Lady Sun

Lady Sun (180s - 211), also known as Sun Ren in the 14th-century historical novel ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' and Sun Shangxiang in Chinese opera and contemporary culture, was a Chinese noblewoman who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty. She was a daughter of the warlord Sun Jian and Lady Wu, and her older brothers were the warlords Sun Ce and Sun Quan, who founded the state of Eastern Wu in the Three Kingdoms period. Sometime in 209, she married the warlord Liu Bei to strengthen an alliance between Liu Bei and Sun Quan. Around 211, she returned to Sun Quan's domain when Liu Bei left Jing Province (covering present-day Hubei and Hunan) and settled in Yi Province (covering present-day Sichuan and Chongqing).

Life

Lady Sun was the only daughter of Sun Jian and Lady Wu. She had four brothers who were also born to Lady Wu – Sun Ce, Sun Quan, Sun Yi and Sun Kuang. Her personal name was not recorded in history. Also, the birth order of her and her brothers Sun Yi and Sun Kuang is unknown.

During 209, Lady Sun married the warlord Liu Bei to strengthen an alliance between Liu Bei and Sun Quan. The marriage probably took place at Gong'an County because it was the provincial capital of Jing Province and Liu Bei was nominally serving as the provincial governor at the time. Lady Sun was known to be talented and bright. She was also bold and extremely fierce in character with a personality that remind of her elder brothers. She had more than a hundred female servants who carried swords and stood guard outside her room. Liu Bei was also suspicious and fearful of Lady Sun. Liu Bei's adviser Zhuge Liang once said: "When our lord iu Beiwas in Gong'an, he dreaded Cao Cao's influence in the north and feared Sun Quan's presence in the east. Even in home territory he was afraid that Lady Sun would cause trouble." In 211, Fa Zheng was sent by Liu Zhang to form an alliance with Liu Bei against the future threat posed by Cao Cao in Hanzhong. While he was in Jing Province, he met Lady Sun who left quite an impression on him since he urged Liu Bei to have her sent back to Wu.

Lady Sun saw herself as the sister of a powerful warlord, and not only acted in an arrogant, unbridled manner, but also allowed her bodyguards and personal staff to behave lawlessly in Jing Province. For this reason, Liu Bei specially appointed his general Zhao Yun, whom he deemed a serious and conscientious person, to oversee domestic affairs in Jing Province and maintain law and order. Around 211, Liu Bei left Jing Province on a campaign to attack the warlord Liu Zhang in Yi Province while Lady Sun remained behind in Jing Province. When Sun Quan heard that Liu Bei had travelled to Yi Province, he sent a ship to fetch her. Lady Sun attempted to bring Liu Bei's son Liu Shan, who was born to Liu Bei's other wife Lady Gan, with her to Sun Quan's territory. However, Zhao Yun and Zhang Fei, another of Liu Bei's generals, led their men to intercept her along the way and retrieve Liu Shan.(漢晉春秋云：先主入益州，吳遣迎孫夫人。夫人欲將太子歸吳，諸葛亮使趙雲勒兵斷江留太子，乃得止。) ''Han Jin Chunqiu'' annotation in ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 34. Nothing was recorded in history about what happened to Lady Sun after she returned home.

Family tree

Names

Other names of Lady Sun include:

* Sun Ren (), in the 14th-century historical novel ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms''.(吳夫人之妹，即為孫堅次妻，亦生一子一女：子名朗，字早安；女名仁。) ''Sanguo Yanyi'' ch. 7.
* Sun Shangxiang (), in drama and popular culture.
* Xiao Ji (), nickname in popular culture.
* Gongyao Ji (), nickname in the Japanese translation of ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' by Eiji Yoshikawa.

In ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms''

Lady Sun appears as a character in the 14th-century historical novel ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'', which romanticizes the historical events before and during the Three Kingdoms period. Her name was Sun Ren (孫仁) in the novel, which depicts her as a fiery, determined woman skilled in martial arts. Fictitious events in the novel include her marriage to Liu Bei and subsequent suicide when she heard false news of his death.

In popular culture

Lady Sun is a playable character in Koei's ''Dynasty Warriors'' video game series. She also appears in '' Warriors Orochi'', a crossover between ''Dynasty Warriors'' and '' Samurai Warriors''. She is referred to as "Sun Shang Xiang" in the first seven installments of the series, and as "Sun Shangxiang" from the eighth installment onwards.

In Koei's ''Kessen 2'' she is named "Sun Li" and is one of Liu Bei's many love interests.

Chinese actress Zhao Wei portrayed Sun Shangxiang in the 2008 Chinese epic war film '' Red Cliff'' directed by John Woo. In the first part, she and her all-female bodyguards lure Cao Cao's troops into an ambush. In the second part, she infiltrates Cao Cao's camp and draws a map of the enemy formation.

Lady Sun was portrayed by Pets Tseng in the 2009 Taiwanese idol drama series ''K.O.3an Guo'', which spoofs ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' in a present-day high school setting. In the drama, Sun is the love interest of Xiu, who is the Iron Dimension counterpart of Liu Bei.

In the game '' Total War: Three Kingdoms'' she is named Sun Ren. Initially appearing as a child in the family tree of Sun Jian's campaign, Sun Ren becomes a playable character later in the game when she is an adult.

See also

* Lists of people of the Three Kingdoms

Notes

References

* Chen, Shou (3rd century). ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'' (''Sanguozhi'').
* Chang Qu (4th century). '' Chronicles of Huayang'' (''Huayang Guo Zhi'').
*
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* Luo, Guanzhong (14th century). ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' (''Sanguo Yanyi'').
* Pei, Songzhi (5th century). ''Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms'' (''Sanguozhi zhu'').
* Sima, Guang (1084). ''Zizhi Tongjian''.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sun, Lady
2nd-century births
3rd-century Chinese women
3rd-century Chinese people
Year of death unknown
Sun Ce and associates
Family of Liu Bei
Family of Sun Quan