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End of the Han dynasty
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End of the Han dynasty
The end of the (Eastern) Han dynasty was the period of Chinese history from 189 to 220 CE, roughly coinciding with the tumultuous reign of the Han dynasty's last ruler, Emperor Xian. It was followed by the Three Kingdoms era (220–280 CE). During the end of the Han dynasty, 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. The warlord Cao Cao took control of Emperor Xian and his court in 196 and began gradually reunifying the empire. Cao Cao ostensibly operated under Emperor Xian's rule, though in reality the emperor was a hostage.
Cao Cao's efforts to reunify China were rebuffed at the Battle of Red Cliffs in 208-209, when his armies were defeated by the allied forces of Sun Quan and Liu Bei. The Han dynasty formally ended in 220 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. In response, Liu Bei declared himself emperor of Shu Han in 221 and Sun Quan declared himself emperor of Eastern Wu in 229. The period from the end of the Han dynasty in 220 to the reunification of China under the Jin dynasty in May 280 is known as the Three Kingdoms era in Chinese history.
Towards the end of the reign of Emperor Ling of Han (r. 168–189), many officials in the imperial court foresaw chaos in the political scene as soon as Emperor Ling died. One of those officials, Liu Yan, suggested to Emperor Ling in 188 that the root of the agrarian revolts during that time, including the most serious one, the Yellow Turban Rebellion of 184, was that Inspectors (刺史) lacked substantial administrative powers. Emperor Ling, convinced by Liu Yan, changed the Inspectors' titles to "Governor" (牧) and granted them the authority to levy taxes and command armed forces within the borders. Liu Yan was commissioned as the Governor of Yi Province (covering the Sichuan Basin), while several other important officials also became Governors, including Liu Yu, who was appointed Governor of You Province (covering present-day northern Hebei, Beijing, Tianjin and Liaoning). The increased influence of these provincial governors formed the basis on which later warlords would control large regions of the Han empire.
Emperor Ling died in 189 and was succeeded by his 13-year-old son, Liu Bian (born to Empress He), who became known as Emperor Shao. Empress He, now empress dowager, became regent to the young emperor, while her older brother, General-in-Chief He Jin, became the most powerful official in the imperial court. He Jin and Yuan Shao plotted to exterminate all the Ten Attendants, a group of influential eunuchs officials in the court, but Empress Dowager He disapproved of their plan. In a fateful move, He Jin summoned Dong Zhuo, a warlord controlling the battle-tested Liang Province (涼州; covering present-day Gansu), to march on the capital Luoyang to pressure Empress Dowager He into eliminating the Ten Attendants. After the eunuchs discovered He Jin's plot, they lured him into the palace and murdered him (22 September 189). In response, Yuan Shao led the imperial guards on an indiscriminate massacre of the palace eunuchs. The surviving eunuchs kidnapped Emperor Shao and his younger brother, the eight-year-old Prince of Chenliu (raised by his grandmother Empress Dowager Dong), and fled north towards the Yellow River, but were finally forced to commit suicide by throwing themselves into the river.
Dong Zhuo arrived on the scene and found Emperor Shao and the Prince of Chenliu. The young emperor appeared nervous and fearful, while the prince remained calm and composed, and gave orders to Dong Zhuo to escort them back to the palace. Dong Zhuo used the opportunity to seize control of state power and bring his army into the capital. Not long later, Dong Zhuo deposed and poisoned Emperor Shao and replaced him with the Prince of Chenliu, who became known as Emperor Xian. Dong Zhuo dominated the imperial court and named himself "Chancellor of State" (相國), a title not held by anyone since the Western Han dynasty statesman Xiao He; Dong Zhuo also granted himself the privilege of attending court without needing to disarm himself or remove his shoes.
In the spring of 190, several provincial officials and warlords formed a coalition against Dong Zhuo, claiming that he was set on usurping the throne and had effectively kidnapped Emperor Xian. Yuan Shao, Administrator of Bohai (around present-day Cangzhou, Hebei), was nominated to be the leader of the coalition. The coalition's armies were stationed at Henei (河內; in present-day Jiaozuo, Henan) and appeared to be ready to move on the capital Luoyang. However, the coalition was actually rather disorganized, and Yuan Shao did not have effective command over the entire alliance. Besides, the coalition members were also hesitant to directly confront Dong Zhuo and his strong Liang Province army. Still, Dong Zhuo was anxious and chose to move the capital to Chang'an in the west to avoid the coalition. About a month later, Dong Zhuo forced Emperor Xian and the imperial court to move to Chang'an, along with Luoyang's residents, and in the process, he ordered the former capital to be destroyed by fire. During the move, Dong Zhuo remained near Luoyang, ready to resist any coalition attacks on him. In 191, the coalition tried to further de-legitimize Dong Zhuo's position by offering to enthrone Liu Yu, who was eligible to be Emperor since he was a member of the royal clan. Liu Yu remained faithful to Emperor Xian and firmly declined to take the throne. As the coalition members continued to bicker over battle plans, a minor general under Yuan Shu, Sun Jian, took a calculated risk and attacked Dong Zhuo directly near Luoyang. After scoring several victories over Dong Zhuo's forces, Sun Jian eventually forced Dong to retreat to Chang'an, and Luoyang came under the coalition's control.
For the following months until the end of 191, the coalition ceased to take further action against Dong Zhuo and eventually disbanded, with its members returning to their respective bases. Soon, several officials started having thoughts of controlling and ruling over their own territories like kings. The most prominent warlords who emerged at that time included:
However, in addition to these greater warlords, in time the entire Han empire virtually fractured into small blocs, each controlled by a local warlord.
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End of the Han dynasty
The end of the (Eastern) Han dynasty was the period of Chinese history from 189 to 220 CE, roughly coinciding with the tumultuous reign of the Han dynasty's last ruler, Emperor Xian. It was followed by the Three Kingdoms era (220–280 CE). During the end of the Han dynasty, 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. The warlord Cao Cao took control of Emperor Xian and his court in 196 and began gradually reunifying the empire. Cao Cao ostensibly operated under Emperor Xian's rule, though in reality the emperor was a hostage.
Cao Cao's efforts to reunify China were rebuffed at the Battle of Red Cliffs in 208-209, when his armies were defeated by the allied forces of Sun Quan and Liu Bei. The Han dynasty formally ended in 220 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. In response, Liu Bei declared himself emperor of Shu Han in 221 and Sun Quan declared himself emperor of Eastern Wu in 229. The period from the end of the Han dynasty in 220 to the reunification of China under the Jin dynasty in May 280 is known as the Three Kingdoms era in Chinese history.
Towards the end of the reign of Emperor Ling of Han (r. 168–189), many officials in the imperial court foresaw chaos in the political scene as soon as Emperor Ling died. One of those officials, Liu Yan, suggested to Emperor Ling in 188 that the root of the agrarian revolts during that time, including the most serious one, the Yellow Turban Rebellion of 184, was that Inspectors (刺史) lacked substantial administrative powers. Emperor Ling, convinced by Liu Yan, changed the Inspectors' titles to "Governor" (牧) and granted them the authority to levy taxes and command armed forces within the borders. Liu Yan was commissioned as the Governor of Yi Province (covering the Sichuan Basin), while several other important officials also became Governors, including Liu Yu, who was appointed Governor of You Province (covering present-day northern Hebei, Beijing, Tianjin and Liaoning). The increased influence of these provincial governors formed the basis on which later warlords would control large regions of the Han empire.
Emperor Ling died in 189 and was succeeded by his 13-year-old son, Liu Bian (born to Empress He), who became known as Emperor Shao. Empress He, now empress dowager, became regent to the young emperor, while her older brother, General-in-Chief He Jin, became the most powerful official in the imperial court. He Jin and Yuan Shao plotted to exterminate all the Ten Attendants, a group of influential eunuchs officials in the court, but Empress Dowager He disapproved of their plan. In a fateful move, He Jin summoned Dong Zhuo, a warlord controlling the battle-tested Liang Province (涼州; covering present-day Gansu), to march on the capital Luoyang to pressure Empress Dowager He into eliminating the Ten Attendants. After the eunuchs discovered He Jin's plot, they lured him into the palace and murdered him (22 September 189). In response, Yuan Shao led the imperial guards on an indiscriminate massacre of the palace eunuchs. The surviving eunuchs kidnapped Emperor Shao and his younger brother, the eight-year-old Prince of Chenliu (raised by his grandmother Empress Dowager Dong), and fled north towards the Yellow River, but were finally forced to commit suicide by throwing themselves into the river.
Dong Zhuo arrived on the scene and found Emperor Shao and the Prince of Chenliu. The young emperor appeared nervous and fearful, while the prince remained calm and composed, and gave orders to Dong Zhuo to escort them back to the palace. Dong Zhuo used the opportunity to seize control of state power and bring his army into the capital. Not long later, Dong Zhuo deposed and poisoned Emperor Shao and replaced him with the Prince of Chenliu, who became known as Emperor Xian. Dong Zhuo dominated the imperial court and named himself "Chancellor of State" (相國), a title not held by anyone since the Western Han dynasty statesman Xiao He; Dong Zhuo also granted himself the privilege of attending court without needing to disarm himself or remove his shoes.
In the spring of 190, several provincial officials and warlords formed a coalition against Dong Zhuo, claiming that he was set on usurping the throne and had effectively kidnapped Emperor Xian. Yuan Shao, Administrator of Bohai (around present-day Cangzhou, Hebei), was nominated to be the leader of the coalition. The coalition's armies were stationed at Henei (河內; in present-day Jiaozuo, Henan) and appeared to be ready to move on the capital Luoyang. However, the coalition was actually rather disorganized, and Yuan Shao did not have effective command over the entire alliance. Besides, the coalition members were also hesitant to directly confront Dong Zhuo and his strong Liang Province army. Still, Dong Zhuo was anxious and chose to move the capital to Chang'an in the west to avoid the coalition. About a month later, Dong Zhuo forced Emperor Xian and the imperial court to move to Chang'an, along with Luoyang's residents, and in the process, he ordered the former capital to be destroyed by fire. During the move, Dong Zhuo remained near Luoyang, ready to resist any coalition attacks on him. In 191, the coalition tried to further de-legitimize Dong Zhuo's position by offering to enthrone Liu Yu, who was eligible to be Emperor since he was a member of the royal clan. Liu Yu remained faithful to Emperor Xian and firmly declined to take the throne. As the coalition members continued to bicker over battle plans, a minor general under Yuan Shu, Sun Jian, took a calculated risk and attacked Dong Zhuo directly near Luoyang. After scoring several victories over Dong Zhuo's forces, Sun Jian eventually forced Dong to retreat to Chang'an, and Luoyang came under the coalition's control.
For the following months until the end of 191, the coalition ceased to take further action against Dong Zhuo and eventually disbanded, with its members returning to their respective bases. Soon, several officials started having thoughts of controlling and ruling over their own territories like kings. The most prominent warlords who emerged at that time included:
However, in addition to these greater warlords, in time the entire Han empire virtually fractured into small blocs, each controlled by a local warlord.
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