Emperor Yuan of Jin

Emperor Yuan of Jin (Chinese: 晉元帝; pinyin: Jìn Yuán Dì; Wade–Giles: Chin Yüan-ti; 276 – 3 January 323), personal name Sima Rui (司馬睿), courtesy name Jingwen (景文), was an emperor of the Jin dynasty and the first emperor of the Eastern Jin. He was the son of Sima Jin (司馬覲), the grandson of Prince of Langya Sima Zhou and the great-grandson of Sima Yi.

Yuan was stationed south of the Yangtze in Jiankang during the Upheaval of the Five Barbarians, where he avoided the chaos that befell northern China. Primarily through the help of cousins Wang Dun and Wang Dao, he emerged as an authority figure within the empire, backed by the southern gentry clans and northern emigre families who fled to his domain for refuge. After Emperor Min of Jin was executed by the Han-Zhao dynasty in 318, Yuan proclaimed himself emperor and moved the capital to Jiankang. At his death he left the state under the heel of Wang Dun, but the Eastern Jin dynasty – as it became known – lasted until its fall in July 420 and contended with the Sixteen Kingdoms in the north and (occasionally) in the southwest.