionally viewed as the founding date of Former Yan. (Emperor Cheng of Jin retroactively recognized Murong Huang's princely title in 341 after much debate among Eastern Jin officials.) After his son Murong Jun completely broke away from the Eastern Jin and claimed the title of emperor in January 353, he was posthumously elevated to imperial status. In the Book of Jin, Murong Huang was described as a strong looking tall man (approximately 1.91 metres (6.3 ft)).