The Three Kingdoms from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and was followed by the Western Jin dynasty. The short-lived state of Yan on the Liaodong Peninsula, which lasted from 237 to 238, is sometimes considered as a "4th kingdom".
The Battle of Guandu was fought between the warlords Cao Cao and Yuan Shao in 200 AD in the late Eastern Han dynasty. Cao Cao's decisive victory against Yuan Shao's numerically superior forces marked the turning point in their war. The victory was also the point at which Cao Cao became the dominant power in northern China, leading to the establishment of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period.
Yuan Shao, courtesy name Benchu (本初), was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty. He occupied the northern territories of China during the civil wars that occurred towards the end of the Han dynasty. He was also an elder half-brother of Yuan Shu, a warlord who controlled the Huai River region, though the two were not on good terms with each other.
The military history of the Three Kingdoms period encompasses roughly a century's worth of prolonged warfare and disorder in Chinese history. After the assassination of General-in-chief He Jin in September 189, the administrative structures of the Han government became increasingly irrelevant. By the time of death of Cao Cao, the most successful warlord of North China, in 220, the Han empire was divided between the three rival states of Cao Wei, Shu Han and Eastern Wu. Due to the ensuing turmoil, the competing powers of the Three Kingdoms era found no shortage of willing recruits for their armies, although press-ganging as well as forcible enlistment of prisoners from defeated armies still occurred. Following four centuries of rule under the Han dynasty, the Three Kingdoms brought about a new era of conflict in China that shifted institutions in favor of a more permanent and selective system of military recruitment. This ultimately included the creation of a hereditary military class as well as increasing reliance on non-Chinese cavalry forces and the end of universal conscription.
Gongsun Zan, courtesy name Bogui, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty.
Yuan Tan, courtesy name Xiansi, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who was the eldest son of Yuan Shao, a warlord who occupied much of northern China during the late Eastern Han dynasty. After Yuan Shao's death, Yuan Tan engaged his younger brother, Yuan Shang, in a power struggle over their father's territories. He sought help from his father's rival, Cao Cao, and defeated Yuan Shang with Cao's help. However, the alliance between Yuan Tan and Cao Cao was eventually broken and Yuan was defeated and killed in the Battle of Nanpi by Cao Cao's troops.
Tian Feng, courtesy name Yuanhao, was a Chinese politician serving under the warlord Yuan Shao during the late Eastern Han dynasty.
Han Fu, courtesy name Wenjie, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty. He was the governor of Ji Province when the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out in 184.
Bao Xin (152–192) was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China.
The end of the Han dynasty was the period of Chinese history from 189 to 220 CE, roughly coinciding 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 (184–205). 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. One of those warlords, Cao Cao, was gradually reunifying the empire, ostensibly under Emperor Xian's rule; the Emperor and his court were actually controlled by Cao Cao himself, who was opposed by other warlords.
Tao Qian (132–194), courtesy name Gongzu, was a government official and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He is best known for serving as the Governor of Xu Province.
Liu Dai, courtesy name Gongshan, was a Chinese politician who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China.
Zhang Yan, born Chu Yan, also known as Zhang Feiyan, was the leader of the Heishan bandits during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He rose from a local rebel to master of a confederation that could hold off the Han and was able to maintain authority in Changshan until he chose to surrender to Cao Cao, getting enfeoffment that remained with his family.
Yuan Shang, courtesy name Xianfu, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He was the third son and successor of the warlord Yuan Shao. In the 14th-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Yuan Shang was described as "strong but arrogant", and he was his father's favourite son.
Xun Chen, courtesy name Youruo, was an official who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Born in the influential Xun family of Yingchuan Commandery, he was the fourth brother of Xun Yu and a second cousins once removed of Xun You. He initially served as an adviser to the warlord Han Fu and later to another warlord, Yuan Shao.
The Battle of Yijing was a military conflict which took place in northern China from 198 to 199 in the late Eastern Han dynasty. It was fought between Gongsun Zan, a warlord known as the "White Horse General", and Yuan Shao, a scion of the esteemed Yuan clan and former leader of the coalition against Dong Zhuo.
The Campaign against Dong Zhuo was a punitive expedition initiated by a coalition of regional officials and warlords against the warlord Dong Zhuo in 190 in the late Eastern Han dynasty. The members of the coalition claimed that Dong had the intention of usurping the throne by holding Emperor Xian hostage and by establishing a strong influence in the imperial court. They justified their campaign as to remove Dong from power. The campaign led to the evacuation of the capital Luoyang and the shifting of the imperial court to Chang'an. It was a prelude to the end of the Han dynasty and, subsequently, the Three Kingdoms period.
The Heishan bandits or Black Mountain bandits was a bandit confederacy in the Taihang Mountain range during the later years of the Eastern Han dynasty in China. They played a part in the internecine feuds that followed the Eastern Han dynasty's descent into chaos preceding the Three Kingdoms period, during which they eventually surrendered to the warlord Cao Cao.
The Battle of Dushi Ford was fought between the warlords Cao Cao and Yuan Shao between 3 February and 2 March 200 in the late Eastern Han dynasty. In the battle, Yuan Shao launched an attack on Cao Cao's position on the southern bank of the Yellow River, taking advantage of Cao's temporary absence. In response, Cao Cao's general Yu Jin raided Yuan Shao's encampments in the vicinity of present-day Henan, ultimately discouraging Yuan from making a determined attack.
The Battle of White Wolf Mountain was a battle fought in 207 in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. The battle took place in northern China, beyond the frontiers of the ruling Eastern Han dynasty. It was fought between the warlord Cao Cao and the nomadic Wuhuan tribes, who were allied with Cao Cao's rivals Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi. The victory attained by Cao Cao dashed the hopes of a Wuhuan dominion, and the Wuhuan eventually became weakened, lost importance, and were gradually absorbed into the Han population or the Xianbei tribes.
