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In his youth, Sun spent time in his home county of Fuchun, and after his father's death in the early 190s, at various cities on the lower Yangtze River. His older brother Sun Ce carved out a warlord state in the region, based on his own followers and a number of local clan allegiances. When Sun Ce was assassinated by the retainers of Xu Gong in 200, the eighteen-year-old Sun Quan inherited the lands southeast of the Yangtze River from his brother. His administration proved to be relatively stable in those early years. Sun Jian and Sun Ce's most senior officers, such as Zhou Yu, Zhang Zhao, Zhang Hong, and Cheng Pu remained loyal; in fact it was mentioned in Romance of the Three Kingdoms that Sun Ce had at his deathbed reminded Sun Quan that "in internal matters, consult Zhang Zhao, in external matters, consult Zhou Yu." Thus throughout the 200s, Sun Quan, under the tutelage of his able advisors, continued to build up his strength along the Yangtze River. In early 207, his forces finally won complete victory over Huang Zu, a military leader under Liu Biao, who dominated the middle Yangtze.
In winter of that year, the northern warlord Cao Cao led an army of some 830,000 to conquer south to complete the reunification of China. Two distinct factions emerged at his court on how to handle the situation. One, led by Zhang Zhao, urged surrender whilst the other, led by Zhou Yu and Lu Su, opposed capitulation. In the finality, Sun decided to oppose Cao in the middle Yangtze with his superior riverine forces. Allied with Liu Bei and employing the combined strategies of Zhou Yu and Huang Gai, they defeated Cao decisively at the Battle of Red Cliffs.
In 220, Cao Pi, son of Cao Cao, seized the throne and proclaimed himself to be the Emperor of China, ending and succeeding the nominal rule of the Han Dynasty. At first Sun nominally served as a Cao Wei vassal with the Cao Wei-created title of Prince of Wu, but after Cao Pi demanded that he send his son Sun Deng as a hostage to the Cao Wei capital Luoyang and he refused, in 222, he declared himself independent by changing his era name. It was not until the year 229 that he formally declared himself emperor.
Because of his skill in gathering important, honourable men to his cause, Sun was able to delegate authority to capable figures. This primary strength served him well in gaining the support of the common people and surrounding himself with capable generals.
After the death of his original crown price, Sun Deng, two opposing factions supporting different potential successors slowly emerged. When Sun He succeeded Sun Deng as the new crown price, he was supported by Lu Xun and and Zhuge Luo, while his rival Sun Ba was supported by Quan Cong and Bu Zhi and their clans. Over a prolonged internal power struggle, numerous officials were executed, and Sun Quan harshly settled the conflict between the two factions by exiling Sun He and killing Sun Ba. Sun Quan died in 252 at the age of 70. He enjoyed the longest reign among all the founders of the Three Kingdoms, and was succeeded by his son Sun Liang.
The Records of Three Kingdoms detail that Sun Jian was a descendant of renowned Warring States Period militarist Sun Wu. According to later tradition, Sun was born on Sunzhou ("Sun Island", later Wangzhou - "King's Island"), an islet at the intersection of the Fuchun River and one of its tributaries. Local folklore relates a story about how Sun's grandfather, Sun Zhong, was originally a melon farmer on the islet.
For the next several years, Sun was largely interested in first defending his realm against potential enemies, but he gradually sought to harass and weaken Liu Biao's key subordinate, Huang Zu (who controlled the northeastern region of Liu's domain) -- particularly because Huang had killed his father in battle. In 208, he was finally able to defeat and kill Huang in battle. Soon after, Liu Biao died while Cao Cao was preparing a major campaign to subjugate both Liu and Sun under his control, precipitating a major confrontation.
Sun was well aware of Cao's intentions, and he quickly entered into an alliance with Liu Bei and Liu Qi to prepare for an attack by Cao. Cao wrote Sun with a letter intending to intimidate, and in face of Cao's overwhelming force (estimated to be about 220,000 men, although Cao claimed 800,000, against Sun's 30,000 and the Lius' combined force of 10,000), many of Sun's subordinates, including Zhang Zhao, advocated surrender. Sun refused, under advice from Zhou Yu and Lu Su (that Cao would surely not tolerate him even if he surrendered).
Sun put Zhou in charge of his 30,000 men, largely stationed on naval ships, and Zhou set up in a defense position in conjunction with Liu Bei, whose army was stationed on land. About this time, there was a plague developing in Cao's forces which significantly weakened it. Zhou set up a trap where he pretended to be punishing his subordinate Huang Gai, and Huang pretended to surrender to Cao in fear. Zhou then sent ships under Huang's command to pretend to surrender and, as Huang's ships approached Cao's fleet, they were set aflame to assault Cao's fleet, and Cao's fleet was largely destroyed by fire. Cao led his forces to escape on land, but much of the force was destroyed by Sun and Liu's land forces.
After Liu's conquest of Yi Province, Liu was able to supply his troops on his own, so Sun sent Lu Su as an emissary to demand for the return of Jing Province, but Liu refused. Sun then sent Lü Meng and Ling Tong to lead 20,000 men to attack southern Jing Province and they succeed in capturing Changsha, Guiyang, and Lingling commanderies. Meantime, Lu Su and Gan Ning advanced to Yiyang (益陽) with 10,000 men (to block Guan Yu) and took over command of the army at Lukou (陸口). Liu personally went to Gong'an and Guan Yu led 30,000 men to Yiyang. When an all-out war was about to break out, the news that Cao Cao planned to attack Hanzhong was received by Liu Bei, and he requested for a border treaty with Sun as he became worried about Cao seizing Hanzhong. Liu asked Sun to give him back Lingling commandery and create a diversion for Cao by attacking Hefei; in return, Liu ceded Changsha and Guiyang commanderies to Sun, setting the new border along the Xiang River. Sun's attack on Hefei was disastrous - he was nearly captured on a few occasions, if not saved by Ling Tong.
After Cao Cao's death in 220, Cao Pi forced Emperor Xian to yield the throne to him, ending the Han Dynasty and establishing the Cao Wei kingdom. Sun did not immediately submit to Cao Wei or declare independence after Cao Pi's enthronement, but took a wait-and-see attitude; by contrast, in early 221, Liu Bei declared himself emperor, establishing Shu Han. Immediately, Liu planned a campaign against Sun to avenge Guan. After attempting to negotiate peace and receiving no positive response from Liu, fearing attack on both sides, Sun became a vassal of Cao Wei. Cao Pi's strategist Liu Ye suggested that Cao decline — and in fact attack Sun on a second front, effectively partitioning Sun's domain with Shu Han, and then eventually seek to destroy Shu Han as well. Cao declined, in a fateful choice that most historians believe doomed his empire to ruling only the northern and central China—and this chance would not come again. Indeed, against Liu Ye's advice, he appointed Sun the Prince of Wu and granted him the nine bestowments.
In 222, at the Battle of Xiaoting, Sun's general Lu Xun dealt Liu a major defeat, stopping the Shu Han offensive. Shu Han would not again pose a threat to Sun from that point on. Later that year, when Cao Pi demanded that Sun send his crown prince Sun Deng to the Cao Wei capital Luoyang as a hostage (to guarantee his loyalty), Sun refused and declared independence (by changing era name), thus establishing Eastern Wu as an independent state. Cao Pi launched a major attack on Eastern Wu, but after Cao Wei defeats in early 223, it became clear that Eastern Wu was secure. After Liu Bei's death later that year, Zhuge Jin's brother Zhuge Liang, the regent for Liu Bei's son and successor Liu Shan, reestablished the alliance with Sun, and the two states would remain allies until Shu Han's eventual destruction in 263.
Early in Sun's reign, the Eastern Wu administration was known for its efficiency, as Sun showed a knack for listening to correct advice and for delegating authorities to the proper individuals. For example, he correctly trusted the faithful Lu Xun and Zhuge Jin, so much so that he made a duplicate imperial seal and left it with Lu; whenever he would correspond with Shu Han's emperor Liu Shan or regent Zhuge Liang, he would deliver the letter to Lu first (as Lu's post was near the Shu Han border), and then if, in Lu's opinion, changes were needed, he would revise the letter and then restamp it with Sun's imperial seal. Further, Lu and Zhuge Jin were authorized to coordinate their actions with Shu Han without prior imperial approval. Sun treated his high level officials as friends and addressed them accordingly (with courtesy names), and in accordance they dedicated all effort to Eastern Wu's preservation. He also knew what were the proper roles for officials that he trusted; for example, in 225, when selecting a chancellor, while the key officials all respected Zhang Zhao greatly and wanted him to be chancellor, Sun declined—reasoning that while he respected Zhang greatly, a chancellor needed to handle all affairs of state, and Zhang, while capable, had such strong opinions that he would surely be in conflict with Sun and other officials at all times. He also repeatedly promoted his official Lü Fan even though, while he was young, Lü had informed to Sun Ce about his improper spending habits, understanding that Lü did so only out of loyalty to Sun Ce.
In 224 and 225, Cao Pi again made attacks on Eastern Wu, but each time the Eastern Wu forces were able to repel Cao Wei's with fair ease — so easily that Cao made the comment, "Heaven created the Yangtze to divide the north and south." However, Sun was himself equally unsuccessful in efforts to make major attacks on Cao Wei. After Cao Pi's death in 226, for example, Sun launched an attack on Cao Wei's Jiangxia Commandery (in present-day Xiaogan, Hubei) but was forced to withdraw as soon as Cao Wei reinforcements arrived. However, later that year, he was able to increase his effective control over Jiao Province (交州, present-day northern Vietnam) when his general Lü Dai was able to defeat the warlord Shi Hui (士徽) and end the effective independence that the Shi clan had. In addition, the several independent kingdoms in modern Cambodia, Laos, and southern Vietnam all became Eastern Wu vassals as well.
The one major victory that Eastern Wu would have over Cao Wei during this period came in 228, when, with Sun's approval, his general Zhou Fang pretended to be surrendering to Cao Wei after pretending to have been punished repeatedly by Sun. This tricked the Cao Wei general Cao Xiu, who led a large army south to support Zhou. He walked into the trap set by Zhou and Lu Xun and suffered major losses, but was saved from total annihilation by Jia Kui.
In 229, Sun declared himself emperor, which almost damaged the alliance with Shu Han, as many Shu Han officials saw this as a sign of betrayal of the Han Dynasty — to which Shu Han claimed to be the legitimate successor. However, Zhuge Liang opposed ending the alliance and in fact confirmed it with a formal treaty later that year, in which the two states pledged to support each other and divide Cao Wei equally if they could conquer it. Later that year, he moved his capital from Wuchang (武昌, in present-day Ezhou, Hubei) to Jianye, leaving his crown prince Sun Deng, assisted by Lu Xun, in charge of the western empire.
In 232, Sun had another misadventure involving his navy — as he sent his generals Zhou He (周賀) and Pei Qian (裴濳) to the nominal Cao Wei vassal Gongsun Yuan, in control of Liaodong Commandery (present-day central Liaoning), to purchase horses, against the advice of Yu Fan - and indeed, he exiled Yu to the desolate Cangwu Commandery (roughly modern Wuzhou, Guangxi) as punishment. Just as Yu predicted, however, the venture would end in failure — as Zhou and Pei, on their way back, were intercepted by Cao Wei forces and killed. Regretting his actions, Sun tried to recall Yu back to Jianye, only to learn that Yu had died in exile.
The next year, however, Sun would have yet another misadventure in his dealings with Gongsun, as Gongsun sent messengers to him, offering to be his subject. Sun was ecstatic, and created Gongsun the Prince of Yan and granted him the nine bestowments, and further sent a detachment of 10,000 men by sea north to assist Gongsun in his campaign against Cao Wei, against the advice of nearly every single one of his high level officials, particularly Zhang Zhao. Once the army arrived, however, Gongsun betrayed them, killing Sun's officials Zhang Mi (張彌) and Xu Yan (許晏), whom Sun had sent to grant the bestowments and seized their troops. Once that happened, the enraged Sun wanted to personally head north with a fleet to attack Gongsun, and initially, not even Lu's opposition was able to stop him, although he eventually calmed down and did not follow through. To his credit, he also personally went to Zhang's house and apologized to Zhang. Further, despite the deterioration in his previous clear thinking, he was still capable of making proper decisions at times. For example, in 235, when, as a sign of contempt, Cao Wei's emperor Cao Rui offered horses to him in exchange for pearls, jade, and tortoise shells, Sun ignored the implicit insult and made the exchange, reasoning that his empire needed horses much more than pearls, jade, or tortoise shells.
In 234, in coordination with Zhuge Liang's final northern expedition against Cao Wei, Sun personally led a major attack against Cao Wei's border city Hefei, while having Lu and Zhuge Jin attack Xiangyang, with the strategy of trying to attract Cao Wei relief forces and then attacking them. However, Cao Wei's generals correctly saw the situation and simply let Sun siege Hefei. Only after Sun's food supplies ran low did Cao Rui personally arrive with reinforcements, and Sun withdrew, as did Lu and Zhuge.
In 238, when Gongsun was under attack by Cao Wei's general Sima Yi, Sun, despite his prior rage against Gongsun, correctly judged the situation as one where he might be able to take advantage if Sima were initially unsuccessful, did not immediately refuse Gongsun's request for help. However, as Sima was able to conquer Gongsun quickly, Sun never launched the major attack that he considered if Sima got stuck in a stalemate with Gongsun. That year, he also recognized how his head secretary Lü Yi (呂壹) had been falsely accusing his officials, and had Lü executed; he then further confirmed his trust in the high level officials by personally writing an emotional letter to Zhuge Jin, Bu Zhi, Zhu Ran, and Lü Dai, blaming himself for the recent problems with his administration while urging them to speak out honestly whenever they saw faults in him.
In 241, Sun would launch the last major assault against Cao Wei of his reign, in light of Cao Rui's death in 239, but he rejected a strategy offered by Yin Zha (殷札) to attack Cao Wei in coordinated effort with Shu Han on four different fronts, and the campaign ended in failure as well.
In 250, fed up with Sun Ba's constant attacks against Sun He, Sun Quan carried out an inexplicable combination of actions, He forced Sun Ba to commit suicide, while deposing Sun He (who had not been shown to have committed any crimes), and instead creating his youngest son, Sun Liang, crown prince to replace Sun He. This move was opposed by his son-in-law Zhu Ju (the husband of Sun Xiaohu), but Zhu's pleas not only did not help Sun He, but also resulted in his own death, as Sun Quan forced him to commit suicide. Many other officials who also opposed the move, as well as officials who had supported Sun Ba, were executed.
Around this time, Sun also had his generals destroy a number of levees near the border with Cao Wei, creating large areas of flooding, in order to obstruct potential attacks from Cao Wei.
In 251, Sun created the first empress of his reign — Sun Liang's mother Consort Pan. (Previously, he had a succession of wives, but never created any of them empresses, except that his favorite, Lady Bu, was created empress posthumously after her death in 238.) Later that year, however, he realized that Sun He was blameless and wanted to recall him from his exile, but was persuaded not to do so by his daughter Sun Dahu and Sun Jun, who had supported Sun Liang's ascension. He realized that he was getting very old (69 by this point) and, at Sun Jun's recommendation, commissioned Zhuge Jin's son Zhuge Ke as the future regent for Sun Liang, even though he correctly had misgivings about how Zhuge Ke was arrogant and had overly high opinion of his own abilities, because at that time, virtually the entire empire, awed by Zhuge's prior military victories, was convinced that Zhuge would be the correct choice for regent.
In 252, as Sun Quan neared death, Empress Pan was murdered, but how she was murdered remains a controversy. Eastern Wu officials claimed that her servants, unable to stand her temper, strangled her while she was asleep, while a number of historians, including Hu Sansheng, the commentator to Sima Guang's Zizhi Tongjian, believed that top Eastern Wu officials were complicit, as they feared that she would seize power as empress dowager after Sun's death. Later that year, Sun died at the age of 70, and Sun Liang succeeded him. Sun Quan was buried in a mausoleum at Purple Mountain in present-day Nanjing.
In Dynasty Warriors 5, he unites the land under Wu. In DW6, he creates a democratic form of government after Wu unites the land. In Dynasty Warriors 5: Xtreme Legends, he works with Lu Xun, Zhou Fang, and Sun Shangxiang to defeat Wei.
In Warriors Orochi, Sun Quan is forced to serve Orochi and Sun Ce, his own brother. He later is defeated at Hefei and is sent for execution, but he and Sun Jian, his father, are rescued by Sun Ce at Komaki-Nagakute. Sun Quan rescues Sun Shangxiang from Dong Zhuo at Koshi Castle. Together, the Sun family took down Orochi. In Warriors Orochi 2, he works with Minamoto Yoshitsune, Sun Ce, Da Qiao, and Chosokabe Motochika in repelling Lü Bu and Taira Kiyomori. In Dream Mode, he teams up with Cao Cao and Liu Bei in proving their skills to Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu at Osaka Castle.
Sun Quan was portrayed by Chang Chen in John Woo's 2008 film Red Cliff.
In the collectible card game there is a card named Sun Quan, Lord of Wu, in the Portal Three Kingdoms set.
*Father: Sun Jian
*Mother: Lady Wu
*Siblings:
*Spouses:
*Children
Category:Eastern Wu emperors Category:Sun Ce and associates Category:Han Dynasty warlords Category:182 births Category:252 deaths Category:2nd-century Chinese monarchs
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