Since Pangu separated Heaven and Earth, the Three Sovereigns ruled the world and the Five Emperors established its order. The Zhou court moved east, and the states fought among themselves. Then Qin Shi Huang conquered the six states, and Liu Bang raised a rebellion after slaying a serpent. The Guangwu Emperor restored the Han, but by the reigns of Emperors Huan and Ling, the realm had fallen into chaos. The Three Kingdoms, the Two Jin dynasties, the Northern and Southern dynasties, the Sui and Tang dynasties, the Five Dynasties, and finally the Song followed, with more than three hundred years of unceasing warfare. How many heroes and great men from that time have been reduced to a few names in the history books?
