The King of Wu or Prince of Wu was a title referring to Chinese rulers of the area originally controlled by the Gou Wu tribes around

Wuxi Wuxi (, ) is a city in southern Jiangsu province, eastern China, by car to the northwest of downtown Shanghai, between Changzhou and Suzhou. In 2017 it had a population of 3,542,319, with 6,553,000 living in the entire prefecture-level city ar ...

on the lower

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 ...

, generally known as the Wu region. The title ''

wang Wang may refer to: Names * Wang (surname) (王), a common Chinese surname * Wāng (汪), a less common Chinese surname * Titles in Chinese nobility * A title in Korean nobility * A title in Mongolian nobility Places * Wang River in Thai ...

'' is written identically in Chinese, but it is common in English to distinguish between the scions of the imperial dynasties (translated "prince") and the dynasties of independent lords (translated "king").

History

According to traditional Chinese historians, the title was first used by two refugee princes from Zhou who settled among the barbarian Wu. Their state of Wu had its capital first at

Meili In Norse mythology, Meili (Old Norse: , "the lovely one"Simek (2007:210).) is a god, son of the god Odin and brother of the god Thor. Meili is attested in the '' Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and t ...

(traditionally held to be Meicun in modern

), then at Gusu (within modern Suzhou) and Helu City (present-day Suzhou). It was established independently but became a vassal to the

Zhou dynasty The Zhou dynasty ( ; Old Chinese ( B&S): *''tiw'') was a royal dynasty of China that followed the Shang dynasty. Having lasted 789 years, the Zhou dynasty was the longest dynastic regime in Chinese history. The military control of China by ...

after its conquest of the

Shang dynasty The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty founded by Tang of Shang (Cheng Tang) that ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and ...

. It became independent again during the Spring and Autumn period, but was annexed by the Yue state in 473 BC. The title was somewhat infelicitous for the early Kings of the Han dynasty, who were quite autonomous and powerful before being reined in after an unsuccessful revolt in 154 BC. Therefore, the early princes are sometimes counted as "kings" as well. After the rebellion, the Wuyue region was divided up among different princes and the title was abolished until it was recreated 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 ...

era when Cao Cao recommended Sun Ce to be Marquis of Wu in 197. Sun Quan was created as King of Wu in 220 as a vassal ruler of

Cao Wei Wei ( Hanzi: 魏; pinyin: ''Wèi'' < Middle Chinese: *''ŋjwei^C'' <

Eastern Wu in 229. The Prince of Wu title was recreated during the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdom ...

for 14th son of Emperor Gaozu, Li Yuangui.

Li Ke Li Ke ( ; 619 – 10 March 653), posthumously known as the Prince of Yùlín (鬱林王), often known by his greater title as the Prince of Wú (吳王), was an imperial prince of the Tang Dynasty. As a highly honored son of Emperor Taizong, he ...

was created as Prince of Wu in 636. The title was suspended in 653 when Li Ke ordered to commit suicide. He was found innocent in 705, and his son Li Kun was posthumously honored as Prince of Wu. The title remained suspended until near the end of Tang dynasty,

Yang Xingmi Yang Xingmi (; 852''Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms''vol. 1 – December 24, 905Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 265.), né Yang Xingmin (楊行愍, name changed 886), courtesy name Huayuan ...

was created Prince of Wu in 902, and his successor kept the Wu title even after end of Tang in 907. They remained independent as Southern Wu as King of Wu until

Yang Pu Yang Pu ( zh, 楊溥; 900 – January 21, 939), formally Emperor Rui of Wu (), was the last ruler of Wu, and the only one that claimed the title of emperor. During his reign, the state was in effective control of the regents Xu Wen and Xu Wen' ...

declared himself an emperor. During the Red Turban Rebellion,

Zhu Yuanzhang The Hongwu Emperor (21 October 1328 – 24 June 1398), personal name Zhu Yuanzhang (), courtesy name Guorui (), was the founding emperor of the Ming dynasty of China, reigning from 1368 to 1398. As famine, plagues and peasant revolts i ...

declared himself King of Wu during the late phases of against the Yuan, just prior to his establishment of the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peo ...

. His fifth son, Zhu Su, received the title as Prince of Wu after he became emperor in 1370. The title was vacated in 1378 after Zhu Su's title changed to Prince of Zhou. In 1399, Zhu Yuntong was recreated as Prince of Wu, but he was strip of the title after

Jianwen Emperor The Jianwen Emperor (5 December 1377 – ?), personal name Zhu Yunwen (), was the second Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1398 to 1402. The era name of his reign, Jianwen, means "establishing civility" and represented a sharp chan ...

was deposed by

Yongle Emperor The Yongle Emperor (; pronounced ; 2 May 1360 – 12 August 1424), personal name Zhu Di (), was the third Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1402 to 1424. Zhu Di was the fourth son of the Hongwu Emperor, the founder of the Ming dyn ...

due to his relationship. The title became extinct since then.

Titleholders

Wu state

* Shoumeng (585–561 BC) *

Zhufan Zhufan (, local accent:zhuf, or Juf) also called West Zhufan or Xizhufan () , is an administrative village governed by Shilianghe Town () of Donghai County, in the north of Jiangsu Province, China. The village lies to the west of Ganyu of Li ...

(560–548 BC) * Yuji (547–544 BC) * Yumei (543–527 BC) * Liao (526–515 BC) * Helü (515–496 BC), cousin, rose to power via assassination, employed

Sun Tzu Sun Tzu ( ; zh, t=孫子, s=孙子, first= t, p=Sūnzǐ) was a Chinese military general, strategist, philosopher, and writer who lived during the Eastern Zhou period of 771 to 256 BCE. Sun Tzu is traditionally credited as the author of '' The ...

Fuchai Fuchai (reigned 495–473BC), sometimes also written Fucha, was the last king of the state of Wu during the Spring and Autumn Period of Chinese history. His armies constructed important canals linking the Yellow, Ji, and Huai River systems of t ...

(495–473 BC)

Western Han dynasty

* Liu Pi (195–154 BC) led the

Rebellion of the Seven States The Rebellion of the Seven States or Revolt of the Seven Kingdoms () took place in 154 BC against the Han dynasty of China by its regional semi-autonomous kings, to resist the emperor's attempt to centralize the government further. Background ...

Eastern Wu dynasty

* Sun Quan (220–229), vassal king of Cao Wei between 220 and 222, and independent afterward.

Tang dynasty

Li Yuangui Li, li, or LI may refer to: Businesses and organizations * Landscape Institute, a British professional body for landscape architects * Leadership Institute, a non-profit organization located in Arlington, Virginia, US, that teaches "political tec ...

(625–636), 14th son of Emperor Gaozu, later Prince of Huo. *

(636–653), 3rd son of Emperor Taizong, also a

crown prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wi ...

, famed for rebellion and was ordered to commit suicide. *

(852–905), created in 902 near the end of Tang dynasty, his successor later found the Southern Wu kingdom.

Yang Wu dynasty

Yang Wo Yang Wo () (886 – June 9, 908), courtesy name Chengtian (), formally Prince Wei of Hongnong (), later further posthumously honored King Jing of Wu () and then as Emperor Jing of Wu () with the temple name Liezu (), was the first independent ruler ...

(886–908), eldest son of Yang Xingmi. *

Yang Longyan Yang Longyan () (897 – June 17, 920), né Yang Ying (), also known as Yang Wei (), courtesy name Hongyuan (), formally King Xuan of Wu (), later further posthumously honored Emperor Xuan of Wu () with the temple name of Gaozu (), was a king of t ...

(897–920), second son of Yang Xingmi. *

(900–938), fourth son of Yang Xingmi, declared himself emperor.

Ming dynasty

(1364–1368) *Zhu Su (1361–1425), 5th son of Hongwu Emperor, created as Prince of Wu in 1370 and changed to Prince of Zhou in 1378. *Zhu Yuntong (1378–1402), 3rd son of

Zhu Biao Zhu Biao (; 10 October 1355 17 May 1392) was the Hongwu Emperor's eldest son and crown prince of the Ming dynasty. His early death created a crisis in the dynasty's first succession that was resolved by the successful usurpation of his brother ...

, grandson of Hongwu Emperor, brother of

, created as Prince of Wu in 1399.