This revolt was instigated by the religious leader Zhang Jue and his two younger brothers Zhang Bao 張寶 and Zhang Liang 張梁. The fall of Han can be dated back to the Yellow Turban Rebellion in the year 184. History Fall of Han - Rise of Warlords Read more: Yellow Turban Rebellion Read more: Struggle against The Regular Attendants The translation 'Three Kingdoms' has become the common term possibly because it is the popular translation of the fictitious novel Sānguó yǎnyì 三國演義 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms'. Furthermore, a kingdom is ruled by a king, but Wei, Shu-Han and Wu were ruled by emperors. The name 'Three Kingdoms' is somewhat of a mistranslation as guó 國 actually means 'state' or 'country'. Other arguable starting points are 189, after the extermination of the eunuchs and power seizure of Dong Zhuo or 168, when the eunuchs first took indirect power. However the starting point is often dated back to the year 184, when Zhang Jue 張角 instigated the Yellow Turban Rebellion against the Han. Strictly speaking, the Three Kingdoms period refers to the years 220, the foundation of Wei, until 280, the destruction of Wu by Jin. His rivals Liu Bei and Sun Quan followed within two years Liu Bei re-founded Han and Sun Quan founded Wu. Thereby ending the Han and ushering in the period of the Three Kingdoms. When Cao Cao died in 220 and his son Cao Pi succeeded his fief as King of Wei he took the next step and forced the abdication of Emperor Xian of Han to found his own Wei Dynasty. After a period of infighting between various warlords from 184-220 three men survived with the strongest following Cao Cao, Liu Bei and Sun Quan. The Three Kingdoms period (Chinese: 三國時代 Pinyin: Sānguó shídài) was a time of disunity in ancient China following the de facto power of the Han Dynasty and lasted from 220 until 280.

Rise of three kingdoms