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History

Three Kingdoms

What is three kingdoms?

· Emily Grant

Key facts

Name Three Kingdoms[3]
States Cao Wei, Shu Han, Eastern Wu[3]
Start year 220 AD[3]
End year 280 AD[3]
Preceded by Han dynasty[3]
Followed by Western Jin dynasty[3]

Three Kingdoms is a historical period in China when the states of Wei, Shu, and Wu divided the country after the Han dynasty ended, dated from 220 to 280 AD in academic usage [2] [3].

Context

Three Kingdoms was a historical period in China when the states of Wei, Shu, and Wu divided the country after the Han dynasty ended [3]. In academic usage, it is dated from the founding of Wei in 220 to Jin's conquest of Wu in 280 [2]. The period followed the end of the Han dynasty and was succeeded by the Western Jin dynasty [3]. Some historians extend the beginning to 184 with the Yellow Turban Rebellion [1].

Documented claims

  • The period was a division of China into three rival states. [3]
  • Academic periodisation begins with the establishment of Cao Wei and ends with the conquest of Wu by Jin. [3]

Questions and answers

Is the story of Three Kingdoms real?

The Three Kingdoms period is a real historical era in China, dated from 220 to 280 AD, when Wei, Shu, and Wu divided the country [3].

Who won the Three Kingdoms war?

The period ended when Jin conquered Wu in 280 AD, unifying China under the Western Jin dynasty [3].

Why did China split into Three Kingdoms?

The split followed the end of the Han dynasty, when the country divided into three rival states: Wei, Shu, and Wu [3].

Why is the Three Kingdoms period so famous?

It is famous as a division of China into three rival states, a period that has been widely retold in history and fiction [3].

Sources

  1. El turbulento periodo de los Tres Reinos: historia, guerras y legado ... — historiageneral.com (retrieved August 3, 2026)
  2. Historia de los Tres Reinos en China | PDF | Romance de ... — es.scribd.com (retrieved August 3, 2026)
  3. Tres Reinos - Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre — es.wikipedia.org (retrieved August 3, 2026)

Sources last checked August 3, 2026. · More in History