stylistic:tone, structural:summarization
Han (304–319)

Despite Cao Cao's effort, the Southern Xiongnu in Shanxi eventually grew restless and attempted to restore themselves to power. The five divisions were briefly unified under Liu Bao during the mid-3rd century before the Cao Wei and Western Jin courts intervened and forced them back into five. During the early Jin period, the Xiongnu began staging revolts and leaving the Great Wall, but it would not be until 304, amidst the War of the Eight Princes that weakened the Jin power in northern China, that they made a crucial breakthrough.

Liu Yuan, the son of Liu Bao and a general serving under one of the Jin princes, was offered by the Xiongnu to become the leader of their rebellion. After deceiving his prince, Liu Yuan returned to the Xiongnu and was acclaimed as the Grand Chanyu. Later that year, he declared himself the King of Han. Records indicate that Liu Yuan and his family members were actually from the Chuge tribe, but he claimed himself to be a direct descendant of the Southern Xiongnu chanyus and depicted his state as a continuation of the Han dynasty, citing that his alleged ancestors were married to Han princesses through heqin. He allowed the Han Chinese and non-Xiongnu tribes like the Xianbei, Wuhuan and Di to serve under him, and in 308, he elevated his title to Emperor of Han.

The Western Jin, devastated by war and natural disasters, was unable to stop the growing threat of Han, even more so after the ascension of Liu Cong to the Han throne. In 311, the Jin imperial army was annihilated by Han forces, and shortly after, the Jin capital Luoyang was sacked and Emperor Huai was captured in an event known as the Disaster of Yongjia. In 316, the Jin restoration in Chang'an, headed by Emperor Min, was also crushed by Han. After the fall of Chang'an, the remnants of Jin survived in the south at Jiankang as the Eastern Jin dynasty.

Although Han enjoyed military success, it also suffered from internal strife under Liu Cong. Throughout his reign, Liu Cong faced constant dissidence from his own ministers, and so he empowered his consort kins and eunuchs to counter them. The Han court fell into a power struggle which ended in a bloody purge of the government. Liu Cong also failed to constrain Shi Le, a general of Jie ethnicity who effectively held the eastern parts of the empire. After Liu Cong's death in 318, his consort kin, Jin Zhun massacred the emperor and a large portion of the aristocracy before being defeated by a combined force led by Liu Cong's cousin, Liu Yao, and Shi Le.