courtesy name
A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theobald ...
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.
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 ...
, a warlord who lived 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 ...
, granted the family name "Sun" to Sun Shao but never adopted him as a son. Sun Shao's uncle was
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 ...
() né Yu He (), who had been brought into the Sun clan by
Sun Jian
Sun Jian () () (155–191?), courtesy name Wentai, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He allied himself with Yuan Shu in 190 when warlords from eastern China formed a ...
. Sun Shao was described as a handsome man and was eight chi tall (approximately 184 cm).
Life
In 204, the Grand Administrator of Danyang, Sun Jian's son
Sun Yi
Sun Yi (184–204), courtesy name Shubi, was Chinese military general and politician who was a younger brother of Sun Quan, the founding emperor of the state of Eastern Wu in the Three Kingdoms period of China.
Life
Sun Yi was the third son of ...
was assassinated in Wanling by rebels still loyal to their former master
Sheng Xian
Sheng Xian ( 190s–200s), courtesy name Xiaozhang, was a Chinese politician who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He was from Kuaiji Commandery, which is around present-day Shaoxing, Zhejiang.
Life
Sheng Xian served as the ad ...
. Sun He discovered the culprits, but as one of the assassins, Gai Lan (), held a high military post in the city, Sun He was unable to control the military and was killed as well. After the deaths of the assassins at the hands of Sun Yi's former subordinates Sun Gao () and Fu Ying (), Sun Shao assumed control of Danyang
Commandery
In the Middle Ages, a commandery (rarely commandry) was the smallest administrative division of the European landed properties of a military order. It was also the name of the house where the knights of the commandery lived.Anthony Luttrell and G ...
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 ...
, tested Sun Shao's ability by feigning a night attack on his encampment, but found Sun Shao's men ready and his defences sound. The next day, Sun Quan rewarded the 16-year-old Sun Shao with the rank of colonel and control over the resources of Dantu () and Qu'e () counties, as well as formal control of the troops that had been under Sun He's command.
Prior to 220, Sun Shao was promoted to Lieutenant-General () and appointed as the Administrator of
Guangling Commandery Guangling Commandery ( zh, 廣陵郡) was a historical commandery of China from Han dynasty to Tang dynasty, located in present-day central Jiangsu province in central coastal China. It was named after Guangling, a historical name of Yangzhou.
In e ...
(roughly, the parts of modern
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 ...
and extreme eastern
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 ...
provinces which lie south of the
Huai River
The Huai River (), Postal Map Romanization, formerly romanization of Chinese, romanized as the Hwai, is a major river in China. It is located about midway between the Yellow River and Yangtze, the two longest rivers and largest drainage basins ...
and north of the
Yangtze
The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flows ...
). In 221, when Sun Quan became the King of Wu, he promoted Sun Shao to General Who Spreads Might (), and granted the marquisate of Jiande in present-day
Hangzhou
Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of Hangzhou Bay, whi ...
Cao Pi
Cao Pi () ( – 29 June 226), courtesy name Zihuan, was the first emperor of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the second son of Cao Cao, a warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty, but the eldest son ...
, in a continuing effort to make Sun Quan's crown prince Sun Deng a hostage at his court, advanced a huge army of over 100,000 troops through Sun Shao's territory in Guangling, with the intention of crossing the
Yangtze River
The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest list of rivers of Asia, river in Asia, the list of rivers by length, third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in th ...
and marching to Wu's capital at Jianye. Unfortunately for him, the winter weather had made the river impassable with ice. Unable to get his boats safely into the river, Cao Pi withdrew in force. According to Zhang Bo ()'s ''Record of Wu'' (), during the withdrawal, Sun Shao ordered his subordinate officer Gao Shou () and others to take some 500 of their most valiant warriors and make a night raid on the Wei lines in an attempt to capture Cao Pi alive. Gao Shou and his troops managed to capture several carriages in Cao Pi's escort, but the man himself eluded them.
In 229, when Sun Quan proclaimed himself emperor, Sun Shao was appointed General who Guards the North (). Sometime after 230, he was granted the nominal governorship of
You Province
You Prefecture or You Province, also known by its Chinese language, Chinese name Youzhou, was a prefecture (''Zhou (country subdivision), zhou'') in North China, northern China during its imperial era.
"You Province" was cited in some ancient so ...
. You Province comprised present-day
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
,
Tianjin
Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popul ...
, parts of northeast
Hebei
Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, an ...
and western
Liaoning
Liaoning () is a coastal province in Northeast China that is the smallest, southernmost, and most populous province in the region. With its capital at Shenyang, it is located on the northern shore of the Yellow Sea, and is the northernmost ...
. Far from Wu's northern frontier, the area never fell under their control; granting the title was merely a political statement of Sun Quan's assumed imperial power. In 234, during the fourth Battle of Hefei, Sun Shao and another general, Zhang Cheng, were tasked with leading a Wu army to attack Guangling and Huaiyin (). The episode ended in failure for Wu when Sun Quan's siege of Hefei was broken.
Sun Shao died of natural causes in 241.
Family
Sun Shao's son, Sun Kai, served as Militant General-in-Chief for Eastern Wu, one of the highest military appointments in the palace, sharing with two others the command of the imperial guard. He also served as Junior Overseer of the Capital and was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Lincheng, in modern-day
Xingtai
Xingtai (), formerly known as Xingzhou and Shunde, is a prefecture-level city in southern Hebei province, People's Republic of China. It has a total area of and administers 4 districts, 2 county-level cities and 12 counties. At the 2020 censu ...
,
Hebei
Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, an ...
. In 276, Sun Kai was given the position of Cavalry General Garrisoning the Palace, but when bandits sneak-attacked the capital and killed emperor
Sun Hao
Sun Hao (243 – January or February 284), courtesy name Yuanzong, originally named Sun Pengzu with the courtesy name Haozong, was the fourth and last emperor of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the son ...
's younger brother Sun Qian (), Sun Kai came under heavy suspicion from Sun Hao of collaborating with the bandits. Terrified, he took his household and a hundred or so of his personal guard and defected to the Jin dynasty.
Emperor Wu of Jin
Emperor Wu of Jin (; 236 – 16 May 290), personal name Sima Yan (), courtesy name Anshi (安世), was the grandson of Sima Yi, nephew of Sima Shi and son of Sima Zhao. He became the first emperor of the Jin dynasty after forcing Cao Huan, ...
appointed him General of Chariots and Cavalry, a position similar to his appointment in Eastern Wu: one of three generals sharing command of the imperial guard. Sun Kai was additionally enfeoffed as the Marquis of Danyang, a position which began to pay benefits following the
conquest of Wu by Jin
The conquest of Wu by Jin was a military campaign launched by the Western Jin dynasty against the Eastern Wu dynasty in 280 at the end of the Three Kingdoms period (220–280) of China. The campaign concluded with the fall of Eastern Wu and th ...
in 280.''Records of the Three Kingdoms'', chapter 51, p. 1216,
See also
*
Lists of people of the Three Kingdoms
The following are lists of people significant to the Three Kingdoms period (220–280) of Chinese history. Their names in Mandarin pinyin are sorted in alphabetical order.
Fictional characters in the 14th-century historical novel ''Romance of ...