Empress Quan (244 – 300s), also known as Quan Huijie, was an empress of the state of Eastern Wu during 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 Eastern Han dynasty and was followed by the West ...
period of China. She was married to
Sun Liang
Sun Liang (245–260), courtesy name Ziming, was the second emperor of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the youngest son and heir of Sun Quan, the founding emperor of Wu. He is also known as the Prince of ...
, the second emperor of Wu.
Life
Lady Quan was the daughter of Quan Shang (全尚). Her mother is the daughter of Sun Gong, the grandson of Sun Jing. Her relative
Quan Cong
Quan Cong (196–247 or 198–249), courtesy name Zihuang, was a Chinese military general of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Born in present-day Hangzhou towards the end of the Eastern Han dynasty, Quan Cong b ...
married Sun Luban, a daughter of Wu's founding emperor Sun Quan. When she was young, she looked pretty and was favoured by Sun Luban. Every time Sun Luban entered the palace, she took Lady Quan to visit her father. When a succession struggle between Sun Quan's sons
Sun He
Sun He (224 – November or December 253), courtesy name Zixiao, was an imperial prince of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the third son of Sun Quan, the founding emperor of Wu. In 242, he became the cro ...
and
Sun Ba
Sun Ba (before 235 - September or October 250), courtesy name Ziwei, was an imperial prince of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the fourth son of Sun Quan, the founding emperor of Eastern Wu.
Life
Sun Ba ...
was ongoing, Sun Luban, who had a feud with Sun He's mother, urged her father to arrange a marriage between Lady Quan and
Sun Liang
Sun Liang (245–260), courtesy name Ziming, was the second emperor of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the youngest son and heir of Sun Quan, the founding emperor of Wu. He is also known as the Prince of ...
(another of Sun Quan's sons born to Lady Pan) because Sun Liang and his mother were becoming increasingly favoured by Sun Quan. Around 250, the succession struggle between Sun He and Sun Ba concluded when Sun Quan deposed Sun He from his position as crown prince and forced Sun Ba to commit suicide. Sun Liang was designated as the new heir apparent to the Wu throne.
In 252, Sun Liang ascended the throne upon the death of his father. In January 253, he instated Lady Quan as the empress. Following that, Empress Quan's family and relatives rose to power as six members of the Quan clan (including Quan Shang) were enfeoffed as marquises and assumed high offices in the Wu government and military forces. This was regarded as a phenomenon because since the founding of Wu in 229, there had never been a case of ''waiqi'' (外戚; relatives of the emperor's wives) playing prominent roles in the Wu political scene. In 257, when
Zhuge Dan
Zhuge Dan (died 10 April 258), courtesy name Gongxiu, was a Chinese military general and politician of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. When he held key military appointments throughout his middle to late career, h ...
a rebellion in the Wei-controlled Shouchun (壽春; around present-day
Shou County
Shou County or Shouxian () is a county in the north-central part of Anhui Province, China, and is located on the southern (right) bank of the Huai River. It is the southernmost county-level division of the prefecture-level city of Huainan. Its p ...
,
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 ...
), he requested help from Wu so Sun Liang ordered the Quans to lead troops to Shouchun to assist Zhuge Dan. However, the rebellion was suppressed by Wei forces and Zhuge Dan was killed, while four of the Quans surrendered and defected to Wei, thereafter the Quans' influence in Wu weakened drastically.
In 258, Sun Liang was deposed from the throne by Sun Chen, a distant relative of the Wu imperial family who rose to power in the 250s and became the regent of Wu. Sun Liang became known as the "
Prince of Kuaiji
Kuaiji Commandery ( Chinese: t , s , p ''Kuàijī Jùn''), formerly romanized as K'uai-chi Commandery, was a former commandery of China in the area of Hangzhou Bay. When first established, its capital was at Wu (present- ...
" after his dethronement while Empress Quan also lost her place as the empress. In 260, Sun Liang's elder half-brother and successor,
Sun Xiu
Sun Xiu (235 – 3 September 264), courtesy name Zilie, formally known as Emperor Jing of Wu, was the third emperor of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China.
Early life
Sun Xiu was born in 235 to Wu's founding emper ...
(who eliminated Sun Chen after ascending the throne in 258) further demoted Sun Liang to "Marquis of Houguan" and sent Sun Liang to his marquisate in Houguan County (侯官縣; around present-day Fuzhou,
Fujian
Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its cap ...
). Lady Quan accompanied Sun Liang to Houguan County and settled there.(會孫綝廢亮為會稽王，後又黜為候官侯，夫人隨之國，居候官，尚將家屬徙零陵，追見殺。) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 50. She returned to the Wu capital Jianye (建業; present-day
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, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its ca ...
) after Wu was vanquished in 280 by forces of the Jin dynasty. She died sometime in the Yongning era (301–303) of the reign of
Emperor Hui of Jin
Emperor Hui of Jin (; 260 - January 8, 307), personal name Sima Zhong (司馬衷), courtesy name Zhengdu (正度), was the second emperor of the Jin dynasty (266–420). Emperor Hui was a developmentally disabled ruler, and throughout his reign, ...
.(吳錄曰：亮妻惠解有容色，居候官，吳平乃歸，永寧中卒。) ''Wu Lu'' annotation in ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 50.