Kingdom of Wu
The Kingdom of Wu (吳 wu2) (222 - 280) was one of the Three Kingdoms competing for control of China after the fall of the Han Dynasty. The capital of the Kingdom of Wu is in Suzhou, some fifty kilometers from Shanghai today.During the decline of the Han dynasty, the State of Wu - a region in the south of Chang Jiang, surrounding Suzhou - was under the control of the warlord Sun Quan. Sun Quan succeeded his brother as Wu Wang (the king of Wu) and considered the area under his rule subject to the Han emperor. Unlike his competitors, he did not really have the ambition to be Emperor of China. However, after Cao Pi of the Kingdom of Wei and Liu Bei of the Kingdom of Shu each declared himself to be the Emperor, Sun Quan decided to follow suit in 222, claiming to have founded the Wu dynasty.
Under the rule of Wu, Southern China, regarded in early history as a barbaric "jungle" developed into one of the commercial, cultural and political centers of China. Within five centuries, during the Five Dynasties and Ten States, the development of Southern China had surpassed that of the north. The achievements of Wu marked the beginning of the cultural and political division between Northern and Southern China that would repeatedly appear in Chinese history well into modernity. The term Southern China as used here does not include Guangdong and other far south provinces, which were not incorporated into China Proper until the Tang Dynasty and remained for the most part economically and culturally backward until the late 19th century.
The island of Taiwan was also first recorded during the Three Kingdoms. The contact with native population and the sending of officials to Taiwan by the Wu Kingdom paved for the road in leading the official establishment of Taiwan Province in the later dynasties.
The Kingdom of Wu was finally conquered by the first Jin emperor, Sima Yan, in 280. With a lifespan of 58 years, it was the longest-lived of the three kingdoms.
Important figures:
- Sun Jian (孫堅)
- Sun Ce (孫策),
- Sun Quan (孫權)
- Huang Gai (黃蓋)
- Gan Ning (甘寧)
- Taishi Ci (太史慈)
- Zhou Yu (周瑜)
- Zhou Tai (周泰)
- Lu Su (魯肅)
- LÃÂü Meng (呂蒙)
- Lu Yi (Xun) (陸遜)
- Zhang Zhao (張昭)
- Zhang Hong (張紘)
- Zhuge Jin (諸葛謹)
- Dong Xi (董袭)
- Xu Sheng (徐盛)
- Chen Wu (陈武)
| Posthumous Names ( Shi Hao 諡號) | Family (in bold) and first names | Year(s) of Reigns | Era Names (Nian Hao 年號) and their range of years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Convention: use personal name | |||
| Da Di (大帝 da4 di4) | Sun Quan (孫權 sun1 quan2) | 222-252 | Huangwu (黃武 huang2 wu3) 222-229Huanglong (黃龍 huang2 long2) 229-231 Jiahe (嘉禾 jia1 he2) 232-238 Chiwu (赤烏 chi4 wu1) 238-251 Taiyuan (太元 tai4 yuan2) 251-252 Shenfeng (神鳳 shen2 feng4) 252 |
| Kuai ji wang (會稽王 kuai4 ji1 wang2) | Sun Liang (孫亮 sun1 liang4) | 252-258 | Jianxing (建興 jian4 xing1) 252-253Wufeng (五鳳 wu3 feng4) 254-256 Taiping (太平 tai4 ping2) 256-258 |
| Jing Di (景帝 jing3 di4) | Sun Xiu (孫休 sun1 xiu1) | 258-264 | Yongan (永安 yong3 an1) 258-264 |
| Wu Cheng Hou (烏程侯 wu1 cheng2 hou2) | Sun Hao (孫皓 sun1 hao4) | 264-280 | Yuanxing (元興 yuan2 xing1) 264-265Ganlu (甘露 gan1 lu4) 265-266 Baoding (寶鼎 bao3 ding3) 266-269 Jianheng (建衡 jian4 heng2) 269-271 Fenghuang (鳳凰 feng4 huang2) 272-274 Tiance (天冊 tian1 ce4) 275-276 Tianxi (天璽 tian1 xi3) 276 Tianji (天紀 tian1 ji4) 277-280 |