Marriages between imperial and aristocratic families led to factions and the elite class became a group of backstabbing, fighting wealthy people.

There was the issue of unequal land distribution where the wealthy gained more and more land and they managed, in the last 200 years of the Han dynasty, to reduced their taxes and shift them over to the peasants. The wealthy formed private armies to enforce their own ideas, including the reduction of taxes on themselves.

The peasants were upset with the taxes and started rebellions. A notable rebellion is the Yellow Turban Revolution (called so because the people involved wore yellow headbands).

By 190 C.E., the Han emperor was a puppet with the generals ruling areas with their armies. The generals allied themselves with wealthy landowners and the generals declared warlords. In 220 C.E., the generals divided up the land into three kingdoms.

Nomadic people (especially from northern areas) migrated into China. These nomadic people helped keep China split for 350 plus years.