Three Kingdoms and the Jin dynasty
When the last Han emperor gave up the throne in 220 CE, generals who had gained power in the revolts made their own states. That is a regime change: one ruling group is replaced by another.
- Wei (220 to 265): the strongest, in the northern plains, founded by Cao Pi.
- Shu (221 to 263): in the west, around modern Sichuan, led by Liu Bei, who claimed to be of the Han family.
- Wu (222 to 280): in the south-east, led by Sun Quan, with ships and the rich Yangtze valley.
The three fought and also traded. Wei took Shu in 263. A Wei general’s family, the Sima, made the Western Jin dynasty (266) and defeated Wu in 280, joining the land again.
But Jin’s emperors had given armies to princes of the family. From 291 to 306 they fought the War of the Eight Princes. Weakened Jin lost the northern cities (Luoyang in 311, Chang’an in 316) to armies led by northern peoples. Jin leaders fled south and set up the Eastern Jin (317 to 420) at Jiankang (now Nanjing).
The Northern and Southern Dynasties
After 317 CE the north broke into many short regimes (called the "Sixteen Kingdoms") started by different herding peoples. In 386 the Tuoba people founded Northern Wei, and by 439 it ruled the whole north. It later split (534) into Eastern and Western Wei, then Northern Qi and Northern Zhou.
In the south, power passed through four dynasties, each short: Song (420), Qi (479), Liang (502) and Chen (557). All had their capital at Jiankang. Emperors were often replaced by their own generals.
This age from 420 to 589 is called the Northern and Southern Dynasties. The two halves were roughly divided by the Yangtze and the Huai rivers. It ended when Yang Jian founded Sui in 581 and took the south in 589.
Ethnic integration: how peoples mixed
Ethnic integration means different peoples, with their own language and customs, slowly growing into one shared society. In these 370 years it happened in many ways:
- Migration: herding peoples settled on the northern plains and many Han families moved south. Both groups opened new farms.
- Marriage and names: families of different peoples intermarried. Some Tuoba families took Chinese surnames.
- Emperor Xiaowen’s reforms (about 493 to 499): he moved the capital to Luoyang, asked the court to wear Chinese dress, speak Chinese and take Chinese surnames, and encouraged mixed marriages. He also used a fair land system, the equal-field plan, which later Sui and Tang copied.
- Buddhism joined peoples. Rulers built cave temples such as Yungang and Longmen.
- Growth of the south: new farmers cleared land, grew rice and made the Yangtze valley rich. Trade and towns grew.
Not all of it was peaceful: there were wars, and some Han people disliked the new rulers. But in the end the north and south had grown close in culture, and a common Chinese identity grew from both.
Key formulas and definitions
- 220: Han ends. Three Kingdoms: Wei, Shu, Wu
- 266: Western Jin; 280: Jin reunites; 291 to 306: War of Eight Princes
- 317: Eastern Jin in the south (capital Jiankang)
- 386: Northern Wei (Tuoba); about 494: Xiaowen moves capital to Luoyang
- 420 to 589: Northern and Southern Dynasties; South: Song, Qi, Liang, Chen
- 581: Sui; 589: Sui joins north and south
Worked examples
1. How long did the Three Kingdoms period last if it started in 220 CE and ended in 280 CE?
Both are CE, so subtract: 280 − 220 = 60 years.
2. Why did many northern families move south after 311 CE?
Northern cities fell and wars made the plains unsafe. The south, across the Yangtze, was safer and had empty land to farm. The Jin court also moved there, so officials and families followed.
3. Give two reasons why Emperor Xiaowen moved the capital to Luoyang.
1) Luoyang was in the old Han heartland with rich farm land, so he could rule the farming people better. 2) It helped his court adopt Chinese ways and mix with Han families, strengthening his rule.
4. Why is the age from 220 to 589 CE both a time of war and of cultural growth?
Rulers changed very often and wars were common. But movement of people, marriage, Buddhism and new farms in the south mixed cultures and made the land richer. These changes made the unity under Sui and Tang possible.
Common mistakes
- Thinking the north was all "foreign" and the south all "Han". Peoples were mixed in both, and rulers in the north later used Chinese ways.
- Mixing Wei of the Three Kingdoms (220) with Northern Wei (386).
- Thinking the division was one long war. There were many peaceful decades and big cultural growth.
- Forgetting that Jin briefly joined the land in 280 CE.