Sun Xiu

Biography

Family Background and Early Years

Sun Xiu was born in 235, the fourth year of the Jiahe era, as the sixth son of Emperor Da of Eastern Wu, Sun Quan. His mother was Lady Wang. The source states that Sun Xiu and the young emperor Sun Liang were both born to Lady Wang and were full brothers. At age thirteen Sun Xiu studied under Secretariat Gentleman Xie Ci and Gentleman of the Palace Sheng Chong, receiving a relatively systematic education in the classics. In the late Chiwu era, around 250, Sun Quan arranged for Sun Xiu to marry a daughter of Zhu Ju. The Zhu clan was one of the major families of Jiangdong, and Zhu Ju had risen to General of Agile Cavalry. The marriage therefore linked Sun Xiu with the Jiangdong aristocracy.

In the first month of 252, the second year of the Taiyuan era, Sun Xiu was enfeoffed as Prince of Langya and resided at Hulin, in the area of present-day Guichi, Anhui. In the fourth month of the same year, Sun Quan died and Sun Xiu's younger half-brother Sun Liang succeeded to the throne, while Grand Preceptor Zhuge Ke controlled the government. Zhuge Ke did not want imperial princes living at strategic locations along the Yangzi and moved Sun Xiu to Danyang Commandery. Sun Xiu had poor relations there with Administrator Li Heng, who repeatedly troubled him through legal matters. Sun Xiu petitioned to move to another commandery, and the court ordered him and his wife to relocate to Kuaiji.

Prince in Kuaiji

Sun Xiu lived in Kuaiji Commandery for six years, admired good conduct and reputation, and cultivated relations with local people. During this period he became close to Puyang Xing, Administrator of Kuaiji, and Zhang Bu, a commander of the left and right guards. These relationships later provided an important personal base for his accession. According to the Records of the Three Kingdoms, Sun Xiu once dreamed that he rode a dragon into the sky but, when he looked back, could not see the dragon's tail. The dream was later interpreted as an omen of his accession.

Sun Xiu's mother-in-law Sun Luyu, a daughter of Sun Quan, was unjustly killed by the powerful minister Sun Jun. Fearing for his family, Sun Xiu sent his wife Lady Zhu back to Jianye, parting from her in tears. After she arrived, Sun Jun sent her back. The episode deepened Sun Xiu's hostility toward the domination of Sun Jun and his cousin Sun Chen.

Accession and the Elimination of Sun Chen

On the twenty-sixth day of the ninth month of 258, the third year of Taiping, the powerful minister Sun Chen deposed the young emperor Sun Liang. The next day he sent Director of the Imperial Clan Sun Kai and Secretariat Gentleman Dong Chao to invite Sun Xiu back to the capital to take the throne. Sun Xiu was initially suspicious. Sun Kai and Dong Chao explained the intentions behind Sun Chen's welcome, and only after one day and two nights did Sun Xiu set out. On the seventeenth day of the tenth month, Sun Xiu's party reached Qu'e. An old man stopped him, bowed his head to the ground, and said, “If matters are delayed too long, changes will occur. All under Heaven are eagerly awaiting you; I hope Your Majesty will proceed swiftly.” Sun Xiu agreed and reached Busa Pavilion that same day.

On the eighteenth day of the tenth month, Sun Xiu arrived at Yongchang Pavilion. Sun En, General of the Martial Guard and acting in the affairs of the Grand Councilor, led the officials to welcome him with the imperial carriage. Sun Xiu entered the side hall but modestly refused to ascend the imperial seat, resting instead in the eastern chamber. The Grand Councilor presented the seals and tallies. Sun Xiu declined repeatedly, but after the assembled officials petitioned three times he finally accepted. That same day he entered the main hall, proclaimed a general amnesty, and adopted Yongan as the era name. He was twenty-three by traditional reckoning.

At the beginning of his reign, Sun Xiu sought to stabilize the political situation by first promoting Sun Chen to Grand Councilor and Governor of Jing Province and increasing his fief by five counties. Five marquises from Sun Chen's family all commanded the palace guards, giving the clan power that overshadowed the ruler. Whenever Sun Chen submitted requests, Sun Xiu treated them respectfully and did not dare contradict him. Sun Chen grew increasingly arrogant and unrestrained and, while drunk, once complained that he regretted not having taken the throne himself. Zhang Bu reported this to Sun Xiu. Fearing rebellion, Sun Xiu secretly planned with Zhang Bu and Ding Feng to execute Sun Chen at a banquet on the day of the winter sacrifice.

On the eighth day of the twelfth month of 258, the first year of Yongan, the winter sacrifice was held. Having heard rumors, Sun Chen claimed illness and refused to attend. Sun Xiu sent more than ten messengers to summon him, leaving him no choice but to come. Before departing, Sun Chen arranged with his household that during the banquet they should set fire to his residence so that he could use the blaze as an excuse to leave. When Sun Chen saw the fire during the feast, he asked permission to return, but Sun Xiu refused. Sun Chen then prepared to leave by force, whereupon Ding Feng and Zhang Bu signaled the attendants to bind him. Sun Chen knocked his head to the ground and begged to be exiled to Jiao Province in atonement. Sun Xiu replied, “Why did you not exile Teng Yin and Lü Ju, but instead execute them?” Sun Chen then asked to be reduced to a government slave. Sun Xiu again replied, “Why did you not make Teng Yin and Lü Ju government slaves?” He ordered Sun Chen beheaded and his head displayed. Sun Xiu proclaimed a general pardon for those implicated with Sun Chen, and as many as five thousand of Sun Chen's followers laid down their weapons and surrendered.

Government and Administration

After Sun Chen's execution, Sun Xiu regained control of imperial authority. He ordered new burials and sacrifices for Zhuge Ke, Teng Yin, Lü Ju, and others who had been killed by Sun Jun and Sun Chen, and allowed those exiled through association with them to return. Sun Xiu regarded sharing a clan register with Sun Jun and Sun Chen as a disgrace and had their names removed from the lineage, referring to them as “the former Jun” and “the former Chen.”

Sun Xiu valued literary education. In 258, the first year of Yongan, he issued an edict declaring, “In antiquity, when a state was founded, education came first.” He ordered educational offices established according to ancient practice and appointed Five Classics Professors. Candidates were to be examined and selected, and serving officials as well as the sons of military commanders who wished to study were to be enrolled. After one year they would be tested, ranked by performance, and rewarded with stipends and posts. The source describes this as the beginning of the Imperial Academy at Nanjing, with Wei Zhao serving as its first chief professor.

In 259, the second year of Yongan, Sun Xiu issued an edict emphasizing agriculture and sericulture as fundamental. He stated that many officials and commoners in the provinces and commanderies, as well as soldiers in the camps, had abandoned farming and sericulture to conduct trade by boat along the Yangzi, leaving good fields increasingly uncultivated. He ordered cultivation expanded, taxation reduced, and agricultural levies assessed according to differences in labor capacity so that burdens would be evenly distributed. The edict quoted the Guanzi: “When granaries are full, the people know ritual and propriety; when food and clothing are sufficient, they know honor and shame,” expressing the hope of achieving the peace associated with Emperor Wen of Han.

Late in his reign, because of past favors Sun Xiu entrusted military and state affairs and palace administration almost entirely to Puyang Xing and Zhang Bu. The two supported one another and aroused resentment among officials, but Sun Xiu continued to trust them without reservation.

Final Years and Death

In the second month of 264, the seventh year of Yongan, Sun Xiu took advantage of the recent fall of Shu Han and the lack of an established authority in Shu to send General Who Guards the Army Lu Kang, General Who Pacifies the Army Bu Xie, General Who Attacks the West Liu Ping, and Administrator of Jianping Sheng Man west into Ba and Shu. They besieged Luo Xian, the former Shu Han defender of Badong. Wei sent General Hu Lie with twenty thousand infantry and cavalry to threaten Xiling in relief of Luo Xian, and Lu Kang and the others withdrew to Wu. The expedition failed to seize former Shu Han territory.

In the seventh month of 264, Sun Xiu became gravely ill and could no longer speak, though he remained able to write. He wrote an order summoning Grand Councilor Puyang Xing to the palace, had the crown prince brought out to bow to him, grasped Puyang Xing's arm, pointed to the crown prince, and entrusted the heir to his care. On the twenty-fourth day of that month he proclaimed a general amnesty. The next day, September 3, he died at the age of thirty by traditional reckoning.

After Sun Xiu's death, Grand Councilor Puyang Xing and Left General Zhang Bu persuaded Empress Zhu that, because Shu had just fallen and Jiaozhi was in rebellion, the state was fearful and needed an older ruler. They therefore passed over Sun Xiu's heir and installed Sun Hao, a son of Sun Xiu's deceased elder brother Sun He. After Sun Hao took the throne, he executed Puyang Xing and Zhang Bu in the eleventh month of 264, the first year of the Yuanxing era. In the seventh month of 265, the first year of Ganlu, he forced Empress Zhu to die, sent Sun Xiu's four sons to the small city of Wu, and later killed the older sons Sun 𱁞 and Sun 𩃙.

Sun Xiu, courtesy name Zilie, was the sixth son of Sun Quan, the great emperor of Wu, his mother being the lady Wang. At thirteen he studied under the palace secretaries She Ci and Sheng Chong. In the first month of 252 he was made prince of Langya and lived at Hulin; in the fourth month of that year Sun Quan died, his younger brother Sun Liang succeeded, and Zhuge Ke took the government. Zhuge Ke, unwilling that the princes should live in the strategic lands along the Yangtze with their troops, moved Sun Xiu to Danyang commandery. The governor of Danyang, Li Heng, harassed him in one matter after another, and Sun Xiu memorialized asking to be moved to another commandery, whereupon he was sent to Kuaiji. There he lived several years, fond of what was good and of reputation, and closely bound to the governor of Kuaiji; in that time he dreamed that he rode a dragon up to Heaven and looking back could not see its tail, and waking was much struck by it.

On the twenty-sixth day of the ninth month of 258 the young emperor Sun Liang was deposed by the overmighty minister Sun Chen, and the next day Sun Chen sent the clan official Sun Kai and the palace secretary Dong Zhao to bring Sun Xiu to the capital to take the throne. Hearing of it he was at first doubtful; Sun Kai and Dong Zhao set out the reasons for the summons, and he kept them a day and two nights before setting out. On the seventeenth day of the tenth month his party reached Qu'a, where an old man stopped him, bowed to the ground and said that long delay breeds change, that the whole realm looked to him with longing, and that he should hurry; judging the old man right, Sun Xiu pressed on the same day to Busaiting. The Wuwei general Sun En, acting as chancellor, led the officials to welcome him at Yongchangting with the imperial carriage and escort, building a palace, screening off a court of audience with military tents and setting up the throne. On the eighteenth Sun Xiu arrived, halted at the sight of the tented hall and sent Sun Kai ahead to see Sun En; when Sun Kai returned he went forward in his carriage and the officials bowed twice and called themselves his servants.

Mounting the tented hall, he modestly would not take the throne and stayed in the eastern side chamber. The director of the bureau of revenue stepped forward to the steps and read the memorial; the chancellor presented the seals. Sun Xiu declined three times and the ministers urged him three times, and he said that the generals, ministers and princes had all raised him up and he dared not refuse the seals. The officials led him in order to the carriage; Sun Chen received him in the open country with a thousand soldiers and bowed at the roadside, and Sun Xiu descended from his carriage and bowed in return. The same day he took the hall of state, proclaimed a general amnesty and changed the era name to Yong'an, becoming Emperor Jing of Wu at twenty-three.

On the twenty-first day of the tenth month of the first year of Yong'an (258) he decreed honours for the virtuous and rewards for the meritorious: the general-in-chief Sun Chen was made chancellor and pastor of Jingzhou with five counties added to his fief; the Wuwei general Sun En was made grand master of the palace, general of the guards and commander of the central army, and enfeoffed as a marquis of a county; the general of distant awe was made general of the right and marquis of a county; an assistant general was made a general of miscellaneous title and marquis of a pavilion; the colonel of the long river Zhang Bu, who had laboured in his instruction, was made general who aids righteousness and marquis of Yongkang; and Dong Zhao, who had come in person to welcome him, was made a marquis of a district. He decreed also that the governor of Danyang, Li Heng, who had bound himself and come to the authorities out of fear for their old quarrel, should be sent back to his commandery, since the ancients bore no grudge for old wrongs and served the lord they served; and in the same month he enfeoffed Sun Hao as marquis of Wucheng, Sun De of Qiantang and Sun Qian of Yong'an.

Once on the throne Sun Xiu treated Sun Chen outwardly with honour while plotting in secret with Zhang Bu and Ding Feng to remove him; at the winter sacrifice of 258 he had him seized and killed with his partisans, and thereafter governed in his own right. He gave weight to learning, setting up offices for the instruction of the classics and employing scholars in the government, and issued decrees again and again to lighten taxes and relieve the people, so that Wu remained comparatively settled in his reign. He died in 264 at thirty with the posthumous name Emperor Jing; after his death Sun Hao was set on the throne and the politics of Wu took a new turn.

In learning and the arts Sun Xiu did more than most rulers of the Three Kingdoms. He decreed the establishment of schools with officers, admitted the sons of officials who wished to study, and ordered yearly examinations with appointment by merit, a new practice in the institutions of Wu. He was a reader himself, often discussing the classics with Confucian officials and attending to the collecting and preserving of texts, and the works compiled at his order by Wei Zhao and others belong to that same leaning.

Abroad, great changes fell in his reign: Shu Han was destroyed by the Wei in 263 and Wu lost its shield in the west, so that the pressure on its defences along the middle and lower Yangtze increased and its standoff with the Wei and afterward with the Western Jin grew tenser. Sun Xiu made some response to the fall of Shu, but Wu's strength could no longer turn the general course.

After his death the government of Wu passed to Puyang Xing, Zhang Bu and others, who set up Sun Hao; Sun Hao soon put Puyang Xing and Zhang Bu to death and did away with Sun Xiu's empress and heir, a melancholy end for his line and part of the turbulence of Wu's last years. The record of Sun Xiu is found chiefly in the Records of the Three Kingdoms among the three later rulers of Wu and in the books quoted by Pei Songzhi; his handling of the overmighty Sun Chen contrasts with Sun Hao's tyranny, so that later ages commonly reckon him the more upright of the later rulers of Wu. He died at thirty with the posthumous name Emperor Jing.

The posthumous name Emperor Jing fits his care for learning and his courteous treatment of scholars while on the throne.

The place of his burial is recorded in the histories.

Major Activities

Elimination of the Powerful Minister

When Sun Xiu took the throne, five marquises of Sun Chen's family all commanded the palace guards, giving the clan a degree of power said in the source to be unprecedented since the founding of Eastern Wu. Sun Xiu first lulled Sun Chen by promoting him to Grand Councilor and increasing his fief, while also granting Sun Chen's younger brother Sun En the office of Palace Attendant and dividing responsibilities between the brothers to reduce Sun Chen's control. After Zhang Bu reported Sun Chen's alleged intention to rebel, Sun Xiu planned with Zhang Bu and Ding Feng to seize and kill him at the winter-sacrifice banquet. Sun Xiu then pardoned those implicated with Sun Chen, and five thousand of Sun Chen's followers surrendered. He subsequently ordered new burials and sacrifices for Zhuge Ke, Teng Yin, Lü Ju, and others killed by Sun Jun and Sun Chen, removed Sun Jun and Sun Chen from the clan register, and referred to them as “the former Jun” and “the former Chen.”

Educational Development

In the year of his accession, Sun Xiu ordered the establishment of state education, educational offices, and Five Classics Professors. Sons of officials and military officers were recruited to study, examined after one year, ranked by performance, and rewarded with office and emoluments. The source describes this as the first systematic official educational system established by the Sun Wu regime and as the predecessor of the Imperial Academy at Nanjing. Wei Zhao was appointed the first chief professor.

Agricultural Policy

In 259, the second year of Yongan, Sun Xiu issued an edict stating that many officials, commoners, and soldiers had abandoned farming for commerce and that good fields were becoming waste. He ordered cultivation expanded, taxes reduced, and agricultural obligations adjusted according to strength and weakness so that burdens would be fairly distributed and both public and private interests could be maintained. Quoting the Guanzi, the edict emphasized that “when granaries are full, the people know ritual and propriety; when food and clothing are sufficient, they know honor and shame,” and expressed the hope for an ordered society in which punishment would not need to be used and customs could be rectified.

Western Expedition into Ba and Shu

In the second month of 264, after the fall of Shu Han, Sun Xiu sent Lu Kang, Bu Xie, Liu Ping, and Sheng Man westward with a large army. They besieged Luo Xian, the former Shu Han defender of Badong. Wei sent Hu Lie to threaten Xiling in relief of Luo Xian, causing Lu Kang and the others to withdraw. The expedition achieved no territorial gains.

Creating Characters for His Sons' Names

To make matters easier for others and prevent people from committing offenses by inadvertently using an imperial taboo, Sun Xiu gave each of his four sons a name written with a newly created and highly uncommon character. The source records them as his eldest son Sun 𱁞, courtesy name Meng; second son Sun 𩃙, courtesy name 𧟨; third son Sun Wu, courtesy name Wen; and fourth son Sun 𠅨, courtesy name Jiong. The practice was highly unusual in Chinese history.

Personal Relations

• Father: Sun Quan (Emperor Da of Eastern Wu)
• Mother: Lady Wang
• Full brother: Sun Liang (young emperor)
• Half-brothers: Sun Deng, Sun Lü, Sun He, Sun Ba, Sun Fen
• Wife: Empress Zhu, daughter of Zhu Ju
• Sons: Sun 𱁞 (Prince of Yuzhang), Sun 𩃙 (Prince of Runan), Sun Wu (Prince of Liang), Sun 𠅨 (Prince of Chen)
• Nephew: Sun Hao, who later succeeded as emperor
• Xie Ci, also written She Ci: Secretariat Gentleman and one of Sun Xiu's teachers
• Sheng Chong: Gentleman of the Palace and one of Sun Xiu's teachers
• Puyang Xing: Administrator of Kuaiji, close to Sun Xiu, later Grand Councilor
• Zhang Bu: commander of the left and right guards, close to Sun Xiu, later General Who Assists Righteousness
• Sun Chen: powerful minister who placed Sun Xiu on the throne and was later executed on charges of plotting rebellion
• Ding Feng: Left General who participated in killing Sun Chen
• Lu Kang: General Who Guards the Army who led the western expedition into Ba and Shu
• Zhuge Ke: Grand Preceptor who governed during Sun Liang's reign and transferred Sun Xiu to Danyang
• Li Heng: Administrator of Danyang, with whom Sun Xiu had poor relations
• Sun Jun: powerful minister who unjustly killed Sun Xiu's mother-in-law Sun Luyu
• Sun Chen: cousin of Sun Jun; dominated the court and was killed through Sun Xiu's plan
• Sun Hao: Sun Xiu's nephew who, after succeeding to the throne, forced Empress Zhu to die and killed Sun Xiu's sons

Historical Assessment

Contemporary Assessments

• Chen Shou, author of the Records of the Three Kingdoms, wrote: “Xiu, because of old affection and former favors, employed Xing and Bu and was unable to promote worthy talent or change course. Although he had good intentions and loved learning, what benefit did this bring in rescuing a disordered age?” The judgment argues that Sun Xiu favored the wrong men and could not reverse Wu's decline despite his learning and good intentions.
• The Biographies from South of the Yangzi records that when Sun Xiu was gravely ill he wrote to summon Puyang Xing and entrusted the crown prince to him, showing his concern for his young son and caution over the succession.
• After Sun Xiu's death, close ministers Zhang Bu and Puyang Xing chose to establish the older Sun Hao instead of the young heir entrusted to them, reflecting their concern over the heir's age.

Song and Yuan Periods

• Sima Guang's Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance records Sun Xiu's execution of Sun Chen and presents his decisive removal of the dominant minister and recovery of imperial authority in a favorable light.
• In his annotations to the Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance, Hu Sansheng judged that Sun Xiu could endure humiliation, wait for an opportunity, and then act, displaying the discernment expected of a ruler.
• The Song scholar Xiao Chang, in the Continued Book of the Later Han, praised Sun Xiu's establishment of educational offices and Five Classics Professors as evidence of an intention to promote learning.

Ming and Qing Periods

• Qing scholar Wang Mingsheng, in Discussions of the Seventeen Histories, considered Sun Xiu's execution of Sun Chen forceful and decisive, but regarded his later reliance on Puyang Xing and Zhang Bu as a serious mistake.
• Qing scholar Zhao Yi, in Notes on the Twenty-Two Histories, discussed Sun Xiu's creation of characters for his sons' names. Zhao considered the practice motivated by the desire to avoid taboo violations, but overly unconventional.
• Qing scholar Zhu Yizun investigated Sun Xiu's tomb and identified it with a site at Shaowan Mountain in present-day Haining that local residents reportedly discovered by chance during the Shunzhi era.

Modern Period

• Lü Simian, in Stories of the Three Kingdoms, regarded Sun Xiu as one of the more capable rulers of the Three Kingdoms period and praised his elimination of a powerful minister and promotion of education.
• Tian Yuqing, in Studies in Qin, Han, Wei, and Jin History, argued that although Sun Xiu could not reverse Wu's decline, eliminating Sun Chen's power bloc and stabilizing politics had some significance.
• Ma Zhijie, in History of the Three Kingdoms, noted that Sun Xiu's promotion of education and agriculture stood out among the rulers of the Three Kingdoms, while his poor personnel choices and late-reign neglect also remained clear faults.