date_of_birth yu jin
The Three Kingdoms ( AD ___MASK5___  280 ) was the tripartite division of China between the states of Wei , Shu , and Wu , following the Han dynasty and preceding the Jin dynasty . The term " Three Kingdoms " itself is something of a mistranslation , since each state was eventually headed not by a king , but by an emperor who claimed legitimate succession from the Han dynasty . Nevertheless , the term " Three Kingdoms " has become standard among sinologists . To further distinguish the three states from other historical Chinese states of similar names , historians have added a relevant character : Wei is also known as Cao Wei , Shu is also known as Shu Han , and Wu is also known as Dong ( or Eastern ) Wu . The Battle of Guandu was fought between the warlords Cao Cao and Yuan Shao in ___MASK51___ AD in the late Eastern Han dynasty . The battle , which concluded with a decisive victory for Cao Cao , was a turning point in the war between the two warlords . It marked the beginning of Cao Cao ' s gradual reunification of northern China , which made possible the establishment of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period . Cao Cao ( ___MASK28___  15 March 220 ), courtesy name Mengde , was a Chinese warlord and the penultimate Chancellor of the Eastern Han dynasty who rose to great power in the final years of the dynasty . As one of the central figures of the Three Kingdoms period , he laid the foundations for what was to become the state of Cao Wei and was posthumously honoured as " Emperor Wu of Wei ". Although he is often portrayed as a cruel and merciless tyrant in subsequent literature , Cao Cao has also been praised as a brilliant ruler and military genius who treated his subordinates like his family . During the fall of the Eastern Han dynasty , Cao Cao was able to secure the most populated and prosperous cities of the central plains and northern China . Cao had much success as the Han chancellor , but his handling of the Han emperor Liu Xie was heavily criticized and resulted in a continued and then escalated civil war . Opposition directly gathered around warlords Liu Bei and Sun Quan , whom Cao was unable to quell . Cao was also skilled in poetry and martial arts and wrote many war journals . Sima Yi ( ___MASK32___  ___MASK68___ September 251 ), courtesy name Zhongda , was a general and politician of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period . He is perhaps best known for defending Wei from Zhuge Liang ' s Northern Expeditions . His success and subsequent rise in prominence paved the way for his grandson Sima Yan ' s founding of the Jin dynasty , which would eventually bring an end to the Three Kingdoms era . In 265 after the Jin dynasty was established , Sima Yi was posthumously honoured as Emperor Xuan of Jin with the temple name of Gaozu . Sun Quan ( ___MASK27___  ___MASK60___ ), courtesy name Zhongmou , formally known as Emperor Da of Wu ( lit . " Great Emperor of Wu "), was the founder of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period . He inherited control of the warlord state founded by his elder brother Sun Ce in ___MASK51___ . He declared formal independence and ruled from 222 to 229 as " King of Wu " and from 229 to ___MASK60___ as the " Emperor of Wu ". Unlike his rivals Cao Cao and Liu Bei , Quan governed his empire mostly separate of politics and ideology , he is sometimes portrayed as neutral considering he accommodated the wills of both his rivals but only when it benefited his state of Wu and never fully attempted to conquer his rivals , although most of historians would cite his lack of logistical resources to do so . Bozhou is a prefecture - level city in northwestern Anhui , China . It borders Huaibei to the northeast , Bengbu to the southeast , Huainan to the south , Fuyang to the southwest , and Henan to the north . Its population was ___MASK48___ , 850 , 657 at the 2010 census , of whom 1 , 409 , 436 lived in the built - up area made of Qiaocheng urban district , even though the county remains largely rural . Guan Yu ( died ___MASK5___ CE ), courtesy name Yunchang , was a general serving under the warlord Liu Bei in the late Eastern Han dynasty . He played a significant role in the events that led to the collapse of the dynasty and the establishment of the state of Shu Han  founded by Liu Bei  in the Three Kingdoms period . After Liu Bei gained control of Yi Province in 214 , Guan Yu remained in Jing Province to govern and defend the area for about seven years . In ___MASK50___ , while he was away fighting Cao Cao ' s forces at the Battle of Fancheng , Liu Bei ' s ally Sun Quan broke the Sun  Liu alliance and sent his general Lü Meng to invade and conquer Liu Bei ' s territories in Jing Province in a stealth operation . By the time Guan Yu found out about the loss of Jing Province after his defeat at Fancheng , it was too late . He was subsequently captured in an ambush by Sun Quan ' s forces and executed . The Battle of Fancheng was fought between the warlords Liu Bei and Cao Cao in ___MASK50___ in the late Eastern Han dynasty . It was named after Fancheng (  ; also known as Fan Castle or Fan City ), an ancient fortress situated in present - day Fancheng District , Xiangyang , Hubei . Korea is a historical state in East Asia , since ___MASK10___ divided into two distinct sovereign states : North Korea ( officially the " Democratic People ' s Republic of Korea ") and South Korea ( officially the " Republic of Korea "). Located on the Korean Peninsula , Korea is bordered by China to the northwest and Russia to the northeast . It is separated from Japan to the east by the Korea Strait and the East Sea . Lü Meng ( ___MASK63___  ___MASK5___ ), courtesy name Ziming , was a military general who served under the warlord Sun Quan in the late Eastern Han dynasty . Early in his career , he fought in several battles under the banner of Sun Ce , Sun Quan ' s elder brother and predecessor . Although he had been noted for his bravery , he was still deemed as nothing more than a " mere warrior " for his lack of literacy skills . Later , with encouragement from Sun Quan , Lü Meng took up scholarly pursuits to improve himself , gradually becoming a learned and competent military leader . In 217 , he succeeded Lu Su as the frontline commander of Sun Quan ' s forces in Jing Province . Two years later , in a carefully calculated military operation , Lü Meng led an invasion of Liu Bei ' s territories in southern Jing Province , swiftly and stealthily capturing all the lands from Liu Bei ' s general Guan Yu , who was captured and executed after his defeat . Lü Meng enjoyed his finest hour after the victory but died a few months later because he was already seriously ill before the campaign . The Warring States period was an era in ancient Chinese history following the Spring and Autumn period and concluding with the Qin wars of conquest that saw the annexation of all other contender states , which ultimately led to the Qin state ' s victory in ___MASK88___ BC as the first unified Chinese empire known as the Qin dynasty . Although different scholars point toward different dates ranging from 481 BC to 403 BC as the true beginning of the Warring States , Sima Qian ' s choice of ___MASK34___ BC is generally the most often cited and popularly accepted one . The Warring States era also overlaps with the second half of the Eastern Zhou dynasty , though the Chinese sovereign , known as the king of Zhou , ruled merely as a figurehead and served as a backdrop against the machinations of the warring states . Vietnam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam ( SRV ), is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia . With an estimated ___MASK89___ . 5 million inhabitants , it is the world ' s 14th - most - populous country , and the eighth - most - populous Asian country . Vietnam is bordered by China to the north , Laos to the northwest , Cambodia to the southwest , Thailand across the Gulf of Thailand to the southwest , and the Philippines , Malaysia and Indonesia across the South China Sea to the east and southeast . Its capital city has been Hanoi since the reunification of North and South Vietnam in ___MASK85___ . Cao Wei ( ___MASK5___  265 ) was one of the three major states that competed for supremacy over China in the Three Kingdoms period ( ___MASK5___  280 ). With its capital at Luoyang , the state was established by Cao Pi in ___MASK5___ , based upon the foundations laid by his father , Cao Cao , towards the end of the Eastern Han dynasty . The name " Wei " first became associated with Cao Cao when he was named the Duke of Wei by the Eastern Han government in ___MASK30___ , and became the name of the state when Cao Pi proclaimed himself emperor in ___MASK5___ . Historians often add the prefix " Cao " to distinguish it from other Chinese states known as " Wei ", such as Wei of the Warring States period and Northern Wei of the Southern and Northern Dynasties . The authority of the ruling Cao family gradually weakened after the death of the second Wei emperor , Cao Rui , and eventually fell into the hands of Sima Yi , a Wei regent , and his family , in 249 . Cao Rui ' s successors remained as puppet rulers under the control of the Simas until Sima Yi ' s grandson , Sima Yan , forced the last Wei ruler , Cao Huan , to abdicate the throne and established the Jin dynasty . The Northern Wei , also known as the Tuoba Wei (  ), Later Wei (  ), or Yuan Wei (  ), was a dynasty founded by the Tuoba clan of the Xianbei , which ruled northern China from ___MASK82___ to 534 (" de jure " until 535 ), during the period of the Southern and Northern Dynasties . Described as " part of an era of political turbulence and intense social and cultural change ", the Northern Wei Dynasty is particularly noted for unifying northern China in 439 : this was also a period of introduced foreign ideas ; such as Buddhism , which became firmly established . Cao Ren ( ___MASK99___  223 ), courtesy name Zixiao , was a military general serving under the warlord Cao Cao in the late Eastern Han dynasty . He continued serving in the state of Cao Wei  founded by Cao Cao ' s son and successor , Cao Pi  during the Three Kingdoms period . He played a significant part in assisting Cao Cao in the civil wars leading to the end of the Han dynasty . He was appointed as the Grand Marshal (  ) when Cao Pi ascended the throne , and was also credited by the latter for the establishment of Wei . However , Cao Ren was also once derided as a mediocre commander by Zhu Huan , a general from Wei ' s rival state Eastern Wu . Cao Rui ( ___MASK31___ or ___MASK95___  22 January 239 ), courtesy name Yuanzhong , was the second emperor of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period . His parentage is in dispute : his mother , Lady Zhen , was Yuan Xi ' s wife , but she later remarried Cao Pi , the first ruler of Wei . Based on conflicting accounts of his age , Pei Songzhi calculated that , in order to be Cao Pi ' s son , Cao Rui could not have been 36 ( by East Asian age reckoning ) when he died as recorded , so the recorded age was in error ; Lu Bi and Mou Guangsheng argued instead that Cao Rui was Yuan Xi ' s son . The Han dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China ( ___MASK95___ BC  220 AD ), preceded by the Qin dynasty ( 221  ___MASK95___ BC ) and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms period ( 220  280 AD ). Spanning over four centuries , the Han period is considered a golden age in Chinese history . To this day , China ' s majority ethnic group refers to itself as the " Han people " and the Chinese script is referred to as " Han characters ". It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang , known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han , and briefly interrupted by the Xin dynasty ( 9  23 AD ) of the former regent Wang Mang . This interregnum separates the Han dynasty into two periods : the Western Han or Former Han ( ___MASK95___ BC  9 AD ) and the Eastern Han or Later Han ( ___MASK66___  220 AD ). Yuan Xi ( died ___MASK70___ ) was the second son of the warlord Yuan Shao in the late Eastern Hán dynasty . Xiangyang is a prefecture - level city in northwestern Hubei province , People ' s Republic of China . It was known as Xiangfan until December ___MASK20___ , ___MASK61___ . Xiangyang is divided by the Han River , which runs through its heart and divides the city north - south . The city itself is an incorporation of two once separate , ancient cities : Fancheng and Xiangzhou . What remains of old Xianyang is located south of the Han River and contains one of the oldest still - intact city walls in China while Fancheng was located to the north of the Han River . Both cities served prominent historical roles in both the Ancient and Pre - Modern Periods of Chinese history . Today , the city is , after the capital Wuhan , the second largest in the province , located about halfway between Wuhan and Xi ' an . It is considered one of the third tier cities in China and has been a target of government and private investment as the country seeks to urbanize and develop the interior provinces . A courtesy name (" zi "), also known as a style name , is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one ' s given name . This practice is a tradition in East Asian cultures , including China , Japan , Korea , and Vietnam . The end of the Han dynasty refers to the period of Chinese history from ___MASK90___ to ___MASK5___ AD , which roughly coincides with the tumultuous reign of the Han dynasty ' s last ruler , Emperor Xian . During this period , the country was thrown into turmoil by the Yellow Turban Rebellion ( 184 - 205 ). Meanwhile , the Han Empire ' s institutions were destroyed by the warlord Dong Zhuo , and fractured into regional regimes ruled by various warlords , some of whom were nobles and officials of the Han imperial court . Eventually , one of those warlords , Cao Cao , was able to gradually reunify the empire , ostensibly under Emperor Xian ' s rule , but the empire was actually controlled by Cao Cao himself . Cao Cao ' s efforts to completely reunite the Han empire were rebuffed at the Battle of Red Cliffs in 208 / ___MASK56___ , when his armies were defeated by the allied forces of Sun Quan and Liu Bei . The Han dynasty formally ended in ___MASK5___ when Cao Cao ' s son and heir , Cao Pi , pressured Emperor Xian into abdicating in his favour . Cao Pi became the emperor of a new state , Cao Wei . A year later , in response to Cao Pi ' s usurpation of the Han throne , Liu Bei declared himself emperor of Shu Han ; and in 229 , Sun Quan followed suit , declaring himself emperor of Eastern Wu . The period from Emperor Xian ' s abdication in ___MASK5___ to the partial reunification of China under the Jin dynasty in 265 was known as the Three Kingdoms era in Chinese history . Liu Bei ( ___MASK15___  ___MASK69___ June 223 ), courtesy name Xuande , was a warlord in the late Eastern Han dynasty who founded the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period and became its first ruler . Despite early failings compared to his rivals and lacking both the material resources and social status they commanded , he gathered support along disheartened Han loyalists who objected to Cao Cao ' s reign over the emperor and relied heavily on this support . Liu Bei overcame his many defeats to carve out his own realm , which at its peak spanned present - day Sichuan , Chongqing , Guizhou , Hunan , parts of Hubei , and parts of Gansu . Luoyang , formerly romanized as Loyang , is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River and Yellow River in Central China . It is a prefecture - level city in western Henan province . It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east , Pingdingshan to the southeast , Nanyang to the south , Sanmenxia to the west , Jiyuan to the north , and Jiaozuo to the northeast . As of the final ___MASK61___ census , Luoyang had a population of ___MASK80___ , 549 , 941 inhabitants with 1 , 857 , 003 people living in the built - up (" or metro ") area made of the city ' s five urban districts , all of which except the Jili District are not urbanized yet . Cao Pi ( ___MASK24___  ___MASK53___ June 226 ), courtesy name Zihuan , was the first emperor of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period . He was born in Qiao (  ; present - day Bozhou , Anhui ) as the second son of Cao Cao , a warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han Dynasty . However , he was the eldest son among all the children born to Cao Cao by his concubine ( later wife ) Lady Bian . Of all his brothers , Cao Pi was the shrewdest . Instead of focusing on academic studies or administering military affairs , he was always in the presence of court officials in order to gain their support . He was mostly in charge of defence at the start of his career . After the defeat of Cao Cao ' s rival Yuan Shao at the Battle of Guandu , he took the widow of Yuan Shao ' s son Yuan Xi , Lady Zhen , as a concubine , but in 221 Lady Zhen died and Guo Nüwang became empress . Yuan Shao ( died ___MASK52___ June 202 ), courtesy name Benchu , was a warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han Dynasty . He occupied the northern territories of China during the civil war that occurred towards the end of the Han Dynasty and the beginning of the Three Kingdoms era . He was also an elder half - brother of Yuan Shu , a warlord who controlled the Huai River region , though the two were not on good terms with each other . Guizhou , formerly romanized as Kweichow , is a province of the People ' s Republic of China located in the southwestern part of the country . Its capital city is Guiyang . Name . The area was first organized as an administrative region of a Chinese empire under the Tang , when it was named Juzhou , pronounced " Kjú - jyuw " in the Middle Chinese of the period . During the Mongolian Yuan dynasty , the character (" ju ", " carpenter ' s square ") was changed to the more refined (" gui ", " precious or expensive "). The region formally became a province in ___MASK44___ , with an eponymous capital then also called " Guizhou " but now known as Guiyang . Yu Jin ( died ___MASK88___ ) , courtesy name Wenze , was a military general serving under the warlord Cao Cao in the late Eastern Han dynasty . He joined Cao Cao in 192 around the start of the civil wars leading to the collapse of the dynasty , and fought in many of the campaigns which established the warlord ' s position as a central figure in that period . In ___MASK50___ , Yu Jin was tasked with leading forces to relief Cao Cao ' s general Cao Ren , who was being besieged in Fancheng by Liu Bei ' s general Guan Yu , but his armies were destroyed in a flood due to heavy rains . Yu Jin surrendered to Guan Yu and became a prisoner - of - war , but was transferred to the custody of another warlord , Sun Quan , after Sun ' s forces captured Guan Yu ' s bases in late ___MASK50___ . Sun Quan treated Yu Jin like a guest and sent him back to the state of Cao Wei -- founded in late 220 by Cao Cao ' s successor , Cao Pi , who ended the Eastern Han dynasty -- in ___MASK88___ . Cao Pi pardoned Yu Jin and restored him to the position of a general . However , Yu Jin died later that year in regret after visiting Cao Cao ' s tomb , where he saw illustrations of the Battle of Fancheng depicting his surrender to Guan Yu . Yu Jin was named one of the Five Elite Generals of his time , alongside Zhang Liao , Yue Jin , Zhang He and Xu Huang , by Chen Shou , who wrote his biography in the historical text Records of the Three Kingdoms ( Sanguozhi ) . China , officially the People ' s Republic of China ( PRC ), is a unitary sovereign state in East Asia . With a population of over ___MASK86___ . 381 billion , it is the world ' s most populous country . The state is governed by the Communist Party of China , and its capital is Beijing . It exercises jurisdiction over 22 provinces , five autonomous regions , four direct - controlled municipalities ( Beijing , Tianjin , Shanghai , and Chongqing ), and two mostly self - governing special administrative regions ( Hong Kong and Macau ), and claims sovereignty over Taiwan . The country ' s major urban areas include Shanghai , Guangzhou , Beijing , Chongqing , Shenzhen , Tianjin and Hong Kong . China is a great power and a major regional power within Asia , and has been characterized as a potential superpower . Sun Ce ( ___MASK98___  ___MASK51___ ), courtesy name Bofu , was a military general and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty . He was the eldest child of Sun Jian , who was killed during the Battle of Xiangyang when Sun Ce was only 16 . Sun Ce then broke away from his father ' s overlord , Yuan Shu , and headed to southeastern China to establish his own power base there . With the help of several people , such as Zhang Zhao and Zhou Yu , Sun Ce managed to lay down the foundation of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period . Lady Zhen ( 26 January 183  ___MASK48___ August 221 ), personal name unknown , was the first wife of Cao Pi , the first ruler of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period . In 226 , she was posthumously honoured as Empress Wenzhao when her son , Cao Rui , succeeded Cao Pi as the emperor of Wei . Shu or Shu Han ( ___MASK88___  ___MASK19___ ) was one of the three major states that competed for supremacy over China in the Three Kingdoms period ( 220  280 ). The state was based in the area around present - day Sichuan and Chongqing , which was historically known as " Shu " after an earlier state in Sichuan named Shu . Shu Han ' s founder Liu Bei had named his state " Han " as he considered it the legitimate successor to the Han dynasty , while " Shu " is added to the name as a geographical prefix to differentiate it from the many " Han " states throughout Chinese history . Wu ( ___MASK75___  ___MASK54___ ), commonly known as Eastern Wu or Sun Wu , was one of the three major states that competed for supremacy over China in the Three Kingdoms period ( ___MASK5___  ___MASK54___ ). It previously existed from ___MASK5___  ___MASK75___ as a vassal kingdom nominally under Cao Wei , its rival state , but declared independence from Wei and became a sovereign state in ___MASK75___ . It became an empire in 229 after its founding ruler , Sun Quan , declared himself ' Emperor '. Its name was derived from the place it was based in  the Jiangnan ( Yangtze River Delta ) region , which was also historically known as " Wu ". It was referred to as " Eastern Wu " or " Sun Wu " by historians to distinguish it from other Chinese historical states with similar names which were also located in that region , such as the Wu state in the Spring and Autumn period and the Wuyue kingdom in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period . It was called " Eastern Wu " because it occupied most of eastern China in the Three Kingdoms period , and " Sun Wu " because the family name of its rulers was " Sun ". During its existence , Wu ' s capital was at Jianye ( present - day Nanjing , Jiangsu ), but at times it was also at Wuchang ( present - day Ezhou , Hubei ). Cao Huan ( ___MASK94___ - 303 ), courtesy name Jingming , was the fifth and last emperor of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period . In 265 , he abdicated the throne in favour of Sima Yan ( later Emperor Wu of the Jin dynasty ), and brought an end to the Wei regime . After his abdication , Cao Huan was granted the title " Prince of Chenliu " and held it until his death , after which he was posthumously honoured as " Emperor Yuan ( of Cao Wei )". Guo Nüwang ( ___MASK73___  235 ), formally known as Empress Wende , was an empress of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period . She was married to Cao Pi , the first ruler of Wei .