CHINESE  HISTORY  :  SECOND  PERIOD  9
of  the  last  Emperors,  and  to  the  consequent  seizing  of  the
Imperial  power  successively  by  the  three  great  traitors  of
Chinese  history,  Wang  Mang,  Tung  Cho,  and  Tsao  Tsao.
It  resulted  in  the  disintegration  of  the  Empire,  and  the
period  is  known  in  history  as  that  of
The  Three  Kingdoms  (a.d.  221-265)
The  Three  Kingdoms  were  Wei,  comprising  the  central
and  northern  provinces  ;  the  Kingdom  of  Wu,  consisting  of
the  provinces  south  of  the  Yangtze  River  (modern  Hunan,
Hupeh,  Kiangsi,  Kiangsu,  and  Chekiang)  ;  and  the  Kingdom
of  Shu,  including  the  western  part  of  the  Empire,  the  modern
province  of  Szechwan.  These  kingdoms  waged  incessant
war  with  one  another,  the  ruler  of  each  claiming  to  be  the
rightful  heir  to  the  throne.
Finally,  the  Kingdom  of  Wei  proved  victorious,  and  one
of  the  successful  generals  established  a  new  dynasty  known
as  the  Western  Tsin  (a.d.  265-317).  This  dynasty  was,
however,  but  of  short  duration,  owing  to  the  fact  that  the
Tartars,  taking  advantage  of  the  disturbed  condition  of  the
country,  made  themselves  masters  of  all  the  northern  part
of  China,  carrying  the  Emperor  away  into  captivity.  An
attempt  was  made  to  carry  on  the  dynasty  in  the  south,
where  it  assumed  the  title  of  the  Eastern  Tsin  (a.d.  317-420)  ;
but  at  last  the  Tsin  Emperor  was  deposed  by  Liu  Yu,  one
of  the  generals  of  the  Imperial  army,  who  founded  a  new
dynasty  called  the  Sung  (a.d.  420-479).
This  brings  us  to  the  first  division  of  the  Empire  between
the  Chinese  and  the  Tartars,  and  is  known  as
The  Epoch  of  the  Division  between  the  North  and
the  South  (a.d.  420-589)
The  Yangtze  River  formed  the  dividing  line,  all  to  the
north  being  in  the  possession  of  the  Tartar  chieftains.  The
Chinese  were  obliged  to  make  their  capital  at  Nanking,  and
a  constant  struggle  was  carried  on  between  them  and  the
Tartars.