Three Kingdoms - Wikipedia. The Three Kingdoms (AD 2.
To further distinguish the three states from other historical Chinese states of similar names, historians have added a relevant character: Wei is also known as Cao Wei (. The middle part of the period, from 2.
Wei, Shu, and Wu. The later part of the era was marked by the conquest of Shu by Wei (2. Wei by the Jin dynasty (2. Wu by the Jin (2.
The Three Kingdoms period is one of the bloodiest in Chinese history, and considered the second deadliest period of warfare in history behind World War II. Shu chancellor. Zhuge Liang invented the wooden ox. It has been celebrated and popularized in operas, folk stories, novels and in more recent times, films, television, and video games. The best known of these is Luo Guanzhong's Romance of the Three Kingdoms, a Ming dynasty historical novel based on events in the Three Kingdoms period. The strictest rule of dating would be to deem the era to be from the point where all three states coexisted as independent states (2.
Eastern Wu ruler as emperor) up until the downfall of the Shu- Han states (at which point, only two states continued to exist rather than three). Mao Zonggang, a commentator on the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, mentions in his commentary on Chapter 1. The three kingdoms formed when the Han royal house declined. The Han royal house declined when the eunuchs abused the sovereign and officials subverted the government. He further argues that the Romance of the Three Kingdoms defines the end of the era as 2. Wu, justifying: As the novel focuses on Han, it could have ended with the fall of Han. To end the tale before Han's enemy had itself met its fate would be to leave the reader unsatisfied.
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The novel could have ended with the fall of Wei, but Han's ally was Wu. To end the tale before Han's ally had fallen would be to leave the reader with an incomplete picture. So the tale had to end with the fall of Wu.
A series of Han emperors ascended the throne while still youths, and de facto imperial power often rested with the emperors' older relatives. As these relatives occasionally were loath to give up their influence, emperors would, upon reaching maturity, be forced to rely on political alliances with senior officials and eunuchs to achieve control of the government. Political posturing and infighting between imperial relatives and eunuch officials was a constant problem in Chinese government at the time. The first and second protests met with failure, and the court eunuchs persuaded the emperor to execute many of the protesting scholars. Some local rulers seized the opportunity to exert despotic control over their lands and citizens, since many feared to speak out in the oppressive political climate. Emperors Huan and Ling's reigns were recorded as particularly dark periods of Han dynasty rule.
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In addition to political oppression and mismanagement, China experienced a number of natural disasters during this period, and local rebellions sprung up throughout the country. In the third month of 1. Zhang Jiao, leader of the Way of Supreme Peace, a Taoist movement, along with his two brothers Zhang Liang and Zhang Bao, led the movement's followers in a rebellion against the government that was called the Yellow Turban Rebellion. Their movement quickly attracted followers and soon numbered several hundred thousand and received support from many parts of China.
They had 3. 6 bases throughout China, with large bases having 1. Han armies. It is at this point that the historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms begins its narrative.
The Yellow Turbans were ultimately defeated and its surviving followers dispersed throughout China, but due to the turbulent situation throughout the empire, many were able to survive as bandits in mountainous areas, thus continuing their ability to contribute to the turmoil of the era. In 1. 88, Emperor Ling accepted a memorial from Yi Province. This move made provinces (zhou) official administrative units, and although they had power to combat rebellions, the later intragovernmental chaos allowed these local governors to easily rule independently of the central government. Soon after this move, Liu Yan severed all of his region's ties to the Han imperial court, and several other areas followed suit.
Dong Zhuo in power. Court eunuch Jian Shuo planned to kill General- in- Chief He Jin, a relative of the imperial family, and to replace the crown prince.
Liu Bian with his younger brother Liu Xie, the Prince of Chenliu (in present- day Kaifeng), though his plan was unsuccessful. Liu Bian took the Han throne as Emperor Shao, and He Jin plotted with warlord Yuan Shao to assassinate the Ten Attendants, a clique of ten eunuchs led by Zhang Rang who controlled much of the imperial court. He Jin also ordered Dong Zhuo, the frontier general in Liang Province, and Ding Yuan, Inspector of Bing Province. The eunuchs learned of He Jin's plot, and had him assassinated before Dong Zhuo reached the capital Luoyang. When Yuan Shao's troops reached Luoyang, they stormed the palace complex, killing the Ten Attendants and 2,0. Though this move effectively ended the century- long feud between the eunuchs and the imperial family, this event prompted the invitation of Dong Zhuo to the outskirts of Luoyang from the northwest boundary of China. On the evening of 2.
September 1. 89, General Dong Zhuo observed that Luoyang was set ablaze. Most of the warlords in the coalition, with a few exceptions, sought the increase of personal military power in the time of instability instead of seriously wishing to restore the Han dynasty's authority.
The Han empire was divided between a number of regional warlords. As a result of the complete collapse of the central government and eastern alliance, the North China Plain fell into warfare and anarchy with many contenders vying for success or survival. Wang Yun and his whole family were executed. Tao Qian received the support of Liu Bei and Gongsun Zan, but even then it seemed as if Cao Cao's superior forces would overrun Xu Province entirely.
Cao Cao received word that L. Tao Qian died in the same year, leaving his province to Liu Bei. A year later, in 1. Cao Cao managed to drive L. Liu Bei, together with his followers Zhang Fei and Guan Yu, fled to Cao Cao, who accepted him. Soon, preparations were made for an attack on L. Sun Ce complied, but first convinced Cao Cao to form a coalition against Yuan Shu, of which Liu Bei and L.
Attacked on all sides, Yuan Shu was defeated and fled into hiding. In 1. 96, Emperor Xian came under the protection and control of Cao Cao after he had succeeded in fleeing from the warlords of Chang'an. This was an extremely important move for Cao Cao following the suggestion from his primary adviser, Xun Yu, commenting that by supporting the authentic emperor, Cao Cao would have the formal legal authority to control the other warlords and force them to comply in order to restore the Han dynasty. North China Plain. In several strategic movements and battles, he controlled Yan Province and defeated several factions of the Yellow Turban rebels. This earned him the aid of other local militaries controlled by Zhang Miao and Chen Gong, who joined his cause to create his first sizable army.
He continued the effort and absorbed approximately 3. Yellow Turban rebels into his army as well as a number of clan- based military groups from the eastern side of Qing Province. He developed military agricultural colonies (tuntian) to support his army. Although the system imposed a heavy tax on hired civilian farmers (4. This was later said to be his second important policy for success.
In 2. 00, Dong Cheng, an imperial relative, received a secret edict from Emperor Xian to assassinate Cao Cao. He collaborated with Liu Bei on this effort, but Cao Cao soon found out about the plot and had Dong Cheng and his conspirators executed, with only Liu Bei surviving and fleeing to join Yuan Shao in the north. After settling the nearby provinces, including a rebellion led by former Yellow Turbans, and internal affairs with the court, Cao Cao turned his attention north to Yuan Shao, who himself had eliminated his northern rival Gongsun Zan that same year.
Yuan Shao, himself of higher nobility than Cao Cao, amassed a large army and camped along the northern bank of the Yellow River. In mid- 2. 00, after months of preparations, the armies of Cao Cao and Yuan Shao clashed at the Battle of Guandu (near present- day Kaifeng). In 1. 94, Sun Ce (aged 1. Yuan Shu. In 1. 98, Sun Ce (aged 2. Yuan Shu who recently had declared himself emperor. Liu Biao's son Liu Cong surrendered Jing Province and Cao was able to capture a sizable fleet at Jiangling. Sun Quan, the successor to Sun Ce in the lower Yangtze, continued to resist.
His advisor Lu Su secured an alliance with Liu Bei, himself a recent refugee from the north, and Zhou Yu was placed in command of Sun Quan's navy, along with a veteran general who served the Sun family, Cheng Pu. Their combined armies of 5. Cao Cao's fleet and 2. Red Cliffs that winter.
After an initial skirmish, an attack beginning with a plan to set fire to Cao Cao's fleet was set in motion to lead to the decisive defeat of Cao Cao, forcing him to retreat in disarray back to the north. The allied victory at Red Cliffs ensured the survival of Liu Bei and Sun Quan, and provided the basis for the states of Shu and Wu. Final years of the dynasty. He became the Chancellor in 2. Duke of Wei in 2. King of Wei in 2. Cao Cao regained the Han valley, while Sun Quan captured all the territory east of the Yangtze Gorges.
From 2. 24 to 2. 25, during his southward campaigns, Zhuge Liang conquered the southern territories up to Lake Dian in Yunnan. The next year, he ordered Zhao Yun to attack from Ji Gorge as a diversion while Zhuge himself led the main force to Mount Qi.
The vanguard Ma Su suffered a tactical defeat at Jieting and the Shu army was forced to withdraw.