Cao Wei (曹魏) was one of the three major kingdoms of the Three Kingdoms period. It controlled northern China from 220, when Cao Pi forced the abdication of the last Han emperor and declared himself emperor, until 266, when Sima Yan did the same to the last Wei emperor and established the Jin dynasty.
Foundation
Wei was built on the conquests and administration of Cao Cao, who never took the imperial title but unified the north, held the Han emperor under his control, and left his son a stable state. Cao Pi’s accession in 220 formalised the end of the Han and the start of the Wei dynasty.
Dominance and decline
Wei held the Central Plain, the Yellow River basin, and Guanzhong , the wealthiest and most populous part of China. It was the strongest of the three kingdoms in resources and manpower. Its main threats were Shu Han in the west, whose northern expeditions Zhuge Liang led, and Eastern Wu in the south across the Yangtze.
Wei did not fall to either rival. Power passed gradually to the Sima family: Sima Yi, then Sima Shi and Sima Zhao, controlled the court and the army. In 266, Sima Yan forced the abdication of Cao Huan and declared the Jin dynasty, bringing the Wei dynasty to an end.
References
- Chen Shou, Records of the Three Kingdoms (三国志)
- Fan Ye, Book of the Later Han (后汉书)
- Sima Guang, Zizhi Tongjian (资治通鉴)
- de Crespigny, Rafe. A Biographical Dictionary of Later Han to the Three Kingdoms