The strong but benevolent Han dynasty began a golden era of reform and expansion. The first period, called West Han, lasted until 9 AD.
The Han Dynasty would become one of the most important and enduring dynasties in all of Chinese history. He would rule China for more than four hundred years, from 206 BC to 220 AD, and ushered in a golden era of peace, prosperity and development. Today, both the majority ethnic group in China and the Chinese script are called Han.
When the Han Dynasty government weakened over time and finally collapsed, the empire fractured during the Three Kingdoms period.
In AD 184, two major Taoist rebellions - the Yellow Turban Rebellion and the Five Nozzles of the Rice Rebellion - broke out. In order to fight these rebellions, Emperor Ling gave military commanders control over their own provinces, but this gave way to a long struggle for power. In 189 AD, Emperor Ling died and was succeeded by his 13 year old son, Liu Bian, known as Emperor Shao. Empress Dowager He was a regent, and his older brother, Chief General He Jin, became the most powerful court officer. He Jin wanted to exterminate the ten attendants, a group of influential eunuch employees. He summoned General Dong Zhuo to march on the city. The plot was discovered by the eunuchs and He Jin was killed. In response, the emperor ordered the indiscriminate murder of the eunuchs. The survivors kidnapped the Emperor and fled only to commit su/icide after the arrival of General Dong Zhuo. The general then replaced Emperor Shao with the Prince of Cheniliu, known as Emperor Xian. Xian would be the last emperor of the Han dynasty.
Dong Zhuo was finally murdered and was succeeded by another warlord, Cao Cao, who wanted to reunite the Han Empire by defeating the rebel warlords. He almost succeeded, but was defeated in 208 CE at the Battle of Red Cliffs, a memorable turning point in history. With this defeat, most of the hope that the Han Empire would reunite disappeared. When Cao Cao died in 220 CE, Emperor Xian abdicated the throne, claiming that he did not fulfill the Mandate of Heaven. China was divided into three kingdoms ruled by warlords; this marks the beginning of the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history.
