Shu or Shu Han (221–263) was one of the three major states that competed for supremacy over China in the Three Kingdoms period (220–280). The state was based in the area around present-day Sichuan and Chongqing, which was historically known as "Shu" after an earlier state in Sichuan named Shu. The "Shu" in "Shu Han" was derived from the state's geographical location. "Han", on the other hand, refers to the Han dynasty because Shu Han's founder, Liu Bei, was directly related to the imperial clan of the Han dynasty, and had declared the state of Shu Han as the legitimate successor to the Han dynasty.