The Yellow Turban Rebellion, also translated as Yellow Scarves Rebellion, was a peasant revolt that broke out in 184 AD in China during the reign of Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty. The rebellion, which got its name from the colour of the scarves that the rebels wore on their heads, marked an important point in the history of Taoism due to the rebels' association with secret Taoist societies. The revolt was also used as the opening event in Luo Guanzhong's historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

A major cause of the rebellion was an agrarian crisis, in which famine forced many farmers and former military settlers in the north to seek employment in the south, where large landowners exploited the labor surplus to amass large fortunes. The situation was further aggravated by smaller floods along the lower course of the Yellow River. The peasants were further oppressed by high taxes imposed in order to fund the construction of fortifications along the Silk Road and garrisons against foreign infiltration and invasion. In this situation, landowners, landless peasants, and unemployed former-soldiers formed armed bands (around 170), and eventually private armies, setting the stage for armed conflict.

Xiahou Dun (died 13 June 220) was a military general serving under the warlord Cao Cao during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. Cao Cao's original family name was Xiahou, but his father Cao Song was the adopted son of the eunuch Cao Teng, so Xiahou Dun and Cao Cao share blood relations. As one of Cao Cao's most trusted generals, Xiahou Dun aided the warlord in his campaigns against Liu Bei, Sun Quan, and Lü Bu.

Xiahou Dun lost his left eye during the Battle of Xiapi in 198, and subsequently became known among the rank and file as "Blind Xiahou", which greatly irked him. His image as a one-eyed warrior was later popularized by Luo Guanzhong's historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, in which he was said to have yanked the arrow fired by enemy general Cao Xing out of his eye and devoured his own eyeball to instill fear in his enemies.

Xiahou Dun was born in the county of Qiao (譙; present-day Bozhou, Anhui). At the age of 14, he killed a man who insulted his teacher. His fiery personality had been well-known ever since. In 190, Xiahou Dun joined Cao Cao as the latter was raising an army to join the coalition against Dong Zhuo.

Liu Bei (Mandarin pronunciation: [ljoʊ peɪ]; 161 – 10 June 223), also known as Liu Xuande, was a warlord, military general and later the founding emperor of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. Despite having a later start than his rivals and lacking both the material resources and social status they commanded, Liu Bei overcame his many defeats to carve out his own realm, which at its peak spanned modern day Sichuan, Guizhou, Hunan, part of Hubei and part of Gansu.

Culturally, due to the popularity of the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong, Liu Bei is widely known as the ideal benevolent, humane ruler who cared for his people and selected good advisors for his government. His fictional character was a salutary example of a ruler who adhered to the Confucian set of moral values, such as loyalty and compassion. Historically, Liu Bei was a brilliant politician and leader whose skill was a remarkable demonstration of a Legalist. His political philosophy can best be described by the Chinese idiom "Confucian in appearance but Legalist in substance (Chinese: 儒表法裡; pinyin: rú biǎo fǎ lǐ," a style of governing which had become the norm after the founding of the Han Dynasty.