Inspiration from the Ancient World

By Yan Li-pen - Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1971153

The Sui dynasty was founded by Yang Jian, a member of Northern Zhou military aristocracy and of both Han and Xianbei descent. He worked closely with the Norther Zhou imperial court and his daughter married then Crown Prince Yuwen Yun who would be come Emperor Xuan and Lady Yang would become empress in 578, even though Emperor Xuan distrusted his father-in-law, despite making him minister of defense. In 579, Emperor Xuan retired and his son with a concubine Consort Zhu Manyue became Emperor Jing even though the retired Emperor Xuan continued to exercise imperial powers. Emperor Xuan threatened to 'slaughter your clan' and summoned Yang Jian, ordering his guards to kill Yang Jian if 'his [Yang Jian] expression revealed any sign of concern', but Yang Jian didn't express any emotion, so he survived.

In 581, Emperor Xuan intended to send Yang Jian out for a military campaign, but he died before Yang Jian could leave. Two of Emperor Xuan's 'close associates' summoned Yang Jian to serve as regent for the still underage Emperor Jing, who was about 8 at the time. The two associates issued a decree in Emperor Xuan's name to appoint Yang Jian regent instead of Emperor Xuan's uncle. As regent, Yang worked on making the government more frugal. He also had to deal with the uncle, who refused to come to the capital when summoned. He commanded several of the generals that supported him to defeat the uncle and this was accomplished within 68 days, with the uncle then committing suicide.

Because of a number of assassination attempts, Yang Jian began killing various family members in the Yuwen clan, including princes Yuwan Xian and Yuwan Zhao, their brothers and their sons, eventually killing 59 of them. During this time, he had Emperor Jing grant him more titles and then had Emperor Jing yield the throne to him later in 581. The Sui name was chosen as it was the old fief name, though he altered the character from 隨 to 隋 by removing the 辶, or 'walking' radical, which he saw as removing the impermanence of his regime. He took the throne as Emperor Wen.

During the beginning of his reign, Emperor Wen shifted allegiance from Confucianism to 'the group advocating Legalism and authoritarian government'. He reorganized the government from six departments to five bureaus, two independent agencies, twelve military commands, and eleven other independent departments. He also had the penal code simplified and reduced the penalties resulting from harsh laws, 'a reform that was later largely accepted by subsequent dynasties'. He also abolished the anti-Han policies, instead highlighting his own Han ancestry and Han culture. He improved the infrastructure of the country, including establishing granaries and using them 'as sources of food and as a means to regulate market prices from the taxation of crops, much like the earlier Han dynasty'. This surplus also allowed for rapid population growth. He moved the capital to Chang'an and began constructing the Grand Canal, linking Chang'an to the Yellow River, which would be enlarged by his son.

He embarked on a massive naval construction project, assembling thousands of boats, including ones that had 'five layered decks and the capacity for 800 non-crew personnel[…]outfitted with six 50-foot-long booms that were used to swing and damage enemy ships, or to pin them down so that Sui marine troops could use act-and-board techniques', on the Yangtze. Along with 518,000 troops, he set out to conquer the Chen dynasty in 588. By 589, he completed the conquest of Chen by razing Jiankang, reunifying China under a single dynasty.

The application of Sui laws was resented by the former Chen gentry as they lost their preferential treatment that they'd enjoyed under previous dynasties. Rumors began to spread that Emperor Wen intended to move those living in previously Chen-controlled territory to Guanzhong in 590, which resulted in disorganized rebellions that were suppressed within a year. In 593, he began the construction of a summer palace outside of Chang'an, which was completed 2 years later and was 'more luxurious than expected and caused many deaths during its construction'. Also in 595, he had an abbreviated ceremony at Mount Tai at the behest of the Crown Prince, worshiping the heaven and earth gods to 'seek blessings for the ongoing drought'.

In 597, one of his sons, Yang Jun, had been poisoned by his wife, Princess Cui, and during his recovery in Chang'an, Emperor Wen found out that he'd been wasteful, so Emperor Wen removed him from his post and stripped him of all his offices, only allowing him to keep the imperial prince title. Some officials suggested this was too harsh, to which Emperor Wen responded I am the father of just five sons, not the father of all people over the land. If I agreed with you, does that mean I have to draft a Penal Code for the Emperor's Sons? Even a man as kind as the Duke of Zhou executed his brothers, the lords of Guan and Cai, for their crimes. I am nowhere as capable as the Duke of Zhou, so I can break my own laws?'

He also married the daughter of Ashina Rangan, one of the Göktürks' chiefs, and offered him treasure to try and break the ties between Ashina Rangan and Ashina Yongyulü in 597. This did result in Ashina Ragan giving Emperor Wen a heads up to his movements, which allowed Emperor Wen to prepare his forces. In 598, the Goguryeo, in modern day North Korea and Northeast China, began attacking Ying Province. He sent one of his sons to deal with this, but the campaign had to deal with multiple issues, including a major storm that caused losses to the navy and food shortages. Goguryeo was able to inflict heavy damages on the Sui, but they also stopped raiding China. Emperor Wen called back the campaign since Sui couldn't afford to commit any more resources to it.

Yang Yong, the Crown Prince, began to lose favor with both Emperor Wen and Empress Dugu since he was 'overly wasteful and [had] too many concubines'. They considered Yang Guang as his replacement. Toward the end of 600, Yang Guang and Yang Su, with the unspoken support of Empress Dugu, had one of Yang Yong's associates accuse him of treason, for which he was deposed. In 602, Empress Dugu died. Yang Guang thought Yang Xiu intended to cause a problem for his position as Crown Prince, so he had Yang Su collect evidence of his wastefulness to present to Emperor Wen. Yang Guang also claimed that Yang Xiu had cursed the emperor. As a result, Yang Xiu was stripped of all rank, becoming a commoner, and was put under house arrest.

By Ian Kiu - Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2944503

In the south, there were four dynasties during the same time, beginning with the Liu Song dynasty in 420. They all continued to use the Eastern Jin capital of Jiankang. Until the Chen dynasty, the politics of the dynasties were dominated by the great families, the class that Cao Cao created at the end of the Han dynasty as he was consolidating his own power by creating professional soldiers. These great families tended to fight with each other, making it difficult for any one ruler to bring the other families in line. To help keep their power, these families began to compile genealogies and outlawed intermarriage with commoners. Northerners who migrated south 'were forced to become "guests" (dependents) of the great families who established private guard forces with their new retainers'. Despite this, the rulers of the four dynasties were 'military leaders from lowly social backgrounds', who would erode the power of the great families, transferring that power to the central government. This shift was aided by the rise of trade on the Indian Ocean, which further eroded their power so that the class was essentially gone by the end of this period and their position at the top was taken by merchants, who were able to move wealth more easily in an increasingly money-based economy. This shift also pushed peasants towards being mercenary soldiers to cope with inflation or paying taxes and pushed the land holding aristocracy to break up their holdings and sell them off.

Liu Yu began as a general in the Army of the Northern Garrison for the Eastern Jin dynasty and gained a reputation for himself by suppressing a Taoist rebel and then leading the efforts that restored Emperor An of Jin to his throne, which launched him to prominence in the imperial court. He then led two expeditions north against the Southern Yan and Later Qin dynasties, continued putting down popular uprisings, and purged his rivals, many of whom were his allies, to gain even more prominence. He then invoked a prophecy that 'there would only be one more emperor after Emperor An' and had Emperor An replaced with Emperor Gong and then deposed him in 420, taking the throne as Emperor Wu of Liu Song. After they were deposed, he then killed them and their families, an action that would set the tone for the rest of the era. He died in 422 and his son Emperor Shao would take his place for a short time before he was killed by governmental officials for incompetence, leading to one of his brothers, Emperor Wen, taking the throne. When he did, Emperor Wen killed those officials who had supported his rise. He was, like his father had been, and he was an adept administrator, so his reign was relatively stable. Despite this, his military expeditions into the north in 430 floundered because of micromanagement of the generals, insufficient preparations, which led to a weakening of the dynasty overall. His jealousy of Tan Daoji, a general holding the same position his father had, caused him to chose another, weaker general to lead the army, allowing the north to keep them from reclaiming lands between the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers. After these conflicts, Emperor Wen suffered a long illness and his brother, Liu Yikang, the prime minister, had Tan Daoji, his sons, and two of his generals killed on false charges of treason. Beginning in 445, the Northern Wei pushed the Liu Song further south, leading Emperor Wen to lament the loss of Tan Daoji.

In 453, Emperor Wen was assassinated by his sons Princes Shao and Jun before he could punish them for witchcraft. Their brother, also named Jun, would defeat them to become Emperor Xiaowu, though he was 'licentious and cruel, supposedly committing incest with the daughters of an uncle who helped him gain the throne; his rivals also claimed he had incest with his mother'. He died of natural causes in 464 and was followed by his son Emperor Qianfei who 'proved to be similar to his father, engaging in both kin-slaughter and incest'. To appease one of his sisters who 'complained about how it was unfair that men were allowed 10,000 concubines, he gave her 30 handsome young men as lovers'. He would be assassinated by his uncle Liu Yu, who became Emperor Ming.

After killing all of Emperor Xiaowu's descendants, Emperor Ming would lose the provinces north of the Huai River because of his paranoia. His son would become Emperor Houfei would become the next emperor during a time of great turmoil with General Xiao Daocheng gaining power. Xiao Daocheng could depose Emperor Houfei and install Emperor Houfei's brother as Emperor Shun. After gaining enough power by defeating another general, Xiao Daoicheng forced Emperor Shun to grant him the throne, ending the Liu Song in 479.

Xiao Daocheng would be known as Emperor Gao of the Southern Qi dynasty. His low social origins would draw the disdain of the nobility, though he did follow the pattern of the early rulers of the Liu Song, being very economical. He died after only four years on the throne, leading to his 13 year old son inheriting the throne. Emperor Wu was able to make peace with the Northern Wei to protect the borders, which led to a period of peace. His grandsons would inherit as his eldest son died before him. Their reigns were short as they were deposed and killed by their granduncle who became Emperor Ming. Emperor Ming would undertake the slaughter of all of Emperor Gao and Wu's sons. When he became ill, he turned to Daoism, changed his wardrobe to red, and had his officials try to find 'whitebait', immature fry of fish that are between 25-50 mm long. His death in 498 and being followed by his son Xio Baojuan, 'who killed high-ranking officials and governors on a whim', caused multiple revolts, including the one that killed him in 501. He was followed by Xiao Baorong, who would be a puppet to Xiao Yan, brother to Xiao Baojuan's prime minister and distant relation to the Southern Qi dynasty.

Xiao Yan would overthrow Emperor He in 502 and begin the Liang dynasty as Emperor Wu. He was 'economical, worked hard at governing, and cared for the common people' and grew the military strength so that it would surpass the Northern Wei, undertaking an invasion in 503. He was lenient towards his clansmen, avoiding investigating them even if they did commit crimes. He supported scholars, encouraged a flourishing education system, and rewarded literary talent. This was considered a cultural peak, but it wouldn't last as sycophants would surround him. He attempted to become a Buddhist monk three times, but those around him convinced him to return to court by making 'extravagant court donations to Buddhism'. He also failed to notice that 'nearly half the population fraudulently named themselves as such [Buddhist or Daoist]' to take advantage of a law that made them exempt from taxes, which, when combined with the imperial clan's greed and wastefulness, resulted in finances becoming shambles in his later reign. Emperor Wu gave refuge to generals from Northern Wei, including Hou Jing. Hou Jing was sent on a campaign against the Northern Wei, which ended with a decisive loss, leading some to suggest that Emperor Wu intended Hou Jing to be returned to and punished by the Norther Wei after deserting. Hou Jing believed this despite Emperor Wu assuring him it wasn't true. He rebelled and set siege to Jiankang with Emperor Wu trapped in the capitol. Emperor Wu was forced to try to negotiate, but Hou Jing was displeased with what was offered, so he captured the palace, which resulted in the slaughter of nearby populaces. Emperor Wu starved to death and Hou Jing used two princes as puppets before he seized power, though all he controlled was Jiankang. Xiao Yi, with the aid of two generals, defeated Hou Jing and became Emperor Yuan, though his brother, Xiao Ji, was still a threat to his crown. Emperor Yuan asked the Western Wei for aid, but a diplomatic mistake caused him to be deposed and killed by Yuwen Tai, a leading general of the Western Wei. The Northern Qi also wanted Liang land and fought against the Western Wei, claiming to do so at the behest of Emperor Yuan's cousin, setting up his last surviving son, Xiao Fangzhi, as ruler, though not with imperial titles. The Norther Qi were defeated and Xiao Yuanming took the throne as Emperor Min of Liang, but was deposed with Xiao Fangzhi becoming Emperor Jing. He was shortly deposed by Chen Baxian.

By Ian Kiu - Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3141311

The Northern and Southern dynasties period is the last of a larger period known as the Six Dynasties, which lasted from 220-589 CE and was fraught with civil wars and political chaos that both caused and resulted from the various wars. During this time, culture, technology, and the arts flourished and Buddhism and Taoism spread widely through both dynasties. This period also saw the increased rate of sinicization, the assimilation of Chinese culture including language, culture, societal norms, and ethnic identity, in among the non-Han peoples of both dynasties.

Beginning in 439 with the unification of the north under the Northern Wei under Emperor Taiwu, they still had to deal with the Rouran Khaganate, a tribal confederation that were likely multi-ethnic, to the north of them, which pulled their focus from moving further south in their effort to reunify all of China. It wasn't until 450 that they were able to attack the Liu Song dynasty to the south, managing to conquer as far as Guabu, modern day Nanjing, and threatened Jiankang, the Liu Song capital, across the Yangtze River, but because of heavy casualties, they plundered Guabu as they returned north.

As they were returning north, followers of Gai Wu, a Buddhist, rebelled, which led to the Taoist government to persecute Buddhism, the first of what would come to be known as the Three Disasters of Wu, so-called because the emperors that initiated them had the character Wu 武 in their temple or posthumous names, and occurred between 446-846. Because of Emperor Taiwu's cruelty at the end of his life, he was killed by a eunuch in 452, which led to a period of turmoil until Emperor Wengchen, Emperor Taiwu's grandson, took the throne and he formally ended the persecution of Buddhism. In a few short decades, Luoyang would boast over 1,000 Buddhist temples serving a population of nearly half a million.

The ruling clan, the Tuoba family, were ethnically Xianbei, a tribe that 'dominated northern China [and] kept a policy of strict social distinction between them and their Han subjects'. The Han were welcome in the bureaucracy, but were not welcome in higher positions of power, and were a minority in the capital and other centers of power. Emperor Xianwen, who ruled from 465-471 when he retired and passed the throne to his 4 year old son Emperor Xiaowen, began his rule under the regency of his Han Chinese stepmother, Empress Dowager Wenming, who would also act as regent for his son. She passed many reforms, introducing the equal-field system, a type of land ownership that weakened the aristocratic clans while strengthening the 'emerging landlord class based on self-cultivating farmers', that increased both tax revenues and agricultural output. When she died in 490, Emperor Xiaowen continued her efforts at reformation and weakening position of the Xianbei nobility. He even changed the name of his clan from Tuoba 拓跋 to Yuan 元, a Chinese name, and encouraged other noble families to adopt single-character surnames in the style of the Han, banned Xianbei clothing from court, required Han style clothing, requiring those under 30 to learn Chinese, and encouraged the high ranking Xianbei to intermarry with Han Chinese. He moved the capital to Luoyang from Pingcheng in 495, which brought many Xianbei to the south as they followed the court.

In 523, food shortages in the far northern part of the Norther Wei empire would lead to the Rebellion of the Six Garrisons, with another following between 526-527 resulting from the growing rift between the Han Chinese sedentary lifestyle and the nomadic tribal lifestyle of the Xianbei and those who wanted to preserve that lifestyle. Gao Huan, working with Emperor Xiaojing as his puppet, held Luoyang in 534 and his rival Yuwen Tain controlled Chang'an by 535. Gao Yang, Gao Huan's son, would later force the emperor to abdicate in 551, forming the Norther Qi dynasty as Emperor Wenxuan. In 557, Yuwen Jue, Yuwen Tai's son, would take the throne as Emperor Xiaomin of the Northern Zhou dynasty.

The more easterly of these two, the Northern Qi, would hold lands that supplied 5/6 of the Northern Wei army, consisting of Han military families and steppe tribesmen, who had families, women as well as men, that were adept at riding horses and expert archers. The Northern Zhou reverted to Xianbei warrior culture, reversing many of the sincization policies and practices of the Northern Wei, including taking back their Xianbei names and clothing—trousers, tunics, and boots. They used their tribalization policies to help them recruit Han Chinese by granting tax exemptions for recruits that could provide their own equipment, which was 'highly successful in boosting the state's military strength'. The Northern Zhou were able to reunify the north in 577, but were overthrown in 581 by Yang Jian, who would became Emperor Wen of Sui.

By SY - CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=143573036

The division of the Yan and their foothold on the Central Plains allowed the Northern Wei to become a regional power in the northeastern part of China. In 409, the new emperor, Emperor Mingyuan, decided to focus on stabilizing the state. The next emperor, Emperor Taiwu, would focus on unifying northern China when he took the throne in 423. He captured the Helian Xia capital Tongwancheng, at the southern edge of the Maowusu Sands of the Ordos Desert now though strategically important at the time, as well as their emperor. The Helian Xia emperor's brother tried to continue the resistance after taking the throne, pushing westward to help continue this resistance continue, conquering the Western Qin in 431, but his attempt to invade the Northern Liang the same year failed and he was captured in a raid and became a prisoner of the Northern Wei. This allowed the Northern Wei to focus on the Northern Yan. The Northern Wei had the resources to launch 'incessant attacks on their border' and the Northern Yan fell in 436. The Northern Liang was the last remaining of the Sixteen Kingdoms. They had a marriage alliance with the Northern Wei, but the Northern Wei accused them of planning a rebellion so they laid siege to the capital of Northern Liang in 439 and the Northern Liang soon surrendered, ending the Sixteen Kingdoms era.

During the chaos in the northern China, the Eastern Jin attempted to reclaim all the territory they'd lost when the Western Jin fell. They'd regularly send military campaigns against the various kingdoms, including recapturing lands south of the Yellow River after the fall of the Former Qin, even though they lot some of those lands later, such as when they were defeated, only to be recaptured later on. Support for the campaigns in the north waned, however, as the royal family was riddled with paranoia and instability, leading to frequent disruptions to the throne. There were also multiple military rebellions and revolts internally throughout the Eastern Jin's 104 year long existence. Further destabilizing the Eastern Jin was the number of northern immigrants and refugees that arrived, with the aristocratic clans being especially hostile. This rivalry became a large focus of the domestic politics of the Eastern Jin, though that the northern derived noble clans would also argue with each other helped maintain a balance that favored the emperor and the two groups would eventually merge with the 'southern Chinese aristocracy [being] formed from the offspring of these migrants'.

By SY - CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=143573035

From the fall of the Former Qin, Yao Chang fought to control the area of the Guanzhong until his death in 394. Shortly after, his son Yao Xing would complete that task, ushering in the Later Qin dynasty. He oversaw a 'period of relative peace and prosperity', and had several of the neighboring states offering him submission, such as the Later Liang and Western Qin, and conquered as far as Luoyang. He established Confucian schools in Chang'an, which attracted scholars from many regions, and was a devout Buddhist, spreading the religion and having the state support it. He sponsored a Chinese translation of Buddhist sutras, texts, and treatises into Chinese from Sanskrit. A type of Buddhism known as Mahayana Buddhism, which 'refers to the path of the bodhisattva [a person who has attained, or is striving towards Buddhahood] strving to become fully awakened to buddha for the benefit of all sentient beings, and is thus also called the "Bodhisattva Vehicle"' with the path being available to all beings that took the bodhisattva vow, which 'can be done by venerating all Buddhas and by cultivating supreme moral and spiritual perfection, to bbe placed in the service of others. In particular, bodhisattvas promice to practice the six perfections of giving, moral discipline, patience, effort, concentration and wisdom in order to fulfill their bodhicitta [a mind that is aimed at awakening] aim of attaining buddhahood for the sake of all beings'. Most of the Later Qin population would follow Buddhist teachings. The tribes on the Ordos Plateau submitted to the Later Qin to avoid being taken over by the Northern Wei, not one of the Sixteen Kingdoms but an imperial Dynasty of the Tabgach-Xianbei tribe, and the Later Qin used them as a buffer against those further north. The Later Qin would undertake retaliatory campaigns the Northern Wei after repeated raids on the northern tribes, but a defeat at the batte of Chaibi in 402 resulted in stagnation and peace talks with the Northern Wei. These peace talks resulted in the Tiefu-Xiongnu tribe rebelling and founding their own state. The on-going war would tax the Later Qin's resources and power. Yao Xing's vassals began do as they wished, reducing his power over them. He died in 416, leaving his heir to contend with his relatives over the throne and by 417, the Eastern Jin had conquered them.

Gansu, west of the territory controlled by the Later Qin, was fought over by multiple states. The Later Liang tried to take over from the Western Qin, but were defeated in 397 when they tried to invade Western Qin. This caused a Xianbei chieftain to break away and found the Southern Liang state, which would last from 397-414. A Chinese governor would also break away and found the Northern Liang, which would last from 397-439. In 400, a Chinese general in the Northern Liang state would rebel and found the Western Liang state, which would last until 421. The following year, the Northern Liang would be taken over by the Western Liang. The four Liang territories would be nominally forced into submission in 401 and the Later Liang would surrender what remained of their territory to the Later Qin in 403. The Southern Liang would break from the Later Qin in 409 and then suffer heavy losses in the battles against the Western Qin, who'd broken from the Later Qin at the same time the Southern Liang broke away, and fell to them. The Western Liang would pacify the Western Qin in 421. This left the Western Qin and the Northern Liang remaining. The Western Qin would fall in 431, leaving the Northern Liang in control over Gansu.

By SY - CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=143487000

Not all the noble families and officials that fled the fall of the Western Jin dynasty went south. Some of them, such as Zhang Gui and his family, went to the north-most part of China, the Gansu region for Zhang Gui. They played lip service to being loyal to the Eastern Jin, their distance from the Eastern Jin and their not taking an imperial title, except for Zhang Zuo who ruled from 353-355, gave them free reign to govern as they wished. Because of this, historians have called them the 'Former Liang' and they existed from 301-376, preserving the Han literati culture where government officials and scholars formed the same social class and influenced the Qixi region, the western part of China beyond the Yumen Pass. They fell due to infighting over the throne after the then 10 year old Zhang Yaoling inherited it in 353 and then were forced to submit to the Former Qin.

Another group that professed allegiance to the Eastern Jin were the Murong clan, Xianbei people ethnically, but also vied for independence to be a dynasty. The accepted Chinese refugees and employed many of them as officials within their civil administration. In 337, still professing allegiance, Murong Huang declared himself a prince and began the Former Yan, which would continue until 370 and conquer the Duan and Yuwen tribes and forced submission from the Goguryeo and the Buyeo, making it one of the larger of the Sixteen Kingdoms. Murong Jun, who would become Emperor Jingzhao of Former Yan, took that title in 353. After his death in 360, his then 10 year old son took the throne with his uncle Murong Ke acting as regent after he declined becoming emperor. When Murong Ke died in 367, 'unbridled corruption among the aristocracy and infighting within the imperial family became evident and rapidly worsened'.

By SY - CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=143282724

After the fall of the Western Jin, China broke into multiple parts with the Eastern Jin continuing in the south and the northern part overrun by the non-Han Chinese people of the steppe, such as the Xianbei confederation and the Xiongnu, so much so that the Jin government moved to Jiankang, near modern day Nanjing, south of the Yangtze River. Many of the Sixteen Kingdoms were founded by the non-Han peoples, especially by those considered the Five Barbarians—the Xiongnu, Xianbei, Di, Jie, and Qiang—though many of these had been part of China for generations and were therefore highly sinicized, especially the Xiongnu who lived in Shanxi and the Di who lived in Guanzhong. Others, such as several tribes of the Xianbei, had migrated from China to the Central Plains in order to take advantage of the chaos and claim the Mandate of Heaven to rule China. Those that were able to gain control over territory took Han dynastic names to further cement their claims. These courts were plagued with internal political instability and fierce competitiveness between them.

The beginning of the Sixteen Kingdoms is considered to be 304, when Li Xiong claimed an imperial title and founded the Cheng-Han in southwestern China, the only one of the Sixteen Kingdoms to be based there, in open rebellion against the Jin. The Chen-Han would last until 347 The Han-Zhao, founded by Liu Yuan, was declared to be a restoration of the former Han dynasty, which was viewed as a 'golden age' for China even then. They would go on to conquer the capital of Luoyang and kill Emperor Huai, and would later capture Chang'an and kill Emperor Min, the last of the Western Jin rulers.

In the south, Sima Rui, who would be known as Emperor Yuan of Jin would found the Eastern Jin and continuing the Jin dynasty took the throne in 318. The Eastern Jin government waas dominated by menfa politics, where the power of the emperors was limited in favor of the gentry clans, many of them immigrant clans, truly controlled the affairs of the country. They launched multiple campaigns to try and reclaim the lands that were lost when the Western Jin fell and were able, for a time, to regain the land between the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers, though some were lost and then regained. While they had some successes, the Eastern Jin also dealt with disruptions to the throne and paranoia within the royal family, which caused some of its military expeditions to fail which may have contributed to military crises and rebellions. In addition to all of this, there were tensions between the southerners and those who had migrated from the north with the southern locals becoming dominant initially and eventually replaced by northerners as the northern Chinese aristocrats moved south at different times. The Eastern Jin dynasty would last from 317 to 420.

While Emperor Huai was more competent than Emperor Hui, Sima Yue continued to exercise a great deal of power in the capital and country. There were still a number of on-going rebellions through the empire that needed to be resolved, brought about by the instability of the government and a series of famines. One of rebellions was led by Wang Mi who was able to lay siege to Luoyang in 308. While this rebellion was eventually put down, the survivors fled north of the Yellow River and joined the state of Han along with those under Shi Le under Liu Yuan, who would later be known as Emperor Guangwen of Han-Zhao. In 309, Sima Yue killed Emperor Huai's favorite courtiers, replaced the palace guards with his own soldiers, and took most of the capital's defensive forces with him when he left Luoyang to repulse an incursion by the Han resulting from a severe famine that also affected Luoyang's area. Emperor Huai objected to the defensive forces being so weak, but Sima Yue didn't listen to his concerns and left the emperor 'under the watch of Yue's hand-picked confidants'.

This was the breaking point for Emperor Huai and he sought out Gou Xi, Sima Yue's second-in-command who had also had a falling out with Sima Yue, to plan a way to depose Sima Yue. Sima Yue found out about their plans. Sima Yue intended to attack Gou Xi but 'was so overwhelmed by stress that he grew ill and soon died on 23 April 311. Want Yan, Sima Yue's minister was hastily chosen to lead the imperial army, which numbered about 100,000. They were determined to have Sima Yue's funeral at his territory in Donghai, but they were attacked by Shi Le, who would later be nown as Emperor Ming of Later Zhao, at the Battle of Ningping. After the battle, '[t]he imperial army was annihilated, and the bodies of officials and soldiers were piled atop one another in a mound as not a single one had been able to escape'. After this overwhelming victory, Shi Le marched on to Luoyang, which was barely defended and weakened because of famine. Emperor Huai was captured on 13 July 311.

By Zangxuangao - Own work, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=165046586

Sima Yong tried to resolve conflict between him and Sima Yue by appointing Sima Yue as the Grand Tutor, but Sima Yue refused the position, though the two did seem to reach an agreement. Sima Yue's brothers, Sima Lüe and Sima Mo, were made commanders in the military, with Sima Lüe over Luoyang and Sima Mo over Ji province. Because much of the empire had suffered because of warfare and rebellions, Sima Yong 'issued an edict encouraging everyone to settle for peace'. Later, he made himself the Commander of the entire imperial military.

The court was split, with Emperor Hui in the Western Court of Chang'an while most of his ministers wee in the Eastern Court of Luoyang. In the Eastern Court, Yang Xianrong was again made empress, though she was later deposed again. Hangfu Zhong sent his son, Hangfu Chang to Sima Yue in a bid to gain reinforcements in his fight against Sima Yong, but Sima Yue denied him, likely because he and Sima Yong were getting along again. Unhappy with this response, Huangfu Chang forged an edict that showed Sima Yue supported his plan. He restored Yang Xianrong again and then claimed that she told the officials there in Luoyang to attack Zhang Fang in order to return the emperor to Luoyang. The officials were willing, at first, to do so, but after learning that Huangfu Chang had forged the edict they killed Huangfu Chang. Huangfu Zhong was killed soon after by the people of Jicheng, who then surrendered. Once more, Yang Xianrong was deposed.

In about August of 305, Sima Yue started gathering allies in the eastern parts of the empire, with the goal of returning Emperor Hui to Luoyang, blaming Zhang Fang had forced him to Chang'an and Sima Yong. His brothers, Sima Xiao, and Wang Jun were among his allies and he started handing out appointments without going through the emperor. In the east, only Liu Qiao, a general and inspector in the Yu province, and Sima Mao, a grandson of Sima Yi's brother and self-declared inspector in Yan province, sided with Sima Yong because Sima Yue tried to remove them from their respective positions in about September 305. Some joined with Sima Yue because Sima Yong removed Sima Ying from power.

As Sima Yue gathered more soldiers and marched toward Chang'an and Sima Yong, Sima Yong put Zhang Fant in charge of 100,000 troops to support those who were trying to block Sima Yue's forces advances. Sima Yue suffered some early setbacks, so he sent Chan Min to gather more forces, but Chen Min rebelled instead. Luoyang also faced a rebellion that saw Yang Xianrong declared empress once more and then, once the rebellion was quashed, deposed again. Sima Yong forged an edict from Emperor Hui to have Yang Xianrong killed to remover her as a political pawn. Liu Tun, among others, objected and after Sima Yong was unable to arrest Liu Tun, he rescinded the order.

After multiple battles in several locations, Sima Yong was desperate for peace with Sima Yue, but Zhang Fang encouraged him to keep fighting. Rather than listening to him, Sima Yong had Zhang Fang executed and sent his head to Sima Yue with a peace offer. Sima Yue refused the offer and used Zhang Fang's head to convince Sima Yong's generals to turn on him or surrender. Sima Yong was unable to stop Sima Yue's advance, so he fled to Mount Taibai while Chang'an was sacked. on 11 June 306, the emperor was returned to Luoyang, arriving on 28 June. shortly afterward, Sima Yong recaptured Chang'an, but didn't hold any other territory.

By 偰 循setsu, jun - Waseda University Library, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=148031650

The death of Sima Ai left Sima Ying in the position of regent and he appointed himself Prime Minister and Sima Yue to President of State Secretariat. Sima Ying returned to his territory of Ye while he kept Emperor Hui in Luoyang with an army of 50,000 under the leadership of Shi Chao. He imprisoned Empress Yang Xianrong in April 304, as well as deposing Sima Tan from Crown Prince. He had himself installed as Crown Prince on 1 May 304 and his power was compared to that of Cao Cao at the end of the Han dynasty, becoming more brazen about his extravagances and in his inclination toward favoritism after this, which lost him some supporters. Sima Yong was appointed to Grand Governor and Grand Commander at the same time.

Sima Yue and his three brothers, second cousins to Emperor Wu, were known for their integrity and talent. Sima Yue had close ties to several prominent families as well as multiple high-ranking offices. on 17 August 304, Sima Yue entered into open rebellion, freeing Empress Yang Xianrong and restoring her and Sima Tan to their positions. Shi Chao and others fled to Ye. Sima Yue was able to gather an army of 100,000 as he marched toward Ying's capital with the emperor and Sima Tan traveling with him. He was told along the way that Ye's forces had dispersed, so he wasn't prepared when Shi Chao's army confronted him on 9 September 304 in what would come to be known as the Battle of Dangyin. Sima Yue survived the defeat and fled back to his fief in Donghal. Shi Chao captured the emperor, who'd been wounded in the battle. The rest of Sima Yue's allies retreated to Luoyang along with Sima Tan.

After Sima Yue's defeat, Sima Ying wanted to eliminate Wang Jun, the Chief Controller of You province and supporter of Empress Jia because he refused to join the coalition to go against Sima Lun. Sima Ying sent an assassin after Wang Jun, but Wang Jun found out about it and allied himself with Sima Teng, Sima Yue's younger brother and one of the three that was known for integrity, the Inspector of Bing. Wang Jun's army consisted largely of Xianbei and Wuhuan soldiers, forming alliances with the tribes that neighbored his territory. Sima Ying sent out generals to deal with Wang Jun's army.

During this time, Sima Yong sent his general Zhang Fang to help Sima Ying, but when Zhang Fang found out that Emperor Hui was in Ye, he redirected his forces to Luoyang to occupy the capital. Sima Tan and his general Shangguan Si were holding it, though Shangguan Si held the real power. Shangguan Si tried to meet Zhang Fang's forces outside the city, but they were pushed back into the city. Sima Tan led his own troops against Shangguan Si one night and was able to force Shangguan Si out of the city. After gaining control of the city, he invited Zhang Fang into the city, though Zhang Fang would later depose him and Empress Yang Xianrong again.

One of Sima Ying's generals was Liu Yuan, a noble of the Xiongnu confederation, saw an opportunity in the princes' ongoing civil war, so he convinced Sima Ying that he could recruit more soldiers, but once he was with the Xiongnu, he convinced them to rebel. He was proclaimed the Grand Chanyu, or leader, and then King of Han, gathering over 50,000 soldiers, which would continue to grow as Chinese peasants and other non-Chinese tribes joined with them in their resentment of the Jin because of civil wars and ongoing famines.

During this, Wang Jun and Sima Teng continued to march toward Ye, defeating Shi Chao's army at Pingji, in modern day Zhao County. The people of Ye began fleeing as enemy forces marched on their borders. Sima Ying was advised to use his remaining 15,000 soldiers to return Emperor Hui to Luoyang, but on the day of their departure, all the troops deserted with their horses and porters. Sima Ying and Emperor Hui were forced to flee in a cart drawn by a calf. Wang Jun's forces sacked and pillaged the capital of Ye, abducting many women along the way.

By Zangxuangao - Own work, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=165126124

Concerned about the princes' military power and believing they'd overthrow Sima Jiong as they had those regents who'd come before him, a minister named Wang Bao sent a letter to Sima Jiong advising him to have the princes return to their territories and to bring Sima Ying into the regency's power. Sima Jiong was going to follow the advice, but Sima Ai found out about the plan and convinced Sima Jiong to execute Want Bao.

Around the same time, in May of 301, an edict ordering the refugees in Yi to return north, but many refused to do so, including Li Te. In the winter of that year, Luo Shang, the provincial inspector, declared war against Li Te. Sima Jiong also wanted to appoint Li Han to be the colonel of the Army of Readiness. Li Han, already Sima Yong's chief of staff, had a deep animosity for some members of Sima Jiong's cabinet members, so he 'fled back to his prince and conspired with him to rebel against Jiong'. Sima Yong received advice that he should publicly alight himself with Sima Ying by offering him the position as Crown Prince and to convince Sima Ai to also join in the rebellion, which would provoke Sima Jiong to punish Sima Ai, giving Sima Yong justification to overthrow Sima Jiong.

This plan was carried out in January of 303, with Sima Ying being tempted to join in even though Lu Zhi opposed the action. Li Han and Zhang Fang, one of Sima Yong's generals, were sent to drum up support for Sima Yong and the campaign. Sima Ai was sent a letter to attack Sima Jiong. Because of this, Sima Jiong sent troops to kill Sima Ai, who had 'fled to the imperial palace for protection'. Sima Ai endured being besieged in the palace with Emperor Hui for 3 days with his troops and the imperial guards defending it. On 27 January 303, Sima Jiong was captured and killed by his own officers.

Sima Ai was the next regent, though he deferred much of the authority to his half-brother Sima Ying. Sima Yong's and Sima Ying's ambitions were also frustrated. Sima Ai failed to address the rebellions, including that led by Li Te, which continued despite his death in February 303. Further complicating the situation was the consolidation of refugees and draft evaders under the leadership of Zhang Chang, a member of the Man group native to South and Southwest China, Sima Yong was ordered to campaign against Zhang Chang but 'refused to move his troops'. Sima Ai refused Sima Xin's request to engage with Zhang Chang who was threatening his territory, thinking that Sima Xin was colluding with Sima Ying. Sima Xin was later killed in battle by the rebels and Zhang Chang was able to conquer more territory in the southern provinces.

During this time, Huangfu Shang was acting as advisor to Sima Ai. Huangfu Shang had been an advisor since Sima Lun. Li Han didn't like Huangfu Shang from the time they met, which angered Huangfu Shang. Sima Yong and Li Han conspired to arrest Huangfu Shang's brother Huangfu Zhong, but Huangfu Zhong found out about the plan and attacked Li Han. Sima Ai tried to defuse the situation by ordering Li Han to Luoyang and for Huangfu Zhong to disperse his soldiers. Huangfu Zhong refused, though Li Han did go to Luoyang with orders from Sima Yong to assassinate Sima Ai. Sima Ai found out about the plot and killed Li Han.

In the fall of 303, Sima Yong, against Lu Zhi's advice, and Sima Ying joined forces to attack the capital. This time, Emperor Hui commanded his own troops, helping Sima Ai to defend Luoyang. Emperor Hui was able to defeat Sima Ying's forces by keeping mobile. He returned to the palace not long after his position was threatened in late October. Early November saw Sima Ai defeating Sima Ying's forces again. He took the emperor before Lu Ji, Sima Ying's general, and Sima Ai had his forces charge through Lu Ji's army, killing many. Lu Ji survived, but was later arrested and executed on Sima Ying's orders.

Sima Ai continued to keep the emperor with him as he moved to confront Zhang Fang's army. That the emperor was there caused panic among Zhang Fang's solders, resulting in their defeat. Zhang Fang built ramparts overnight rather than retreating as his soldiers wanted him to do. He took Sima Ai by surprise and Sima Ai's second attack was unsuccessful. After this, Sima Ai and his officials tried to negotiate a peace with Sima Ying based on their brotherhood, but Sima Ying would only agree if Sima Ai executed Huangfu Shang, but Sima Ai owuldn't do that.

Zhang Fang destroyed the Qianjin Dam, which cut off Luoyang's water supply, so Sima Ai got the Inspector of Yong province to defect from Sima Ying's side and further convinced him to attack Chang'an. Sima Ai also ordered Huangfu Shang to disband his forces so that they could be redeployed to Luoyang. Huangfu Shang was captured en route to Sima Ai and killed.

Sima Ai was able to withstand the siege until March of 304, at which point, Zhang Fang was about to give up and withdraw. Sima Yue, who was the minister of public works and another half-brother, thought Sima Ai would fail, so he with a group of officials kidnapped Sima Ai and put him under house arrest on 17 March. The next day, they surrendered, though when they saw how few soldiers there were, they regretted not holding out and some plotted to free Sima Ai. Not wanting to deal with the consequences should Sima Ai escape, Sima Yue sent Sima Ai to Zhang Fang who burned him alive.

By Zangxuangao - Own work, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=165023159

After Empress Jia was dethroned, Sima Lun took over the regency with Sun Xiu, though they were not content with this level of power. They plotted to take the throne by forcing Emperor Hui to abdicate. They sought to gain support by giving family members and allies among the higher nobility honors and other awards and recruited others to drum up support among the people. They also had a distant relative of Sun Xiu made empress for Emperor Hui. As Sima Yun tried to take over the military from Sima Yun, Sima Yun objected and attacked with 700 men that he had in Luoyang and nearly succeeded in killing Sima Lun. A supporter of Sima Lun pretended to defect and killed Sima Yun, bringing about the end of the rebellion and giving Sima Lun an excuse to purge the court of his rivals. He relocated Sima Jiong, who was unhappy with the position he received, to Xuchang in Central China. Soon after receiving the Nine Bestowments from the emperor, Sima Yun claimed he had a dream of Sima Yi telling him to move into the Western Palace, where Emperor Hui lived. On 3 February 301, he presented a forged edict that Emperor Hui was abdicating to him.

After Sima Lun usurped the throne, Sima Jiong rebelled, sending out a proclamation as he did so. Sima Ying, another half-brother of Emperor Hui, among others joined with him.Sima Ying was considered 'beautiful but dull in the mind and did not read books, but he heeded his advisor Lu Zhi's advice to rally the people to his cause'. With Sima Ai, another half-brother of the Emperor, they were able to raise an army of around 200,000 troops. Sima Yong, who was in Chang'an, joined with them. Collectively, they were known as the Three Princes, referring to Jiong, Ying, and Yong.

Sima Lun sent a force of 24,000 under Zhang Hong to secure the passes and 30,000 under Sun Hui to confront Sima Ying. Zhang Hong's forces defeated Sima Jiong's forces several times, but a miscommunication caused Sun Fu to report that Zhang Hong had been defeated to Sima Lun. Because of this news, Sima Lun recalled forces until the delayed news of Zhang Hong's successes reached him. By the time he redeployed his soldiers, Sima Jiong had defeated Zhang Hong. While this was going on, Sun Hui was moving on Sima Ying, meeting with early success. Lu Zhi advised a surprise attack rather than retreat. Sun Hui, confident because of his victories, hadn't set up a defense so Sima Ying's army was able to smash through Sun Hui's forces and crossed the Yellow River to march on Luoyang.

As the coalition reached Luoyang, the officials and generals within the capital started turning on Sima Lun and Sun Xiu even though they'd tried to block any news of their losses from reaching people within the capital. On 30 May 301, Sima Lun was captured by the Left Guard along with Sun Xiu and his supporters. Theyy were executed, though Sima Lun was forced to denounce his conduct for a few days before being forced to commit suicide.

Emperor Hui was restored to the throne and 'celebrated the occasion with a five-day non-stop drinking binge'. Sima Ying reached the capital on 1 June with Yong following on 7 June. Since Sima Jiong was still fighting Zhang Hong, Sima Ying sent solders to help him. When Sima Jiong reached Luoyang , he arrived on 23 July with 'several hundred thousand armored soldiers, before whom the capital trembled in awe'.

On 11 August, Sima Jiong received the Nine Bestowments and was also made regent for Emperor Hui. He wanted to have Sima Ying as co-regent, but Lu Zhi advised Sima Ying to return to Ye to take care of his ill mother, so he left Jiong with most of the responsibility. While he was in Ye, he also took care of the people by distributing grain to areas that had been most affected by the war, had more than 8,000 coffins built, and had funerals for those who'd fallen in battle, including 14,000 of Sima Lun's soldiers, all at Lu Zhi's behest.

By Ian Kiu - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3708103

Founded by Sima Yan forcing Cao Huan to abdicate, the Western Jin began on 4 February 266. Cao Huan was demoted to Prince of Chenliu and later buried with imperial honors. Known as Emperor Wu of Jin, meaning the 'Martial Emperor of Jin', after his death, he would move to reunify China, a task he'd accomplish by 280. After this, China experienced a decade of peace under his rule, with economic prosperity as reflected by the 'extravagant and outlandish lifestyles of the aristocracy'. He decreed that his eldest son, Sima Zhong, who might have had a developmental disability, should follow him, per Confucian primogeniture.

During this time, several officials expressed concern over the population increase in the populations of non-Han people who had been living within China for centuries, many since the late Han dynasty. These groups had lived among the northern Han Chinese, picking up settled agriculture and were Sinicized to various degrees. Collectively, these groups were known as the Five Barbarians (Wu Hu) and consisted of the Xiongnu, Jie, Xianbei, Di, and Qiang. The Xiongnu were from the steppes of East Asia and despite no longer being unified, still drew a sense of identity from their shared ancestors. The Jie were primarily from the area around the Bing Province and had a relatively small population. The Xianbei occupied the Mongolian plateau and had become vassals in 207, though some moved to the Hexi Corridor. The Di were from northern and western China, though Cao Cao had 50,000 of them relocated toward central China to keep them from allying themselves to the Shu and as a result of their frequent rebellions, which continued under the Jin. The Qiang were a group from Qinghai and Gansu that had settled in Guanzhong where the watersheds of the Wei and Jing rivers were and often fought amongst themselves since they weren't a unified group as well as rebelling because of their poor treatment by the Han Chinese rulers.

When Emperor Wu died in 290, Emperor Hui, his son Sima Zhong, ascended and almost immediately, the War of the Eight Princes broke out, though this wasn't a single conflict, but rather a series of short, intense periods of conflict with intervals of peace, nor were all eight of the princes involved at the same time. The eight were members of the Sima family, most direct descendants of Sima Yi with two being grandnephews and three being sons of Emperor Wu. Emperor Wu considered having his father-in-law, Yang Jun, and his uncle, Sima Liang, as regents for Emperor Hui, but Yang Jun took advantage of Emperor Wu's failing health to sent Sima Liang away. He also hid the decree making him and Sima Liang co-regents and had his daughter, Empress Yang Zhi name him sole regent. Emperor Wu was too ill to stop this manipulation before he died.

Because Yang Jun was obviously trying to consolidate power, continued to try to assassinate Sima Liang, and refused to accept advice, the ministers were unhappy with him. Empress Jia Nanfeng was also unhappy that her power as Empress was being taken by the Empress Dowager Yang Zhi. Empress Jia called for Sima Liang and Sima Wei to overthrow Yang Jun. Sima Liang was reluctant, but Sima Wei started his troops marching on Louyang. On the 23 April 291, Empress Jia called for Yang Jun's deposal while her allies and army occupied the gates of his home. Yang Jun was caught flat-footed but Empress Yan Jia tried to get the troops to turn against Empress Jia, which implicated her in her father's plans. His family and supporters were 'executed as the extermination of all third degree relatives', the 'most severe punishment for a capital offense', except for Yang Zhi, who was confined in the palace for the rest of her life.

On 4 May 291, Sima Liang and Wei Guan became Emperor Hui's new regents. Sima Liang took advantage of his new position and handed out appointments and titles to about 1,081 people to gain their favor. Empress Jia also began placing her own relatives in positions of power at the same time. Sima Liang and Wei Guan were both concerned about Sima Wei, Emperor Hui's half-brother, who was 'notorious for his violent temperament', so they tried to strip him of his military power and make him return to his fiefdom, but he worked with Empress Jia to depose them. The edict that Empress Jia gave, however, didn't allow Liang Wei to raise his own military force, so he forged one that made him Commander of all military forces with full control over operations. He arrested Sima Liang and Wei Guan on 26 July 291 and they were both put to death.

After taking control of a significant part of the military through the forged edict, Sima Wei was advised to go after Empress Jia's relatives, Jia Mi and Guo Zhang, but he hesitated. Empress Jia was advised to punish Sima Wei for killing Sima Liang and Wei Guan. Empress Jia didn't hesitate and her troops against Sima Wei the next day, spreading that the edict wasn't authentic. Sima Wei was captured and executed and his full brother Sima Ai was demoted for supporting him.

This left Empress Jia as the defacto power in China for the next 9 years, with her relatives, especially Jia Mi and Guo Zhang, assisting her. Ministers like Zhang Hua and Pei Wei tried to keep the government running, but the widespread corruption of the Jia clan made it difficult. Rumors abounded that Empress Jia was particularly debauched and tyrannical, which laid the groundwork for the discontent that would grow through the decade. She also made a series of transfers that had an effect on the next stages of the War of the Eight Princes, such as moving Emperor Hui's great-uncle Sima Lun to Louyang after he failed to quell an uprising in 296 resulting from famine and plagues, and assigning Sima Ying, another half-brother of Emperor Hui, to Ye, near modern day Hebei, as the result of an argument he had with Jia Mi about how Sima Yu, the Crown Prince, was treated. The later required that Sima Yong, the Emperor Wu's second cousin and grandson of Sima Fu, was moved from Ye to Guanzhong, near central Shaanxi.

By Yu Ninjie - CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=87881

While Zhuge Liang lived, the office of chancellor controlled much of the politics of Shu, but after his death in 234, three chancellors had the office by 258, after which, political power became increasingly concentrated in the eunuch faction, leading to increased corruption. Shu also failed to have any major achievements after Zhuge Liang's death. When Wei launched a three-pronged offensive, Shu was forced to retreat, giving up 'territory formerly considered impassable' as they did. Liu Shan, the second Shu emperor, surrendered to Wei only 43 years after it was founded, and Liu Shan was made the 'Duke of Safety and Happiness', which was a 'trivial position with no actual power' by the Wei Emperor.

The Wei weren't free from court intrigue, however. Beginning in the late 230s, the tensions between the Cao and Sima clan began to show. Sima Yi, who served as general, regent, and Grand Tutor, felt threatened when Cao Shuang, who was also a general and regent, placed his supporters in key posts. The Sima clan had a lot of property and their position was further boosted by Sima Yi's military victories because he was 'an extremely capable strategist and politician'. He eventually beat Cao Shuang by putsch, a type of coup carried out by a minority group, which forced Cao Shuang's faction out of their positions of authority. Many groups, including the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove, a group of scholars, writers, and musicians, protested against Sima's rising power. In 260, Cao Mao was 'killed in a failed coup against Sima Zhao' and Cao Huan, the fifth Wei emperor, took the throne. Not long after, Sima Zhao died and Sima Yan became the Duke of Jin. Sima Yan was not content with his title and sought to become emperor himself. In 266, Cao Huan decided to abdicate, establishing the Jin dynasty with Sima Yan becoming Emperor Wu of Jin, 40 years after the Wei dynasty began.

Sun Liang's ascension to the throne of Wu in 252 was the beginning of a steady decline for the state. Because Sima Zhao and his grandson Sima Shi were able to suppress rebellions in the southern Huai River, the state of Wu lacked opportunities to expand their influence beyond their borders. Sun Hao, who took the throne in 264, was the fourth emperor of Wu and would be known as Emperor Mo. He'd been a 'promising young man, but upon ascension he became a tyrant, killing or exiling all who dared oppose him in court'. In 269, a Jin general began preparations to invade Wu by building a fleet of ships and training the marines that would man them. Four years after this, Lu Kang, a Wu general, died, leaving no competent successors to take his place. In 279, Sima Yan directed five simultaneous attacks along the Yangtze River while the fleet based in Sichan sailed toward the Jing Province. Wu was unable to meet the strain caused by this attack and Jianye fell in 280 and Sun Hao surrendered.

During the nearly 125 years of the Three Kingdoms period, the population of China drastically decreased from about 56,486,856 people in 156 to 16,163,863 people as the Jin dynasty reunited China in 280, or only about 35.3% of the 156 number. The battles for land between the three and with their non-Chinese neighbors accounts for some of this, with some groups using 'scorched earth' tactics, but so do the famines of the Central Plains that caused and followed the Yellow turban Rebellion. There were also likely outbreaks of diseases as government broke down, as well as people leaving China to account for some of the decrease in population.

By Francis Lister Hawks Pott - Pott's Sketch of Chinese History, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=105271135

With the abdication of Emperor Xian on 11 December 220, the Han dynasty ended. He proclaimed that Cao Pi Emperor Wen of Wei had received the Mandate of Heaven. He would rule over the northern part of China. Not everyone accepted this, however. Liu Bei declared himself to be emperor, attempting to continuing the Han dynasty, on 15 May 221, beginning the state that would become known as the Shu, or junior, Han, which is often just referred to as Shu. He would be known as Emperor Zhaolie and would rule over the southwestern part of China. Initially, Sun Quan remained loyal to Wei and was granted the title King of Wu, ruling over the southeastern part of China, but would eventually be remembered as Emperor Da of Wu, though he wouldn't declare himself to be emperor until 229.

In late 221, Shu invaded Wu, retaliating for the loss of Jing Province and Guan Yu's death. In spring of 222, Liu Bei came to command the invasion force. Sun Quan had his general Lu Xun command the defense of Wu. While Lu Xun's subordinates advised against it, he allowed Liu Bei's forces to become committed below the Yangtze Gorges before he began to use fire attacks against Liu Bei's flank to cause disorder and forced Liu Bei to retreat. It was after this that Sun Quan declared himself independent of Wei with the largely desolate area between the Huai and Yangtze rivers forming a largely static barrier between the two. The year 223 saw Liu Bei's death, resulting in his 17 year old son, Liu Shan, and his regent Zhuge Liang controlling the Shu government and the return of diplomatic relationship between Shu and Wu.

Sun Quan focused on the 'aborigines of the southeast, whom the Chinese collectively called the Shanyue' in 224 and was able to bring about 40,000 of them into his army auxiliaries. He would go on to rule over Wu for over 40 years as both king and emperor, a time that was seen as a 'time of plenty' with the Shanyue bolstering agriculture worker numbers, which also resulted in a flourishing of transportation, construction, and trade.

The Shu were also focusing on their southern borderlands, dealing with the Nanman peoples, who were revolting against their authority and were looting in Yi Province. The Shu were able to forge a diplomatic relationship after defeating the chieftain Meng Huo. The border between Wei and Shu, especially around Hefei, was 'the scene of many bitter battles and under constant preassure from Wei after the Battle of Red Cliffs. Warfare had grown so intense that many of the residents chose to migrate and resettle south of the Yangtze'. Regardless of how much they tried, the Wei couldn't break through the Wu's river defenses.

By Esiymbro - Own work using:Li Xiaojie (1999). Donghan Zhengqu Dili [Administrative Geography of the Eastern Han Dynasty] CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=92070972

After Dong Zhuo's death, some considered making Liu Yu emperor because he was part of the imperial family, though this began to wane as the coalition members turned their attention to enlarging their own armies rather than trying to restore the Han dynasty as things became more unstable. This resulted in the central government collapsing and Emperor Xian being captured by various warlords as they captured Chang'an. Lü Bu was attacked by Don Zhuo's officers and his co-conspirator and his entire family was executed but Lü Bu managed to escape to join with Yuan Shao who was in Ji Province and pushed north of the Yellow River, taking control from the previous Governor.

Yuan Shu, Cao Cao, Lü Bu, and Tao Qian, the Governor of Xu Province, fought over control of the land between the Yellow and Huai Rivers. Cao Cao was able to end the Yellow Turban uprising and then drove Yuan Shu south of Huai, devastated Tao Qian because Tao Qian's subordinate had killed his father, and had Liu Bei, Tao Qian's general, surrender to him. In 196, he gained control over Emperor Xian, acting as a loyal minister and used this position to give him the 'formal legal authority to control the other warlords and force them to comply in order to restore the Han dynasty. He executed Lü Bu and ended up controlling southern China by 198.

Yuan Shu established a capital at Shouchun, modern day Anhui, after he was driven south by Cao Cao, though he attempted to push back north to regain the territory he'd lost. He declared himself Emperor in 197, though this drew the ire of many warlords and caused many of his subordinates to abandon him. He died in 199.

In 200, Cao Cao was fighting Yuan Shao's forces around Guandu while a detachment of Cao Cao's army forced Liu Bei to flee to Jing Province, where he sought refuge and was able to maintain those followers who went with him and gained more followers through Liu Biao, the Governor of Jiang Province. In 2088, when Liu Biao died, he opposed the political machinations that put Liu Biao's youngest child, Liu Cong, in the position of governor. Liu Cong surrendered to Cao Cao, allowing Cao Cao to take control of the province. Liu Biao's oldest son, Liu Qi, joined with Liu Bei and they established a line of defense at the Yangtze River to fight against Cao Cao's take over of the province. They would eventually be forced to retreat, seeking support from Sun Quan who had power over the lower Yangtze River, though they were able to keep control over most of Jing's fleet of ships. Cao Cao took control over the port at Jiangling and worked his way eastward, demanding that Sun Quan surrender to him. At Red Cliffs, or Chibi, Cao Cao was defeated and forced to retreat back north by the alliance.

Zhou Yu, who served under Sun Quan, gained control over Jiangling in 209 and Liu Bei captured the Xiang River basin, taking control over the Southern part of Jing Province, though Sun Quan had to cede his control over Jiangling to Liu Bei after Zhou Yu's death in 210 because he lacked the ability to establish authority. In 211, Liu Bei received an invitation from Liu Zhang to aid Yi Province against a northern threat. There were factions in Liu Zhang's court that wanted Liu Bei to be in control of Yi Province, which caused conflict between the two leaders so that within a year, Liu Bei turned against Liu Zhang . By 214, Liu Zhang surrendered Yi Province to Liu Bei.

During this time, in 211, Cao Cao defeated the warlords who had control over the Wei valley, allowing him to capture Chang'an. In 215, he captured Hanzhong, which threatened Liu Bei's territory to the south. Sun Quan was fighting Cao Cao's forces over the middle Yangtze, but they were at a stalemate. Sun Quan resented Liu Bei, however, since he was the weaker ally and had so much more territory and he demanded to have more of the Xiang River basin. They were able to reach an understanding later in the year where the Xiang River would be the border between them.

By Yu Ninjie, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1389351

After infighting between officials, eunuchs, and regents with weak central authority followed by several rebellions, including the Yellow Turban Rebellion, which gained several hundred thousand followers from all over China. Even though they were defeated, the situation throughout the empire remained turbulent. Many of those who were part of the rebellion became bandits after being dispersed after their defeat, which led to Emperor Ling making Liu Yan an administrator in direct control of a regional military, which made the provinces fully administrative units leading to intra-governmental chaos and making it easier for the leaders of these provinces to cut ties with the central government.

After Emperor Ling's death, the power struggle within the capital reached a state where the frontier army of Liang Province lead by Dong Zhuo was brought in to reinforce the position of He Jin, who was the regent Marshal for Emperor Shao. He Jin was assassinated by the eunuchs he was trying to overthrow when they learned of his plan. The eunuchs would have a power struggled that resulted in Louyang burning and allowed Dong Zhuo to seize de facto control over the government. He changed the emperor, deposing Emperor Shao in favor of Emperor Xian, which sparked more rebellions throughout China.