The Three Kingdoms of Cao Wei,Shu Han,and Eastern Wu dominated China from 220 to 280 AD following the end of the Han dynasty. This period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and followed by the Western Jin dynasty. Academically,the periodisation begins with the establishment of Cao Wei in 220 and ends with the conquest of Wu by Jin in 280. The period immediately preceding the Three Kingdoms from 184 to 220 was marked by chaotic infighting among warlords across China as Han authority collapsed. The period from 220 to 263 was marked by a comparatively stable arrangement between Cao Wei,Shu Han,and Eastern Wu. This stability broke down with the conquest of Shu by Wei in 263,followed by the usurpation of Cao Wei by Jin in 266,and ultimately the conquest of Wu by Jin in 280.
The Jin dynasty or the Jin Empire,sometimes distinguished as the Sima Jin (司馬晉) or the Two Jins (兩晉),was an imperial dynasty in China that existed from 266 to 420. It was founded by Sima Yan,eldest son of Sima Zhao,who had previously been declared the King of Jin. There are two main divisions in the history of the dynasty. The Western Jin (266–316) was established as the successor to Cao Wei after Sima Yan usurped the throne from Cao Huan and took the title of Emperor Wu. The capital of the Western Jin was initially in Luoyang,though it later moved to Chang'an. In 280,after conquering Eastern Wu,the Western Jin ended the Three Kingdoms period and reunited China proper for the first time since the end of the Han dynasty.
The Northern and Southern dynasties was a period of political division in the history of China that lasted from 420 to 589,following the tumultuous era of the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Eastern Jin dynasty. It is sometimes considered as the latter part of a longer period known as the Six Dynasties (220–589). Albeit an age of civil war and political chaos,it was also a time of flourishing arts and culture,advancement in technology,and the spread of Mahayana Buddhism and Daoism. The period saw large-scale migration of the Han people to the lands south of the Yangtze. The period came to an end with the unification of all of China proper by Emperor Wen of the Sui dynasty.
Cao Pi,courtesy name Zihuan,was the first emperor of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the second son of Cao Cao,a warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty,but the eldest son among all the children born to Cao Cao by his concubine,Lady Bian. According to some historical records,he was often in the presence of court officials in order to gain their support. He was mostly in charge of defence at the start of his career. After the defeat of Cao Cao's rival Yuan Shao at the Battle of Guandu,he took Yuan Xi's widow,Lady Zhen,as a concubine,but in 221 Lady Zhen died and Guo Nüwang became empress.
Wei (220–266),known as Cao Wei (曹魏) or Former Wei in historiography,was a dynastic state of China and one of the three major states that competed for supremacy over China in the Three Kingdoms period. With its capital initially located at Xuchang,and thereafter Luoyang,the state was established by Cao Pi in 220,based upon the foundations laid by his father,Cao Cao,towards the end of the Eastern Han dynasty.
The nobility of China represented the upper strata of aristocracy in premodern China,acting as the ruling class until c. 1000 CE,and remaining a significant feature of the traditional social structure until the end of the imperial period.
Emperor Wu of Jin,personal name Sima Yan,courtesy name Anshi (安世),was a grandson of Sima Yi,nephew of Sima Shi and son of Sima Zhao. He became the first emperor of the Jin dynasty after forcing Cao Huan,last emperor of the state of Cao Wei,to abdicate to him. He reigned from 266 to 290,and after conquering the state of Eastern Wu in 280,was the emperor of a reunified China. Emperor Wu was also known for his extravagance and sensuality,especially after the unification of China;legends boasted of his incredible potency among ten thousand concubines.
For most of its history,China was organized into various dynastic states under the rule of hereditary monarchs. Beginning with the establishment of dynastic rule by Yu the Great c. 2070 BC,and ending with the abdication of the Xuantong Emperor in AD 1912,Chinese historiography came to organize itself around the succession of monarchical dynasties. Besides those established by the dominant Han ethnic group or its spiritual Huaxia predecessors,dynasties throughout Chinese history were also founded by non-Han peoples.
Sima Zhao,courtesy name Zishang,was a Chinese military general,politician,and regent of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China and Emperor of Jin dynasty
The Three Ducal Ministers,also translated as the Three Dukes,Three Excellencies,or the Three Lords,was the collective name for the three highest officials in Ancient China and Imperial China. These posts were abolished by Cao Cao in 208 AD and replaced with the position of Grand Chancellor. When Cao Cao's son Cao Pi became King of Wei after his father's death,he reinstated the three positions. Hua Xin was made Chancellor,Jia Xu was made Grand Commandant and Wang Lang was made Grand Secretary. When Cao Pi declared himself emperor in late 220,Hua Xin was made Cao Wei's first Minister of the Masses,Jia Xu remained as Grand Commandant,and Wang Lang was made the first Minister of Works.
You Prefecture or YouProvince,also known by its Chinese name Youzhou,was a prefecture (zhou) in northern China during its imperial era.
The Old History of the Five Dynasties was an official history mainly focusing on Five Dynasties era (907–960),which controlled much of northern China. And it also includes some history of other south states during the era. It was compiled by the Song dynasty official-scholar Xue Juzheng in the first two decades of the Song dynasty,which was founded in 960. It is one of the Twenty-Four Histories recognized through Chinese history.
The Qing dynasty (1644–1912) of China developed a complicated peerage system for royal and noble ranks.
9 Pin Zhi was an ancient Chinese ranking system for the game of Go,which first appeared in the 3rd century book Classic of Arts by Handan Chun. He ranks 9 different Pin (levels) for Go players,from strong to weak:
The Nine Ministers or Nine Chamberlains was the collective name for nine high officials in the imperial government of the Han dynasty,who each headed one of the Nine Courts and were subordinates to the Three Councillors of State.
He Yan,courtesy name Pingshu,was a Chinese philosopher and politician of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was a grandson of He Jin,a general and regent of the Eastern Han dynasty. His father,He Xian,died early,so his mother,Lady Yin,remarried the warlord Cao Cao. He Yan thus grew up as Cao Cao's stepson. He gained a reputation for intelligence and scholarship at an early age,but he was unpopular and criticised for being arrogant and dissolute. He was rejected for government positions by both emperors Cao Pi and Cao Rui,but became a minister during the rule of Cao Shuang. When the Sima family took control of the government in a coup d'état in 249,he was executed along with all the other officials loyal to Cao Shuang.
Sima Zhao's regicide of Cao Mao,also known as the Ganlu Incident,occurred on 2 June 260 in Luoyang,the capital of the state of Cao Wei,during the Three Kingdoms period. Cao Mao,the nominal emperor of Wei,attempted to oust the regent Sima Zhao,who effectively controlled the Wei government. However,the plot concluded with Cao Mao's death and Sima Zhao retaining his status. Contrary to its intention,the coup actually increased the Sima clan's power and influence in Wei,thus providing a foundation for the eventual usurpation of the Wei throne in 266 by Sima Zhao's son Sima Yan,who founded the Western Jin dynasty.
Mianfu is a kind of Chinese clothing in hanfu;it was worn by emperors,kings,and princes,and in some instances by the nobles in historical China from the Shang to the Ming dynasty. The mianfu is the highest level of formal dress worn by Chinese monarchs and the ruling families in special ceremonial events such as coronation,morning audience,ancestral rites,worship,new year's audience and other ceremonial activities. There were various forms of mianfu,and the mianfu also had its own system of attire called the mianfu system which was developed back in the Western Zhou dynasty. The mianfu was used by every dynasty from Zhou dynasty onward until the collapse of the Ming dynasty. The Twelve Ornaments were used on the traditional imperial robes in China,including on the mianfu. These Twelve Ornaments were later adopted in clothing of other ethnic groups;for examples,the Khitan and the Jurchen rulers adopted the Twelve ornaments in 946 AD and in 1140 AD respectively. The Korean kings have also adopted clothing embellished with nine out of the Twelve ornaments since 1065 AD after the Liao emperor had bestowed a nine-symbol robe to the Korean king,King Munjong,in 1043 AD where it became known as gujangbok.
Ranged Marquis was a rank of the Chinese nobility that existed from the Warring States period to the Chen dynasty.
The Wang clan of Langya was a Chinese clan which gained political prominence during the Han Dynasty and became one of the most powerful non-imperial clans during the Eastern Jin period.
