This is a timeline of the Three Kingdoms period (220âÂÂ280) of Chinese history. In a strict academic sense, the Three Kingdoms period refers to the interval between the founding of the state of Cao Wei (220âÂÂ266) in 220 and the conquest of the state of Eastern Wu (229âÂÂ280) by the Western Jin dynasty (265âÂÂ316) in 280. However, many Chinese historians and laymen extend the starting point of this period back to the Yellow Turban Rebellion that took place in 184 during the late Eastern Han dynasty (25âÂÂ220).