Wei (220–266), known as Cao Wei or Former Wei in historiography, was one of the three major states that competed for supremacy over China in the Three Kingdoms period (220–280). With its capital initially located at Xuchang, and thereafter Luoyang, the state was established by Cao Pi in 220, based upon the foundations laid by his father, Cao Cao, towards the end of the Eastern Han dynasty. The name "Wei" first became associated with Cao Cao when he was named the Duke of Wei by the Eastern Han government in 213, and became the name of the state when Cao Pi proclaimed himself emperor in 220. Historians often add the prefix "Cao" to distinguish it from other Chinese states known as "Wei", such as Wei of the Warring States period and Northern Wei of the Northern and Southern dynasties. The authority of the ruling Cao family dramatically weakened in the aftermath of the deposing and execution of Cao Shuang and his siblings, the former being one of the regents for the third Wei emperor, Cao Fang, with state authority gradually falling into the hands of Sima Yi, another Wei regent, and his family, from 249 onwards. The last Wei emperors would remain largely as puppet rulers under the control of the Simas until Sima Yi's grandson, Sima Yan, forced the last Wei ruler, Cao Huan, to abdicate the throne and established the Jin dynasty.
Cao Fang (232–274), courtesy name Lanqing, was the third emperor of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period. He was an adopted son of Cao Rui, the second ruler of Wei. Cao Fang ruled from 239 to 254 as a nominal emperor before he was deposed by the regent Sima Shi, after which he became known as the "Prince of Qi". After the fall of Wei in 265, Cao Fang was conferred the title of "Duke of Shaoling" by Emperor Wu of the Jin dynasty. When he died in 274, he was granted the posthumous name "Li", so his full posthumous title became "Duke Li of Shaoling".
Cao Mao, courtesy name Yanshi, was the fourth emperor of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was a grandson of Cao Pi, the first emperor of Wei. Described as intelligent and studious, Cao Mao made repeated attempts to seize back state power from the regent Sima Zhao but failed. He was killed in an abortive coup d'état against Sima Zhao.
Sima Zhao, courtesy name Zishang, was a Chinese military general, politician, and regent of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China.
Sima Shi, courtesy name Ziyuan, was a military general and regent of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. In 249, he assisted his father Sima Yi in overthrowing the emperor Cao Fang's regent Cao Shuang, allowing the Sima family to become paramount authority in the state, and he inherited his father's authority after his father's death in 251. He maintained a tight grip on the political scene and, when the emperor, Cao Fang, considered action against him in 254, had him deposed and replaced with his cousin, Cao Mao. This tight grip eventually allowed him to, at the time of his death in 255 after just having quelled a rebellion, transition his power to his younger brother, Sima Zhao, whose son Sima Yan eventually usurped the throne and established the Jin dynasty.
Zhuge Dan, courtesy name Gongxiu, was a Chinese military general and politician of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. When he held key military appointments throughout his middle to late career, he was involved in all of the three rebellions which broke out in Shouchun between 251 and 258. During the second rebellion, he actively assisted the Wei regent Sima Shi in suppressing the revolt. After the rebellion, the Wei government put him in charge of Shouchun. As the Sima clan became more powerful and established themselves as the de facto rulers of Wei, Zhuge Dan feared that he would end up slain like Wang Ling and Guanqiu Jian – the leaders of the first two rebellions – so he started the third rebellion against Sima Zhao, who succeeded Sima Shi as regent of Wei in 255. Although he received some support from Wei's rival state Eastern Wu, his rebellion was eventually suppressed by Wei imperial forces and he met his end at the hands of Hu Fen, a military officer under Sima Zhao.
Empress Guo, personal name unknown, formally known as Empress Mingyuan, was an empress of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. She was married to Cao Rui, the second ruler of Wei; she was his third wife and second empress. The limited information available about her appears to portray her as an intelligent woman who fought hard to prevent her empire from falling into the hands of the Sima clan during the reigns of her adopted son Cao Fang and his cousin Cao Mao, but was unable to stem the tide.
Sun Liang (244–260), courtesy name Ziming, was the second emperor of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the youngest son and heir of Sun Quan, the founding emperor of Wu. He is also known as the Prince of Kuaiji or Marquis of Houguan (候官侯), which were his successive titles after he was deposed in 258 by the regent Sun Chen. He was succeeded by his brother Sun Xiu, who managed to oust Sun Chen from power and kill him. Two years after Sun Liang's dethronement, he was falsely accused of treason and demoted from a prince to a marquis, after which he committed suicide.
Wang Chang, courtesy name Wenshu (文舒), was a Chinese military general and politician of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China.
Wen Qin, courtesy name Zhongruo, was a Chinese military general and politician of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He served as the Inspector of Yang Province during the reign of the third Wei emperor, Cao Fang. In 254, when the Wei regent Sima Shi, who effectively controlled the Wei government, deposed Cao Fang and replaced him with Cao Mao, Wen Qin was deeply displeased because his loyalty was to the Wei emperor and not the Sima family. In the following year, he and another Wei general, Guanqiu Jian, started a rebellion in Shouchun against Sima Shi. However, Sima Shi managed to suppress the rebellion within months; Guanqiu Jian was killed while Wen Qin and his family escaped and defected to Wei's rival state, Eastern Wu. In 257, when another Wei general Zhuge Dan started a rebellion in Shouchun against the Wei regent Sima Zhao, Wen Qin and some Wu forces came to Shouchun to support Zhuge Dan. Sima Zhao led Wei forces to besiege Shouchun and the siege dragged on until early 258. As the situation became more dire, relations between Wen Qin and Zhuge Dan deteriorated, especially since they did not trust each other before. Zhuge Dan eventually had Wen Qin executed. Wen Qin's sons, Wen Yang and Wen Hu, fled from Shouchun and surrendered to Sima Zhao.
Wen Chu (238–291), courtesy name Ciqian, better known as Wen Yang, was a military officer of the Jin dynasty of China. He previously served in the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period. In 255, he participated in a rebellion in Shouchun started by his father, Wen Qin, and another Wei general, Guanqiu Jian. However, the rebellion was suppressed and Wen Qin and his family were forced to defect to Eastern Wu, Wei's rival state. In 257, when another rebellion broke out in Shouchun, Wen Qin and his sons led troops from Wu to support the rebel leader, Zhuge Dan. However, by 258, when the odds were against him, Zhuge Dan became increasingly suspicious of Wen Qin and eventually executed him. Wen Yang and his younger brother, Wen Hu (文虎), escaped from Shouchun and surrendered to the Wei regent, Sima Zhao, and assisted him in suppressing the revolt. Wen Yang continued serving under the Jin dynasty, which replaced the Wei regime in 266, and achieved fame for leading a successful military campaign against Xianbei forces in northern China. In 291, he was falsely accused of plotting a rebellion with Yang Jun, an ousted regent, and was arrested and executed along with his family.
Fu Gu (209–255), courtesy name Lanshi, was an official of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China.
Tang Zi was a military general of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period (220–280) of China. In 258, he defected to Wu's rival state, Cao Wei, and became a general under Wei.
Wang Ji, courtesy name Boyu, was a military general of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He started his career as a low-ranking official under Wang Ling, the governor of Qing Province. During this time, he was noted for exemplary performance and was later transferred to the central government in Luoyang. He was subsequently promoted to the position of a commandery administrator, but was briefly removed from office when the Wei regent Sima Yi ousted his co-regent Cao Shuang in a coup d'état in 249. However, he was quickly recalled to government service, promoted to the position of governor of Jing Province and appointed as a military general. From 251 until his death in 261, Wang Ji maintained close but professional working relationships with the Wei regents Sima Shi and Sima Zhao. During this time, he supervised military operations in Jing, Yu and Yang provinces, and defended Wei's eastern and southern borders against attacks by Wei's rival state, Eastern Wu. He also assisted Sima Shi and Sima Zhao in suppressing two of the three Shouchun rebellions in 255 and 257–258 respectively. In 261, in the months just before his death, he correctly pointed out that two Eastern Wu military officers were pretending to defect to Wei, and managed to stop the Wei forces from falling into a trap.
Zhu Yi, courtesy name Jiwen, was a military general of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China.
Romance of the Three Kingdoms is a Chinese television series adapted from the classical 14th century novel of the same title by Luo Guanzhong. The series was produced by China Central Television (CCTV) and was first aired on the network in 1994. It spanned a total of 84 episodes, each approximately 45 minutes long. One of the most expensive television series produced at the time, the project was completed over four years and involved over 400,000 cast and crew members, including divisions of the People's Liberation Army from the Beijing, Nanjing and Chengdu military regions. Some of the dialogues spoken by characters were adapted directly from the novel. Extensive battle scenes, such as the battles of Guandu, Red Cliffs and Xiaoting, were also live-acted.
Zhuge Dan's Rebellion, or the Third Rebellion in Shouchun, was a revolt led by Zhuge Dan, a general from the state of Cao Wei, against the regent Sima Zhao. Zhuge Dan received some support from Eastern Wu, Cao Wei's rival state. It was the third and final of a series of three rebellions that took place in Shouchun in the 250s during the Three Kingdoms period of China.
Guanqiu Jian and Wen Qin's Rebellion, or the Second Rebellion in Shouchun, was a punitive uprising led by Guanqiu Jian and Wen Qin, two generals from the state of Cao Wei, against the regent Sima Shi and his clan. This was the second of a series of three rebellions that all took place in Shouchun in the 250s during the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history.
Wang Ling's Rebellion, or the First Rebellion in Shouchun, was a punitive uprising in 251 led by Wang Ling, a general of the state of Cao Wei, against the regent Sima Yi and his clan. This was the first of a series of three rebellions that all took place in Shouchun in the 250s during the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history.
