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Kingdom of Wu

The Kingdom of Wu (吳 wu2) (222 - 280) was one of the Three Kingdoms competing for control of China after the fall of the Han Dynasty.

During the decline of the Han dynasty, the State of Wu - a region in the south of Chang Jiang, surrounding Suzhou - was under the control of the warlord Sun Quan. Sun Quan succeeded his brother as Wu Wang (the king of Wu) and considered the area under his rule subject to the Han emperor. Unlike his competitors, he did not really have the ambition to be Emperor of China. However, after Cao Pi of the Kingdom of Wei and Liu Bei of the Kingdom of Shu each declared himself to be the Emperor, Sun Quan decided to follow suit in 222, claiming to have founded the Wu dynasty.

Under the rule of Wu, the Southern China, regarded by the early dynasty "jungle" developed into one of the commercial, culture and political centers of China. However, it is not until half century later, during the Five Dynasties and Ten States that the development of the southern China surpassed that of the north.

During this time, Taiwan island was first recorded. The contact with native population and the sending of officials to the island of Taiwan by the Wu Dynasty paved for the road, leading the official establishment of Taiwan Province in the later dynasties.

The kingdom was conquered by the first Jin emperor, Sima Yan, in 280. With a lifespan of 58 years, it was the longest-lived of the three kingdoms.

Important figures:


Kingdom of Wu 222-280
Posthumous Names ( Shi Hao 諡號) Family (in bold) and first names Year(s) of Reigns Era Names (Nian Hao 年號) and their range of years
Convention: use personal name
Da Di (大帝 da4 di4) Sun Quan (孫權 sun1 quan2) 222-252 Huangwu (黃武 huang2 wu3) 222-229
   Huanglong (黃龍 huang2 long2) 229-231
Jiahe (嘉禾 jia1 he2) 232-238
Chiwu (赤烏 chi4 wu1) 238-251
Taiyuan (太元 tai4 yuan2) 251-252
Shenfeng (神鳳 shen2 feng4) 252
Kuai ji wang (會稽王 kuai4 ji1 wang2) Sun Liang (孫亮 sun1 liang4) 252-258 Jianxing (建興 jian4 xing1) 252-253
   Wufeng    (五鳳 wu3 feng4)   254-256
Taiping (太平 tai4 ping2) 256-258
Jing Di (景帝 jing3 di4) Sun Xiu (孫休 sun1 xiu1) 258-264 Yongan (永安 yong3 an1) 258-264
Wu Cheng Hou (烏程侯 wu1 cheng2 hou2) Sun Hao (孫皓 sun1 hao4) 264-280 Yuanxing (元興 yuan2 xing1) 264-265
   Ganlu     (甘露 gan1 lu4)     265-266
Baoding (寶鼎 bao3 ding3) 266-269
Jianheng (建衡 jian4 heng2) 269-271
Fenghuang (鳳凰 feng4 huang2) 272-274
Tiance (天冊 tian1 ce4) 275-276
Tianxi (天璽 tian1 xi3) 276
Tianji (天紀 tian1 ji4) 277-280