May 15, 221: Liu Bei Proclaims Himself Successor of the Han Dynasty

Oh, more _Three Kingdoms_ period! I'm very much into this time period in Chinese history. This declaration was made shortly after the death of Cao Cao in the north, when his son, Cao Pi, ascended after a bitter succession battle. He overthrew the Ham Emperor Xian, declared himself Emperor, and named the dynasty Wei. Liu Bei, who made the claim that he was a legitimate blood relative of the royal family (an as-yet unproven claim, historically, although the historical novel of this period by Luo Guanzhong accepts it as fact), declared himself the new emperor as well, with the intention of restoring the Han dynasty to the throne, thus naming his kingdom Shu-Han. This article is a bit sloppy. > "This is the first time that an imperial collapse has happened with a power vacuum ensuing," explains Frances Wood, curator of the East Asia collection at the British Library. "The Han had overthrown the Qin [dynasty]. That was a straightforward regime change, if you like. But at the end of the Han you get fragmentation. "The major nightmare of all the Chinese at all times is that if there's no central power, then the country is going to split up and that's very much what was happening at this time. You get different generals in different parts of China setting up different regimes, and then fighting each other." Someone forgot to tell this gentleman about the [Warring States period](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warring_States_period) I guess. > The system of feudal states created by the Western Zhou dynasty underwent enormous changes after 771 BC with the flight of the Zhou court to modern-day Luoyang and the diminution of its relevance and power. The Spring and Autumn period led to a few states gaining power at the expense of many others, the latter no longer able to depend on central authority for legitimacy or protection. During the Warring States period, many rulers claimed the Mandate of Heaven to justify their conquest of other states and spread their influence. Hmm, sounds just like a certain period some centuries later where the various feudal lords could no longer rely on a central government and so many began to expand their personal power base until the Emperor himself was overthrown and a new dynasty was made. It should have a really neat and nifty name, like _The three kingdoms period_ or something like that. At least it references a good movie. > The film Red Cliff by director John Woo, the most expensive ever made in China, retells the story of a battle on the Yangtze river, as Cao Cao's navy is moored on one bank while Liu Bei and his accomplices are plotting on the other. _Red Cliff_ is a fantastic movie; I have the full 5 and a half hour version, but the theatrical version on Netflix is fine too, I'm sure. Good action and lots of great scenes. Solid acting as well.