Page 37 - All About History - Issue 08-14

Bluffer’s Guide

THREE KINGDOMS

Key fgures

Coa Coa
155-220 CE
The penultimate chancellor of the
Han Dynasty, Coa Coa laid the
foundations for the state of Wei.
Liu Bei
161-223 CE
The unifcation bout Despite lacking the resources and
The states of Shu and Wu were created largely off men of his rivals, Liu Bei became a
prominent warlord and established
the back of the Battle of Red Cliff, which saw Cao
the state of Shu.
Cao, the penultimate chancellor of the collapsing
Han Dynasty, decisively defeated as he tried to Sun Quan
re-unify China in 208 CE. The northern warlord 182-252 CE
was forced to retreat back to the north and his The founder of the state of Wu in
the Three Kingdoms period, Sun
foes, Liu Bei and Sun Quan, free to establish their
Quan was an expert administrator
own fiefdoms. and well known for his efficiency.
Red incense and burns at the Three
Kingdoms Temple in Chengdu, China
Sima Yi
Yellow Turban Rebellion A scene from Luo Guanzhong’s 179-251 CE
The grandfather of future Chinese
the then-ruler of the Han Dynasty,
While 220-280 CE is the modern periodisation of the Three Kingdom Romance of the Three Kingdoms emperor Sima Yan, Sima Yi was
period, there is actually no set period, with many the period’s most famous general,
Chinese historians citing different starting winning many decisive battles.
points. One of the most popular starting Sima Yan
dates is the Yellow Turban Rebellion of 236-290 CE
184 CE, a mass peasant revolt against Sima Yan brought the Three
Kingdoms period to a close by
defeating the Wu, and became
Emperor Ling.
the Jin Dynasty’s first emperor.
Technological
advances Major events
Despite its short timeframe and A rebellious fall
negative consequences for the 219CE
country, the Three Kingdoms period From the Yellow Turban Rebellion
saw numerous advances in technology. of 184 CE onward, the ruling Han
From the wooden ox and the Dynasty starts to collapse, finally
wheelbarrow to the repeating crossbow, disintegrating in 219 CE.
chain pumps and differential gear systems, Tripartite broken
many revolutionary inventions saw the light 263 CE
of day, many going on to spread worldwide in After 43 years of existence, being
subsequent decades and centuries. established in 220 CE following the
emergence of the tripartite, the
state of Shu is conquered by the
Far from minted Sima Yan defeated the Wu Wei after a brutal six-month siege.

When the imperial court collapsed and Cao abdicates
the Han Dynasty fell, so did the imperial Reunifed 264 CE
mint, with no new coins created. As Sima Yan forces Cao Huan to
abdicate, thereby overthrowing the
such, in 221 CE, Cao Wei – the leader of under the Jin
Wei Dynasty and establishing the
the remnants of the Han that had since With the eventual fall of each Jin Dynasty.
largely transformed into the state of of the three warring kingdoms Five-prong ofensive
Wei – officially declared that by 280 CE, the reunification 280 CE
silk cloth and grain was of China was instigated by Sima Yan, launches a massive
the main currency. the conquering Jin Dynasty. five-prong offensive into Wu
Despite these The Jin would continue to territory, defeating their military
measures, due to rule China for another 140 and taking their capital, Jianye.
the bad economic years, with their control Reunited at last
depression, many only ceding in 420 CE with
280 CE
new coins were Emperor Gong’s abdication After 60 years of turmoil, China is
secretly minted in to Liu Yu, ushering in the Liu reunified under the dominant Jin
private and placed Song Dynasty, the first of the Dynasty, which proceeds to rule © Corbis; Alamy
into circulation. Southern Dynasties. the country for 140 years.
37