The Three Kingdoms Period

GB Times - Strictly speaking, the Three Kingdoms Period is considered to have begun with the foundation of the state of Wei in 220 CE. However, many Chinese historians – and laymen as well – consider its actual start to be the Yellow Turban Rebellion, which took place in 184 CE.

Sometimes also referred to as the Yellow Scarves Rebellion, the Yellow Turban Rebellion was essentially a peasant revolt when Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty was in power. The rebellion acquired its name from the color of the scarves the rebels wore on their heads.

The Han Dynasty Weakens

The Han Dynasty, weakened to a considerable degree, essentially lost control of the country. Local military cliques were busy expanding their own capabilities, annexing other cliques.

Several key players emerged during this period. One of them was Cao Cao, who gained the political upper-hand by welcoming the homeless Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty. Using the title "Chancellor of the Han Dynasty", he was successful in unifying the whole of North China.

His efforts were less successful in the south, however, as he was defeated in the Battle of Red Cliff in 208 CE by the combined forces of two powerful enemies, Sun Quan and Liu Bei. His son, Cao Pei, however, did manage to proclaim himself emperor in 220 CE, beginning the Wei Dynasty.

But Liu Bei, one of the two leaders who had defeated Cao Pei's father, naturally claimed that he was the legitimate Emperor of Han, establishing his own kingdom, Shu, in 221 CE. The other leader, Sun Quan, assumed the title of king the next year and, seven years later, became, in his own turn, the self-proclaimed emperor, naming his reign the Wu Dynasty. China had become a tripartite.

From the three states, Wei was clearly superior in population, territory, and power, followed by Wu – Shu was the weakest of the three. Some politicians entertained the idea that Shu and Wu would form an alliance against Wei, yet Wei, gradually consolidated power and stabilized the economy and agriculture, becoming increasingly more powerful.

End of the Three Kingdoms

In 263 CE, Wei began an attack that forced the Shu forces into retreat. After a series of daring victories and advances, the Wei conquered the Shu, which had existed for only 43 years. The surrendering Emperor Liu Shan was sent to Luoyang, the capital of Wei, where he was given the new title “Duke of Anle”.

Despite the victory, Wei would not last much longer either – at least not in the same form and name. For, in 264 CE, Sima Yan effectively forced the abdication of the ruling emperor, Cao Huan, and established the succeeding Jin dynasty.

As for the state of Wu? Its influence was limited to begin with, but after 264 CE and Jin's rise, events took a significant turn for the worse. When the Emperor Sun Xin of Wu died, Sun Hao ascended to the throne. Even though he was a promising, talented young man, he developed increasingly tyrannical ways, with opponents and dissidents either killed or exiled.

Meanwhile, the Jin was preparing to invade Wu. Their plan became considerably easier after the death of Lu Kang, the last great Wu general. Without proper leadership and with limited resources, the Wu were no match for the highly capable Jin forces.

The invasion came in the winter of 279 CE and, after a few months, Sun Hao had surrendered. This was the end of the Three Kingdoms Period.

The Period of the Northern and Southern Dynasties

A series of revolts, coup attempts, and even the declaration of an entirely new kingdom – Western Shu – shook the already weakened foundations of the Eastern Jin Dynasty.

The end came formally in 420, when Liu Yu assumed the throne and ended the Jin Dynasty. The Liu Song Dynasty marked the beginning of the Southern and Northern Dynasties, a period which would last from 420 to 589 CE. Technically, the years after 386 could also be considered part of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, as they mark the beginning of the Northern Wei Dynasty.

After the collapse of the Jin Dynasty, China was divided into north and south. There were four Southern Dynasties, the Song (420-479), the Qi (479-502), the Liang (502-557), and the Chen (557-589). There were also five Northern Dynasties, the Northern Wei (386-534), the Eastern Wei (534-550), the Western Wei (535-557), the Northern Qi (550-577) and the Northern Zhou (557-581). It becomes apparent from this and the overlap of dates that those were times of great confusion and struggle. What's new, one might say.

The North…

During the Period of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, northern China, mostly under the leadership of the Tuoba clan of the Xianbei tribe, was an entity politically separate from (although, of course, sharing a similar culture with) the Chinese dynasties established in the south. The Northern Wei rulers supported Buddhism, at the time a foreign religion. As usually is the case with religions, Buddhism was deployed by the rulers as a theocratic power, which facilitated control of the mostly Chinese population.

In the south, conversely, Confucianism was much more important, with intellectuals debating on Neo-Daoist topics. However, even in the south there were monks who were studying and propagating Buddhist ideas, which were often compatible with Daoist philosophy.

The Northern Wei ruled northern China for over 100 years, with 12 emperors from nine generations, and proved to be the most influential of the Northern and Southern Dynasties. After their rule ended, northern China became fragmented and was finally divided into Eastern and Western Wei. These were finally conquered and replaced by the Northern Qi and, finally, the Northern Zhou, who reunified northern China in 577. But only four years later, in 581, Yang Jian dethroned Emperor Jingdi and made himself emperor. He then destroyed the Chen Dynasty in southern China and reunified the entire country.

And the South…

As we saw earlier, in 420 Liu Yu assumed the throne and ended the Jin Dynasty. Having learned his lesson well from seeing what happened to the Jin, he did not give important positions to noble families. Liu Yu himself came from a background of poverty, something that led him to favor those of similar origins.

During the Song Dynasty, both the economy and culture flourished despite some wars against the Northern Wei. Stability continued until 454, when Emperor Wendi died. The rulers that followed were tyrants, and as a result the Song Dynasty fell into disorder. The end was inevitable, although it did not come for another 25 years when minister Xiao Daocheng established the Qi Dynasty.

During Xiao Daocheng's rule, the Qi Dynasty enjoyed prosperity and peace, but their successors once again proved inferior to expectations. A series of revolts and discord caused the collapse of the Qi Dynasty after only 23 years. The Liang Dynasty that followed ruled the south for almost half a century.

By the time the Chen Dynasty rose to power, the economy of the south was suffering badly. It is not a surprising fact that the Chen Dynasty was short in duration, as in 589 Yang Jian conquered it and ended nearly 300 years of division in China.