Two aspects dominated the politics and military activities of the Eastern Jin Dynasty: the rise of refugee groups and the uprising of aristocratic families. In 298 AD (西晉惠帝元康八年), the famine forced many people to leave the Guanzhong Area to the Bashu district. These refugee peasants were called "flowing people (liumin 流民)." At that time, the imperial court gradually lost track of the demographic landscape. Then, after the Rebellion of the Eight Kings, the aristocratic families became stronger. They accumulated powers by employing large numbers of tenant farmer, servants and slaves. These phenomena continued after the collapse of the Western Jin Dynasty. In 317 AD, the Jin court left the central plain, retreated to the south and founded the Eastern Jin Dynasty. The influx of refugees and immigrants of the north formed organized groups. On the other hand, the noble families continued to employ refugees. As a result, the development of powerful families and vagrant groups plagued the Eastern Jin court through out its 104-year existence.