Wo Long and why games love The Yellow Turban Rebellion

thesixthaxis.com:

It’s featured in video game series as diverse as Total War, Dynasty Warriors, and the recent Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, but what is it about the Yellow Turban Rebellion that makes it so compelling?

First off, what was the Yellow Turban Rebellion? Taking place in China in 184 AD, it was a violent uprising of the peasants against the dominant Eastern Han dynasty. The rebellion garnered its distinctive name from the yellow headwear worn by the rebels. The causes of the rebellion are many and varied, from the issues of ineffective governance caused by a weak and corrupt government to the nasty role of both famine and plague.

Ultimately, the people of China were not a happy bunch, indeed, they were deeply angry at their circumstances. At its peak, the numbers of the Yellow Turbans were truly enormous, with around 360,000 followers devoted to the cause. The impact they caused was tremendous too: officials were killed and government buildings destroyed, as the fury of the people swept away all before them. However, despite their numbers, the Yellow Turbans ultimately proved no match for the professional prowess of the imperial forces.

Within a year the bulk of the uprising had been suppressed. Yet the ripples of chaos caused by the rebellion could not be stopped. By having to kill its own people the Han Dynasty had revealed the rot at its core. Unable to enforce its rule, the dynasty fell apart, and the resulting vacuum led to a fracturing of power. This led to another era of Chinese history much featured within video games: the age of the Three Kingdoms.

In part, this is why the Yellow Turban Rebellion remains such a popular historical background for a plethora of video games; it was a time of chaotic, cathartic change that resulted