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Zhang Zhao

Zhang Zhao

Zhang Zhao (張昭) (156 - 236) was a brilliantly minded civil officer who served under the Sun family at the time of the Three Kingdoms in China. It is said that when Sun Ce died he told his brother to seek advice on internal affairs from Zhang Zhao. He suggested that Sun Quan surrender to Cao Cao, rather than face him at the Battle of Chibi. Sun refused, and eventually was able to prevail and preserve his domain, which eventually became Eastern Wu. Despite this particular poor advice, Zhang proved to be an effective prime minister after Eastern Wu's establishment. Category:People of the Three Kingdoms Category:Han Dynasty Category:156 births Category:236 deaths ja:張昭

156

Events

- First apparition of the heresiarch Montanus in Ardaban (Mysia)

Births

- Lü Bu, Chinese general.
- Sun Jian, father of the first king, Sun Quan, of the Wu Kingdom in China.
- Emperor Ling of Han China

Deaths

Category:156 ko:156년

236

Events

- Pope Fabian succeeds Pope Anterus

Births

Deaths

- Pope Anterus
- Hippolytus, Christian author
- Zhang Zhao, Chinese official Category:236 ko:236년

Three Kingdoms

The Three Kingdoms period (Simplified Chinese: 三国; Traditional Chinese: 三國; Pinyin Sānguó) is a period in the history of China. In a strict academic sense it refers to the period between the foundation of the Wei in 220 and the conquest of the Wu by the Jin Dynasty in 280. However, many Chinese historians and laypeople extend the starting point of this period back to the uprising of the Yellow Turbans in 184. 184 The earlier, "unofficial" part of the period, from 190 to 220, was marked by chaotic infighting between warlords in various parts of China. The middle part of the period, from 220 and 263, was marked by a more militarily stable arrangement between three rival states, Wei (魏), Han (漢), and Wu (吳). To distinguish these states from earlier states of the same name, historians prepended a character: Wei is also known as Cao Wei (曹魏), Han is also known as Shu Han (蜀漢), which later became more commonly known as Shu, and Wu is also known as Eastern Wu (東吳). The later part of this period was marked by the destruction of Shu by Wei (263), the overthrow of Wei by the Jin Dynasty (265), and the destruction of Wu by Jin (280). The term "Three Kingdoms" itself is somewhat of a mistranslation, since each state was eventually headed by an Emperor who claimed legitimate succession from the Han Dynasty, not by kings. Nevertheless the term has become standard among sinologists and will be used in this article. Although relatively short, this historical period has been greatly romanticised in the cultures of China, Japan, Korea and throughout Southeast Asia. It has been celebrated and popularised in operas, folk stories, novels and in more recent times, films, television serials, and video games. The best known of these is undoubtedly the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, a fictional account of the period which draws heavily on history. The authoritative historical record of the era is Chen Shou's Sanguo Zhi, along with Pei Songzhi's later annotations of the text. Video games that have arisen from the Three Kingdoms romance would include the Dynasty Warriors series, the Romance of the Three Kingdoms series, and the second game in the Kessen series. All of these are made by a Japanese company called KOEI. The Three Kingdoms period is one of the bloodiest in Chinese history. A population census in late Eastern Han dynasty reported a population of approximately 56 million, while a population census in early Western Jin dynasty (after Jin re-unified China) reported a population of approximately 16 million. Even taking into account the inaccuracies of these census reports, it's safe to assume that a large percentage of the population was wiped out during the constant wars waged during this period. This article will trace outline the major developments leading to the establishment of the Three Kingdoms and their subsequent history.

Collapse of dynastic power

The series of events leading to the collapse of dynastic power and the rise of Cao Cao are extremely complex. The death of Emperor Ling in May 189 led to an unstable regency under General-in-chief He Jin and renewed rivalry between the factions of the eunuchs and regular civil bureaucracy. Following the assassination of He Jin, his chief ally the Colonel-Director of Retainers Yuan Shao led a massacre of the eunuchs in the imperial palaces. The ensuing turmoil at the capital allowed the frontier general Dong Zhuo to enter Luoyang from the northwest and take control of the imperial court, ushering in a period of civil war across China. Dong Zhuo manipulated the succession so that the future Emperor Xian could take the throne in lieu of his elder half-brother. In 190 a coalition led by Yuan Shao was formed in the eastern provinces of the empire against him. The mounting pressure drove the Han Emperor and later Dong Zhuo himself west to Chang'an in May 191. A year later he was killed in a coup d'etat and the Emperor passed through a number of warlords in the years that followed.

The rise of Cao Cao

In 191 there was some talk among the coalition of appointing an emperor of their own, and gradually its members began to fall out. Open warfare broke out as soon as Dong Zhuo burned and sacked Luoyang. In August 195 Emperor Xian left Chang'an and made a year-long hazardous journey east in search of supporters. By 196, when he was received by Cao Cao, most of the smaller contenders for power had either been absorbed by larger ones or destroyed. The Han empire was divided between a number of regional warlords. Yuan Shao occupied the northern center of Ye and extended his power north of the Yellow River against Gongsun Zan, who held the northern frontier. Cao Cao, directly to Yuan's south, was engaged in a struggle against Yuan Shu and Liu Biao, who occupied respectively the Huai River basin and Middle Yangzi regions. Further south the young warlord Sun Ce was establishing his rule in the Lower Yangzi. In the west, Liu Zhang held Yizhou province whilst Hanzhong and the northwest was controlled by a motley collection of smaller warlords such as Ma Teng of Xiliang. Cao Cao, who would become the effective founder of Wei, had raised an army in the winter of 189. He had absorbed some 300,000 Yellow Turbans into his army as well as a number of clan-based military groups. In 196 he established an imperial court at Xuchang and developed military agricultural colonies (tuntian) to support his army. After destroying Yuan Shu in 197, and the eastern warlords Lü Bu (198) and Liu Bei (199) in rapid succession, Cao Cao turned his attention north to Yuan Shao, who himself had eliminated his northern rival Gongsun Zan that same year. Following months of planning, the two sides met in force at Guandu in 200. Overcoming Yuan's superior numbers, Cao Cao decisively defeated him and crippled the northern army. In 202, Cao Cao took advantage of Yuan Shao's death and the resulting division among his sons to advance north of the Yellow River. He captured Ye in 204 and occupied the provinces of Ji, Bing, Qing and You. By the end of 207, after a lightning campaign against the Wuhuan people, Cao Cao had achieved undisputed dominance of the North China Plain.

Red Cliffs and its aftermath

North China Plain In 208, Cao Cao marched south with his army hoping to quickly unify the empire. Liu Biao's son Liu Zong surrendered the province of Jing and Cao was able to capture a sizeable fleet at Jiangling. Sun Quan, the successor to Sun Ce in the Lower Yangzi, continued to resist however. His advisor Lu Su secured an alliance with Liu Bei, himself a recent refugee from the north. Their combined armies of 50,000 met Cao Cao's fleet and 200,000-strong force at Red Cliffs that winter. After an initial skirmish, an attack with fireships inflicted a decisive defeat on Cao Cao, forcing him to retreat in disarray back to the north. The allied victory at Red Cliffs ensured the survival of Liu Bei and Sun Quan, and provided the basis for the states of Shu and Wu. After his return to the north, Cao Cao contented himself with absorbing the northwestern regions in 211 and consolidating his power. He progressively increased his titles and power, eventually becoming King of Wei in 217. Liu Bei entered Yi province and later in 214 displaced Liu Zhang as ruler, leaving his commander Guan Yu in charge of Jing province. Sun Quan, who had in the intervening years being engaged with defenses against Cao Cao in the southeast at Hefei, now turned his attention to Jing province and the Middle Yangzi. Tensions between the allies were increasingly visible. In 219, after Liu Bei successfully seized Hanzhong from Cao Cao and as Guan Yu was engaged in the siege of Fan, Sun Quan's commander-in-chief Lü Meng secretly seized Jing province.

Three emperors

In the first month of 220, Cao Cao died and in the tenth month his son Cao Pi deposed the Emperor Xian and ended the Han Dynasty. He named his state Wei and made himself emperor at Luoyang. In 221, Liu Bei named himself Emperor of Han, in a bid to restore the fallen Han dynasty. (His state is known to history as "Shu" or "Shu-Han".) In the same year, Wei bestowed on Sun Quan the title of King of Wu. A year later, Shu-Han troops declared war on Wu and met the Wu armies at the Battle of Yiling. At Xiaoting, Liu Bei was disastrously defeated by Sun Quan's commander Lu Xun and forced to retreat back to Shu, where he died soon afterward. After the death of Liu Bei, Shu and Wu resumed friendly relations at the expense of Wei, thus stabilizing the tripartite configuration. In 229, Sun Quan renounced his recognition of Cao Pi's regime and declared himself emperor at Wuchang. Dominion of the north completely belonged to Wei, whilst Shu occupied the southwest and Wu the central south and east. The external borders of the states were generally limited to the extent of Chinese civilization. For example, the political control of Shu on its southern frontier was limited by the Tai tribes of modern Yunnan and Burma, known collectively as the Southern Barbarians (南蠻).

Population

In terms of manpower, the Wei was by far the strongest, retaining more than 660,000 households and 4,400,000 people within its borders. Shu had a population of 940,000, and Wu 2,300,000. Thus, Wei had more than 58% of the population and around 40% of territory. With these resources, it is estimated that it could raise an army of 400,000 whilst Shu and Wu could manage 100,000 and 230,000 respectively: roughly 10% of their registered populations. The Wu-Shu alliance against the Wei proved itself to be a militarily stable configuration; the basic borders of the Three Kingdoms almost unchanging for more than forty years.

Trade and transport

In economic terms the division of the Three Kingdoms reflected a reality that long endured. Even in the Northern Song, seven hundred years after the Three Kingdoms, it was possible to think of China as being composed of three great regional markets. (The status of the northwest was slightly ambivalent, as it had links with the northern region and Sichuan). These geographical divisions are underscored by the fact that the main communication routes between the three main regions were all man-made: the Grand Canal linking north and south, the hauling-way through the Three Gorges of the Yangzi linking southern China with Sichuan and the gallery roads joining Sichuan with the northwest. The break into three separate entities was quite natural and even anticipated by such political foresight as Zhuge Liang (see Longzhong Plan 隆中對).

Consolidation

In 222 Liu Shan rose to the throne of Shu following his father's defeat and death. The defeat of Liu Bei at Yiling ended the period of hostility between Wu and Shu and both used the opportunity to concentrate on internal problems and the external enemy of Wei. For Sun Quan, the victory terminated his fears of Shu expansion into Jing province and he turned to the aborigines of the southeast, whom the Chinese collectively called the "Shanyue" peoples (see Yue). A collection of successes against the rebellious tribesmen culminated in the victory of 234. In that year Zhuge Ge ended a three year siege of Danyang with the surrender of 100,000 Shanyue. Of these, 40,000 were drafted as auxiliaries into the Wu army. Meanwhile Shu was also experiencing troubles with the indigenous tribes of their south. The South-western Yi peoples rose in revolt against Han authority, captured and looted the city of Yizhou. Zhuge Liang, recognising the importance of stability in the south, ordered the advance of the Shu armies in three columns against the Yi. He fought a number of engagements against the chieftain Meng Huo, at the end of which Meng submitted. A tribesman was allowed to reside at the Shu capital Chengdu as an official and the Yi formed their own battalions within the Shu army.

Zhuge Liang's Northern Expeditions

At the end of Zhuge Liang's southern campaign, the Wu-Shu alliance came to fruition and Shu was free to move against north. In 227 Zhuge Liang transferred his main Shu armies to Hanzhong, and opened up the battle for the northwest with Wei. (See Northern Expeditions) The next year, he ordered general Zhao Yun to attack from Ji Gorge as a diversion whilst Zhuge himself led the main force to Qishan. The vanguard Ma Su, however, suffered a tactical defeat at Jieting and the Shu army was forced to withdraw. In the next six years Zhuge Liang attempted several more offensives, but supply problems limited the capacity for success. In 234 he led his last great northern offensive, reaching the Wuzhang Plain south of the Wei River. Due to his untimely death, however, the Shu army was forced once again to withdraw.

Wu and development of the south

In the times of Zhuge Liang's great northern offensives, the state of Wu had always been on the defensive against invasions from the north. The area around Hefei was under constant pressure from Wei after the Battle of Red Cliffs and the scene of many bitter battles. Warfare had grown so intense that many of the residents chose to migrate and resettle south of the Yangzi. After Zhuge Liang's death, attacks on the Huainan region intensified but nonetheless, Wei could not break through the line of the river defenses erected by Wu, which included the Ruxu fortress. Sun Quan's long reign is regarded as a time of plenty for his southern state. Migrations from the north and the settlement of the Shanyue increased manpower for agriculture, especially along the lower reaches of the Yangzi and in Kuaiji commandery. River transport blossomed, with the construction of the Zhedong and Jiangnan canals. Trade with Shu flourished, with a huge influx of Shu cotton and the development of celadon and metal industries. Ocean transport was improved to such an extent that sea journeys were made to Manchuria and the island of Taiwan. In the south, Wu merchants reached Linyi (southern Vietnam) and Fu'nan (Cambodia). As the economy prospered, so too did the arts and culture. In the Yangzi delta, the first Buddhist influences reached the south from Luoyang. (See Buddhism in China)

Decline and end of the Three Kingdoms

From the late 230s tensions began to become visible between the imperial Cao clan and the Sima clan. Following the death of Cao Zhen, factionalism was evident between Cao Shuang and the Grand Commandant Sima Yi. In deliberations, Cao Shuang placed his own supporters in important posts and excluded Sima, whom he regarded as a threat. The power of the Sima clan, one of the great landowning families of the Han, was bolstered by Sima Yi's military victories. Additionally, Sima Yi was an extremely capable strategist and politician. In 238 he crushed the rebellion of Gongsun Yuan and brought the Liaodong region directly under central control. Ultimately, he outmaneuvered Cao Shuang in power play. Taking advantage of an excursion by the imperial clansmen to the Gaoping tombs, Sima undertook a putsch in Luoyang, forcing Cao Shuang's faction from authority. Many protested to the overwhelming power of the Sima family; notable of which were the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove. One of the sages, Xi Kang, was executed as part of the purges after Cao Shuang's downfall.

Fall of Shu

The decreasing strength of the Cao clan was mirrored by the decline of Shu. Zhuge Liang gained large amounts of Wei's land. After Zhuge Liang's death, his position as Lieutenant Chancellor fell to Jiang Wan, Fei Wei and Dong Yun, in that order. But after 258, Shu politics became increasingly controlled by the eunuch faction and corruption rose. Despite the energetic efforts of Jiang Wei, Zhuge's protégé, Shu was unable to secure any decisive victory against Wei. In 263, Wei launched a three-pronged attack and the Shu army was forced into general retreat from Hanzhong. Jiang Wei hurriedly held a position at Jiange but he was outflanked by the Wei commander Deng Ai, who force-marched his army from Yinping through territory formerly considered impassable. By the winter of the year, the capital Chengdu had fallen and the emperor Liu Chan had surrendered. The state of Shu had come to an end after forty-three years.

Fall of Wei

Cao Huan succeeded to the throne in 260 after Cao Mao was killed by Sima Zhao. Soon after, Sima Zhao died and his position as King of Jin was taken by his son Sima Yan. Sima Yan immediately began plotting to become Emperor but faced stiff opposition. However, due to advice from his advisors, Cao Huan decided the best course of action would be to abdicate, unlike his predecessor Cao Mao. Sima Yan seized the throne in 264 after forcing Cao Huan's abdication, effectively overthrowing the Wei Dynasty and establishing the successor Jin Dynasty. This was similar to the deposal of Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty by Cao Pi, the founder of the Wei Dynasty.

Fall of Wu

Following Sun Quan's death in 252, the kingdom of Wu went into a period of steady decline. Successful Wei oppression of rebellions in the Huainan region by Sima Zhao and Sima Shi reduced any opportunity of Wu influence. The fall of Shu signalled a change in Wei politics. Sima Yan (grandson of Sima Yi), after accepting the surrender of Liu Chan, overthrew the Wei emperor and proclaimed his own dynasty of Jin in 264, ending forty-six years of Cao dominion in the north. In 269 Yang Hu, Jin commander in the south, started preparing for the invasion of Wu by ordering the construction of a fleet and training of marines in Sichuan under Wang Jun. Four years later, Lu Kang, the last great general of Wu, died, leaving no competent successor. The planned Jin offensive finally came in the winter of 279. Sima Yan launched five simultaneous offensives along the Yangzi River from Jianye to Jiangling whilst the Sichuan fleet sailed downriver to Jing province. Under the strain of such an enormous attack, the Wu forces collapsed and Jianye fell in the third month of 280, bringing to a close a century of conflict.

Major battles

- Battle of Jieqiao (191)
- Battle of Guandu (200)
- Battle of Red Cliffs (208)
- Battle of He Fei (217)
- Battle of Yiling (223)
- Zhuge Liang's Southern Campaign (225-230)
- Northern Expeditions (228-234)
- Battle of Wuzhang Plain (234)
- Battle of Jieting

Biographies

- Dong Zhuo
- Cao Cao
- Yuan Shao
- Yuan Shu
- Liu Bei
- Guan Yu
- Sun Quan
- Zhuge Liang For a more comprehensive list, see Personages of the Three Kingdoms

References

- Hill, John E. 2004. The Peoples of the West from the Weilue 魏略 by Yu Huan 魚豢: A Third Century Chinese Account Composed between 239 and 265 CE. Draft annotated English translation. [http://depts.washington.edu/uwch/silkroad/texts/weilue/weilue.html]

External links

- [http://eprints.anu.edu.au/archive/00002632/01/ Online Three Kingdoms publications of Dr Rafe de Crespigny, Australian National University] Category:History of China ko:삼국 시대 (중국) ja:三国時代 (中国)

China

to protect the north from nomadic invaders and has been rebuilt several times since.]] China () refers to a number of states and cultures that have existed and are viewed as having succeeded one another in continental East Asia, dating back at least 3,500 years. China as it exists today has been variously described in different points of view as a single civilization or multiple civilizations, as a single state or multiple states, and as a single nation or multiple nations. With one of the world's longest periods of mostly uninterrupted civilization and the world's longest continuously used written language system, China's history has been largely characterized by repeated divisions and reunifications amid alternating periods of peace and war, and violent imperial dynastic change. The country's territorial extent expanded outwards from a core area in the North China Plain, and varied according to its moving fortunes to include multiple regions of East, Northeast, and Central Asia. For centuries, Imperial China was also one of the world's most technologically advanced civilizations, and East Asia's dominant cultural influence, with an impact lasting to the present day throughout the region. By the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, however, China's political, economic, and military influence declined relative to growing regional power Japan and the influence of Western powers. Semi-colonialism developed by the late nineteenth century in parts of China, and the country was invaded by the Empire of Japan during World War II. The imperial system in China ended with the establishment of the Republic of China (ROC) under Sun Yat-sen in 1912; however, the next four decades of ROC rule were marred by warlord control, the Second Sino-Japanese War (WWII), and the Chinese Civil War which pitted Chinese Nationalists against the Communist forces. After its victory in the Chinese Civil War, the Communist Party of China under Mao Zedong established the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1949, forcing the Republic of China (ROC) to retreat to the island of Taiwan, which it had governed since the end of World War II. Since then, the ROC has maintained administrative control over Taiwan, the Pescadores, several islands off the coast of Fujian province, and some islands in the South China Sea.

Terminology

"Zhongguo"

South China Sea China is called Zhongguo in Mandarin Chinese (Simplified: 中国, Traditional: 中國; also romanized as Jhongguo or Chung-kuo), which is usually translated as "Middle Kingdom", but could also be translated as "Central State" or "Central Country". Zhong (中) means "middle" or "center" while guo (国 or 國) means "country," "kingdom," "state," or "land", referring to the claim that China stood at the centre of that society's "known world", surrounded by lesser tributary states. The term has not been used consistently throughout Chinese history, however, and carries certain cultural and political connotations both positive and negative, some ideological, and early states considered part of Chinese history are not called "Zhongguo". During the Spring and Autumn Period, it was used only to describe the states politically descended from the Western Zhou Dynasty, in the Yellow River (Huang He) valley, to the exclusion of states such as Chu and Qin. The "Chinese" thus defined their nation as culturally and politically distinct from - and as the axis mundi of surrounding nations; a concept that continued well into the Qing Dynasty, although being continually redefined while the central political influence expanded territorially, and its culture assimilated alien influences. Thus Zhongguo quickly came to include areas farther south, as the cultural and political unit (not yet a "nation" or "country" in the modern sense) spread in a southerly direction, including the Yangtze River and Pearl River systems, and by the Tang Dynasty it even included "barbarian" regimes such as the Xianbei and Xiongnu. Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, and Tibet, and the island of Taiwan, over time, came to be dominated (to a greater or lesser extent) by, or officially ruled by, imperial China, and are often included as a part of Zhongguo, though acceptance or denial of such claims remains politically controversial, especially where Zhongguo means PRC. During the Han Dynasty and before, Zhongguo had three distinctive meanings: # The area around the capital or imperial domain. The Book of Poetry explicitly gives this definition. # Territories under the direct authority of the "central" authorities. The Historical Records states: "Eight mountains are famed in the empire. Three are with the Man and Yi barbarians. Five are in Zhongguo." # The area now called the North China Plain. The Sanguo Zhi records the following monologue: "If we can lead the host of Wu and Yue (the area of southern Jiangsu and northern Zhejiang) to oppose Zhongguo, then we should break off relations with them soon." In this sense, the term is synonymous with Hua (華) and Xia (夏). During the period of division after the fall of the Han Dynasty, the term Zhongguo was subjected to transformation as a result of the surge of nomadic peoples from the northern frontier. This was doubly so after the loss of the Yellow River valley, the cradle of Chinese civilization, to these peoples. For example, the Xianbei called their Northern Wei regime Zhongguo, contrasting it with the Southern Dynasties, which they called the Yi (夷), meaning "barbarian". The southern dynasties, for their part, recently exiled from the north, called the Northern Wei Lu (虏), meaning "criminal" or "prisoner". In this way Zhongguo came to represent political legitimacy. It was used in this manner from the tenth century onwards by the competing dynasties of Liao, Jin and Song. The term Zhongguo came to be related to geographic, cultural and political identity and less to ethnic origin. The Republic of China, as it controlled mainland China, and later, the People's Republic of China, have used Zhongguo as an entity existing theoretically to mean all the territories and peoples within their political control as well as those outside of it (people in the Republic of China on Taiwan now usually use Zhongguo to refer to the PRC and use Taiwan to refer to itself). Thus it is asserted that all 56 officially recognized ethnic groups are Zhongguo ren (中國人), or Zhongguo people. Their disparate histories are collectively the history of Zhongguo.

"China"

Song in ancient times, was the imperial capital of 13 different historical dynasties (including the Han and Tang dynasties) in China.]] English and many other languages use forms of the name China (and the prefix Sino-), which is believed to have derived from the name of the Qin dynasty that first unified the country, even though it is not completely resolved and the origins are still controversial to an extent [http://www.bartleby.com/61/80/C0298000.html]. Despite the fact that the Qin dynasty was short-lived and was often regarded as overly tyrannical it unified the written language in China and gave the supreme ruler of China the title of "Emperor", hence, the subsequent Silk Road traders would identify themselves by that name. Alternate theories on the origin of the word "China" exist. In any circumstance, the word China passed through many languages along the Silk Road before it finally reached Europe and England. The Western "China", transliterated to Shina (支那) has also been used by Japanese since the nineteenth century, and has since evolved into a derogatory term in that language. The term "China" can narrowly mean China proper, or, often, China proper and Manchuria, Inner Mongolia, Tibet, and Xinjiang, a combination essentially coterminous with the 20th and 21st century political entity China; the boundaries between these regions do not necessarily follow provincial boundaries. In many contexts, "China" is commonly used to refer to the People's Republic of China or mainland China, while "Taiwan" is used to refer to the Republic of China. Informally, in economic or business contexts, "the Greater China region" (大中華地區) refers to Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. Sinologists usually use "Chinese" in a more restricted sense, more akin to the classical usage of Zhongguo, or to the meaning of the "Han ethnic group", who make up the bulk of Mainland China. In many contexts it may be more appropriate to speak of "mainland China" (中國大陸,zhōngguó dàlù in Mandarin), especially when contrasting it with other, politically different regions like Hong Kong, Macau, and territories administered by the Republic of China (Taiwan).

History

:Main articles: History of China, History of the Republic of China (1912–1949; 1949–Present on Taiwan), History of People's Republic of China (1949–Present) History of People's Republic of China China was one of the earliest centers of human civilization. Chinese civilization was also one of the few to invent writing independently, the others being ancient Mesopotamia (Sumerians), India (Indus Valley Civilization), the Mayans, and, some hold, Ancient Egypt—though it may have been learned from the Sumerians. The first dynasty according to Chinese historical sources was the Xia Dynasty. Until scientific excavations were made at early bronze-age sites at Erlitou in Henan Province, it was difficult to separate myth from reality in regard to the existence of the Xia Dynasty. But since then, archaeologists have uncovered urban sites, bronze implements, and tombs that point to the possible existence of the Xia dynasty at the same locations cited in ancient Chinese historical texts. However, the first confirmed dynasty is the Shang, who settled along the Huang He river, dating from the 18th to the 12th centuries BC. The Shang were in turn invaded by the Zhou (12th to 5th centuries BC), whose centralized authority was slowly eroded by the ceding of state-like authority to warlords ruling small states; eventually, in the Spring and Autumn period, many strong independent states, in continuous war, paid but nominal deference to the Zhou state as the Imperial centre. They were all unified under one emperor in 221 BC by Qin Shi Huang, ushering in the Qin Dynasty, the first unified centralized Chinese state. This state, however, did not last for long, as it was way too authoritarian, destroying many sources of competition for power that were also sources of good governance and development, such as scholars and intellectuals. After the fall of authoritarian Qin Dynasty in 207 BC came the Han Dynasty which lasted until 220 AD. A period of disunion followed again. In 580, China was reunited under the Sui. Under the succeeding Tang and Song dynasties, China reached its golden age. For a long period of time, especially between the 7th and 14th centuries, China was one of the most advanced civilizations in the world in technology, literature, and art. The Song Dynasty fell to the invading Mongols in 1279. The Mongols, under Kublai Khan, established the Yuan Dynasty. A peasant named Zhu Yuanzhang overthrew the Mongols in 1368 and founded the Ming Dynasty, which lasted until 1644. After the Ming dynasty, came the Qing (Manchu) dynasty, which lasted until the overthrow of Puyi in 1911. Oftentimes regime change was violent and strongly opposed and the ruler class needed to take special measures to ensure their rule and the loyalty of the overthrown dynasty. For example, after the foreign Qing (Manchus) conquered China, because they were ever suspicious of the Han Chinese, the Qing rulers put into effect measures aimed at preventing the absorption of the Manchus into the dominant Han Chinese population. However, these restrictions proved ineffective against the assimilation of Manchus into the Chinese identity and culture. In the 18th century, China achieved a decisive technological advantage over the peoples of Central Asia, which it had been at war with for several centuries, while simultaneously falling behind Europe in that respect. This set the stage for the 19th century, in which China adopted a defensive posture against European imperialism while itself engaging in imperialistic expansion into Central Asia. See Imperialism in Asia. However the primary cause of the decline of the Chinese empire was not European and American interference, as the ethnocentric Western historians would lead many to believe. On the contrary it was a series of internal upheavals. Most prominent of these was the Taiping Civil War which lasted from 1851 to 1862. The civil war was started by an extremist believer in a school of thought partly influenced by Christianity who believed himself to be the son of God and the younger brother of Jesus. Although the imperial forces were eventually victorious, the civil war was one of the bloodiest in human history - costing at least twenty million lives (more than the total number of fatalities in the First World War). Prior to this conflict a number of Islamic Rebellions, especially in Central Asia, had occurred. Later, a second major rebellion took place, although this latter uprising was considerably smaller than the cataclysmic Taiping Civil War. This second conflict was the Boxer Rebellion which aimed to repel Westerners. Although secretly supporting the rebels, the Empress, Ci Xi, aided foreign forces in suppressing the uprising. Ci Xi, 1949.]] In 1912, after a prolonged period of decline, the institution of the Emperor of China disappeared and the Republic of China was established. The following three decades were a period of disunion — the Warlord Era, the Sino-Japanese War, and the Chinese Civil War. The latter ended in 1949 with the Communist Party of China in control of mainland China. The CPC established a communist state—the People's Republic of China—that laid claim to be the successor state of the Republic of China. Meanwhile, the disorganized and potentially corrupt ROC government of the Kuomintang fled to Taiwan, where it continued to be recognized as the legitimate government of all China by the Western bloc and the United Nations until the 1970s, when most nations and the UN switched recognition to the PRC. The United Kingdom and Portugal transferred their colonies of Hong Kong and Macau on the southern Chinese coast to the PRC in 1997 and 1999, respectively. China used in a modern context often refers to just the territory of the PRC, or to "Mainland China" (the territory of the PRC excluding Hong Kong and Macau). The PRC does not recognize the ROC, as it claims to have succeeded the ROC as the legitimate governing authority of all of China including Taiwan. On the other hand, the ROC—while never formally renouncing its earlier claims or changing official maps that show its territory as including both the modern-day PRC, Mongolia and Tibet—has moved away from this former identity representing its rule over all of China, and increasingly identifies itself as Taiwan. The PRC has historically resisted the ROC's identification of itself as Taiwan, especially in light of the movement supported by residents of Taiwan and others who advocate Taiwan's identity as an independent political entity. Significant disputes persist as to the nature and extent of China, possible Chinese reunification and the political status of Taiwan.

Chinese Pre-history

Archeological evidence suggests that the earliest occupants in China date as long as 2.24 million to 250,000 years ago by an ancient human relative (hominin) known as Homo erectus. One particular cave in Zhoukoudian (now known as Peking) has fossilised evidence dating to 300,000 and 550,000 years old. Evidence of primitive stone tool technology and animal bones in association to H. erectus have been studied since the late 18th century to 19th century in various areas of Eastern Asia including Indonesia (in particular the Island of Java) and Malaysia. Originally it is thought that these early hominis first evolved in Africa during the Pleistocene. It is thought that human evolution first took place in Africa expanding 7 million years. By 2 million years ago the first wave of migration from the species in association with H. erectus settled into various areas in the Old World. Fully modern humans (homo sapiens) are believed to originally have evolved roughly 200,000 and 168,000 years ago in Ethiopia or Southern Africa (ei. Homo sapiens idaltu). By 100,000 to 50,000 years ago modern human beings settled in all parts of the Old world (including the New World, Americas 25,000 to 11,000 BCE). By less than 100,000 years ago all proto-human populations disappeared as modern humans took over or drove other human species into extinction. It remains a controversial subject to whether fully modern humans evolved from separate H. erectus populations (known as "multiregional") as some evidence in ancient bones show a transitional change from H. erectus to H. sapiens having archaic features. However it is now more widely accepted that all modern humans genetically share a direct ancestor, a female nicknamed "Mitochondrial Eve" from Eastern Africa 150,000 years BCE. This model is known as Mitochondrial Eve Hypothesis. The earliest evidence examples of fully modern humans in China come from Liujiang, China where a cranium dates 67,000 years BCE. Another is a partial skeleton from Minatogawa being just 18,000 years old.

Political history

Before unification by the Qin Dynasty in 221 BC, "China" did not exist as a coherent entity. The Chinese civilization consisted of a patchwork of several states, each ruled by a king (王), duke (公), marquess (侯), or earl (伯). Although there was a central king who held nominal power, and powerful hegemons sometimes held considerable influence, each state was ruled as an independent political entity. This is also the time of the beginnings of Confucian philosophy and that of many other philosophies that greatly influenced Chinese philosophy-political thought. This ended with the Qin Dynasty unification, during which the office of the emperor was set up, and a system of bureaucratic administration established. After the Qin, China experienced about 13 more dynasties, many of which continued the extensive system of kingdoms, dukedoms, earldoms, and marquisates. The territory varied with several expansions and contractions depending on the strength of each emperor and dynasty. However the emperor had ultimate, supreme, and unquestionable authority as the political and religious leader of China. The emperor also consulted civil and martial ministers, especially the prime minister. Political power sometimes fell into the hands of powerful officials, eunuchs, or imperial relatives, often at the expense of a child heriditary emperor. This happened especially since the emperor often was many layers of power removed from the outside world, making him susceptible to manipulation because his sources for information could manipulate that information causing him to make incorrect decisions, especially when their age at becoming emperor often had no bottom limit, with rule passing heriditarily but also given "in trust" to another relative. Political relations with dependencies (tributary kingdoms) were maintained by international marriages, military aids, treaties, and gifts. (see section "Geography, Political" below for examples), Luoyang, Chang'an (today's Xi'an), Nanjing, and Beijing are the four cities most commonly designated as capitals of China over the course of history. Chinese was the official language, though periods of Mongol and Manchu conquest saw the arrival of Mongol and Manchu as alternate official languages. On January 1, 1912, the Republic of China (ROC) was established, signaling the end of the Manchu-dominated Qing Empire. Sun Yat-sen of the Kuomintang (KMT or Nationalist Party), was proclaimed provisional president of the republic. However, Yuan Shikai, a former Qing general who had defected to the revolutionary cause, soon forced Sun to step aside and took the presidency for himself (formally it was a negotiation where Sun agreed to step aside for what was then perceived as a strong reformer, Yuan). Before long, Yuan attempted to have himself proclaimed emperor of a new dynasty; however, he died soon of natural causes before fully taking power over all of the Chinese empire. After Yuan's downfall, China was politically fragmented, with an internationally-recognized, but virtually powerless, national government seated in Beijing (thus failing to fit the definition of a state). Warlords in various regions exercised actual control over their respective territories. state In the late 1920s, the Kuomintang, under Chiang Kai-shek, was able to reunify the country under its own control, moving the nation's capital to Nanjing and implementing "political tutelage", an intermediate stage of political development outlined in Sun Yat-sen's program for transforming China into a modern, democratic state. Effectively, political tutelage meant one-party rule by the Kuomintang with heavy Leninist influences. Ironically, both the Kuomintang and the CCP have heavy Leninist influences. In 1947, constitutional rule was established, but because of the ongoing Chinese Civil War between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party of China (CPC), many provisions of the 1947 ROC constitution were never put into actual practice on the mainland. By early 1950, the CPC had defeated the Kuomintang on the mainland, and the ROC government retreated to the island of Taiwan. Beginning in the late 1970s, Taiwan began the implementation of full, multi-party, representative democracy in the territories still under ROC control (i.e., Taiwan Province, Taipei, Kaohsiung and some offshore islands of Fujian province). Today, the political scene in the ROC is vibrant, with active participation by all sectors of society. But rather than the usual conservative-liberal policy distinctions that are the hallmarks of most democracies around the world, the main cleavage in ROC politics is the unification with China in the long-run vs. formal independence issue. However, Greens are generally more liberal (i.e. more environmentally friendly) and Blues are generally regarded as more conservative. environmentally friendly Meanwhile, Mao Zedong, the leader of the communists, proclaimed the People's Republic of China (PRC) on October 1, 1949 in Beijing, saying China had stood up. From the beginning, the PRC has been a dictatorial one-party state under the Communist Party. However, post-1978 reforms have led to the relaxation, in varying degrees, of party control over many areas of society. Nonetheless, the Communist Party still has absolute control over political aspects of society, and it continuously seeks to eradicate threats to its rule. Examples of this include the jailing of political opponents and journalists, general control of the press, regulation of religions and other non-party organizations, censorship of the press, literature and film, and suppression of independence/secessionist movements. In 1989, a popular demonstration held in Beijing at Tiananmen Square was violently put to an end by the Chinese government. Tiananmen_Square_protests_of_1989 The attempted eradication of the Falun Gong movement is also held by its supporters to be motivated by fear of Falun Gong's growing influence. Today, however, there is much more freedom in intellectual thought in non-political areas and propaganda, while still continuing, has lessened.

Territory

Historical overview

propaganda The Zhou Dynasty, which preceded the unification of China by Shi Huangdi, was originally the region around the Yellow River. Since then, the territory has expanded outward in all directions, and was largest during the Tang, Yuan, and Qing dynasties. The Qing Dynasty included parts of modern Russian Far East and Central Asia (west of Xinjiang). Xinjiang Along with provincial administrators, some foreign monarchs sent envoys to offer gifts to the Emperor of China and the Emperor returned compliments to them. The Chinese thought that the barbarians attached themselves to the virtue of the Emperor, while the foreign governments sometimes disagreed. Since the end of the 19th century, China has tried to reinterpret this relationship as suzerainty or suzerainty-dependency, but this no longer has any real conception in modern international political theories. The Qing Empire reduced the territorial value of the Great Wall of China as a barrier of China proper after they merged their homeland (Manchuria) north of the wall with China proper south of it. In 1683 after the surrender of the Kingdom of Tungning established by Koxinga, Taiwan including the Pescadores became a part of the Qing Empire, originally as one prefecture, then two, and later a province. Taiwan was subsequently ceded to Japan after the first Sino-Japanese War in 1895. At the end of the second Sino-Japanese War in 1945, Japan relinquished the sovereignty of the island in the San Francisco Peace Treaty, and the Republic of China took over. Since then, the de jure sovereignty of Taiwan has been under dispute between the PRC, and the now democratic ROC and Taiwan independence supporters.

Historical political divisions

Historically, top-level political divisions of China have altered as the administration changed. Top levels included circuits and provinces. Below that, there have been prefectures, subprefectures, departments, commanderies, districts, and counties. Recent divisions also include prefecture-level cities, county-level cities, towns and townships (see below for examples). Historically, most Chinese dynasties were based in the historical heartlands of China, known by the politically-correct term of China proper (since it doesn't include places it doesn't control, such as Mongolia or Taiwan). Various dynasties also exhibited expansionism by engaging in incursions into more peripheral territories like Inner Mongolia, Manchuria, Xinjiang, and Tibet. The Manchu-established Qing Dynasty and its successors, the Republic of China and the People's Republic of China cemented the incorporation of these territories into China. These territories are separated by borders that are vague at best, and do not correspond well to contemporary political divisions. China proper is generally thought to be bounded by the Great Wall and the edge of the Tibetan plateau; Manchuria and Inner Mongolia are found to the north of the Great Wall of China, and the boundary between them can either be taken as the present border between Inner Mongolia and the northeast Chinese provinces, or the more historic border of the World War II-era puppet state of Manchukuo; Xinjiang's borders correspond to today's administrative Xinjiang; and historic Tibet is conceived as occupying all of the Tibetan Plateau. China is also traditionally thought of as comprising North China (北方) and South China (南方), the geographic boundary between which north and south is largely generalized as Huai River (淮河) and Qinling Mountains (秦岭).

Geography and climate

Qinling Mountains

China within East Asia. ([http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/reference_maps/pdf/asia.pdf PDF])

China is composed of a vast variety of highly different landscapes, with mostly plateaus and mountains in the west, and lower lands on the east. As a result, principal rivers flow from west to east, including the Yangtze (central), the Huang He (central-east), and the Amur (northeast), and sometimes toward the south (including the Pearl River, Mekong River, and Brahmaputra), with most Chinese rivers emptying into the Pacific. Most of China's arable lands lie along the two major rivers, the Yangtze and the Huang He, and each are the centers around which are founded China's major ancient civilizations. In the east, along the shores of the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea are found extensive and densely populated alluvial plains; the shore of the South China Sea is more mountainous and southern China is dominated by hill country and lower mountain ranges. To the west, the north has a great alluvial plain, and the south has a vast calcareous tableland traversed by hill ranges of moderate elevation, with the Himalayas, containing the highest point Mount Everest. The northwest also has high plateaus among more arid desert landscapes such as the Takla-Makan and the Gobi Desert, which has been expanding. Due to a prolonged drought and perhaps poor agricultural practices, dust storms have become usual in the spring in China. Dust blows all the way to southern China, Taiwan, and has even been measured on the West Coast of the United States. United States native to the bamboo forests of central and southern China.]] During many dynasties, the southwestern border of China has been the high mountains and deep valleys of Yunnan, which separate modern China from Burma, Laos and Vietnam. The climate of China varies greatly. The northern zone (within which lies Beijing) has a climate with winters of Arctic severity. The central zone (within which Shanghai is situated) has a generally temperate climate. The southern zone (within which lies Guangzhou and other southern provinces) has a generally subtropical climate. The Palaeozoic formations of China, excepting only the upper part of the Carboniferous system, are marine, while the Mesozoic and Tertiary deposits are estuarine and freshwater or else of terrestrial origin. Groups of volcanic cones occur in the Great Plain of north China. In the Liaodong and Shandong Peninsulas, there are basaltic plateaux.

Demographics

Shandong.]] Over a hundred ethnic groups have existed in China. In terms of numbers, however, the pre-eminent ethnic group in China is the Han, which is a group so diverse in its culture and language that some conceive of it as a larger overarching group bringing together many smaller, distinct ethnic groups sharing common traits in language and culture. Throughout history, many ethnic groups have been assimilated into neighbouring ethnicities or disappeared without a trace. Several previously distinct ethnic groups have been Sinicized into the Han, causing its population to increase dramatically; at the same time, many within the Han identity have maintained distinct linguistic and cultural traditions, though still identifying as Han. Many times in the past millenia many foreign groups have, in turn, shaped Han language and culture, for example the queue is a pig tail hairstyle strictly enforced by the Manchurians on the Han populace. The term Zhonghua Minzu is sometimes used to describe a notion of a "Chinese nationality" transcending ethnic divisions. The government of the People's Republic of China now officially recognizes a total of 56 ethnic groups, of which the largest is the Han Chinese. China's overall population is 1.3 billion. With the global human population currently estimated at about 6.4 billion, China is home to approximately 20%, or one-fifth of the human species, homo sapiens. The lack of birth control and promotion of population growth during the rule of Mao Zedong resulted in a demographic explosion, culminating in over 1.3 billion people today. As a response to the problems this is causing, the government of the PRC has enacted a birth control policy, commonly known as the One-child policy. The Han speak several mutually unintelligible tongues, classified by modern linguists as being separate languages, but regarded within the Chinese languages as "dialects" or "local languages" (topolects) within a single Chinese language (the word for "area languages" has an implication of dialect rather than a separate language, although on the basis of use, these topolects can be found to be separate and mutually unintelligible, and are so classified by many linguists). The various spoken varieties of Chinese share a common written standard, "Vernacular Chinese" or "baihua", which has been used since the early 20th Century and is based on Standard Mandarin, the standard spoken language, in grammar and vocabulary. In addition, another, more ancient written standard, Classical Chinese, was used for writing Chinese by the literati for thousands of years before the 20th Century. Classical Chinese is no longer the predominant form of written Chinese, though it continues to be a part of high school curricula and is hence intelligible to some degree to many Chinese people. Other than Standard Mandarin, spoken variants are usually not written; the exception is Standard Cantonese, which is sometimes written as Written Cantonese in informal contexts. Written Cantonese.]]

Culture

Religion

The major religions of China are:
- Taoism - exact numbers unknown
- Buddhism - exact numbers unknown [about 8%]
- Christianity - 2 to 4% (this is a Western number, the Chinese official number is much smaller than 1%)
- Islam - 1% to 2%
- Falun Gong - exact numbers unknown (claim not to be a "religion", though from a scholarly perspective is a spiritual practice, claimed numbers of followers of the Falun Dafa are also regarded as unreliable) While the People's Republic of China is officially atheist it does allow religion under strict supervision. Historically, Taoism and Buddhism has been the dominant religion of Chinese societies, and continues to be so in Chinese societies outside of direct PRC control. In recent years, Falun Gong, a spiritual practice drawing upon Buddhism and Taoism, has attracted great controversy after the government of the People's Republic of China labeled it an evil cult and began an attempt to eradicate it. The Falun Gong itself denies that it is a cult or a religion, even though there is solid evidence that determines Falun Gong as a rather" abormal" cult, several members have been seen to burn themselves alive even before the Chinese government has reacted to Falun Gong, unfortuantely, most people are oblivious of this fact and even a majority of members are oblivious to this. The Falun Gong says that it has approximately 70-100 million followers, which is a bit higher than estimates by outside groups, though exact numbers are unknown. They regularly protest against their suppression, both domestically and internationally.

Arts, scholarship, and literature

Falun Gong.]] Chinese literature has a long and prolific continuous history, in part because of the development of printmaking during the Song Dynasty. Before that, manuscripts of the Classics and religious texts (mainly Confucian, Taoist, and Buddhist) were manually written by ink brush (previously scratching shells) and distributed. Academies of scholars sponsored by the empire were formed to comment on these works in both printed and written form. Members of royalty frequently participated in these discussions. Tens of thousands of ancient written documents are still extant and more, from oracle bones to Qing edicts, are discovered each day, which had been formally ground up for use in Chinese medicine. oracle bones For centuries, opportunity for economic and social advancement in China could be provided by high performance on the imperial examinations. This led to a meritocracy, though in practice this was possible only among those who were not female or too poor to afford test preparation, as doing well still required tutorship. Nevertheless it was a system distinct from the European system of blood nobility. Imperial examinations required applicants to write essays and demonstrate mastery of the Confucian classics. Those who passed the highest level of the exam became elite scholar-officials known as jinshi, a highly esteemed socio-economic position. Chinese philosophers, writers, and poets have been, for the most part, highly respected, and played a key role in preserving and promoting the culture of the empire. Some classical scholars, however, were noted for their daring depictions of lives of the common people, often to the displeasure of authorities. (See List of Chinese authors, and List of Chinese language poets). The Chinese have created numerous musical instruments, such as the zheng, xiao, and erhu, that have spread throughout East and Southeast Asia, and especially areas under its influence. The sheng is the basis for several Western free-reed instruments. Chinese characters have had many variants and styles throughout the Chinese history, and were "simplified" in the mid-20th century on mainland China. Calligraphy is a major art-form in China, above that of painting and music. Because of its association with elite scholar-official bosses, it later on became commercialized, where works by famous artists became prized possessions. The great variation and beauty in the Chinese landscape is often the inspiration for great works of Chinese art. See Chinese painting for more details. Calligraphy, sushi, and bonsai are all millennia-old art that later spread to Japan and Korea.

Science and technology

Korea In addition to the cultural innovations mentioned above, technological inventions from China include:
- Compass
- Block Printmaking / Printing Technology
- Paper
- Asian abacus
- Gunpowder
- Crossbow
- Stirrup
- Lacquer
- Rudder
- Seismograph
- Silk
- Porcelain
- Paper money
- The Glider
- The Hot air balloon
- Fireworks
- Parachute Other areas of technological study:
- The main applications of mathematics in traditional China were architecture and geography. Pi (π) was calculated by 5th century mathematician Zu Chongzhi to the seventh digit. The decimal system was used in China as early as 14 Century BC. "Pascal's" Triangle was discovered by mathematician Liu Ju-Hsieh, long before Pascal was born.
- Studies in biology have been extensive, and historic records are consulted even today, such as pharmacopoeias of medicinal plant<

Sun Quan

Sun Quan (孫權 pinyin: Sūn Quán) (182 - 252), son of Sun Jian, courtesy name Zhongmou (仲謀), formally Emperor Da of (Eastern) Wu (東吳大帝, literally "the grand emperor") was the the founder of Eastern Wu, during the Three Kingdoms period, in China. He ruled from 200 to 222 as Wu Wang (King/Prince of Wu) and from 222 to 252 as Emperor of the Wu Dynasty. His temple name is Taizu (太祖). In his youth Sun Quan spent time in his home county of Fuchun, and after his father's death in the early 190s, at various cities on the Lower Yangtze River. His elder brother Sun Ce carved out a warlord state in the region, based on his own followers and a number of local clan allegiances. When Sun Ce was assassinated by the retainers of Xu Gong, whom Sun Ce had killed in battle several years prior, in 200, the eighteen-year-old Sun Quan inherited the lands southeast of the Yangtze River from his brother. It was an achievement that his administration proved to be relatively stable in those early years. Sun Jian and Sun Ce's most senior officers, such as Zhou Yu, Zhang Zhao, Zhang Hong, and Cheng Pu remained loyal; in fact it was mentioned in the novel that Sun Ce had at his deathbed reminded Sun Quan that "in internal matters, consult Zhang Zhao, in external matters, consult Zhou Yu." Thus throughout the 200s Sun Quan under the tutelage of his able advisors continued to build up his strength along the Yangtze River. In early 207, his forces finally won complete victory over Huang Zu, a military leader under Liu Biao, who dominated the Middle Yangtze. In winter of that year, the northern warlord Cao Cao led an army of some 200,000 to conquer south to complete the reunification of China. Two distinct factions emerged at his court on how to handle the situation. One, led by Zhang Zhao, urged surrender whilst the other, led by Zhou Yu and the young diplomat Lu Su, opposed capitulation. In the finality, Sun Quan decided to oppose Cao Cao in the Middle Yangtze with his superior riverine forces. Allied with the refugee warlord Liu Bei and employing the combined strategies of Zhuge Liang, Zhou Yu, Huang Gai and Pang Tong, they defeated Cao Cao decisively at the Battle of Red Cliffs. In 220, Cao Pi, son of Cao Cao, seized the throne and proclaimed himself to be the Emperor of China, ending the nominal rule of the Han dynasty. At first Sun Quan wanted to be a king serving the Wei dynasty under Cao Pi, but he failed to make a deal, and so in 222, he declared himself independent by changing era name. It was not until the year 229 that he formally declared himself to be emperor. Because of his skill in gathering important, honourable men to his cause, Sun Quan was able to delegate authority to capable figures. This primary strength served him well in gaining the support of the common people and surrounding himself with capable generals. Sun Quan died in 252 at the age of 71. He enjoyed the longest reign among all the founders of the Three Kingdoms. He was succeeded as Emperor of Wu by his son Sun Liang.

Early life

Sun Quan was born in 182, while his father Sun Jian was still an Eastern Han general. After his father's death in 191, he became the charge of his brother Sun Ce. As he grew up, he became an officer under his brother during his brother's conquest of the region south of the Yangtze River. He was made a county magistrate in 196, at age 14, and continued to rise through the ranks as his brother gave him more and more important tasks. The Sanguo Zhi records that Sun Quan's father Sun Jian was a descendant of Sun Tzu, the great military strategist of the Warring States period. According to later tradition, Sun Quan was born on Sunzhou ("Sun Island", later Wangzhou - "King's Island"), an islet at the intersection of the Fuchun River and one of its tributaries. Local folklore relates a story about how Sun Quan's grandfather Sun Zhong was originally a melon farmer on the islet.

As warlord after Sun Ce's death

Prior to the Battle of Chibi

Sun Ce was assassinated in 200 during a hunt. On his deathbed, he knew that his son was still too young to be considered a realistic heir, so he entrusted the 18-year-old Sun Quan to his faithful subordinates. Initially, Sun Quan mourned so greatly that he could do nothing, but at Zhang Zhao's behest, he changed into a general's clothing and set out to visit the commanderies under his brother's control. Many of Sun Ce's subordinates thought that Sun Quan was too young to sustain Sun Ce's domain and wanted to leave, but Zhang and Zhou Yu saw special qualities in the young man and chose to stay to serve Sun Quan. Zhang Hong, whom Sun Ce had earlier sent as a liaison to the paramount warlord Cao Cao, also returned from Cao's domain to assist Sun Quan. (At Zhang Hong's request, Cao, in the name of Emperor Xian, commissioned Sun Quan as General Taolu (討虜將軍), a title that he would be known for for a long time.) He listened carefully to his mother Lady Wu's encouraging words, and greatly trusted Zhang Zhao and Zhang Hong with regard to civilian affairs and Zhou, Cheng Pu, and Lü Fan with regard to military matters. He also sought out talented young men to serve as his personal advisors, and it was around this time that he befriended Lu Su and Zhuge Jin, who would later play prominent roles in his administration. Throughout this period and decades to come, Sun's leadership would be characterized by his ability to find men of character and entrust important matters to him, and his ability to react swiftly to events. For the next several years, Sun was largely interested in first defending his realm against potential enemies, but he gradually sought to harass and weaken Liu Biao's key subordinate, Huang Zu (who controlled the northeastern region of Liu's domain) -- particularly because Huang had killed his father Sun Jian in battle. In 208, he was finally able to defeat Huang and kill him in battle. Soon after, Liu Biao himself died while Cao Cao was preparing a major campaign to subjugate both Liu and Sun under his control, precipitating a major confrontation.

Battle of Chibi

After Liu Biao's death, a succession struggle for his domain came into being, between his sons Liu Qi (劉琦) and younger son Liu Cong (劉琮), whom Liu Biao's second wife Lady Cai favored (because he had married her niece). After Huang's death, Liu Qi was therefore given Huang's post as the governor of Jiangxia Commandery (roughly modern Huanggang, Hubei). Liu Cong therefore succeeded Liu Biao after his death, and Liu Qi was displeased and considered, but did not carry out, an attack against his brother. Nevertheless, Liu Cong, in fear of having to fight Cao and his brother on two fronts, surrendered to Cao against the advice of Liu Biao's key ally Liu Bei. Liu Bei, unwilling to submit to Cao, fled south. Cao caught up to him and crushed his forces, but Liu Bei escaped with his life; he fled to Dangyang (當陽, in modern Yichang, Hubei). Cao took over most of Jing Province, and appeared set on finally unifying the empire. Sun was well aware of Cao's intentions, and he quickly entered into an alliance with Liu Bei and Liu Qi to prepare for a Cao assault. Cao wrote Sun with a letter intending to intimidate, and in face of Cao's overwhelming force (estimated to be about 220,000 men, although Cao claimed 800,000, against Sun's own 30,000 and the Lius' combined force of 10,000), many of Sun's subordinates, even including the highly capable Zhang Zhao, advocated surrender. Sun refused, under advise from Zhou Yu and Lu Su (that Cao would surely not tolerate him even if he surrendered). Sun put Zhou in charge of his 30,000 men, largely stationed on naval ships, and Zhou set up in a defense position in conjunction with Liu Bei, whose army was stationed on land. About this time, there was a plague developing in Cao's forces which significantly weakened it. Zhou set up a trap where he pretended to be punishing his subordinate Huang Gai, and Huang pretended to be in such fear that he was willing to surrender to Cao. Zhou then sent ships under Huang's command to pretend to surrender and, as Huang's ships approached Cao's fleet, they were lit on fire to assault Cao's fleet, and Cao's fleet was largely destroyed by fire. Cao led his forces to escape on land, but much of the force was destroyed by Sun's and Liu Bei's land forces. The death rate was said to be over 50%.

Uneasy alliance with Liu Bei

Immediately, after Cao withdrew, Sun took over the northern half of Jing Province. Liu Bei marched south and took over the southern half. The Sun-Liu alliance was further cemented by a marriage of Sun's sister to Liu. Zhou was suspicious of Liu's intentions, however, and suggested to Sun that Liu be seized and put under house arrest (albeit be very well-treated) and his forces be merged into Sun's; Sun, believing that Liu's forces would rebel if he did that, declined. Sun did agree to Zhou's plans to consider attacking Liu Zhang and Zhang Lu (who controlled the modern southern Shaanxi) to try to take over their territories, but after Zhou died in 210, the plans were abandoned. However, Sun was able to persuade the warlords in modern Guangdong, Guangxi, and northern Vietnam to submit to him, and they became part of his domain. He then yielded northern Jing to Liu as well, agreeing with Liu that southern Jing was insufficient to supply his troops. In 215, the Sun-Liu alliance appeared on the verge of break-up, because Sun demanded that Liu return Jing Province and Liu refused. Sun made an initial attack against Liu Bei's general Guan Yu, who was left in charge of Jing Province by Liu, and most of the eastern Jing Province (east of the Xiang River) quickly surrendered. However, after a face-to-face summit between Guan and Lu, the sides renewed their alliance, dividing Jing Province at the Xiang.

Breaking of alliance with Liu Bei

In 219, Guan Yu advanced north, attacking Fancheng (樊城, in modern Xiangfan, Hubei), scoring a major victory over Cao's nephew Cao Ren . While Fancheng did not fall at this time, Guan put it under siege, and the situation was severe enough that Cao Cao considered moving the capital away from Xu. However, Sun, resentful of Guan's prior constant instigation of hostilities (including seizing Sun's food supplies to use for his campaign north), took the opportunity to attack Guan from the rear, and Guan's forces collapsed. Guan was captured and killed by Sun's general Lü Meng (呂蒙); Jing Province became Sun's once more, and the Sun-Liu alliance was over. Sun instead nominally submitted to Cao and, indeed, urged him to take the throne. Cao declined, but prepared for his son Cao Pi to do so. After Cao Cao's death in 220, Cao Pi did indeed force Emperor Xian to yield the throne to him, ending the Han Dynasty and establishing Cao Wei. Sun did not immediately declare himself a Cao Wei subject or declare independence after Cao Pi's enthronement, but took a wait-and-see attitude; by contrast, in early 221, Liu Bei declared himself emperor, establishing Shu Han. Immediately, Liu planned a campaign against Sun to avenge Guan. After attempting to negotiate peace and receiving no positive response from Liu, fearing attack on both sides, Sun declared himself a Cao Wei subject. Cao's strategist Liu Ye (劉曄) suggested that Cao decline -- and in fact attack Sun on a second front, effectively partitioning Sun's domain with Shu Han, and then eventually seek to destroy Shu Han as well. Cao declined, in a fateful choice that most historians believe doomed his empire to ruling only the northern and central China -- and this chance would not come again. Indeed, against Liu Ye's advice, he created Sun the Prince of Wu and granted him the nine bestowments. In 222, at the Battle of Xiaoting (猇亭, also known as the Battle of Yiling), Sun's general Lu Xun dealt Liu a major defeat, stopping the Shu Han offensive. Shu Han would not again pose a threat to Sun from that point on. Later that year, when Cao Pi demanded that Sun send his crown prince Sun Deng (孫登) to the Cao Wei capital Luoyang as a hostage (to guarantee his loyalty), Sun refused and declared independence (by changing era name), thus establishing Eastern Wu as an independent state. Cao Pi therefore launched a major attack on Eastern Wu, but after Cao Wei defeats in early 223, it became clear that Eastern Wu was secure. After Liu Bei's death later that year, Zhuge Jin's brother Zhuge Liang, the regent for Liu Bei's son and successor Liu Shan, reestablished the alliance with Sun Quan, and the two states would remain allies until Shu Han's eventual destruction in 263.

Reign as the monarch of Eastern Wu

Early reign

Early in Sun Quan's reign, the Eastern Wu administration was known for its efficiency, as Sun showed a knack for listening to correct advice and for delegating authorities to the proper individuals. For example, he correctly trusted the faithful Lu Xun and Zhuge Jin, so much so that he made a duplicate imperial seal and left it with Lu; whenever he would correspond with Shu Han's emperor Liu Shan or regent Zhuge Liang, he would deliver the letter to Lu first (as Lu's post was near the Shu Han border), and then if, in Lu's opinion, changes were needed, he would revise the letter and then restamp it with Sun's imperial seal. Further, Lu and Zhuge Jin were authorized to coordinate their actions with Shu Han without prior imperial approval. Sun treated his high level officials as friends and addressed them accordingly (with courtesy names), and in accordance they dedicated all effort to Eastern Wu's preservation. He also knew what were the proper roles for officials that he trusted; for example, in 225, when selecting a prime minister, while the key officials all respected Zhang Zhao greatly and wanted him to be prime minister, Sun declined -- reasoning that while he respected Zhang greatly, a prime minister needed to handle all affairs of state, and Zhang, while capable, had such strong opinions that he would surely be in conflict with Sun and other officials at all times. He also repeatedly promoted his official Lü Fan even though, while he was young, Lü had informed to Sun Ce about his improper spending habits, understanding that Lü did so only out of loyalty to Sun Ce. In 224 and 225, Cao Pi again made attacks on Eastern Wu, but each time the Eastern Wu forces were able to repel Cao Wei's with fair ease -- so easily that Cao made the comment, "Heaven created the Yangtze to divide the north and south." However, Sun was himself equally unsuccessful in efforts to make major attacks on Cao Wei. After Cao Pi's death in 226, for example, Sun launched an attack on Cao Wei's Jiangxia Commandery (roughly modern Xiaogan, Hubei) but was forced to withdraw as soon as Cao Wei relief forces arrived despite Cao Pi's recent death. However, later that year, he was able to increase his effective control over Jiao Province (交州, modern northern Vietnam) when his general Lü Dai (呂岱) was able to defeat the warlord Shi Hui (士徽) and end the effective independence that the Shi clan had. In addition, the several indepedent kingdoms in modern Cambodia, Laos, and southern Vietnam all became Eastern Wu vassals as well. The one major victory that Eastern Wu would have over Cao Wei during this period came in 228, when, with Sun's approval, his general Zhou Fang pretended to be surrendering to Cao Wei after pretending to have been punished repeatedly by Sun. This tricked the Cao Wei general Cao Xiu, who led a large army south to support Zhou. He walked into the trap set by Zhou and Lu Xun and suffered major losses, but was saved from total annihilation by Jia Kui. In 229, Sun declared himself emperor, which almost damaged the alliance with Shu Han, as many Shu Han officials saw this as a sign of betrayal of the Han Dynasty -- which Shu Han claimed to be the legitimate successor to. However, Zhuge Liang opposed ending the alliance and in fact confirmed it with a formal treaty later that year, in which the two states pledged to support each other and divide Cao Wei equally if they could conquer it. Later that year, he moved his capital from Wuchang (武昌, in modern Ezhou, Hubei) to Jianye (建業, in modern Nanjing, Jiangsu), leaving his crown prince Sun Deng, assisted by Lu Xun, in charge of the western empire.

Middle reign

In 230, however, the first sign of the deterioration of Sun Quan's reign occurred. That year, he sent his generals Wei Wun (衛溫) and Zhuge Zhi (諸葛直) with a navy of 10,000 into the East China Sea to seek the legendary islands of Yizhou (夷洲, may be modern Ryukyu Islands) and Danzhou (亶洲, may be modern Japan) to seek to conquer them, despite strenous opposition of Lu Xun and Quan Cong (全琮). The navy was not able to locate Danzhou but located Yizhou, and returned in 231 after capturing several thousand men -- but only after 80-90% of the navy had died of illnesses. Instead of seeing his own fault in this venture, Sun simply executed Wen and Zhuge. Perhaps concerned about this deterioration in Sun Quan's judgment, Sun Deng left the western empire in Lu's hands in 232 and returned in Jianye, and would remain at Jianye until his own death in 241. In 232, Sun had another misadventure involving his navy -- as he sent his generals Zhou He (周賀) and Pei Qian (裴濳) to the nominal Cao Wei vassal Gongsun Yuan, in control of Liaodong Commandery (modern central Liaoning), to purchase horses, against the advice of Yu Fan (虞翻) -- and indeed, he exiled Yu to the desolate Cangwu Commandery (roughly modern Wuzhou, Guangxi) as punishment. Just as Yu predicted, however, the venture would end in failure -- as Zhou and Pei, on their way back, were intercepted by Cao Wei forces and killed. Regretting his actions, Sun tried to recall Yu back to Jianye, only to learn that Yu had died in exile. The next year, however, Sun would have yet another misadventure in his dealings with Gongsun, as Gongsun sent messengers to him, offering to be his subject. Sun was ecstatic, and created Gongsun the Prince of Yan and granted him the nine bestowments, and further sent a detachment of 10,000 men by sea north to assist Gongsun in his campaign against Cao Wei, against the advice of nearly every single one of his high level officials, particularly Zhang Zhao. Once the army arrived, however, Gongsun betrayed them, killing Sun's officials Zhang Mi (張彌) and Xu Yan (許晏), whom Sun had sent to grant the bestowments and seized their troops. Once that happened, the enraged Sun wanted to personally head north with a fleet to attack Gongsun, and initially, not even Lu's opposition was able to stop him, although he eventually calmed down and did not follow through. To his credit, he also personally went to Zhang's house and apologized to Zhang. Further, despite the detrioration in his previous clear thinking, he was still capable of making proper decisions at times. For example, in 235, when, as a sign of contempt, Cao Wei's emperor Cao Rui offered horses to him in exchange for pearls, jade, and tortoise shells, Sun ignored the implicit insult and made the exchange, reasoning that his empire needed horses much more than pearls, jade, or tortoise shells. In 234, in coordination with Zhuge Liang's final northern expedition against Cao Wei, Sun personally led a major attack against Cao Wei's border city Hefei (合肥, in modern Hefei, Anhui), while having Lu and Zhuge Jin attack Xiangyang (襄陽, in modern Xiangfan, Hubei), with the strategy of trying to attract Cao Wei relief forces and then attacking them. However, Cao Wei's generals correctly saw the situation and simply let Sun siege Hefei. Only after Sun's food supplies ran low did Cao Rui personally arrive with relief forces, and Sun withdrew, as did Lu and Zhuge. (This would prove to be the first of only two coordinated efforts made by allies Eastern Wu and Shu Han against Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period.) In 238, when Gongsun was under attack by Cao Wei's general Sima Yi, Sun, despite his prior rage against Gongsun, correctly judged the situation as one where he might be able to take advantage if Sima were initially unsuccessful, did not immediately refuse Gongsun's request for help. However, as Sima was able to conquer Gongsun quickly, Sun never launched the major attack that he considered if Sima got stuck in a stalemate with Gongsun. That year, he also recognized how his head secretary Lü Yi (呂壹) had been falsely accusing his officials, and had Lü executed; he then further confirmed his trust in the high level officials by personally writing an emotional letter to Zhuge Jin, Bu Zhi (步騭), Zhu Ran (朱然), and Lü Dai, blaming himself for the recent problems with his administration while urging them to speak out honestly whenever they saw faults in him. In 241, Sun would launch the last major assault against Cao Wei of his reign, in light of Cao Rui's death in 239, but he rejected a strategy offered by Yin Zha (殷札) to attack Cao Wei in coordinated effort with Shu Han on four different fronts, and the campaign ended in failure as well.

Late reign

Later in 241, Crown Prince Deng died -- an event that left open the issue of succession and appeared to mark the start of a precipitous decline in Sun Quan's mental health. In 242, he created his son Sun He (孫和), by Consort Wang, crown prince. However, he also favored another son by Consort Wang, Sun Ba (孫霸) the Prince of Lu, and permitted Sun Ba to have the same staffing level as the crown prince -- a move that was objected to by a number of officials as encouraging Prince Ba to compete with Prince He, but Sun Quan did not listen to them. After 245, when Crown Prince He and Prince Ba began to have separate residences, their relationship detriorated further, and Prince Ba began to scheme at how to seize heir status from Prince He. Fanned by gossip from his daughter Sun Dahu (孫大虎), Sun Quan blamed the princes' mother Consort Wang for this -- and she died in fear. He also cut off Crown Prince He and Prince Ba's access to the officials who supported them in hopes of receiving future favors, but this could not stop Prince Ba's machinations. Indeed, when Lu Xun tried to intervene to protect Crown Prince He, Prince Ba falsely accused him of many crimes, and Sun Quan became provoked so much that he repeatedly rebuked Lu -- causing Lu to die in anger. In 250, fed up with Prince Ba's constant attacks against Crown Prince He, Sun Quan carried out an inexplicable combination of actions -- he forced Prince Ba to commit suicide, while deposing Crown Prince He (who had not been shown to have committed any crimes), and instead creating his youngest son, Sun Liang, crown prince to replace Prince He. This move was opposed by his son-in-law Zhu Ju (朱據, the husband of Princess Xiaohu), but Zhu's pleas not only did not help Prince He, but also resulted in his own death, as Sun forced him to commit suicide. Many other officials who also opposed the move, as well as officials who had supported Prince Ba, were executed. Around this time, Sun also had his generals destroy a number of levees near the border with Cao Wei, creating large areas of flooding, in order to obstruct potential attacks from Cao Wei. In 251, Sun created the first empress of his reign -- Crown Prince Liang's mother Consort Pan. (Previously, he had a succession of wives, but never created any of them empresses, except that his favorite, Lady Bu, was created empress posthumously after her death in 238.) Later that year, however, he realized that Prince He was blameless and wanted to recall him from his exile, but was persuaded not to do so by his daughter Princess Dahu and Sun Jun, who had supported Crown Prince Liang's ascension. He realized that he was getting very old (69 by this point) and, at Sun Jun's recommendation, commissioned Zhuge Jin's son Zhuge Ke as the future regent for Crown Prince Liang -- even though he correctly had misgivings about how Zhuge Ke was arrogant and had overly high opinion of his own abilities -- because at that time, virtually the entire empire, awed by Zhuge's prior military victories, was co

Zhang Zhao

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236

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Sun Quan

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Reign as the monarch of Eastern Wu

Early reign

Middle reign

Late reign