Sun Liang

Biography

Family Background and Early Years

Sun Liang was born in 243, the sixth year of the Chiwu era. He was Sun Quan’s seventh and youngest son. His mother Pan Shu was of humble origin and had originally been a woman employed in a Jiangdong weaving workshop. Because of her beauty, she entered Sun Quan’s palace and became favored. According to the Jiankang Shilu, while pregnant with Sun Liang she dreamed that someone gave her a dragon’s head; she later gave birth to him. Sun Quan was particularly fond of Sun Liang in his later years because he was the youngest son.

When Sun Liang was young, Sun Quan had originally made his third son Sun He crown prince. Sun He’s mother Lady Wang, however, had a long-standing feud with Sun Liang’s elder half-sister Sun Luban, Grand Princess Quan. The princess repeatedly slandered Sun He before Sun Quan, eventually helping bring about Sun He’s deposition and the forced suicide of Sun Ba. In the tenth month of 250, the thirteenth year of Chiwu, Sun Quan passed over his fifth son Sun Fen and sixth son Sun Xiu and made Sun Liang crown prince. Soon afterward Pan Shu was made empress, making Sun Liang the only one of Sun Quan’s sons whose mother held the position of empress. In the same year, Grand Princess Quan, seeking to secure her own position, strongly urged Sun Quan to marry Sun Liang to Quan Shang’s daughter, and Sun Quan agreed.

Sun Liang was regarded as intelligent and perceptive from childhood and, despite his age, capable of adult judgment. According to the Jiankang Shilu, when he met his tutors after being made crown prince at the age of seven, his conduct conformed to ritual, and ministers therefore held him in esteem.

Accession as a Child

In the second month of 252, the first year of the Shenfeng era, Empress Pan was killed by palace women, or possibly at the instigation of ministers. In the fourth month, Sun Quan fell seriously ill and summoned General-in-Chief Zhuge Ke as Grand Tutor to the Heir Apparent and Teng Yin, Administrator of Kuaiji, as Minister of the Imperial Ancestral Temple; the two received orders to assist the crown prince. After Sun Quan died, Sun Liang succeeded as emperor, issued a general amnesty, and changed the era name to Jianxing. He was only ten sui at accession. Government was jointly handled by the testamentary ministers Zhuge Ke, Teng Yin, Sun Jun, Lü Ju, and others, with Zhuge Ke becoming the effective chief minister and controlling both civil and military affairs.

In the intercalary month of 252, Sun Liang appointed Zhuge Ke Grand Tutor, Teng Yin General of the Guards with authority over the affairs of the Masters of Writing, Lü Dai Grand Marshal, and Zhu Yi General Who Guards the South. Serving civil and military officials received promotions and rewards. In the tenth month, Cao Wei took advantage of Sun Quan’s death and sent 150,000 troops on three routes against Wu. Grand Tutor Zhuge Ke dammed the waters of Lake Chao, built the fortifications at Dongxing, and assigned General Quan Duan to defend the western fort and Commandant Liu Lüe the eastern fort. Early in the twelfth month, Wei generals Zhuge Dan, Hu Zun, and others led 70,000 infantry and cavalry to besiege Dongxing. Zhuge Ke sent a major force to meet them, inflicted a heavy defeat, and killed the Wei generals Han Zong and Huan Jia. This became known as the Battle of Dongxing.

Succession of Powerful Ministers

In the first month of 253, Sun Liang made Lady Quan empress and proclaimed a general amnesty. In the second month the army returned from Dongxing and Sun Liang distributed extensive rewards. In the third month, Zhuge Ke campaigned against Wei and besieged the new city at Hefei. An epidemic killed more than half the troops, and in the eighth month Zhuge Ke withdrew. Because of the heavy losses and his effort to conceal responsibility, Zhuge Ke became increasingly autocratic, causing widespread resentment.

General of the Guards Sun Jun secretly conspired with Sun Liang and arranged a banquet for Zhuge Ke. Zhuge Ke entered the hall wearing a sword, saluted Sun Liang, and sat down. After several rounds of drinking, Sun Liang withdrew to the inner hall. Sun Jun pretended to visit the latrine, changed into short clothing, returned, and shouted, “There is an edict to arrest Zhuge Ke!” He then struck Zhuge Ke down with a blade. For killing Zhuge Ke, Sun Jun became Grand Councilor and General-in-Chief and was enfeoffed as Marquis of Fuchun.

Sun Jun was regarded as sinister and no less arrogant than Zhuge Ke. After Zhuge Ke’s death, several people attempted to assassinate Sun Jun, but the plots failed and the participants were forced to commit suicide or were executed. In 255, the second year of Wufeng, Sun Jun took advantage of Guanqiu Jian and Wen Qin’s Rebellion in Wei, fought Wei forces around the Huai River, won, and accepted Wen Qin’s surrender. The next year Sun Jun sent Lü Ju and others against Wei, but died during the campaign. His cousin Sun Chen then inherited his power.

Sun Chen was not one of the testamentary ministers appointed by Sun Quan. Lü Ju and Wen Qin strongly resented his complete succession to Sun Jun’s authority and demanded that Teng Yin be made Grand Councilor. Sun Chen ignored them and instead appointed Teng Yin Grand Marshal. Lü Ju and Teng Yin then plotted to overthrow Sun Chen but failed and were killed. Another general, Wang Dun, also plotted to kill Sun Chen and was likewise killed after the plan failed. All five testamentary ministers were now dead, and court government fell entirely into Sun Chen’s hands.

Personal Rule and Deposition

In the summer of 257, the second year of Taiping, Sun Liang entered the main hall, proclaimed a general amnesty, and began personal rule at fifteen sui. He several times ordered the Secretariat to examine precedents from Sun Quan’s reign and told attendants: “The former emperor often issued handwritten edicts asking about major affairs of state. Now when the General-in-Chief handles major affairs, he merely tells me to copy what he has written.” He was deeply dissatisfied with Sun Chen’s autocracy.

Sun Liang attempted to remove Sun Chen’s supporters. His half-sister Princess Zhu had earlier been falsely accused of involvement in a coup against Sun Jun and was killed by him. Sun Liang therefore blamed Sun Chen’s brother-in-law Zhu Xiong, commander at Hulin, and Zhu Xiong’s younger brother Zhu Sun for failing to correct Sun Jun’s wrongdoing and sent Ding Feng to execute them. He also recruited more than three thousand sons of military households between fifteen and eighteen years of age, chose strong young sons of leading generals as commanders, and said: “I am building this army so that I may grow together with them.” He personally drilled them every day in the imperial park.

In the same year, Zhuge Dan, Wei’s General Who Conquers the East, rebelled at Shouchun and asked Wu for military aid. Sun Chen sent troops to assist him, but the effort failed. Sun Chen blamed the chief commander Zhu Yi and had him executed at Huoli. Other generals involved in the campaign surrendered to Cao Wei out of fear that Sun Chen would kill them. Sun Liang repeatedly sent men to rebuke Sun Chen for failing to rescue Zhuge Dan and then executing a senior commander. Sun Chen became extremely afraid. After returning to Jianye he claimed illness and refused to attend court, built a residence south of Zhuque Bridge, placed his younger brother Sun Ju, General of Far-Reaching Might, in charge of guarding Canglong Gate, and stationed his brothers Sun En, Sun Gan, and Sun Kai in separate camps, seeking to control the government for his own security.

In 258, the third year of Taiping, the conflict between Sun Liang and Sun Chen deepened. Sun Liang conspired with Grand Princess Quan, Sun Luban; Minister of the Imperial Ancestral Temple Quan Shang; and General Liu Cheng to kill Sun Chen. Sun Liang summoned Quan Shang’s son Quan Ji, a Yellow Gate Gentleman, and said: “Sun Chen is extremely evil and monopolizes power, treating me lightly. I ordered him to rescue Tang Zi, yet he did nothing and instead shifted responsibility to Zhu Yi. He arbitrarily kills ministers with merit without first memorializing me. Now he has built a residence south of Zhuque Bridge and does not come to see me. This freedom cannot long be tolerated. I now intend to arrest him. Your father commands the central army. Tell him to put his troops in strict order. At the appointed time I will personally lead the palace cavalry, the Left and Right Wunan guards, and other palace troops to surround Sun Chen and use an edict to make him surrender. You must tell your father, but do not let your mother know. Women do not understand affairs of state, and she is also Sun Chen’s cousin; if she sees him, I fear the military secret will leak and ruin the matter.”

Quan Ji left to carry out the order. Quan Shang, however, did not keep the plan secret and told his wife, who disclosed it to Sun Chen. Sun Chen led his retainers at night to arrest Quan Shang, sent his younger brother Sun En to kill Liu Cheng, and mobilized troops during the night to depose Sun Liang. By dawn, the palace was surrounded. Enraged, Sun Liang mounted a horse with quiver and bow, intending to go out, and declared: “I am the legitimate son of the former emperor and have reigned for five years. Who dares refuse obedience?” Palace Attendants, close attendants, and his wet nurse restrained him. Unable to leave, he lamented and refused food for two days. He rebuked Empress Quan: “Your father is so foolish that he nearly ruined affairs of state!” He also summoned her brother Quan Ji, who said, “My father received the edict but acted carelessly and betrayed Your Majesty. I have no face with which to see the sovereign again,” and then killed himself.

Sun Chen claimed that Sun Liang suffered from mental illness and forced the ministers to consent to his deposition as Prince of Kuaiji. He then enthroned Sun Quan’s sixth son, Sun Xiu. The ministers who had plotted with Sun Liang were all killed by Sun Chen, and the remaining court officials were too frightened by his power to protest openly.

Death

In 260, the third year of the Yongan era, rumors spread in Sun Liang’s fief of Kuaiji that he would return to Jianye and restore himself. His attendants also claimed that he had spoken improper words during a sacrifice. After a judicial investigation, Sun Liang was demoted to Marquis of Houguan, whose county seat lay in what is now urban Fuzhou, Fujian, and sent toward the fief. He died on the journey. The Records of the Three Kingdoms states that Sun Liang killed himself and that his escorts were punished; the Wu lu records another claim that Sun Xiu had him poisoned. Sun Liang was only eighteen at his death. After Wu fell, Dai Xian, a native of Danyang and former Minister of the Lesser Treasury of Wu, also known as Dai Yong, memorialized the court and brought Sun Liang’s remains back for burial at Laixiang (present-day Lishui District, Nanjing, Jiangsu).

Sun Liang, courtesy name Ziming, was the youngest son of Sun Quan, the great emperor of Wu, his mother being the empress Pan; he was born about 243. It is said that when with child his mother dreamed that someone gave her a dragon's head, and that Sun Liang was born afterward; Sun Quan, old in years and with this his youngest child, loved him especially. In his last years the emperor's quarrels with the heir Sun He and his mother, stirred by the slanders of the princess Quan, ended in Sun He's deposition; in the tenth month of 250 Sun Quan set up Sun Liang as heir apparent and soon made his mother empress, so that Sun Liang was the only son of Sun Quan born of an empress. Clever and quick, he had the judgment of a grown man while still a child, and his bearing before his tutors and ministers was correct, so that the officials thought much of him.

That winter Sun Quan fell gravely ill and called the general-in-chief Zhuge Ke to be grand tutor to the heir and Teng Yin, governor of Kuaiji, to be master of ceremonies, both receiving the charge to assist him. The empress Pan died suddenly in the second month of 252 and Sun Quan in the fourth, whereupon the heir took the throne, proclaimed an amnesty and changed the era to Jianxing. In the intercalary month of 252 Sun Liang made Zhuge Ke grand tutor and Teng Yin general of the guards and supervisor of the department of state affairs, raising the ranks of the civil and military officials. In the tenth month of the same year the Wei, taking the occasion of Sun Quan's death, invaded with a hundred and fifty thousand men in three columns; Zhuge Ke dammed the waters of Lake Chao, built the city of Dongxing and manned it, and in the twelfth month the Wu army heavily defeated the Wei before it — the famous battle of Dongxing, in which Ding Feng's seizure of Xutang with three thousand men and his stripped-armour charge are best remembered.

In 253 Zhuge Ke, against all advice, campaigned north in force and besieged the Wei city of Hefei New City; unable to take it he was forced to withdraw and was pursued with heavy losses on the way, which much damaged his standing. That winter the imperial kinsman Sun Jun and Sun Liang plotted together and had Zhuge Ke killed by ambush at a banquet, and Sun Jun took the government. Sun Jun died in 256 and his cousin Sun Shen took his place, the rule of overmighty ministers continuing in Wu.

In 258 Sun Liang, now sixteen, unwilling to see the power slip from his hands, plotted with the master of ceremonies Quan Shang and the general Liu Cheng to destroy Sun Shen. In the ninth month Sun Shen struck first, had Quan Shang arrested, sent his brother Sun En to kill Liu Cheng outside the Canglong gate, assembled the ministers at the palace gate and declared Sun Liang deposed as prince of Kuaiji, the boy being but sixteen. He was afterward degraded to marquis of Houguan and sent to his fief, dying on the way, the sources differing on how. He reigned six years, during which the government of Wu was held in turn by Zhuge Ke, Sun Jun and Sun Shen; he had the will to rid himself of an overmighty minister but not the base of support, and his deposition stands as a landmark of the succession of powerful ministers in the later years of Wu.

Of Sun Liang's quickness the Records of the Three Kingdoms, quoting the Wu lüeh in Pei Songzhi's notes, tells a well-known story. Wanting to eat fresh plums in the western park, Sun Liang sent a eunuch to the palace store for honeyed plums, and the eunuch, who had a grudge against the storekeeper, put a rat dropping in the honey. Sun Liang summoned the storekeeper, who protested his innocence bowing to the ground, and the emperor said the matter was easily settled: had the dropping been long in the honey it would be wet inside and out, but cut open it was dry within, so it must have been put in just now. The eunuch confessed, and those present were astonished. The story is often cited to show his gift for judgment as a boy.

His six years on the throne were the years in which the rule of overmighty ministers was most concentrated in Wu. Zhuge Ke, charged with the government after Sun Quan's death, stood very high at first and reached the height of his reputation with the victory at Dongxing; but the next year he campaigned north against all advice and besieged Hefei New City, failed to take it and fell back in disorder amid general resentment. Sun Jun took the chance to destroy him with Sun Liang's consent, and afterward Sun Jun and his brother Sun Shen held power in turn, putting Teng Yin, Lü Ju and other ministers to death one after another, so that the government of Wu grew ever more disturbed. While Sun Shen held power, Zhuge Dan rose at Shouchun in Wei and asked help of Wu; Wu sent troops to his support without success, Zhuge Dan was defeated and killed, and Wu's venture toward Shouchun ended in failure too.

Amid all this Sun Liang stood much as Emperor Xian of Han had done: sovereign in name with the power in the hands of his ministers. His attempt to recover it with Quan Shang and Liu Cheng failed when the plan leaked and he was deposed in his turn. Degraded to marquis of Houguan and sent to his fief, he died on the way, the sources differing on whether by his own hand or by poison. After his death Sun Xiu was brought in as emperor, and the politics of Wu went on rising and falling between the throne and the powerful ministers.

After his deposition Sun Xiu came to the throne and the politics of Wu went on swinging between the throne and its ministers. Sun Xiu contrived to destroy Sun Shen and for a time the government grew steadier; but after his death Sun Hao was set up and the politics of Wu decayed quickly, the state being destroyed by the Western Jin in 280. A feature of the rule of overmighty ministers in Wu was that power passed among kinsmen and consort kin: Zhuge Ke governed as regent, while Sun Jun and Sun Shen held the guards as members of the imperial clan, so that the throne could never recover its authority — and Sun Liang's failure was the product of that situation.

Over the longer term, despite the turbulence within, Wu could still hold its own against Wei while Sun Liang reigned: the great victory at Dongxing and the support sent toward Shouchun both show that its army was not yet weak, and its real decline appeared only under Sun Hao. Later judgment of Sun Liang turns on two things: that the rule of overmighty ministers reached its height in his reign, and that he had the will but not the strength to destroy them; and the anecdotes in the Wu lüeh and elsewhere that show his quickness as a boy. Historically he is the type of the puppet sovereign of the Three Kingdoms, his case much like that of Emperor Xian of Han, and the two are commonly discussed together. Of his burial and his end the histories say little and he had no settled posthumous name, appearing in the Records of the Three Kingdoms as the deposed emperor or the prince of Kuaiji.

Major Activities

Intelligence in Youth

Although Sun Liang became emperor as a child, he was regarded as clever and was respected by ministers. According to Pei Songzhi’s annotation to the Records of the Three Kingdoms, quoting the Wu li, Sun Liang once wanted sour plums and ordered a Yellow Gate attendant to fetch honey from the storehouse. Mouse droppings were found in the honey. Sun Liang summoned the storekeeper, who kowtowed and apologized. Sun Liang asked, “Did the Yellow Gate attendant ask you for honey?” The storekeeper replied, “He did, but I did not dare give him any.” The attendant denied wrongdoing. Sun Liang ordered the droppings broken open; they were dry inside. He laughed and said to those around him: “If the mouse droppings had already been in the honey, they would be wet inside and out. Now the outside is wet and the inside dry. The Yellow Gate attendant must have put them there.” When questioned, the attendant confessed, astonishing those present.

Legal Impartiality

In 257, the second year of Taiping, Sun Ji, son of Sun Ba, Prince of Lu, had been enfeoffed as a marquis of Wu during the Wufeng era and served in the palace. He was arrested for secretly riding an imperial horse. Sun Liang asked Palace Attendant Diao Xuan, “What is the punishment for riding an imperial horse without authorization?” Diao Xuan replied, “It should be death. But the Prince of Lu died early; I hope Your Majesty can take pity on his son.” Sun Liang said: “The law is something shared by all under Heaven. How can I favor someone because he is a relative? We should find a lawful means of sparing him. How can we use feelings for a deceased relative as the reason?” Diao Xuan explained that amnesties in the past had varied in scope, from the whole realm to areas of a thousand or a hundred li, at the ruler’s discretion. Sun Liang replied, “Are you not precisely the man who understands my intention?” He then ordered an amnesty for offenses committed within the palace, thereby sparing Sun Ji.

Measures during Personal Rule

After taking personal rule in 257, Sun Liang adopted several measures in preparation for overthrowing Sun Chen. He recruited more than three thousand sons of military households aged fifteen to eighteen, selected young and strong sons of senior generals as commanders, and personally trained them in the imperial park, creating a youth army loyal to himself. He repeatedly challenged Sun Chen’s memorials and resisted his monopoly of power. He also ordered the restoration of his half-brother Sun Fen as Marquis of Zhang’an in an effort to gain support from the imperial clan.

Movements and Residences

During his reign, Sun Liang was principally active in Jianye (present-day Nanjing) and made no large-scale tours. After his deposition as Prince of Kuaiji, he lived in Kuaiji (present-day Shaoxing, Zhejiang). In 260, the third year of Yongan, he was demoted to Marquis of Houguan and died while traveling toward Houguan (present-day Fuzhou, Fujian).

Personal Relations

• Grandfather: Sun Jian, Emperor Wulie of Eastern Wu.
• Father: Sun Quan, Emperor Da of Eastern Wu.
• Mother: Empress Pan, Pan Shu.
• Brothers: Sun Deng, Sun Lü, Sun He, Sun Ba, Sun Fen, Sun Xiu.
• Sisters: Sun Luban (Grand Princess Quan), Sun Luyu (Princess Zhu).
• Empress: Empress Quan, daughter of Quan Shang.
• Consorts: Chao Shu, Liju, Luozhen, Jiehua.
• Zhuge Ke: testamentary minister and Grand Tutor to the Heir Apparent; later killed in a plot by Sun Jun and Sun Liang because of his autocracy.
• Teng Yin: testamentary minister; served as Minister of the Imperial Ancestral Temple and later Grand Marshal; killed after opposing Sun Chen.
• Sun Jun: testamentary minister and military commander, later Grand Councilor; monopolized power after killing Zhuge Ke.
• Lü Ju: testamentary minister and General of Agile Cavalry; killed after opposing Sun Chen’s succession to power.
• Lü Dai: Grand Marshal and veteran minister of Eastern Wu.
• Sun Chen: cousin of Sun Jun; seized power after Sun Jun, came into increasing conflict with Sun Liang, and ultimately deposed him.
• Quan Shang: Minister of the Imperial Ancestral Temple and Sun Liang’s father-in-law; took part in the plot against Sun Chen and was arrested when it was exposed.
• Quan Ji: son of Quan Shang and Yellow Gate Gentleman; carried messages in the plot, which leaked, and then killed himself.
• Ding Feng: general sent to execute Zhu Xiong and Zhu Sun.
• Diao Xuan: Palace Attendant who once argued for leniency toward Sun Ji.
• Zhuge Ke: killed after becoming autocratic.
• Sun Jun: autocratic minister who killed Princess Zhu and other members of the imperial clan.
• Sun Chen: autocratic minister who ultimately deposed Sun Liang.
• Zhu Xiong and Zhu Sun: Sun Chen’s brother-in-law and his younger brother; executed by Ding Feng on Sun Liang’s order.

Historical Assessment

Contemporary

• Chen Shou, author of the Records of the Three Kingdoms, wrote: “Sun Liang was a child without worthy assistants; that his reign ended before completion was also natural,” attributing his deposition to his youth and lack of capable support.
• Biographies from South of the Yangzi records Sun Liang saying: “I am the legitimate son of the former emperor and have reigned for five years. Who dares refuse obedience?” showing his determination to defend imperial authority.
• Sun Chen used alleged mental illness as the pretext for deposing him, suggesting that Sun Liang did not enjoy strong organized support at court.

Jin and Northern and Southern Dynasties

• The Eastern Jin historian Gan Bao described Sun Liang as “intelligent from youth, with the bearing of an adult,” praising his intelligence.
• Xu Song’s Jiankang Shilu says that Sun Liang was “clever and perceptive; though young, he possessed adult judgment, and when meeting his tutors his conduct accorded with ritual, so ministers valued him.”
• The Southern Dynasties historian Pei Songzhi cited the honey-and-mouse-droppings story from the Wu li in his annotation to the Records of the Three Kingdoms as an example of Sun Liang’s keen observation.

Tang and Song Periods

• The Tang historian Liu Zhiji referred to Sun Liang in the Shitong as an example of youthful intelligence.
• Sima Guang’s Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance records events of Sun Liang’s reign, condemns Sun Chen’s monopoly of power, and treats Sun Liang’s failed attempt at personal rule with sympathy.

Modern and Contemporary

• Lü Simian, in Stories from the History of the Three Kingdoms, argued that Sun Liang’s failure arose from the structure of government under powerful ministers rather than something his personal ability could have overcome.
• Tian Yuqing, in Studies on Qin, Han, Wei, and Jin History, regarded Sun Liang’s efforts to regain power as reflecting conflict between imperial authority and powerful members of the ruling clan.
• Modern scholars generally consider Sun Liang to have possessed some political ability despite his youth, but to have been constrained by structural conflicts within the Sun Wu regime and unable to reverse the dominance of powerful ministers.