page_title: End of the Han dynasty
section_title: Cao Cao's rise to power (196–199)
hierarchical_section_title: End of the Han dynasty / Gradual reunification under Cao Cao (196–207) / Cao Cao's rise to power (196–199)
caption_attribution_description: English: Cosmetic Box. Eastern Han Dynasty, 25 - 220 AD. Shanghai Museum A touch of classicism can perhaps be seen in the restrained elegance of this cosmetic box. (lian). It is glazed in brown and green, with carved lotus petal design and small, zoomorphic feet.
context_page_description: The end of the Han dynasty refers to the period of Chinese history from 189 to 220 AD, which roughly coincides with the tumultuous reign of the Han dynasty's last ruler, Emperor Xian. During this period, the country was thrown into turmoil by the Yellow Turban Rebellion. Meanwhile, the Han Empire's institutions were destroyed by the warlord Dong Zhuo, and fractured into regional regimes ruled by various warlords, some of whom were nobles and officials of the Han imperial court. Eventually, one of those warlords, Cao Cao, was able to gradually reunify the empire, ostensibly under Emperor Xian's rule, but the empire was actually controlled by Cao Cao himself.
  Cao Cao's efforts to completely reunite the Han dynasty were rebuffed at the Battle of Red Cliffs in 208 / 209, when his armies were defeated by the allied forces of Sun Quan and Liu Bei. The Han dynasty formally ended in 220 when Cao Cao's son and heir, Cao Pi, pressured Emperor Xian into abdicating in his favour. Cao Pi became the emperor of a new state, Cao Wei.
context_section_description: Even after moving to the new capital at Xu, the central government still lacked funds and food supplies. As suggested by Zao Zhi (棗祇), Cao Cao implemented a new tuntian policy to promote agricultural production, in which soldiers were sent to grow crops, and the harvest would be shared between the military and civilian population. The policy yielded commendable results as the area around Xu developed into highly productive farmland and the problem of shortage of food was resolved.
  At this time, the most prominent warlords in China were:
  Yuan Shao, who controlled Ji, Bing and Qing provinces (covering most of present-day Hebei, Shanxi and Shandong). Some of the territories were governed by Yuan Shao's three sons (Yuan Tan, Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang) and nephew (Gao Gan).
  Yuan Shu, who controlled most of present-day Anhui and parts of Jiangsu
  Gongsun Zan, who controlled You Province, including present-day Beijing, Tianjin and western Liaoning
  Liu Biao, who controlled Jing Province (covering present-day Hubei and Hunan)
  Liu Zhang, who controlled Yi Province (covering the Sichuan Basin)
  Lü Bu, who seized control of Xu Province (covering present-day northern Jiangsu) from its previous governor Liu Bei
  There were still many other minor warlords, and Cao Cao particularly sought to get them to submit to him. In 197, Zhang Xiu surrendered Wancheng to Cao Cao. However, Cao Cao later had an affair with Zhang Xiu's widowed aunt, angering Zhang. Zhang, who learned of Cao Cao's planned assassination on his life, rebelled and launched a surprise attack on Cao Cao at Wancheng. In this battle, Cao Cao's eldest son Cao Ang, nephew Cao Anmin, and bodyguard Dian Wei were killed, and Cao Cao himself narrowly escaped from death. On the advice of Jia Xu, Zhang Xiu eventually surrendered to Cao Cao in the winter of 199–200. In addition, in 197, Cao Cao was able to persuade Ma Teng and Han Sui, who controlled Yong and Liang provinces (covering most of present-day Shaanxi and Gansu), to submit to him.
  That year, Yuan Shu declared himself "Son of Heaven" in Shouchun (壽春; present-day Shou County, Anhui), an act perceived as treason against the Han dynasty government, prompting other warlords to use that as an excuse to attack him (see Campaign against Yuan Shu). Sun Ce, son of Sun Jian, who had conquered several territories in Jiangdong between 194 and 199, ended his alliance with Yuan Shu and became an independent warlord. Lü Bu, who was also previously Yuan Shu's ally, broke ties with Yuan and dealt him a major defeat near Shouchun. Cao Cao also attacked Yuan Shu and defeated him. Yuan Shu attempted to flee north to join Yuan Shao but his way was blocked and he would die of illness on his return to Shouchun in 199.
  In 198, Yuan Shao tried to persuade Cao Cao to move the capital to Juancheng (鄄城; in present-day Heze, Shandong), which was nearer to his own territory, in an attempt to wrestle Emperor Xian away from Cao, but Cao refused. Later that year, Cao Cao joined forces with Liu Bei to attack Lü Bu, defeating him at the Battle of Xiapi. Lü Bu was captured and executed on Cao Cao's order, and Xu Province came under Cao's control.
  In 199, Gongsun Zan was defeated by Yuan Shao at the Battle of Yijing and he committed suicide by setting himself on fire. Gongsun Zan's territories, which extended to the northern boundaries of the Han dynasty's empire, were completely annexed by Yuan Shao. Yuan Shao then turned his attention south towards Cao Cao, who was an emerging power in central China. Yuan formed an alliance with Liu Biao and was intent on attacking Cao Cao.
caption: An Eastern Han glazed ceramic cosmetics box with zoomorphic feet
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