Abstract:

The Shen family of Wuxing exercised martial arts constantly in order to make a living during the course of moving towards the country' s south. As a result the family was stronger and stronger in power and became very famous and influential in the East Wu during the turn of the two Jin Dynasties. Although the Shen family suffered from heavy frustrations in the period of the Eastern Jin Dynasty owing to its discontent with current politics, it still came into the noble family class by means of the opportunity of social turbulence in the middle period of Yuan Jia. The Shen Youzhi' s rebellion was a turning point of the family' s ethos from martial arts to polite letters.

Key words: political transition, family ethos transformation, the Shen family of Wuxing