Pidjan. Before long he added
the states of Shen-shen, Khotan, Kucha and Kashgar as apanages to the
Chinese crown, and for a considerable period the country enjoyed
prosperity. The Han dynasty (including in the term the Eastern Han
dynasty) has been considered the first national dynasty and is one of
the most famous in China; nor has any ruling family been more popular.
The Chinese, especially the northern Chinese, still call themselves "the
sons of Han." The wealth and trade as well as the culture of the country
was greatly developed, and the competitive examinations for literary
degrees instituted. The homogeneity of the nation was so firmly
established that subsequent dissensions and conquests could not alter
fundamentally the character of the nation.

Wei dynasty

Towards the end of the 2nd century the power of the Eastern Hans
declined. In 173 a virulent pestilence, which continued for eleven
years, broke out. A magical cure for this plague was said to have been
discovered by a Taoist priest named Chang Chio, who in a single month
won a sufficiently large following to enable him to gain possession of
the northern provinces of the empire. He was, however, defeated by
Ts'aou Ts'aou, another aspirant to imperial honours, whose son, Ts'aou
P'ei, on the death of Hien-ti (A.D. 220), proclaimed himself emperor,
adopting the title of Wei as the appellation of his dynasty. There
were then, however, two other claimants to the throne, Liu Pei and Sun
Ch'uean, and the three adventurers agreed to divide the empire between
them. Ts'aou P'ei, under the title of Wen-ti, ruled over the kingdom
of Wei (220), which occupied the whole of the central and northern
portion of China. Liu Pei established the Shuh Han dynasty in the
modern province of Sze-ch'uen (221), and called himself Chao-lieh-ti;
and to Sun Ch'uean fell the southern provinces of the empire, from the
Yangtsze-kiang southwards, including the modern Tongking, which he
formed into the kingdom of Wu with Nan-king for his capital, adopting
for himself the imperial style of Ta-te (A.D. 222).

"Three kingdom" period.

Western Tsin dynasty.

China during the period of the "Three Kingdoms" was a house divided
against itself. Liu Pei, as a descendant of the house of Han, looked
upon himself as the rightful sovereign of the whole empire, and he
despatched an army under Chu-ko Liang to support his claims. This army