It was in the context of the collapse of the power and authority of the Han Dynasty, which occurred gradually over a 35-year period, that the three kingdoms began to take shape led by the three most prominent leaders of the time: Cao Cao, who established the Kingdom of Wei in the north, Liu Bei, who established the Kingdom of Shu in the west and Sun Quan, who established the Kingdom of Wu in the south. With the exception of Cao Cao, whose son, Cao Pi, declared himself Emperor in 220 AD, each was later to declare himself Emperor.

There are many games that use references and ideas based on the famous historical novel “Romance of the Three Kingdoms” attributed to Luo Guanzhong writing around 1350 AD. This novel is reputedly the second most well read book after the Holy Bible and is indeed very popular in Asia. The greatest piece of literature in my opinion and I recommend that you read it.

Primarily though because of the “Romance of the Three Kingdoms” this 100-year period is commonly referred to as the Three Kingdoms period even though the actual Three Kingdoms period covered only a 60-year period. (220—280 AD)

The Three Kingdoms period is famous in Chinese history not just for the ferocity of the never-ending wars but also for the brilliance of the military strategy employed. Even today businessmen look to the strategies adopted at this time to win commercial advantage.

This period of Chinese history was also a time of great advancement in medicine, literature, philosophy and science. In the field of medicine, Hua Tuo, who excelled in surgery, invented the first anaesthetic called “Mafei Powder Medicine”.

Advancement in the literary field saw the creation of many works which are still read today. The Cao family was a prominent contributor to those works and Cao Cao himself wrote over 20 poems and around 40 pieces of prose which fall into this category. In the field of philosophy, the emergence of metaphysics was considered an outstanding accomplishment credited to He Yan and Wang Bi. In the field of science, Liu Hui, a famous mathematician, first calculated the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter.

The Three Kingdoms period also saw an increase in navigation exploration and diplomatic activity. In 230 AD a huge ship carrying 10,000 people reached the island now known as Taiwan marking the first recorded contact between the Mainland and Taiwan. In the field of diplomacy the Kingdom of Wei maintained close contact with the country of Xiematai, now part of Japan and the Kingdom of Wu sent envoys to Linyi, now the southern part of Vietnam and Funan, now part of Cambodia.

In 263 AD the Kingdom of Shu was conquered by the Kingdom of Wei after the second Emperor of Shu, Liu Bei’s son, Liu Shan ,surrendered to Deng Ai, the Senior General of Wei. In 266 AD Sima Yan, the eldest son of Sima Zhao (the effective ruler of Wei at the time of the conquest of Shu) forced the Wei Emperor to abdicate and founded the Western Jin Dynasty. Finally, in 280 AD Sima Yan conquered the Kingdom of Wu and united the entire country. Thus ended the Three Kingdoms period. In the game there are different endings that can be achieved involving ultimate victories by the Kingdom of Shu and Liu Bei or by the Kingdom of Wu and Sun Quan.

Cao Cao, was descended from Cao Can, the Premier in the Western Han Dynasty.

Cao Cao was skillful in strategy and adapted himself quickly to changing circumstances. It was said of him “ You are clever enough to govern the world but bad enough to upset it. ”It was said this prediction gave Cao immense pleasure. At twenty, Cao Cao was recommended by his district for his filial piety and personal integrity and this led to his initial appointment to the court. Cao Cao was known for commanding his troops with very strict discipline. Later he fled back to his hometown when he failed in his attempt to assassinate Dong Zhuo.

At home in Chenliu, Cao Cao enlisted aid and resources to start his own military actions. He then called upon many other powerful lords to combine their strengths against Dong Zhuo. Cao Cao never stopping trying to recruit the most able and virtuous men. He was an expert in judging people’s worth and knew how to employ them to the best advantage. He was also a master of military strategy. All this enabled him to have a wealth of talents, elite troops and excellent support for his armies.

Cao Cao’s moment came when he was invited by the Han court to rescue the Emperor Xian who was held hostage in the bitter fighting between Dong Zhuo’s generals. He defeated the rebels who were holding the Emperor and then persuaded the Emperor to move the capital to Xuchang. From then on, Cao Cao effectively held the Emperor captive and ruled in his name giving orders to all the other lords. Cao Cao successively eliminated the lords, Yuan Shao, Ma Teng, Zhang Lu and others. Finally he took complete control of the northern part of China and then established the Kingdom of Wei.



Liu Bei was a member of the imperial family and was known as “Imperial Uncle Liu”. However, in his childhood he was very poor.

His ambition was to restore the Han court and be known for his humanity and virtue. From the beginning of his military career, when he fought the Yellow Scarves, he experienced many setbacks. On a number of occasions, he almost lost his life.

However, Liu Bei was fortunate in that he was assisted by three very powerful warriors in his two sworn brothers Guan Yu (“Lord Guan”, so called because from the Ming Dynasty onwards he was worshipped as the God of War in temples throughout the country) and Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun (“Zhao Zilong”) and by Zhuge Liang (“Kongming”) who was a genius of military strategy and tactics as well as a brilliant administrator and inventor. With the loyal support of these great men Liu Bei was able to found his Kingdom in the west of the country known as the Kingdom of Shu.


Sun Quan was the second son of Sun Jian, the Governor of Changsha. Sun Jian was killed in a battle against Liu Biao.

With the assistance from Sun Jian’s former aides and staff, his eldest son, Sun Ce, destroyed all the minor vassals in the south of the Great River. He intended to occupy the entire Wu area and then the whole realm, but died of a sudden illness when he was only 26.

After Su Ce’s death, Sun Quan took over the estate left by his late father and elder brother. Sun Quan treated worthy men with respect and attracted many talented people to his service. In alliance with Liu Bei, Sun Quan won a stunning victory against Cao Cao at the Major Battle at Red Cliffs. From then on, with the natural barrier of the Great River and by employing just and able rule he was ultimately able to establish the Kingdom of Wu in the south of China.

The Han Dynasty lasted for 400 years from 206 BC when it was founded by a peasant named Liu Bang to 220 AD, there is a 14-year interruption from 9 to 23 AD when Wang Mang seized the throne. Prior to Wang Mang’s taking the throne the Dynasty was known as the Western Han Dynasty with its capital in the western city of Chang’an and when the Han Dynasty was restored in 23 AD it is then known as the Eastern Han Dynasty with its capital in the eastern city of Luoyang.

Except for the later years the Han Dynasty was a period of great prosperity and advancement in Chinese society. The Han emperors, of which there were a total of 19, built on the legal and administrative infrastructure established by the previous Qin Dynasty but eased some of the severity of the Qin laws and worked to make the system more compatible with Confucian principles.

China grew rapidly in the Han Dynasty and by 2 AD it had expanded to include North Korea, the southeast coast, the southwest as far as Vietnam and large areas of Central Asia. The northern borders were defended by the Great Wall and this was extended during Han rule.

In 165 BC Liu Heng, the third Han Emperor, introduced the policy of civil service recruitment being based on examinations which tested knowledge of Confucian texts. This policy remained in place for hundreds of years and contributed greatly to the overall success of the administration of Imperial China.

The greatest invention during the Han period was the invention of paper which is attributed to a eunuch court official called Cai Lun in 105 AD. By the 3rd century paper was in general use and had replaced bamboo, wood and silk. The invention did not reach Europe until the 12th century.

Another important invention during the Han Dynasty was the magnetic compass. Somewhere from 1 AD—100 AD it was discovered that lodestone (this is a type of iron ore) could be made to point north. Inventors realized that it was possible to magnetize iron needles to do the same. The magnetic compass was later used to plot courses on long sea voyages.

Another significant invention during the Han Dynasty was the seismoscope. It was a very useful instrument to record the direction of even a distant earth tremor. It was invented in 132 AD by a scientist called Zhang Heng. In 138 AD the instrument detected a earth tremor 500 kilometers away.

Also in the field of medicine, Zhang Zhongjing wrote “The Theory of Typhoid and Other Diseases” which formed the foundation of Chinese medicine.

Trade grew and flourished during the Han Dynasty and the trading route known as the Silk Road developed during this time. The road was 11,000 kilometers from Chang’an (modern Xi’an), through Yumen and Kasghar, to Persia and the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. Merchants carried tea, silk and other goods from one trading post to the next.

The fall of the Han Dynasty can be traced to three principal events. The first was the Yellow Scarves uprising in 184 AD. This was a rebellion of peasant farmers led by the Zhang Jue and his two brothers Zhang Liang and Zhang Bao. They styled themselves as Noble General of Heaven, Noble General of the Earth and Noble General of Men respectively and connected into widespread popular discontent caused by the corruption and inefficiency of the Han court. A classic example of this corruption was the sale of official positions to the highest bidder by the Emperor Ling, which was designed both to fill the imperial coffers and deprive scholars of their opportunity for advancement. The Zhang brothers raised an army of hundreds of thousands of peasants and represented a real threat to the Dynasty. The Han court, which by this time was dominated by a gang of corrupt Eunuchs known as the “The Ten Regular Attendants”, was able, with some difficulty, to put the rebellion down but in doing so it was greatly weakened.

The second event was the ascendancy of Dong Zhuo, General of the Forward Army, Lord of Aoxing and Prefect of Xiliang, He was summoned to court by the Great General He Jin in 189 AD to help exterminate the Eunuchs. He Jin himself was murdered by the Eunuchs shortly afterwards and by the time Dong Zhuo reached Luoyang with his army the court, led by the young Emperor Shao and his younger brother, the Prince of Chenliu, was on the run from a capital in chaos. Dong Zhuo leading a large army of 200,000 quickly asserted his authority and deposed the Emperor Shao and replaced him with the Prince of Chenliu, who then became the Emperor Xian. On ascending the throne the Emperor Xian was only 15 years old. Assisted by Lu Bu, who was the foremost warrior of the time, Dong Zhuo appointed himself Prime Minister and took control of the Government. He immediately imposed a vicious and cold-hearted dictatorship conducted only nominally in the name of the young Emperor, who was in effect held captive.

Dong Zhuo’s grab for power infuriated the loyal lords and Generals and in 190 AD they formed a confederacy numbering 18 who were sworn to destroy Dong Zhuo and rescue the Emperor Xian from captivity. Cao Cao was instrumental in bringing together the other 17 lords and Generals by sending a forged imperial decree to each of them.

The confederacy led by Yuan Shao had initial military success. This led Dong Zhuo to abandon the capital, Luoyang, and move the capital and the Emperor to Chang’an. In abandoning the capital Dong Zhuo ordered it razed to the ground, which involved a massive loss of property and valuables and huge hardship to Luoyang’s millions of residents.

After the abandonment and destruction of Luoyang, the confederacy fell apart, but in 192 AD Dong Zhuo himself was murdered by his General and adopted son, Lu Bu. Thus ended a short but highly damaging period in which Dong Zhou had severely undermined the Dynasty by first deposing the Emperor, then holding captive the new Emperor and ruling himself without regard to the Emperor’s wishes and finally inciting a massive revolt against his government by the 18 lords and Generals. It was this revolt which resulted in several of the members of the confederacy assuming control of their respective territories and in effect becoming warlords. The revolt, therefore, fundamentally destabilized the realm.

The death of Dong Zhuo was followed by yet more chaos as his generals fought for power. A crescendo of chaos and violence occurred in 195 AD when the Emperor Xian was kidnapped and taken from Chang’an. The Emperor Xian then secretly sought aid from Cao Cao. This led to the third principal event to which the fall of the Dynasty can be traced when Cao Cao responded to the Emperor’s request for aid by receiving him in Xuchang in 196 AD. From that time on Cao Cao held the Emperor captive whilst purportedly supporting him. Cao Cao gradually assumed the authority of the Emperor himself and in 216 AD became the King of Wei, which in effect signalled he had replaced the Emperor Xian.

The Emperor Xian finally abdicated in 220 AD very shortly after the death of Cao Cao when Cao Cao's son, Cao Pi, established a new dynasty, the Wei Dynasty.

184 - Zhang Jue leads peasants to revolt and begins the Yellow Scarves Uprising. Zhang Jue dies of illness in the same year.

189 - Emperor Ling (Liu Hong) dies and crown prince Liu Bian succeeds to the throne. During the turmoil caused between Great General He Jin and the powerful eunuchs, Liu Bian is killed.

190 - With Yuan Shao as their leader, eighteen lords ally their forces to attack Dong Zhuo.

191 - Sun Jian defeats Dong Zhuo. The Yellow Scarves rebels conquer many counties and towns.

192 - Wang Yun succeeds in tricking Lu Bu into assassinating Dong Zhuo. Cao Cao defeats the Yellow Scarves rebels in Qingzhou district and incorporates the remains of the rebels into his own force as “Troops of Qingzhou District”. Cao Cao’s power thereby greatly increases. Sun Jian dies in a battle against Liu Biao.

195 - Li Jue and Guo Si, Dong Zhuo’s generals, revolt and hold Emperor Xian and all the powerful officials in court as hostages. Sun Ce defeats Liu Yao and conquers the area south of the Great River.

196 - Cao Cao receives the Emperor Xian at Xuchang, but then in effect holds him captive. After this the Emperor Xian becomes a puppet of Cao Cao and the Eastern Han Dynasty exists in name only. Liu Bei is destroyed by Lu Bu and then joins Cao Cao.

197 - Yuan Shu declares himself Emperor. Sun Ce conquers Wu district.

198 - Cao Cao annihilates Lu Bu.

199 - Liu Bei breaks away from Cao Cao and takes over Xuzhou. Yuan Shu dies.

200 - Sun Ce dies and his younger brother, Sun Quan, succeeds to power. Cao Cao imposes a huge defeat on Yuan Shao in the Battle at Guandu.

202 - Yuan Shao dies and his sons fight against each other.

207 - Cao Cao defeats Yuan Shao’s sons one by one and then pacifies the north.

208 - Cao Cao becomes Prime Minister. Cao Cao suffers a huge defeat in the Major Battle at Red Cliffs against the alliance of Liu Bei’s and Sun Quan’s forces.

210 - Zhou Yu dies of illness.

211 - Cao Cao defeats Ma Teng’s forces. Liu Zhang invites Liu Bei to march into the Western Riverlands to help him resist Zhang Lu.

212 - Cao Cao kills Ma Teng. Liu Bei takes Fu-cheng and prepares to attack Liu Zhang. Sun Quan is attacked by Cao Cao.

213 - Cao Cao declares himself Duke of Wei.

214 - Liu Bei fights Liu Zhang and captures Yizhou.

216 - Cao Cao acclaims himself King of Wei.

219 - Liu Bei declares himself King of Hanzhong. Sun Quan kills Lord Guan and subjects himself to Cao Cao.

220 - Cao Cao dies of a stroke. His son Cao Pi takes power and he deposes Emperor Xian and acclaims himself the Emperor. The Eastern Han Dynasty ceases to exist.

221 - Liu Bei declares himself the Emperor and leads his troops to attack Sun Quan.

222 - Lu Xun of the Kingdom of Wu attacks Liu Bei and Liu Bei is heavily defeated. Lu Xun re-establishes a good relationship with the Kingdom of Shu.

223 - Liu Bei dies at Yong’an. Wu fosters cordial relations with Shu.

225 - Kongming captures Meng Huo seven times but releases him each time and thereby pacifies the south of the Kingdom of Shu.

226 - Cao Pi dies and Cao Rui becomes the Emperor. Sun Quan lays siege to Jiangxia but is defeated by Wei.

228 - Kongming leads his troops to attack the Kingdom of Wei, but he has to withdraw because of lack of Food supplies.

229 - Sun Quan declares himself the Emperor and establishes his kingdom in Jianye. Kongming attacks the Kingdom of Wei again in the same year.

234 - Kongming again attacks Wei and dies of natural causes on the expedition. Wu’s army attacks the Kingdom of Wei but is defeated.

239 - Cao Rui dies and the crown prince, Cao Fang, succeeds to the throne.

249 - Sima Yi kills Cao Shuang. Jiang Wei attacks the Kingdom of Wei, but meets with no success.

251 - Sima Yi dies. His eldest son Sima Shi takes up the post of Great General.

252 - Sun Quan dies and Sun Liang ascends to the throne.

254 - Sima Shi deposes the Emperor, Cao Fang and makes Cao Mao the new Emperor.

255 - Wen Qin and Wu Qiuqian start a rebellion. Sima Shi dies and his brother,Sima Zhao, becomes the leader of the powerful Sima family.

256 - Sima Zhao takes up the post of Commander-in-chief which actually endows him with the power of an Emperor. Jiang Wei is defeated by Deng Ai when he again attacks Wei.

257 - Zhuge Dan rebels.

258 - Sun Liang, the Emperor of Wu, is deposed by Sun Xiu who is enthroned to be the new Emperor.

260 - The Emperor Cao Mao tries to attack Sima Zhao but is defeated and killed. Sima Zhao then enthrones Cao Huang as the new Emperor.

263 - Deng Ai, the Senior General of Wei, attacks and lays siege to Chengdu. The second Emperor, Liu Shan, surrenders and the Kingdom of Shu ceases to exist.

264 - Sima Zhao declares himself King of Jin. Sun Xiu dies and Sun Hao succeeds to the throne. He indulges himself entirely in a Wine and pretty women. He kills his loyal prime minister Pu Yang and others because their efforts to dissuade him anger him.

265 - Sima Zhao dies and his eldest son, Sima Yan, deposes the Emperor Cao Huang and acclaims himself the Emperor and establishes the Western Jin Dynasty.

280 - The Western Jin Dynasty defeats the Kingdom of Wu and the Emperor of Wu, Sun Hao, surrenders. The Kingdom of Wu then ceases to exist and the Three Kingdoms Period comes to an end as the country is united.