Editing Timeline of Chinese history (section)

== 3rd century ==
{| class="wikitable" width="100%"
! style="width:6%" | Year || style="width:10%" | Date || Event
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| 204 || || The warlord [[Gongsun Kang]] established the [[Daifang Commandery]] on the [[Korean Peninsula]].
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| 208 || Winter || ''[[Battle of Red Cliffs]]'': Forces loyal to the warlords [[Liu Bei]] and [[Sun Quan]] decisively repelled [[Cao Cao]] in an attempted invasion across the [[Yangtze River]].
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| 211 || September || ''[[Battle of Tong Pass (211)|Battle of Tong Pass]]'': [[Cao Cao]] defeated an alliance of anti-[[Han dynasty|Han]] rebels in modern [[Tongguan County]], securing his control over [[Guanzhong]].
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| rowspan="2" valign="top" | 215 || || ''[[Liu Bei's takeover of Yi Province]]'': [[Liu Zhang (warlord)|Liu Zhang]], the governor of [[Yi Province]] in modern [[Sichuan]] and [[Chongqing]], surrendered [[Chengdu]] to [[Liu Bei]].
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| || ''[[Battle of Xiaoyao Ford]]'': A plague outbreak forced [[Sun Quan]] to abandon the attempted conquest from [[Cao Cao]] of a fortress at [[Hefei]].
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| rowspan="3" valign="top" | 219 || || ''[[Battle of Han River]]'': [[Liu Bei]] ambushed and dealt a bloody defeat to [[Cao Cao]]'s army in [[Hanzhong]].
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| September || ''[[Battle of Fancheng]]'': [[Cao Cao]] repelled an attack by [[Liu Bei]]'s general [[Guan Yu]] in modern [[Fancheng District]], at great cost to both sides.
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| December || ''[[Lü Meng's invasion of Jing Province]]'': [[Liu Bei]]'s [[general officer|generals]] [[Shi Ren]] and [[Mi Fang]] defected to [[Sun Quan]], surrendering to his general [[Lü Meng]] the main defense posts of [[Jingzhou (ancient China)|Jingzhou]].
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| 220 || 10 December || ''[[End of the Han dynasty]]'': [[Cao Cao]]'s son [[Cao Pi]] forced [[Emperor Xian of Han|Xian]] to abdicate the throne and declared himself [[emperor of China|emperor]] of [[Cao Wei]].
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| rowspan="2" valign="top" | 221 || || [[Liu Bei]] declared himself [[emperor of China|emperor]] of [[Shu Han]].
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| || ''[[Battle of Xiaoting]]'': The [[Shu Han]] [[general officer|generals]] [[Wu Ban]] and [[Feng Xi]] attacked and destroyed an [[Eastern Wu]] army at [[Wu Gorge]].
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| rowspan="2" valign="top" | 222 || || [[Sun Quan]] declared himself [[Chinese sovereign|king]] of [[Eastern Wu]].
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| || ''Battle of Xiaoting'': [[Eastern Wu]] forces attacked and burned the [[Shu Han]] camps and dealt serious casualties during their retreat.
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| 223 || 10 June || [[Liu Bei]] died.  He was succeeded by his son [[Liu Shan]], with [[Li Yan (Three Kingdoms)|Li Yan]] and [[chancellor (China)|chancellor]] [[Zhuge Liang]] acting as regents.
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| 225 || Autumn || ''[[Zhuge Liang's Southern Campaign]]'': The rebel leader [[Meng Huo]] surrendered [[Nanzhong]] to [[Zhuge Liang]].
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| 226 || 29 June || [[Cao Pi]] died.  He was succeeded by [[Cao Rui]], who may have been his son or his wife [[Lady Zhen]]'s by a previous marriage to [[Yuan Xi]].
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| rowspan="2" valign="top" | 228 || || ''[[Battle of Jieting]]'': [[Cao Wei]] forces encircled and destroyed a [[Shu Han]] army guarding the supply line for an invasion in modern [[Qin'an County]].
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| || ''[[Battle of Shiting]]'': A [[Cao Wei]] army was lured into an ambush by [[Eastern Wu]] in modern [[Qianshan County]] and dealt heavy casualties on its retreat.
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|229
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|[[Sun Quan]] declared himself [[Emperor of China|emperor]] of [[Eastern Wu]].
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| 232 || || [[Cao Zhi]] died.
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| 234 || Autumn || ''[[Battle of Wuzhang Plains]]'': [[Shu Han]] forces made an orderly retreat from [[Cao Wei]] forces on the [[Wuzhang Plains]] after [[Zhuge Liang]] fell ill and died.
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| 239 || 22 January || [[Cao Rui]] died.  He was succeeded by his young adopted son [[Cao Fang]], with [[Cao Shuang]] and [[Sima Yi]] acting as regents.
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| 244 || April || ''[[Battle of Xingshi]]'': [[Shu Han]] forces stalled a [[Cao Wei]] invasion at Mount Xingshi in the modern [[Changqing National Nature Reserve]].
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| 247 || || ''[[Jiang Wei's Northern Expeditions]]'': [[Cao Wei]] pushed back an invasion by the [[Shu Han]] general [[Jiang Wei]] across the [[Tao River]].
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| 248 || || [[Eastern Wu]] forces killed the Vietnamese rebel [[Lady Triệu]].
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| 249 || || ''[[Incident at Gaoping Tombs]]'': [[Sima Yi]] took control of the [[Cao Wei]] capital [[Luoyang]] during [[Cao Fang]] and [[Cao Shuang]]'s absence.
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| 252 || || [[Sun Quan]] died.  He was succeeded by his young son [[Sun Liang]], with the general [[Zhuge Ke]] acting as regent.
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| 254 || || [[Sima Yi]]'s son, the regent [[Sima Shi]], deposed [[Cao Fang]], who was succeeded by [[Cao Pi]]'s grandson [[Cao Mao]].
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| 255 || || [[Ma Jun (mechanical engineer)|Ma Jun]] invented the south-pointing chariot.
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| rowspan="2" valign="top" | 258 || || [[Sun Liang]] was deposed by the regent [[Sun Chen]].
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| || [[Sun Liang]]'s brother [[Sun Xiu]] was made [[emperor of China|emperor]] of [[Eastern Wu]].
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| rowspan="2" valign="top" | 260 || || ''[[Coup of Cao Mao]]'': [[Cao Mao]] was murdered in a failed attempt to kill the regent [[Sima Zhao]] at his residence.
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| || [[Cao Cao]]'s grandson [[Cao Huan]] was made [[emperor of China|emperor]] of [[Cao Wei]].
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| rowspan="2" valign="top" | 263 || November || ''[[Conquest of Shu by Wei]]'': The [[Cao Wei]] general [[Deng Ai]] accepted the surrender of the [[Shu Han]] [[emperor of China|emperor]] [[Liu Shan]] outside the capital [[Chengdu]].
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| || [[Liu Hui]] published a revised version of ''[[The Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art]]''.
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| rowspan="2" valign="top" | 264 || 3 September || [[Sun Xiu]] died.
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| || [[Sun Quan]]'s grandson [[Sun Hao]] was made [[emperor of China|emperor]] of [[Eastern Wu]].
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| rowspan="3" valign="top" | 265 || || [[Cao Wei]] instituted the [[nine-rank system]] of civil servants.
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| 6 September || [[Sima Zhao]] died. His eldest son and heir, [[Emperor Wu of Jin|Sima Yan]], inherited his position as regent of [[Cao Wei]] and noble title of King of Jin.
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| || [[Pei Xiu]] introduced the grid reference and the concept of scale to Chinese mapmaking.
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| rowspan="3" valign="top" | 266 || 4 February || [[Cao Huan]], last emperor of [[Cao Wei]], abdicated in favour of [[Emperor Wu of Jin|Sima Yan]].
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| 8 February || [[Emperor Wu of Jin|Sima Yan]] formally enthroned himself as Emperor of Jin, establishing the [[Jin dynasty (265–420)|Jin dynasty]]. Sima Yan is posthumously known as Emperor Wu of Jin.
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| 20 March || [[Emperor Wu of Jin]] established his wife [[Empress Yang Yan|Yang Yan]] as Empress.
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| 267 || 4 February || [[Emperor Wu of Jin]] established his oldest living son, the developmentally disabled [[Emperor Hui of Jin|Sima Zhong]], as Heir.
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| rowspan="2" valign="top" | 280 || 15 March || ''[[Conquest of Wu by Jin]]'': [[Sun Hao]] presented himself as a prisoner to the [[Jin dynasty (265–420)|Jin]] general [[Wang Jun (Jin dynasty)|Wang Jun]].
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| || [[Chen Shou]] compiled the ''[[Records of the Three Kingdoms]]''.
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| 290 || 17 May || [[Emperor Wu of Jin|Emperor Wu]] died.  He was succeeded by his developmentally disabled son [[Emperor Hui of Jin]], with [[Yang Jun (minister)|Yang Jun]] acting as regent.
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| 291 || || ''[[War of the Eight Princes]]'': [[Emperor Hui of Jin|Hui's]] wife [[Jia Nanfeng]] invited troops loyal to his brother [[Sima Wei]] into the [[Jin dynasty (265-420)|Jin]] capital [[Luoyang]] to imprison the [[empress dowager]] [[Empress Yang Zhi]] and her relatives.
|}