Shu Han (蜀漢) (jan 1, 221 – jan 1, 263)

Description:

Han (漢; 221–263), known in historiography as Shu Han (蜀漢) or Ji Han (季漢) to disambiguate from the preceding Han dynasty, was one of the three major states that competed for supremacy over China in the Three Kingdoms period (220–280). The state was based in the area around present-day Hanzhong, Sichuan, Chongqing, Yunnan, Guizhou, and north Guangxi, an area historically referred to as "Shu" based on the name of the past ancient state of Shu, which also occupied this approximate geographical area. Its core territory also coincided with Liu Bang's Kingdom of Han, the precursor of the Han dynasty.

Shu Han's founder Liu Bei had named his state "Han" as he considered it the legitimate successor to the Han dynasty, while the prefix "Shu" was first used by the rival state of Cao Wei to delegitimize the sovereignty claims of the Shu Han state. Later on when writing the Records of the Three Kingdoms, the historian Chen Shou also used the prefix "Shu" to describe Liu Bei's state of Han as a geographical prefix to differentiate it from the many other states named "Han" throughout Chinese history.