period of Chinese history (220–280 AD) dominated by the Wei, Shu-Han, and Wu kingdoms
The Three Kingdoms (simplified Chinese: 三国; traditional Chinese: 三國; pinyin: Sān Guó) from 220 to 280 AD was period that China was the tripartite divided into three dynastic states, Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu.
| “ | 話說天下大勢，分久必合，合久必分。
The empire, long divided, must unite; long united, must divide. Thus it has ever been. |
” |
—Luo Guanzhong, Romance of the Three Kingdoms | ||
The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and was followed by the Western Jin dynasty. The short-lived state of Yan on the Liaodong Peninsula, which lasted from 237 to 238, is sometimes considered as a "4th kingdom".
Academically, the period of the Three Kingdoms refers to the period between the establishment of Cao Wei in 220 and the conquest of the Eastern Wu by the Western Jin in 280. The earlier, "unofficial" part of the period, from 184 to 220, was marked by chaotic infighting between warlords in various parts of China during the downfall of the Eastern Han dynasty. The middle part of the period, from 220 to 263, was marked by a more militarily stable arrangement between three rival states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The later part of the era was marked by the conquest of Shu by Wei in 263, the usurpation of Cao Wei by the Western Jin in 266, and the conquest of Eastern Wu by the Western Jin in 280.