Three Kingdoms
Channel: 宇宙のすべての知識 プリンシピア
Date: 15/03/2019

Three Kingdoms, by Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=43459 / CC BY SA 3.0

#Three_Kingdoms
#Dynasties_in_Chinese_history
#3rd_century_in_China
#3rd-century_conflicts
#Wars_involving_Imperial_China
Three Kingdoms

The Three Kingdoms (220–280 A.D.) was the tripartite division of China between the states of Wei, Shu, and Wu. It started with the end of the Han dynasty and was followed by the Jin dynasty. The term "Three Kingdoms" is something of a misnomer, since each state was eventually headed not by a king, but by an emperor who claimed suzerainty over all China. Nevertheless, the term "Three Kingdoms" has become standard among English-speaking sinologists. To distinguish the three states from other historical Chinese states of the same names, historians have added a relevant character to the state's original name: the state that called itself "Wei" () is also known as "Cao Wei" (), the state that called itself "Han" () is also known as "Shu Han" () or just "Shu" (), and the state that called itself "Wu" () is also known as "Eastern Wu" () or "Sun Wu" ().

Academically, the period of the Three Kingdoms refers to the period between the foundation of the state of Wei in AD 220 and the conquest of the state of Wu by the Jin dynasty in 280. The earlier, "unofficial" part of the period, from 184 to 220, was marked by chaotic infighting between warlords in various parts of China. The middle part of the period, from 220 to 263, was marked by a more militarily stable arrangement between three rival states of Wei, Shu, and Wu. The later part of the era was marked by the conquest of Shu by Wei (263), the usurpation of Wei by the Jin dynasty (266), and the conquest of Wu by the Jin (280).

The Three Kingdoms period is one of the bloodiest in Chinese history. A nationwide census taken in AD 280, following the reunification of the Three Kingdoms under the Jin shows a total of 2,459,840 households and 16,163,863 individuals which was only a fraction of the 10,677,960 h...