Why are the Three Kingdoms called Wei, Shu and Wu? Who was the King of Wei during the Three Kingdoms period?

The Romance of the Three Kingdoms is a long historical novel written in chapter form by Luo Guanzhong, a novelist in the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties, based on Chen Shou's Records of the Three Kingdoms, Pei Songzhi's annotations, and folk stories and legends of the Three Kingdoms. It is one of the four great Chinese classical novels along with Journey to the West, Water Margin, and Dream of the Red Chamber. So, why are the Three Kingdoms called Wei, Shu, and Wu? Who was the King of Wei during the Three Kingdoms period? Let's take a look at the introduction of Encyclopedia Knowledge Network to answer these questions!

Contents of this article

1. Why are the Three Kingdoms called Wei, Shu and Wu?

2. Who was the King of Wei during the Three Kingdoms period?

3. What was the name of the dynasty after the unification of the Three Kingdoms?

Why are the Three Kingdoms called Wei, Shu and Wu?

In the Three Kingdoms, "Wei" refers to the Wei Kingdom founded by Cao Cao and established by Cao Pi. "Wu" refers to the Wu Kingdom established by Sun Quan. During the Han and Three Kingdoms period, "Shu" was not a country name, but a region name: it could be contrasted with "Ba" to refer to the western region of Yizhou, and it could also refer to the entire Yizhou. The regime established by Liu Bei was not named "Shu" but "Han". As a relative of the Han Dynasty, he called the regime he established "Han" in response to Cao Pi's usurpation of the Han Dynasty, in order to win the hearts of the people and fight against Cao Wei. Therefore, Liu Bei, Liu Chan and their subordinates all called themselves "Han" or "Da Han". Of the two other countries that coexisted at the time, Wu began to confront Liu Bei, so it was called "Shu" to indicate that it did not recognize its legitimacy. Later, when the two countries resumed diplomatic relations, Wu called it "Han". Wei had never recognized the legitimacy of Liu Bei's regime, so it was never called "Han", but always "Shu". Chen Shou, the author of "The Three Kingdoms", was a minister of the Jin Dynasty and had to regard Wei as the orthodox dynasty, so he also used "Shu" to refer to Liu Bei's regime.

Who was the King of Wei during the Three Kingdoms period?

Cao Cao was the King of Wei in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, and Cao Pi was the King of Wei in the Three Kingdoms period. Cao Cao was named King of Wei in 216. After Cao Cao's death, Cao Pi ascended the throne of Wei and soon became emperor, establishing the Kingdom of Wei.

Cao Pi, courtesy name Zihuan, was a famous politician and writer during the Three Kingdoms period. He was the founding emperor of the Wei Dynasty. He reigned from 220 to 226. His temple name was Gaozu and his posthumous title was Emperor Wen. He was buried in Shouyang Mausoleum.

In the first year of Yankang, Cao Cao died, and his son Cao Pi succeeded him as the King of Wei, Prime Minister, and Governor of Jizhou. He actively mediated the conflict between the Cao family and the gentry, decisively adopted Chen Qun's advice, established the Nine-Rank System, successfully eased the relationship between the Cao family and the gentry, and gained their support, laying the foundation for his enthronement. In October of that year, he immediately forced Emperor Xian of Han to abdicate, ascended the throne, changed the country's name to Wei, changed the era name to Huangchu, changed Luoyang to Luoyang, and established the capital there.

What was the dynasty called after the unification of the Three Kingdoms?

The Western Jin Dynasty, founded in 266 AD and destroyed in 316 AD, was one of the great unified dynasties after the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history. Together with the Eastern Jin Dynasty, it is also called the Jin Dynasty. It had four emperors and lasted for 51 years.

At the end of the Three Kingdoms period, Sima Yan replaced the Cao Wei regime and established a new regime in 266 AD. He named the country Jin and made Luoyang his capital. After the Western Jin Dynasty replaced the Wei Dynasty, the Battle of Xiling took place. In 280 AD, the Sun Wu was destroyed, ending the separatist situation of the Three Kingdoms and reunifying the country.

In the fourth year of Jianxing, i.e. 316 AD, Chang'an fell and the Western Jin Dynasty fell. The Xiongnu controlled almost the entire Central Plains, and a great turmoil lasting more than a hundred years began. Afterwards, various ethnic groups successively established countries in the north, which were known in history as the "Five Barbarians and Sixteen Kingdoms".