Helü or Helu was king of the state of Wu from 514 to 496 BC, toward the end of the

Spring and Autumn period The Spring and Autumn period () was a period in History of China, Chinese history corresponding roughly to the first half of the Eastern Zhou (256 BCE), characterized by the gradual erosion of royal power as local lords nominally subject t ...

of ancient China. His given name was Guang (); he was initially known as Prince Guang.

Life

Prince Guang was the son of King Yumei, and the nephew of King Liao. He welcomed the Chu exile

Wu Zixu :''Note: names are in simplified characters followed by traditional and Pinyin transliteration.'' Wu Yun (died 484 BC), better known by his courtesy name Zixu, was a Chinese military general and politician of the Wu (state), Wu kingdom in the Spr ...

into his entourage and, when he sought to usurp the throne of Wu, was introduced by him to

Zhuan Zhu Zhuan Zhu (專諸; died 515 BC) was an assassin in the Spring and Autumn period. Zhuan Zhu used to be a butcher, he was very filial to his mother. As Prince Guang (later King Helü of Wu) wanted to kill King Liao of Wu and take the throne himself, ...

. Zhuan assassinated King Liao in 515BC and the prince became King Helü. The king assigned Wu Zixu to lead the design and building of his "great city", which forms the basis of

Suzhou Suzhou is a major prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu province, China. As part of the Yangtze Delta megalopolis, it is a major economic center and focal point of trade and commerce. Founded in 514 BC, Suzhou rapidly grew in size by the ...

's present old town. In 506 BC, Helü, with the help of Wu Zixu and

Sun Tzu Sun Tzu (; zh, t=孫子, s=孙子, first= t, p=Sūnzǐ) may have been a Chinese General, military general, strategist, philosopher, and writer who lived during the Eastern Zhou period (771–256 BC). Sun Tzu is traditionally credited as the au ...

, the author of ''

The Art of War ''The Art of War'' is an ancient Chinese military treatise dating from the late Spring and Autumn period (roughly 5th century BC). The work, which is attributed to the ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu ("Master Sun"), is compos ...

'', launched major offensives against the

state of Chu Chu (, Old Chinese: ''*s-r̥aʔ'') was an Ancient Chinese states, ancient Chinese state during the Zhou dynasty. Their first ruler was King Wu of Chu in the early 8th century BC. Chu was located in the south of the Zhou heartland and lasted ...

. They prevailed in five battles, one of which was the Battle of Boju, and conquered the capital Ying. During the sack of the capital, Helü attempted to sexually assault the Dowager Queen, but she fought him off with a knife and remonstrated with him, leading to Helü leaving in shame. Chu managed to ask the

state of Qin Qin (, , or ''Ch'in'') was an ancient Chinese state during the Zhou dynasty. It is traditionally dated to 897 BC. The state of Qin originated from a reconquest of western lands that had previously been lost to the Xirong. Its location at ...

for help, and after he was defeated by Qin, the vanguard general of Wu troops, Fugai, a younger brother of Helü, led a rebellion. After beating Fugai, Helü was forced to leave Chu. Fugai later retired to Chu and settled there. In 496 BC, upon hearing that Yunchang of Yue had died, he launched an invasion of Yue, but was injured and subsequently died from his injuries while telling his son to avenge him. His son, Fuchai, succeeded him in 495 BC. Fuchai would later annex Yue and capture Yue's King Goujian. Helü had two other sons named Bo and Shan. Bo was initially his heir but died before him. File:吴王光剑.jpg , Sword from the tomb of king Helü. The inscription on the blade reads "Made for the personal use of lord Guang of Wu" (攻吾王光自作用僉). Kept in Shanghai Museum. File:“吴王光”青铜鉴03665.jpg , The bronze ''Wu Wang Guang Jian'' ("Prince Guang of Wu's Basin"). The inscription inside records that Helü commissioned it for his daughter's dowry and provides evidence of a political marriage between families of the Wu and Chu states.

Literary sources

Records of the Grand Historian The ''Shiji'', also known as ''Records of the Grand Historian'' or ''The Grand Scribe's Records'', is a Chinese historical text that is the first of the Twenty-Four Histories of imperial China. It was written during the late 2nd and early 1st ce ...

* ''Gailu'' text presenting the dialogue between Helü and Wu Zixu, one of the 8 texts from the Tomb 247 (202-186 BCE) excavated at Zhangjiashan, Jingzhou, Hubei, in 1983. The text is paralleled by a

Dunhuang Dunhuang () is a county-level city in northwestern Gansu Province, Western China. According to the 2010 Chinese census, the city has a population of 186,027, though 2019 estimates put the city's population at about 191,800. Sachu (Dunhuang) was ...

manuscript which attributes the conversation to Duke Jing of Qi and Yan Ying.Olivia Milburn, The Glory of Yue, 2010:57.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Helu Zhou dynasty nobility 496 BC deaths 6th-century BC Chinese monarchs 5th-century BC Chinese monarchs Year of birth unknown Monarchs of Wu (state)