Chronicon
Menu
Historical Period
ENGR

Three Kingdoms and Red Cliffs, the spread of Buddhism, and the reuniting Sui.

Use the timeline below to navigate through major events and milestones.

Division & the Sui · 220-618 AD
六朝 · Six Dynasties

Division, Buddhism & the Sui

From the Three Kingdoms and the Battle of Red Cliffs through the brief Jin reunification, the long division of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the coming of Buddhism and the cave temples, to the Sui reunification, the Grand Canal, and the dawn of the Tang. Slide across the centuries to read the major events of China's age of division and rebirth.

208 AD
The End of the Han
1 / 8

The Battle of Red Cliffs

The allied southern forces destroy Cao Cao's great fleet with fire, ensuring China would remain divided.

208 AD

The End of the Han
  • Military

    The Battle of Red Cliffs

    The Battle of Red Cliffs (208 CE) on the Yangtze
    Via Wikimedia Commons

    The allied southern forces destroy Cao Cao's great fleet with fire, ensuring China would remain divided.

8 milestones

Meanwhile

Around 208 AD

Full Chronicle

Division, Buddhism & the Sui

From the Three Kingdoms and the Battle of Red Cliffs through the brief Jin reunification, the long division of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the coming of Buddhism and the cave temples, to the Sui reunification, the Grand Canal, and the dawn of the Tang. Slide across the centuries to read the major events of China's age of division and rebirth.

  1. The End of the Han

    • The Battle of Red Cliffs

      The allied southern forces destroy Cao Cao's great fleet with fire, ensuring China would remain divided.

  2. The Three Kingdoms

    • The empire splits into three kingdoms

      With the Han gone, China divides among the rival kingdoms of Wei, Shu and Wu in an age immortalized in legend.

  3. The Western Jin

    • The Jin briefly reunite China

      The Jin dynasty conquers the last kingdom and reunites China — only to fall within decades to civil war and nomad invasion.

  4. The Southern Dynasties

    • Wang Xizhi and the art of calligraphy

      In the cultured south, Wang Xizhi writes the Orchid Pavilion Preface, revered ever after as the summit of Chinese calligraphy.

  5. The Northern Dynasties

    • Buddhism transforms China

      Buddhism spreads across a divided China, and the Northern Wei carve colossal Buddhas into the cliffs at Yungang.

  6. The Sui Dynasty

    • The Sui reunify the empire

      Emperor Wen founds the Sui dynasty and, in 589, reunites north and south after nearly three centuries of division.

  7. The Sui Dynasty

    • The Grand Canal joins north and south

      Emperor Yang builds the Grand Canal, linking the Yellow and Yangtze rivers and binding the rice south to the northern capitals.

  8. The Sui Dynasty

    • The fall of the Sui and the rise of the Tang

      Rebellion overthrows the exhausted Sui, and the general Li Yuan founds the Tang dynasty, opening China's golden age.