The Three Kingdoms period including the collapse of the Han was one of the most dangerous in Chinese history due to multiple plagues, widespread famines, and civil war.

As these relatives occasionally were loath to give up their influence, emperors would, upon reaching maturity, be forced to rely on political alliances with senior officials and eunuchs to achieve control of the government.

"(蒼天已死，黃天當立。歲在甲子，天下大吉。)[d] Emperor Ling dispatched generals Huangfu Song, Lu Zhi, and Zhu Jun to lead the Han armies against the rebels, and decreed that local governments had to supply soldiers to assist in their efforts.

This move made provinces (zhou) official administrative units, and although they had power to combat rebellions, the later intra-governmental chaos allowed these local governors to easily rule independently of the central government.

Though this move effectively ended the century-long feud between the eunuchs and the imperial family, this event prompted the invitation of Dong Zhuo to the outskirts of Luoyang from the northwest boundary of China.

On the evening of 24 September 189, General Dong Zhuo observed that Luoyang was set ablaze—as a result of a power struggle between the eunuchs and civil service—and commanded his army forward to strike down the disorder.

As the emperor had lost any remaining military or political power, Dong Zhuo seized the de facto control of the government located at Luoyang.

Most of the warlords in the coalition, with a few exceptions, sought the increase of personal military power in the time of instability instead of seriously wishing to restore the Han dynasty's authority.

As a result of the complete collapse of the central government and eastern alliance, the North China Plain fell into warfare and anarchy with many contenders vying for success or survival.

Lü Bu, in turn, was attacked by Dong Zhuo's former officers: Li Jue, Guo Si, Zhang Ji and Fan Chou.

In the north across the frontier, the Southern Xiongnu vassal state had also collapsed, leading to the dispersion of their tribes and the rise of the Xiuchuge, while the Xianbei people of the steppe began migrating southward into China.

[28] In August 195, Emperor Xian fled the tyranny of Li Jue at Chang'an and made a year long hazardous journey east in search of supporters.

He continued the effort and absorbed approximately 300,000 Yellow Turban rebels into his army as well as a number of clan-based military groups from the eastern part of Qing Province.

He held control over Danyang, Wu, and Kuaiji commanderies (from present-day Nanjing to the Hangzhou Bay, and some outposts at the Fujian coast), while expanding westward in a series of campaigns.

The allied victory at Red Cliffs ensured the survival of Liu Bei and Sun Quan, and provided the basis for the states of Shu and Wu.

Meanwhile, Liu Bei and his principal adviser Zhuge Liang captured the Xiang River basin commanderies, establishing control over the southern territories of Jing province.

Sun Quan resented the fact that Liu Bei, a weaker ally, had gained so much territory west of him and demanded a larger share of the Xiang River basin.

In 215, Lü Meng (Sun Quan's officer) was sent to capture Jing province's southern commanderies, but Guan Yu (Liu Bei's general) launched a counterattack.

Migrations from the north and the settlement of the Shanyue increased manpower for agriculture, especially along the lower reaches of the Yangtze and in Kuaiji Commandery along the southern shore of Hangzhou Bay.

Although the king evaded capture and eventually settled in a new capital, Goguryeo was reduced to such insignificance that for half a century there was no mention of the state in Chinese historical texts.

Taking advantage of an excursion by the imperial clansmen to the Gaoping Tombs, Sima Yi carried out a putsch in Luoyang, forcing Cao Shuang's faction from authority.

In 269 Yang Hu, a Jin commander in the south, started preparing for the invasion of Wu by ordering the construction of a fleet and the training of marines in Sichuan under Wang Jun.

Sima Yan launched five simultaneous offensives along the Yangtze from Jianye (present-day Nanjing) to Jiangling while the Sichuan fleet sailed downriver to Jing Province.

After his coming to power, Dong Zhuo gave full swing to his army to loot and plunder the population, and abduct women into forced marriages, servants or consorts.

[52][53] In the late Eastern Han dynasty, due to natural disasters and social unrest, the economy was badly depressed, leading to the massive waste of farmland.

The work synthesises the histories of the rival states of Cao Wei, Shu Han and Eastern Wu in the Three Kingdoms period into a single compiled text.

In the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu all laid claim to the Mandate by virtue of their founders declaring themselves as emperors.

[65] The revisionist private histories of the time emphasised "humane governence" (仁政) as a mark of legitimate dynastic succession, and saw Liu Bei as an idealised Confucian monarch.

Books, television dramas, films, cartoons, anime, games, and music on the topic are still regularly produced in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Vietnam, Japan, and Southeast Asia.

The games evoked a fascination with the period among many Western players, similar to the interest stoked among East Asians by local pop culture and media, albeit to a lesser extent in the West.