Three Kingdoms period

The Three Kingdoms period was the era of Chinese history following the collapse of the Han Dynasty, during which the states of Wei, Shu and Wu contended for supremacy in the third century CE. It was marked by prolonged warfare and became one of the most celebrated periods in Chinese literature and folklore. Accounts of the Han Dynasty place it at the end of the dynasty's decline, and accounts of the Xiongnu Empire note it in the context of the later northern frontier.