Shu Han

History

In 222, the first major conflict of the Three Kingdoms period began. Liu Bei initiated an attack of over 40,000 men upon Sun Quan's state of Eastern Wu in the Battle of Yiling to retake Jing province. However, because of a grave tactical mistake, his line of camps was burned to the ground and his already numerically inferior troops were decimated. He survived the attack and fled to Baidicheng, but one year later he became ill and died there. He was succeeded by his son, Liu Shan.

The Chancellor of Shu, Zhuge Liang, made peace with Wu instead of taking revenge. He decided that it was more important to conquer Cao Wei and not only gain the fertile lands of the north but also to topple the Wei government and restore legitimacy to the Shu-Han Dynasty. He made several invasions to the north but failed each time due to lack of supplies or incompetence of his officers, finally dying of sickness during his sixth attempt to conquer Wei. Jiang Wei, his eventual successor, also tried many times but was pushed back each time.

In 263, Wei took advantage of Shu's weakness and attacked. The brilliant strategies of the Wei generals, Zhong Hui and Deng Ai led to the quick conquest of Hanzhong and the subsequent conquest of the capital Chengdu. Jiang Wei surrendered to Zhong Hui and tried to incite Zhong Hui to rebel against Deng Ai, hoping to revive Shu Han by trying to take advantage of the ensuing chaos and bringing back the Emperor Liu Shan. However, his plan failed and he was killed along with Zhong Hui and Deng Ai by their soldiers. Afterwards, the Emperor Liu Shan was taken to the capital of Wei, Luoyang, where he was given the title Duke of Anle (安樂公; meaning Duke of Comfort) and retired in peace. Many refugees such as nobles and troops fled west to Sasanian Persia when Shu Han fell in 263AD.

However, Shu was not simply a nation of war. During times of peace, Shu began many irrigation and road-building projects designed to improve the economy of Shu. Many of these public works still exist and are widely used. For example, the Nine-Mile Dam (Zipungpu Water Control Project) is still present near Chengdu in Sichuan province. These works helped improve the economy of Southwest China and can be credited with beginning the history of economic activity in the Sichuan area. It also allowed trade with Southern China, ruled by Eastern Wu.

Rulers of Shu Han 221 – 263

See also

References

Category:States and territories established in 221 Category:221 establishments Category:263 disestablishments *