Three Kingdoms Period (220 AD to 280AD)

At the end of Eastern Han Dynasty, the empire was seriously shaken by Yellow Turban’s Uprising led by Zhang Jiao. Divisions of power in different places gradually broke away from the central empire and became local dominions. The three kingdoms came into being in such a situation and they were respectively Wei, Shu, and Wu.

Cao Pei adopted the system of Nine Grade Official Ranks before conquering Han Dynasty and funding Wei. Later the system was reduced to be a tool of monopolization on power. It had a lot of disadvantages and was soon replaced by the imperial examination system for recruiting officials. The system of Nine Grade Official Ranks was the foundation of Menzha System. After the establishment of Shu by Liu Bei and Zhu Geliang, the local economy was largely promoted, and the abundant produce of brocade told it well. Although Zhu Geliang undertook the North Expedition for many times, he still suffered defeats due to the great disparity on military force from his enemy and finally died from illness in battalion. Wu, located to the southeast of Shu, enjoyed developed economy and advanced technology of shipbuilding.

The three kingdoms were integrated after West Jin Dynasty replaced Cao and Wei. The long period of disintegration since Eastern Han Dynasty was finally came into a conclusion.