ABSTRACT
The Three States period marks the end of the Han dynasty and the beginning of nearly four centuries of political fragmentation in China. Encompassing the final three decades of the Han dynasty and another 60 years of autonomous rival states, the era was characterized by warfare and diplomacy, the continuation of various Han political and social institutions, and the rise of new strains of literature and thought. The alliance between Sun Quan and Liu Bei originally cast Sun as the dominant figure; however, after the Battle of Red Cliffs, Liu Bei asserted his independence. The groundwork for the establishment of the state of Wei was laid by Cao Cao while ruling under the nominal banner of the Han dynasty, and following his death and the abdication of the last Han emperor, the Cao family ruled Wei for almost half a century.
