How was Wei Zhi, “History of We" written in 297 CE, if the Wei-period didn't start until 386 CE?

by kLoTzeRk
Dongzhou3kingdoms

While the scholarship of Yi, including Chen Shou's teacher Qiao Zhou, was famed for the art of prophecy, alas this would not be such a feat. The Wei zhi was referring to a different Wei dynasty than the period you are thinking of.

Chen Shou, a Yi native who served Shu-Han, then the conquerors Wei and then the Jin dynasty that would end the civil war. He compiled the Sanguo Zhi/records of the three kingdoms, our main source for the civil war that followed the collapse of the Latter Han dynasty's authority and the three kingdoms who all claimed to be Emperor till eventual unification under the Jin dynasty (190-284 CE). He divided his work into three volumes, Wei zhi, Wu zhi and Shu zhi representing each kingdom and using each kingdom's record departments as the basis for his work. It isn't known when he completed his well-regarded work and may have been published in stages but he died in 297 and then official copies were made.

The Wei dynasty (as an Empire) of the three kingdoms was from 220 when Cao Pi got the abdication of the last Latter Han Emperor Xian and founded a new dynasty till 266 when Cao Huan abdicated to Sima Yan who founded the Jin dynasty. Wei as a state had existed as a Dukedom awarded to Pi's father Cao Cao in 213 (not without some controversy) and then made a King in 216 with Cao Cao's base being in the city of Ye which was in Wei commandery which, in the civil wars before Qin unification, had been a Kingdom.

This Wei dynasty of the Cao family held the traditional heartlands of China including the Central Plains, the old capitals of Chang'an and Luoyang as well as its own capitals of Xuchang and Ye (Cao Cao's base when made Duke of Wei), and was the largest power of the three contending powers while Jin claimed legitimacy of the mandate via the Wei dynasty that it had overthrown, copying its abdication process.

The Wei zhi also covers those that served Cao Cao (who rose to become King of Wei) in the civil war before Cao Pi's ascension to Son of Heaven, It covers Emperors, Empresses, generals, mystics, doctors, administrators, including officers who would be killed by the dynasty or those who fought against the Sima rise. Also included warlords who, not including those covered in the Wu zhi and Shu zhi where Chen Shou deemed them more relevant, fought the Cao family ranging from the tyrant Dong Zhuo to the rulers of Liaodong in the Gongsun family.

There were other Wei dynasties like the one in the Warring States that preceded Qin's unification of China and there would be Wei's since like Northern Wei. This can lead to confusion (also several separate Han dynasties thus my use of the terms Latter Han and Shu-Han to separate them) if one isn't clear which state or dynasty a person someone is talking about. Sometimes the term Cao-Wei is used to differentiate from the other Wei dynasties.

Hope that helped, let me know if you have follow up questions.