Lady Wu (died 202 or 207), personal name unknown, was a Chinese noble lady, aristocrat and posthumously honoured as Empress of

Eastern Wu Wu (Chinese language, Chinese: 吳; pinyin: ''Wú''; Middle Chinese *''ŋuo'' < Eastern Han Chinese: ''*ŋuɑ''), known in historiography as Eastern Wu or Sun Wu, was a Dynasties of China, dynastic state of China and one of the three major sta ...

state. She was the wife of the warlord

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 ...

, who lived during the late

Eastern Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

of China. She bore Sun Jian four sons and a daughter –

Sun Ce Sun Ce () () (175 – 5 May 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 Xian ...

Sun Quan Sun Quan (; 182 – 21 May 252), courtesy name Zhongmou (), posthumous name, posthumously known as Emperor Da of Wu, was the founder of Eastern Wu, one of the Three Kingdoms of China. He inherited control of the warlord regime established by hi ...

Sun Yi Sun Yi (c. 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. He was the husband of Lady ...

Sun Kuang Sun Kuang (after 184- before 210?), courtesy name Jizuo, was a younger brother of Sun Quan, a Chinese warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty and became the founding emperor of the state of Eastern Wu in the Three Kingdoms period. ...

and Lady Sun. She was posthumously honoured as Empress Wulie in 229 by her second son Sun Quan, who became the founding emperor of the state of

in the

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu dominated China from AD 220 to 280 following the end of the Han dynasty. This period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and followed by the Jin dynasty (266–420), Western Jin dyna ...

period.

Early life and marriage to Sun Jian

Lady Wu was from Wu County, Wu Commandery, which is around present-day

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 ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...

, but she grew up in Qiantang County in present-day

Hangzhou Hangzhou, , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ; formerly romanized as Hangchow is a sub-provincial city in East China and the capital of Zhejiang province. With a population of 13 million, the municipality comprises ten districts, two counti ...

Zhejiang ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...

. She was orphaned at a young age as both of her parents died so she lived with her younger brother, Wu Jing.

heard of her beauty and character and desired to marry her. However, Lady Wu's relatives disliked Sun Jian, whom they perceived as an idler and a rascal, so they wanted to reject his proposal. Sun Jian was embarrassed and angry at their decision. Lady Wu told her relatives, "Why bring disaster upon yourselves just because of your love for me? If this turns out to be a bad marriage, I'll accept it as my fate." Lady Wu's relatives then agreed to her marriage to Sun Jian. She bore Sun Jian four sons and a daughter. She probably married Sun Jian in 175 or earlier because their first child,

, was born that year. According to a story in '' In Search of the Supernatural'', Lady Wu dreamt about the moon entering her body before she gave birth to Sun Ce. Later, before she gave birth to

, she had a similar dream about the sun entering her body. When she asked her husband about her strange dreams, he said, "The sun and the moon capture the true essence of

yin and yang Originating in Chinese philosophy, yin and yang (, ), also yinyang or yin-yang, is the concept of opposite cosmic principles or forces that interact, interconnect, and perpetuate each other. Yin and yang can be thought of as complementary an ...

. They are very auspicious symbols. My descendants will become great men!" In 190, when Sun Jian raised an army to join the

campaign against Dong Zhuo The Campaign against Dong Zhuo was a punitive expedition initiated by a coalition of regional officials and warlords against the warlord Dong Zhuo in 190 in the late Eastern Han dynasty. The members of the coalition claimed that Dong had the i ...

, he relocated his family from Changsha Commandery (長沙郡; covering present-day

Changsha Changsha is the capital of Hunan, China. It is the 15th most populous city in China with a population of 10,513,100, the Central China#Cities with urban area over one million in population, third-most populous city in Central China, and the ...

and parts of

Hunan Hunan is an inland Provinces of China, province in Central China. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the Administrative divisions of China, province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to the east, Gu ...

) to Shu County (), Lujiang Commandery (), which is in present-day Shucheng County,

Anhui Anhui is an inland Provinces of China, province located in East China. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze and Huai rivers, bordering Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the east, Jiang ...

. In Shu, Sun Ce met and befriended

Zhou Yu Zhou Yu (, ) (175–210), courtesy name Gongjin (), was a Chinese military general and strategist serving under the warlord Sun Ce in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. After Sun Ce died in the year 200, he continued serving under Sun Qua ...

, who was about the same age as him. Zhou Yu offered to let Sun Ce and his family stay with him and he paid respects to Lady Wu as though she was his real mother. Zhou Yu and Sun Ce became very close friends.

Life during Sun Ce's conquests in Jiangdong

was killed in action at the Battle of Xiangyang in 191 against

Liu Biao Liu Biao () () ( 151 – September 208), courtesy name Jingsheng, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He is best known for serving as the governor of Jing Province (coveri ...

's forces. He was succeeded by his eldest son

. Around the time, Lady Wu's younger brother Wu Jing was appointed by the warlord

Yuan Shu Yuan Shu () (155 – 199), courtesy name Gonglu, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty. He rose to prominence following the collapse of the Han central government in 189. He decla ...

as the Administrator () 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 ...

(丹楊郡; around present-day Xuancheng,

), but had yet to assume his appointment. Wu Jing was at Qu'e County (曲阿縣; in present-day Danyang,

) then, so Sun Ce brought his family to Qu'e County to join his uncle. Between 194 and 199, Sun Ce embarked on a series of conquests in the Jiangdong (or Wu) region to seize territories from the local governors and warlords in the area. He left his mother and family members in Qu'e County, but later had them relocated to Liyang County (歷陽縣; present-day

He County He County or Hexian () is a county in the east of Anhui Province, China, under the jurisdiction of Ma'anshan. It has a population of 650,000 and an area of . The government of He County is located in Liyang Town. History From 1965 to 2011, He Co ...

, Anhui) and Fuling County (阜陵縣; around present-day

Quanjiao County Quanjiao County () is a county in the east of Anhui Province, China, bordering Jiangsu province to the east. It is under the administration of Chuzhou Chuzhou () is a prefecture-level city in eastern Anhui Provinces of China, Province, China ...

, Anhui) consecutively. After Sun Ce had conquered Wu (around present-day

) and Kuaiji (around present-day

Shaoxing Shaoxing is a prefecture-level city on the southern shore of Hangzhou Bay in northeastern Zhejiang province, China. Located on the south bank of the Qiantang River estuary, it borders Ningbo to the east, Taizhou, Zhejiang, Taizhou to the south ...

) commanderies, he relocated his family to Wu County, which was Lady Wu's hometown. When Sun Ce was in power in Jiangdong, he encountered a Taoist priest called Yu Ji, who had attracted a sizeable following for spreading his faith and for his alleged healing powers. Sun Ce accused Yu Ji of heresy and had him arrested. Many women came to see Lady Wu and implored her to save Yu Ji, so Lady Wu asked her son to release Yu Ji. She said, "Yu Ji brings good luck to the army and heals the soldiers. You shouldn't kill him." However, Sun Ce insisted that Yu Ji was a heretic and was corrupting the masses through his "teachings", so he had Yu executed. Lady Wu was known for her wisdom and shrewdness in politics. The ''Kuaiji Dianlu'' () recorded one incident in which Sun Ce wanted to kill Wei Teng (), an Officer of Merit () serving under him, when Wei opposed his views. The other officials were afraid and did not know what to do. Lady Wu showed up, stood beside a well, and told her son, "You've recently established a foothold in Jiangnan and there are many things you still need to do. You should treat men of talent with respect, pardon them for their minor mistakes and honour them for their contributions. Officer Wei has been performing his duties faithfully. If you kill him today, tomorrow others will rebel against you. I don't wish to see a tragedy occur, so I'll throw myself into this well." Sun Ce was shocked and he immediately released Wei Teng.

Life during Sun Quan's administration

was assassinated in 200 CE by the servants of Xu Gong, a commandery administrator whom he killed earlier. He was succeeded by his younger brother,

, who was still young when he took over the reins of power. Lady Wu rendered much assistance to Sun Quan in administering political and military affairs. She was worried that Sun Quan would be too young to handle the precarious situation in Jiangdong. She consulted Dong Xi about her incertitude, and Dong Xi emboldened the former by saying, "The lands east of the Yangzi enjoy natural barriers from mountains and rivers, while the good government and virtue of Sun Ce have already attracted the people, lord Sun Quan can build on these foundations, so that great and small may follow his commands. Around 202, the warlord

Cao Cao Cao Cao (; ; ; 15 March 220), courtesy name Mengde, was a Chinese statesman, warlord, and poet who rose to power during the end of the Han dynasty (), ultimately taking effective control of the Han central government. He laid the foundation f ...

, who controlled the Han central government, demanded that Sun Quan send one of his sons to the imperial capital Xu (許; present-day

Xuchang Xuchang ( zh, s=, t= ; postal: Hsuchang) is a prefecture-level city in central Henan province in Central China. It is bordered by the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the northwest, Kaifeng to the northeast, Zhoukou to the east, Luohe ...

Henan Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Lu ...

) as a hostage so as to secure Sun's allegiance towards him. When Sun Quan gathered his subjects to discuss the issue, they could not arrive at a conclusion. Personally, Sun Quan was not in favour of yielding to Cao Cao's demand, so he had another meeting with only his mother and

. Zhou Yu advised Sun Quan against sending a hostage while Lady Wu endorsed Zhou's suggestion and asked her son to treat Zhou like an elder brother. Sun Quan heeded their advice. Before her death in 202 or 207, Lady Wu summoned Zhang Zhao, Dong Xi and others and instructed them to help Sun Quan in governing the territories in Jiangnan. She was buried at Gaoling (高陵; believed to be somewhere in present-day Suzhou, Jiangsu). In 229, when Sun Quan declared himself

Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

and established the state of

, he granted his mother the posthumous title "Empress Wulie" ().

In ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms''

In the 14th-century historical novel ''

Romance of the Three Kingdoms ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' () is a 14th-century historical novel attributed to Luo Guanzhong. It is set in the turbulent years towards the end of the Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history, starting in 184 AD and ...

'', Lady Wu had a fictional younger sister who also married Sun Jian. The elder Lady Wu was the mother of

and

while the younger one bore Lady Sun and Sun Lang. The younger Lady Wu was also known as "Wu Guotai" (吳國太; literally "Elder Lady of the State of Wu"). Wu Guotai lived longer than her sister because she played a significant role in the marriage of her daughter to

Liu Bei Liu Bei (, ; ; 161 – 10 June 223), courtesy name Xuande (), was a China, Chinese warlord in the late Han dynasty#Eastern Han, Eastern Han dynasty who later became the founding Emperor of China, emperor of Shu Han, one of the Three Kingdoms of ...

in 209.''Sanguo Yanyi'' ch. 54-55.

Notes

References

* Chen, Shou (3rd century). ''

Records of the Three Kingdoms The ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'' is a Chinese official history written by Chen Shou in the late 3rd century CE, covering the end of the Han dynasty (220 CE) and the subsequent Three Kingdoms period (220–280 CE). It is regard ...

'' (''Sanguozhi''). * * Luo, Guanzhong (14th century). ''

'' (''Sanguo Yanyi''). * Pei, Songzhi (5th century). ''

Annotated Records of the Three Kingdoms ''Annotated Records of the Three Kingdoms'' () by Pei Songzhi (372–451) is an annotation completed in the 5th century of the 3rd century historical text ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'', compiled by Chen Shou. After the fall of the Eastern Jin ...