The Three Kingdoms period (220–280) was a period in Chinese history following the loss of de facto power of the Eastern Han dynasty (25–220) rulers. In a strict academic sense it refers to the period between the founding of the state of Cao Wei (220–266) in 220 and the conquest of the state of Eastern Wu (222–280) by the Western Jin dynasty (265–316) in 280. However, many Chinese historians and laymen extend the starting point of this period back to the Yellow Turban Rebellion that took place in 184 during the late Eastern Han dynasty.
The following are tables of the era names adopted by the rulers of the three states. The Eastern Han and Western Jin era names are included for easy reference.
Eastern Han dynasty (25–220) edit
- Note: Era names before the Zhongping era of Emperor Ling's reign are not shown.
| Era name | Period | Duration | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emperor Ling (r. 28 January 168 – 2 May 189) | |||
| Zhongping (中平) | 19 January 185 – 2 May 189 | ≈4 years and 4 months | |
| Emperor Shao (r. 15 May – 28 September 189) | |||
| Guangxi (光熹) | 3 May – 28 August 189 | ≈4 months | |
| Zhaoning (昭寧) | 29 August – 27 September 189 | ≈1 month | |
| Emperor Xian (r. 28 September 189 – 25 November 220) | |||
| Yonghan (永漢) | 28 September – 25 December 189 | ≈3 months | |
| Zhongping (中平) | 26 December 189 – 22 February 190 | ≈2 months | |
| Chuping (初平) | 23 February 190 – 8 February 194 | ≈4 years | |
| Xingping (興平) | 9 February 194 – 16 February 196 | ≈2 years | |
| Jian'an (建安) | 17 February 196 – 20 April 220 | ≈24 years and 2 months | |
| Yankang (延康) | 21 April – 12 November 220 | ≈7 months | |
Cao Wei (220–266) edit
| Era name | Period | Duration | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cao Pi (r. 11 December 220 – 29 June 226) | |||
| Huangchu (黃初) | 13 November 220 – 3 February 227 | ≈6 years and 3 months | |
| Cao Rui (r. 29 June 226 – 22 January 239) | |||
| Taihe (太和) | 4 February 227 – 26 February 233 | ≈6 years and 1 month | |
| Qinglong (青龍) | 27 February 233 – 12 April 237 | ≈4 years and 1 month | |
| Jingchu (景初) | 13 April 237 – 9 February 240 | ≈2 years and 9 months | |
| Cao Fang (r. 22 January 239 – 17 October 254) | |||
| Zhengshi (正始) | 10 February 240 – 29 April 249 | ≈9 years and 3 months | |
| Jiaping (嘉平) | 30 April 249 – 28 October 254 | ≈5 years and 6 months | |
| Cao Mao (r. 1 November 254 – 2 June 260) | |||
| Zhengyuan (正元) | 29 October 254 – 9 July 256 | ≈1 year and 8 months | |
| Ganlu (甘露) | 10 July 256 – 25 June 260 | ≈4 years and 1 month | |
| Cao Huan (r. 27 June 260 – 4 February 266) | |||
| Jingyuan (景元) | 26 June 260 – 11 June 264 | ≈4 years | |
| Xianxi (咸熙) | 12 June 264 – 22 January 266 | ≈1 year and 6 months | |
Shu Han (221–263) edit
| Era name | Period | Duration | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liu Bei (r. 15 May 221 – 10 June 223) | |||
| Zhangwu (章武) | 10 May 221 – 15 June 223 | ≈2 years and 1 month | |
| Liu Shan (r. June 223 – December 263) | |||
| Jianxing (建興) | 16 June 223 – 1 February 238 | ≈14 years and 8 months | |
| Yanxi (延熙) | 2 February 238 – 20 February 258 | ≈20 years | |
| Jingyao (景耀) | 21 February 258 – 20 September 263 | ≈5 years and 8 months | |
| Yanxing (炎興) | 21 September 263 – 16 January 264 | ≈4 months | |
Eastern Wu (222–280) edit
| Era name | Period | Duration | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sun Quan (r. November 222 – 21 May 252) | |||
| Huangwu (黃武) | 22 November 222 – 10 May 229 | ≈6 years and 6 months | |
| Huanglong (黃龍) | 11 May 229 – 8 February 232 | ≈2 years and 9 months | |
| Jiahe (嘉禾) | 9 February 232 – 27 August 238 | ≈6 years and 7 months | |
| Chiwu (赤烏) | 28 August 238 – 5 June 251 | ≈12 years and 10 months | |
| Taiyuan (太元) | 6 June 251 – 26 February 252 | ≈9 months | |
| Shenfeng (神鳳) | 27 February – 25 April 252 | ≈2 months | |
| Sun Liang (r. 21 May 252 – 9 November 258) | |||
| Jianxing (建興) | 26 April 252 – 4 February 254 | ≈1 year and 10 months | |
| Wufeng (五鳳) | 5 February 254 – 4 November 256 | ≈2 years and 9 months | |
| Taiping (太平) | 5 November 256 – 12 November 258 | ≈2 years | |
| Sun Xiu (r. 30 November 258 – 3 September 264) | |||
| Yong'an (永安) | 13 November 258 – 9 August 264 | ≈5 years and 9 months | |
| Sun Hao (r. 3 September 264 – 1 May 280) | |||
| Yuanxing (元興) | 10 August 264 – 2 May 265 | ≈9 months | |
| Ganlu (甘露) | 3 May 265 – 16 September 266 | ≈1 year and 5 months | |
| Baoding (寶鼎) | 17 September 266 – 10 November 269 | ≈3 years and 2 months | |
| Jianheng (建衡) | 11 November 269 – 15 February 272 | ≈2 years and 3 months | |
| Fenghuang (鳳凰) | 16 February 272 – 12 February 275 | ≈3 years | |
| Tiance (天冊) | 13 February 275 – 27 July 276 | ≈1 year and 6 months | |
| Tianxi (天璽) | 28 July 276 – 19 February 277 | ≈7 months | |
| Tianji (天紀) | 20 February 277 – 15 May 280 | ≈3 years and 3 months | |
Western Jin dynasty (265–316) edit
- Note: Era names after the Xianning era of Emperor Wu's reign are not shown.
| Era name | Period | Duration | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emperor Wu (r. 8 February 266 – 16 May 290) | |||
| Taishi (泰始) | 23 January 266 – 12 February 275 | ≈9 years and 1 month | |
| Xianning (咸寧) | 13 February 275 – 15 May 280 | ≈5 years and 3 months | |
Table of comparison of era names edit
| Year | Eastern Han dynasty (25–220) |
Cao Wei (220–266) |
Shu Han (221–263) |
Eastern Wu (222–280) |
Western Jin dynasty (265–316) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 184 | 1. 7th year of Guanghe 2. 1st year of Zhongping |
||||
| 185 | 2nd year of Zhongping | ||||
| 186 | 3rd year of Zhongping | ||||
| 187 | 4th year of Zhongping | ||||
| 188 | 5th year of Zhongping | ||||
| 189 | 1. 6th year of Zhongping 2. 1st year of Guangxi 3. 1st year of Zhaoning 4. 1st year of Yonghan | ||||
| 190 | 1st year of Chuping | ||||
| 191 | 2nd year of Chuping | ||||
| 192 | 3rd year of Chuping | ||||
| 193 | 4th year of Chuping | ||||
| 194 | 1st year of Xingping | ||||
| 195 | 2nd year of Xingping | ||||
| 196 | 1st year of Jian'an | ||||
| 197 | 2nd year of Jian'an | ||||
| 198 | 3rd year of Jian'an | ||||
| 199 | 4th year of Jian'an | ||||
| 200 | 5th year of Jian'an | ||||
| 201 | 6th year of Jian'an | ||||
| 202 | 7th year of Jian'an | ||||
| 203 | 8th year of Jian'an | ||||
| 204 | 9th year of Jian'an | ||||
| 205 | 10th year of Jian'an | ||||
| 206 | 11th year of Jian'an | ||||
| 207 | 12th year of Jian'an | ||||
| 208 | 13th year of Jian'an | ||||
| 209 | 14th year of Jian'an | ||||
| 210 | 15th year of Jian'an | ||||
| 211 | 16th year of Jian'an | ||||
| 212 | 17th year of Jian'an | ||||
| 213 | 18th year of Jian'an | ||||
| 214 | 19th year of Jian'an | ||||
| 215 | 20th year of Jian'an | ||||
| 216 | 21st year of Jian'an | ||||
| 217 | 22nd year of Jian'an | ||||
| 218 | 23rd year of Jian'an | ||||
| 219 | 24th year of Jian'an | ||||
| 220 | 1. 25th year of Jian'an 2. 1st year of Yankang |
1st year of Huangchu | |||
| 221 | 2nd year of Huangchu | 1st year of Zhangwu | |||
| 222 | 3rd year of Huangchu | 2nd year of Zhangwu | 1st year of Huangwu | ||
| 223 | 4th year of Huangchu | 1. 3rd year of Zhangwu 2. 1st year of Jianxing |
2nd year of Huangwu | ||
| 224 | 5th year of Huangchu | 2nd year of Jianxing | 3rd year of Huangwu | ||
| 225 | 6th year of Huangchu | 3rd year of Jianxing | 4th year of Huangwu | ||
| 226 | 7th year of Huangchu | 4th year of Jianxing | 5th year of Huangwu | ||
| 227 | 1st year of Taihe | 5th year of Jianxing | 6th year of Huangwu | ||
| 228 | 2nd year of Taihe | 6th year of Jianxing | 7th year of Huangwu | ||
| 229 | 3rd year of Taihe | 7th year of Jianxing | 1. 8th year of Huangwu 2. 1st year of Huanglong | ||
| 230 | 4th year of Taihe | 8th year of Jianxing | 2nd year of Huanglong | ||
| 231 | 5th year of Taihe | 9th year of Jianxing | 3rd year of Huanglong | ||
| 232 | 6th year of Taihe | 10th year of Jianxing | 1st year of Jiahe | ||
| 233 | 1. 7th year of Taihe 2. 1st year of Qinglong |
11th year of Jianxing | 2nd year of Jiahe | ||
| 234 | 2nd year of Qinglong | 12th year of Jianxing | 3rd year of Jiahe | ||
| 235 | 3rd year of Qinglong | 13th year of Jianxing | 4th year of Jiahe | ||
| 236 | 4th year of Qinglong | 14th year of Jianxing | 5th year of Jiahe | ||
| 237 | 1. 5th year of Qinglong 2. 1st year of Jingchu |
15th year of Jianxing | 6th year of Jiahe | ||
| 238 | 2nd year of Jingchu | 1st year of Yanxi | 1. 7th year of Jiahe 2. 1st year of Chiwu | ||
| 239 | 3rd year of Jingchu | 2nd year of Yanxi | 2nd year of Chiwu | ||
| 240 | 1st year of Zhengshi | 3rd year of Yanxi | 3rd year of Chiwu | ||
| 241 | 2nd year of Zhengshi | 4th year of Yanxi | 4th year of Chiwu | ||
| 242 | 3rd year of Zhengshi | 5th year of Yanxi | 5th year of Chiwu | ||
| 243 | 4th year of Zhengshi | 6th year of Yanxi | 6th year of Chiwu | ||
| 244 | 5th year of Zhengshi | 7th year of Yanxi | 7th year of Chiwu | ||
| 245 | 6th year of Zhengshi | 8th year of Yanxi | 8th year of Chiwu | ||
| 246 | 7th year of Zhengshi | 9th year of Yanxi | 9th year of Chiwu | ||
| 247 | 8th year of Zhengshi | 10th year of Yanxi | 10th year of Chiwu | ||
| 248 | 9th year of Zhengshi | 11th year of Yanxi | 11th year of Chiwu | ||
| 249 | 1. 10th year of Zhengshi 2. 1st year of Jiaping |
12th year of Yanxi | 12th year of Chiwu | ||
| 250 | 2nd year of Jiaping | 13th year of Yanxi | 13th year of Chiwu | ||
| 251 | 3rd year of Jiaping | 14th year of Yanxi | 1. 14th year of Chiwu 2. 1st year of Taiyuan | ||
| 252 | 4th year of Jiaping | 15th year of Yanxi | 1. 2nd year of Taiyuan 2. 1st year of Shenfeng 3. 1st year of Jianxing | ||
| 253 | 5th year of Jiaping | 16th year of Yanxi | 2nd year of Jianxing | ||
| 254 | 1. 6th year of Jiaping 2. 1st year of Zhengyuan |
17th year of Yanxi | 1st year of Wufeng | ||
| 255 | 2nd year of Zhengyuan | 18th year of Yanxi | 2nd year of Wufeng | ||
| 256 | 1. 3rd year of Zhengyuan 2. 1st year of Ganlu |
19th year of Yanxi | 1. 3rd year of Wufeng 2. 1st year of Taiping | ||
| 257 | 2nd year of Ganlu | 20th year of Yanxi | 2nd year of Taiping | ||
| 258 | 3rd year of Ganlu | 1st year of Jingyao | 1. 3rd year of Taiping 2. 1st year of Yong'an | ||
| 259 | 4th year of Ganlu | 2nd year of Jingyao | 2nd year of Yong'an | ||
| 260 | 1. 5th year of Ganlu 2. 1st year of Jingyuan |
3rd year of Jingyao | 3rd year of Yong'an | ||
| 261 | 2nd year of Jingyuan | 4th year of Jingyao | 4th year of Yong'an | ||
| 262 | 3rd year of Jingyuan | 5th year of Jingyao | 5th year of Yong'an | ||
| 263 | 4th year of Jingyuan | 1. 6th year of Jingyao 2. 1st year of Yanxing |
6th year of Yong'an | ||
| 264 | 1. 5th year of Jingyuan 2. 1st year of Xianxi |
1. 7th year of Yong'an 2. 1st year of Yuanxing | |||
| 265 | 2nd year of Xianxi | 1. 2nd year of Yuanxing 2. 1st year of Ganlu |
1st year of Taishi | ||
| 266 | 1. 2nd year of Ganlu 2. 1st year of Baoding |
2nd year of Taishi | |||
| 267 | 2nd year of Baoding | 3rd year of Taishi | |||
| 268 | 3rd year of Baoding | 4th year of Taishi | |||
| 269 | 1. 4th year of Baoding 2. 1st year of Jianheng |
5th year of Taishi | |||
| 270 | 2nd year of Jianheng | 6th year of Taishi | |||
| 271 | 3rd year of Jianheng | 7th year of Taishi | |||
| 272 | 1st year of Fenghuang | 8th year of Taishi | |||
| 273 | 2nd year of Fenghuang | 9th year of Taishi | |||
| 274 | 3rd year of Fenghuang | 10th year of Taishi | |||
| 275 | 1st year of Tiance | 1st year of Xianning | |||
| 276 | 1. 2nd year of Tiance 2. 1st year of Tianxi |
2nd year of Xianning | |||
| 277 | 1st year of Tianji | 3rd year of Xianning | |||
| 278 | 2nd year of Tianji | 4th year of Xianning | |||
| 279 | 3rd year of Tianji | 5th year of Xianning | |||
| 280 | 4th year of Tianji | 1. 6th year of Xianning 1. 1st year of Taikang |