This article is about the time period in China. For other uses, see Three Kingdoms (disambiguation).
Three Kingdoms period 三國時代
220 – 280 AD
Time-lapse of the various conquests and territorial changes before and during the Three Kingdoms era.
Location
China proper
Key events
End of the Han dynasty (189–220)
Battle of Red Cliffs (208)
Battle of Xiaoting (221–222)
Three Kingdoms
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese
三國
Simplified Chinese
三国
Hanyu Pinyin
Sānguó
Literal meaning
three states
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin
Sānguó
Bopomofo
ㄙㄢ ㄍㄨㄛˊ
Gwoyeu Romatzyh
Sangwo
Wade–Giles
San1-kuo2
Tongyong Pinyin
San-guó
Yale Romanization
Sāngwó
IPA
[sán.kwǒ]
Wu
Shanghainese Romanization
Sae1-koq7
Yue: Cantonese
Yale Romanization
Sāamgwok
Jyutping
Saam1 gwok3
IPA
[saːm˥ kʷɔːk̚˧]
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese
Tam Quốc
Hán-Nôm
三國
Korean name
Hangul
삼국
Hanja
三國
Transcriptions
Revised Romanization
Samguk
Japanese name
Hiragana
さんごく
Kyūjitai
三國
Shinjitai
三国
Transcriptions
Romanization
Sangoku
Three Kingdoms period
Three Kingdoms period
Traditional Chinese
三國時代
Simplified Chinese
三国时代
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin
Sānguó shídài
Bopomofo
ㄙㄢ ㄍㄨㄛˊ ㄕˊ ㄉㄞˋ
Gwoyeu Romatzyh
Sangwo shyrday
Wade–Giles
San1-kuo2 Shih2-tai4
Tongyong Pinyin
San-guó shíh-dài
Yale Romanization
Sāngwó shŕdài
IPA
[sán.kwǒ ʂɻ̩̌.tâɪ]
Wu
Romanization
Sẽ-kueʔ sy-de
Yue: Cantonese
Yale Romanization
Sāamgwok sìhdoih
Jyutping
saam1 gwok3 si4 doi6
IPA
[saːm˥ kʷɔːk̚˧ siː˩ tɔːi˨]
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese
thời đại Tam Quốc
Hán-Nôm
時代三國
Korean name
Hangul
삼국 시대
Hanja
三國時代
Transcriptions
Revised Romanization
Samguk sidae
Japanese name
Hiragana
さんごくじだい
Katakana
サンゴクジダイ
Kyūjitai
三國時代
Shinjitai
三国時代
Transcriptions
Revised Hepburn
Sangokujidai
Kunrei-shiki
Sangokuzidai
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Imperial
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Han(206 BCE – 220 CE)
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Three Kingdoms(220–280 CE)
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v
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The Three Kingdoms of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu dominated China from 220 to 280 AD following the end of the Han dynasty.[1] This period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and followed by the Western Jin dynasty. Academically, the periodisation begins with the establishment of Cao Wei in 220 and ends with the conquest of Wu by Jin in 280. The period immediately preceding the Three Kingdoms from 184 to 220 was marked by chaotic infighting among warlords across China as Han authority collapsed. The period from 220 to 263 was marked by a comparatively stable arrangement between Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. This stability broke down with the conquest of Shu by Wei in 263, followed by the usurpation of Cao Wei by Jin in 266, and ultimately the conquest of Wu by Jin in 280.
The Three Kingdoms period including the collapse of the Han is one of the bloodiest in Chinese history. A nationwide census taken in 280 AD, 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 households, and 56,486,856 individuals reported during the Han era.[2] While the census may not have been particularly accurate due to a multitude of factors of the times, in 280, the Jin did make an attempt to account for all individuals where they could.[3]
Technology advanced significantly during this period. Shu chancellor Zhuge Liang invented the wooden ox, suggested to be an early form of the wheelbarrow,[4] and improved on the repeating crossbow. Wei mechanical engineer Ma Jun is considered by many to be the equal of his predecessor Zhang Heng.[5] He invented a hydraulic-powered, mechanical puppet theatre designed for Emperor Ming of Wei, square-pallet chain pumps for irrigation of gardens in Luoyang, and the ingenious design of the south-pointing chariot, a non-magnetic directional compass operated by differential gears.
The authoritative historical record of the era is Chen Shou's Records of the Three Kingdoms, along with Pei Songzhi's later annotations of the text. While relatively short, the Three Kingdoms period has been romanticised in the culture of the Sinosphere. It has been retold and dramatised in folklore, opera, and novels, as well as film, television, and video games. The most well-known fictional adaptation of the history is Romance of the Three Kingdoms, a historical novel written during the Ming dynasty by Luo Guanzhong.
^Theobald (2000).
^Dreyer, Edward L. 2009. “Military Aspects of the War of the Eight Princes, 300–307.” In Military Culture in Imperial China, edited by Nicola Di Cosmo. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. 112–142. ISBN 978-0-674-03109-8.
^Hans Bielenstein. Chinese historical demography A.D. 2-1982. Östasiatiska museet. p 17
^Breverton, Terry (2013). Breverton's Encyclopedia of Inventions (Unabridged ed.). Quercus. ISBN 978-1-623-65234-0.
^Yan, Hong-Sen (2007). Reconstruction Designs of Lost Ancient Chinese Machinery. Dordrecht: Springer. p. 129. ISBN 978-1-402-06460-9.
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