Three Kingdoms: Unveiling The Story exhibition in the Tokyo National Museum

Three Kingdoms: Unveiling The Story exhibition in the Tokyo National Museum.

This special exhibition includes 161 relics from recent discoveries srrounding China’s tumultuous transition from the Han Dynasty (206-220) to the Three Kingdoms period (220-280). The Han Dynasty’s decline at the end of the second century ignited a prolonged power struggle between unrelenting military leaders. The country was split into three kingdoms called Wei, Shu, and Wu, a major event that would lead to a new era in China’s history. In recent years, research into this period has been reinvigorated by the excavation of the Cao Cao Mausoleum. The artifacts recovered there present their own version of this period’s history with a persuasive candor far surpassing written historical accounts.

Image:  Gold Metal Belt Fitting with Animal Design, Eastern Han dynasty, 2nd century CE, Excavated at Shouchun Ancient Tomb, Shou County, Huainan City, Anhui.  Image courtesy of the exhibition.

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