Lady Bu (died 238), personal name Bu Lianshi,
was a concubine of
Sun Quan
Sun Quan (, Chinese: 孫權) (183 – 21 May 252), courtesy name Zhongmou (), posthumously known as Emperor Da of Wu, was the founder of the Eastern Wu dynasty, one of the Three Kingdoms of China. He inherited control of the warlord regime es ...
, the founding emperor of the state of
Eastern Wu
Wu ( Chinese: 吳; pinyin: ''Wú''; Middle Chinese *''ŋuo'' < : ''*ŋuɑ''), known in h ...
in the
Three Kingdoms
The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Han dynasty#Eastern Han, Eastern Han dynasty and wa ...
period of China. She has posthumously been honoured as an empress by Sun Quan. She is also known as Empress Bu.
Life
Lady Bu was from Huaiyin County (),
Linhuai Commandery Linhuai Commandery ( zh, 臨淮郡) was a historical commandery of China, located in what is now central Jiangsu province. History
The commandery was first established in 117 BC, from part of Pei and Guangling commanderies. In late Western Han per ...
(), which is in present-day
Huai'an
Huai'an (), formerly called Huaiyin () until 2001, is a prefecture-level city in the central part of Jiangsu province in Eastern China. Huai'an is situated almost directly south of Lianyungang, southeast of Suqian, northwest of Yancheng, almos ...
,
Jiangsu
Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is o ...
. She was born sometime in the late
Eastern Han dynasty
The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...
. She was a relative of
Bu Zhi
Bu Zhi (died June or July 247), courtesy name Zishan, was a Chinese military general and politician of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Originally a scholar of humble background, he became a subordinate of the wa ...
. When she was young, her mother brought her from Huaiyin to Lujiang Commandery (; around present-day
Anqing
Anqing (, also Nganking, formerly Hwaining, now the name of Huaining County) is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Anhui province, People's Republic of China. Its population was 4,165,284 as of the 2020 census, with 804,493 living in the ...
,
Anhui
Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze River ...
). In 199, Lujiang was
conquered
Conquest is the act of military subjugation of an enemy by force of arms.
Military history provides many examples of conquest: the Roman conquest of Britain, the Mauryan conquest of Afghanistan and of vast areas of the Indian subcontinent, t ...
by the warlord
Sun Ce
Sun Ce () () (175–200), courtesy name Bofu, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He was the eldest child of Sun Jian, who was killed during the Battle of Xiangyang w ...
, who controlled the territories in the
Jiangdong region (also called
Wu, covering present-day southeastern China), after which Lady Bu moved from Lujiang to Jiangdong. In Jiangdong, Lady Bu was noticed by Sun Ce's younger brother,
Sun Quan
Sun Quan (, Chinese: 孫權) (183 – 21 May 252), courtesy name Zhongmou (), posthumously known as Emperor Da of Wu, was the founder of the Eastern Wu dynasty, one of the Three Kingdoms of China. He inherited control of the warlord regime es ...
, for her beauty and she became Sun Quan's concubine. Sun Quan favoured her the most among all his wives. She bore Sun Quan two daughters:
Sun Luban
Sun Luban ( 229–258), courtesy name Dahu, was an imperial princess of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. She was the elder daughter of Sun Quan, the founding emperor of Wu, and his concubine Bu Lianshi. She is a ...
and
Sun Luyu
Sun Luyu (died 255), courtesy name Xiaohu, was an imperial princess of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. She was the younger daughter of Sun Quan, the founding emperor of Wu, and his concubine Bu Lianshi. She is ...
.
Lady Bu was known to be very accepting towards Sun Quan's other wives and she did not show any signs of jealousy towards them. As such, she remained in her husband's favour in the long term. In 229, when Sun Quan declared himself emperor and established the state of
Eastern Wu
Wu ( Chinese: 吳; pinyin: ''Wú''; Middle Chinese *''ŋuo'' < : ''*ŋuɑ''), known in h ...
, he wanted to install Lady Bu as the empress even though his subjects nominated
Lady Xu to be the empress instead. Sun Quan eventually agreed to his subjects' suggestion. Despite so, in the following ten years or so, the imperial family and everyone in the palace referred to Lady Bu as the Empress. Lady Bu died in 238 and was posthumously honoured as an empress by Sun Quan.
She was interred in the Jiang Mausoleum (; at the
Purple Mountain Purple Mountain may refer to:
China
* Purple Mountain (Nanjing), a mountain in Nanjing, Jiangsu
Ireland
* Purple Mountain (Kerry), a mountain in County Kerry
United States
* Purple Mountain (Alaska), a mountain in Alaska
* Purple Peak (Col ...
,
Nanjing
Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...
,
Jiangsu
Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is o ...
).
[() ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 50.]
Lady Bu's personal name was not recorded in her biography in the ''
Records of the Three Kingdoms
The ''Records or History of the Three Kingdoms'', also known by its Chinese name as the Sanguo Zhi, is a Chinese historical text which covers the history of the late Eastern Han dynasty (c. 184–220 AD) and the Three Kingdoms period (220– ...
'' (''Sanguozhi''), the authoritative source for the history of the
Three Kingdoms
The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Han dynasty#Eastern Han, Eastern Han dynasty and wa ...
period. However, the ''Jiankang Shilu'' mentioned that her personal name was "Lianshi", hence she was also known as "Bu Lianshi".
[( seventh installment of Koei">Dynasty Warriors 7">seventh installment of Koei's ''Dynasty Warriors">Koei.html" ;"title="Dynasty Warriors 7">seventh installment of Koei">Dynasty Warriors 7">seventh installment of Koei's ''Dynasty Warriors'' video game series. She is referred to as "Lian Shi" in the game.
]
See also
* Eastern Wu family trees#Sun Quan
* Lists of people of the Three Kingdoms
Notes
References
* Chen Shou, Chen, Shou (3rd century). ''Records of the Three Kingdoms
The ''Records or History of the Three Kingdoms'', also known by its Chinese name as the Sanguo Zhi, is a Chinese historical text which covers the history of the late Eastern Han dynasty (c. 184–220 AD) and the Three Kingdoms period (220– ...
'' (''Sanguozhi'').
* Xu, Song ( 8th century). ''Jiankang Shilu'' ().
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bu, Lady
People of Eastern Wu
Year of birth unknown
238 deaths
Chinese imperial consorts
People from Huai'an
Family of Sun Quan
Eastern Wu posthumous empresses