Three Kingdoms

Three Kingdoms period
Three Kingdoms period
Three Kingdoms period
Traditional Chinese	三國時代
Simplified Chinese	三国时代
Hanyu Pinyin
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin	Sānguó shídài
Bopomofo	ㄙㄢㄍㄨㄛˊ ㄕˊ ㄉㄞˋ
Gwoyeu Romatzyh	Sangwo shyrday
Wade–Giles	San1-kuo2 Shih2-tai4
Tongyong Pinyin	San-guó shíh-dài
Yale Romanization	Sāngwó shŕdài
IPA	[sán.kwǒ ʂɻ̩̌.tâɪ]
Wu
Romanization	Sẽ-kueʔ sy-de
Yue: Cantonese
Yale Romanization	Sāamgwok sìhdoih
Jyutping	saam1 gwok3 si4 doi6
IPA	[saːm˥ kʷɔːk̚˧ siː˩ tɔːi˨]
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese	thời đại Tam Quốc
Hán-Nôm	時代三國
Korean name
Hangul	삼국 시대
Hanja	三國時代
Revised Romanization
Transcriptions
Revised Romanization	Samguk sidae
Japanese name
Hiragana	さんごくじだい
Katakana	サンゴクジダイ
Kyūjitai	三國時代
Shinjitai	三国時代
Revised Hepburn
Transcriptions
Revised Hepburn	Sangokujidai
Kunrei-shiki	Sangokuzidai

Three Kingdoms
Three Kingdoms
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	三國
Simplified Chinese	三国
Hanyu Pinyin	Sānguó
Literal meaning	three states
Hanyu Pinyin
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin	Sānguó
Bopomofo	ㄙㄢㄍㄨㄛˊ
Gwoyeu Romatzyh	Sangwo
Wade–Giles	San1-kuo2
Tongyong Pinyin	San-guó
Yale Romanization	Sāngwó
IPA	[sán.kwǒ]
Wu
Shanghainese; Romanization	Sae1-koq7
Yue: Cantonese
Yale Romanization	Sāamgwok
Jyutping	Saam1 gwok3
IPA	[saːm˥ kʷɔːk̚˧]
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese	Tam Quốc
Hán-Nôm	三國
Korean name
Hangul	삼국
Hanja	三國
Revised Romanization
Transcriptions
Revised Romanization	Samguk
Japanese name
Hiragana	さんごく
Kyūjitai	三國
Shinjitai	三国
Romanization
Transcriptions
Romanization	Sangoku

Three Kingdoms period
三國時代
Three Kingdoms period; 三國時代
220 – 280 AD
	Time-lapse of the various conquests and territorial changes before and during the Three Kingdoms era.
Location	China proper
Key events	End of the Han dynasty (189–220); Battle of Red Cliffs (208); Battle of Xiaoting (221–222);

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.^[1] 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 Three Kingdoms period including the collapse of the Han is one of the bloodiest in Chinese history. A nationwide census taken in 280 AD, following the reunification of the Three Kingdoms under the Jin shows a total of 2,459,840 households and 16,163,863 individuals which was only a fraction of the 10,677,960 households, and 56,486,856 individuals reported during the Han era.^[2] While the census may not have been particularly accurate due to a multitude of factors of the times, in 280, the Jin did make an attempt to account for all individuals where they could.^[3]

Technology advanced significantly during this period. Shu chancellor Zhuge Liang invented the wooden ox, suggested to be an early form of the wheelbarrow,^[4] and improved on the repeating crossbow. Wei mechanical engineer Ma Jun is considered by many to be the equal of his predecessor Zhang Heng.^[5] He invented a hydraulic-powered, mechanical puppet theatre designed for Emperor Ming of Wei, square-pallet chain pumps for irrigation of gardens in Luoyang, and the ingenious design of the south-pointing chariot, a non-magnetic directional compass operated by differential gears.

The authoritative historical record of the era is Chen Shou's Records of the Three Kingdoms, along with Pei Songzhi's later annotations of the text. While relatively short, the Three Kingdoms period has been romanticised in the culture of the Sinosphere. It has been retold and dramatised in folklore, opera, and novels, as well as film, television, and video games. The most well-known fictional adaptation of the history is Romance of the Three Kingdoms, a historical novel written during the Ming dynasty by Luo Guanzhong.

^ Theobald (2000).
^ Dreyer, Edward L. 2009. “Military Aspects of the War of the Eight Princes, 300–307.” In Military Culture in Imperial China, edited by Nicola Di Cosmo. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. 112–142. ISBN 978-0-674-03109-8.
^ Hans Bielenstein. Chinese historical demography A.D. 2-1982. Östasiatiska museet. p 17
^ Breverton, Terry (2013). Breverton's Encyclopedia of Inventions (Unabridged ed.). Quercus. ISBN 978-1-623-65234-0.
^ Yan, Hong-Sen (2007). Reconstruction Designs of Lost Ancient Chinese Machinery. Dordrecht: Springer. p. 129. ISBN 978-1-402-06460-9.

[FOOTNOTETheobald2000-1] Theobald (2000).

[2] Dreyer, Edward L. 2009. “Military Aspects of the War of the Eight Princes, 300–307.” In Military Culture in Imperial China, edited by Nicola Di Cosmo. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. 112–142. ISBN 978-0-674-03109-8.

[3] Hans Bielenstein. Chinese historical demography A.D. 2-1982. Östasiatiska museet. p 17

[4] Breverton, Terry (2013). Breverton's Encyclopedia of Inventions (Unabridged ed.). Quercus. ISBN 978-1-623-65234-0.

[5] Yan, Hong-Sen (2007). Reconstruction Designs of Lost Ancient Chinese Machinery. Dordrecht: Springer. p. 129. ISBN 978-1-402-06460-9.

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