Wu Rui (died ), King Wen of Changsha, was an ancient Chinese general who helped
Liu Bang establish the
Han dynasty. A
Baiyue magistrate of
Po County under the
Qin dynasty, he rose to become King of Hengshan during the
collapse of Qin and was enfeoffed as
King of Changsha during the early Han dynasty.
Life
An ethnic
Yue, Wu Rui was the son of Wu Shen ''Wú Shēn''), formerly grand marshal ''dà sīmǎ'', the highest military office) of the
Chu state. During the
Qin dynasty, Wu Rui was the magistrate of
Po County, which had not yet
flooded
A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrolog ...
. He enjoyed high popularity among the local Baiyue people and was known as "Lord of the Po" After Chen Sheng launched the
Dazexiang Uprising against the Qin, Wu Rui organized a Baiyue army and joined the rebellion. Wu Rui's followers included Mei Xuan ''Méi Xuān'') and his son-in-law
Ying Bu, both of whom assisted
Liu Bang and played a major role in his victory against Qin and
Xiang Yu.
In Wu Rui was bestowed the title King of Hengshan ''Héngshān wáng'') by Xiang Yu, as one of the
18 kings under the "Hegemon-King of Western Chu". In after Liu Bang's victory in the
Battle of Gaixia, Wu Rui, along with other kings loyal to Liu Bang, called the latter to take the title of emperor. After the foundation of Han dynasty, he was moved from Hengshan to become the
King of Changsha. Wu Rui died shortly after reaching Linxiang (present-day
Changsha), the capital of his new fief.
Legacy
Wu Rui was buried near Changsha. After his death, the kingdom passed to his son, Wu Chen ''Wú Chén''). His descendants
honored him under the
posthumous name King Wen ("the civil king").
['' Book of Han'', Chapter 34.] His line was the only one among non-Liu family kings to survive past Liu Bang's reign.
In the early
Three Kingdoms Period, Wu Rui's tomb was demolished to provide the source of wood for a new temple for
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 ...
. The body was so well preserved that one of the participants later commented to Wu Gang ''Wú Gāng'') "colonel of the Nanman" ''Nánmán xiàowèi'') and a living descendant of Wu Rui, that he looked particularly similar to his ancestor.
[ Li Daoyuan, '' Commentary on the Water Classic'', citing Guo Ban (郭頒), ''Shiyu'' (《世語》)：魏黃初末，吳人發芮冢取木，於縣立孫堅廟，見芮尸容貌衣物並如故。吳平后，與發冢人於壽春見南蠻校尉吳綱曰：“君形貌何類長沙王吳芮乎！但君微短耳。”綱矍然曰：“是先祖也。”]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wu, Rui
202 BC deaths
Chu–Han contention people
Qin dynasty generals
Baiyue
Han dynasty generals