Sun Hao

Sun Hao Tôn hạo
Marquis Guiming( về mệnh hầu )
AQing dynastyillustration of Sun Hao
Emperor ofEastern Wu
Reign	3 September 264 – 1 May 280
Predecessor	Sun Xiu
Marquis of Wucheng ( ô trình hầu )
Tenure	10 December 258 – 3 September 264
Born	Sun Pengzu ( tôn Bành Tổ ) Haozong ( hạo tông )(courtesy name) 242
Died	January or February 284 (aged 41-42)
Burial	Luoyang,Henan
Spouse	Empress Teng Lady Zhang(elder) Lady Zhang(younger)
Issue (among others)	Sun Jin Sun Qian Prince of Qi Prince of Chenliu Prince of Zhangling Prince of Chengji Prince of Xuanwei Prince of Zhongshan Prince of Dai Sun Chong Sun Fan
Names Family name:Sun ( tôn ) Given name:Hao ( hạo ) Courtesy name:Yuanzong ( nguyên tông ) Era dates Yuan xing ( nguyên hưng ): 264–265 Ganlu ( cam lộ ): 265–266 Baoding ( bảo đỉnh ): 266–269 Jianheng ( kiến hành ): 269–271 Fenghuang ( phượng hoàng ): 272–274 Tiance ( thiên sách ): 275–276 Tianxi ( thiên tỉ ): 276 Tianji ( thiên kỷ ): 277–280 Posthumous name Emperor Mo
House	House of Sun
Father	Sun He
Mother	Lady He

In thisChinese name,thefamily nameisSun.

Sun Hao(242 – January or February 284),courtesy nameYuanzong,originally namedSun Pengzuwith the courtesy nameHaozong,was the fourth and last emperor of the state ofEastern Wuduring theThree Kingdomsperiod of China. He was a son ofSun He,a one-timeheir apparentof the founding emperorSun Quan.He ascended the throne in September 264 after the death of his uncle,Sun Xiu(Emperor Jing), in light of the desire of the people to have an older emperor, considering the recent destruction of Wu's ally stateShu Han.However, he turned out to be a most unfortunate choice, as his cruelty, extravagance and inability to handle domestic matters doomed Wu, which was eventuallyconqueredby theJin dynastyin 280, ending the Three Kingdoms period.

Sun Hao is also known by other titles:Marquis of Wucheng(Ô trình hầu), which he held before he became emperor;Marquis Guiming( về mệnh hầu; literally "the Marquis who resigns to his fate" ), the title given to him by the Jin dynasty after his surrender;Later Lord of Wu(Ngô sau chủ) andLast Emperor of Wu(Ngô mạt đế), which were used by historians to refer to him.

Early life

Sun Hao was born in 243 asSun He's eldest son. Sun He was namedcrown princein February or March 242,a few months after the death ofSun Quan's eldest son and first crown prince,Sun Deng,in May or June 241.Sun Hao's mother,Consort He,was a concubine of Sun He.

In 250, after Sun Quan grew tired of the constant disputes between his sons Sun He andSun Ba,he forced Sun Ba to commit suicide and exiled Sun He to Guzhang ( cố chướng; in present-dayHuzhou,Zhe gian g), presumably along with his family and reduced to commoner status. Sun Hao went from the status of eventual presumed heir to being the son of a commoner, albeit a grandson of the emperor.

In 252, Sun He's status was elevated from commoner status as Sun Quan just before his death that year instated Sun He as the Prince of Nanyang and a princedom atChangsha.Indeed, there were rumours, even after Sun He's younger brotherSun Liangtook the throne after Sun Quan's death that the regentZhuge Ke,an uncle of Sun He's wife Princess Zhang, was interested in restoring Sun He and making Sun He emperor instead. After Zhuge Ke's assassination and replacement bySun Junin 253, Sun He fell into danger as Sun Jun had been instrumental in having Sun He deposed in the first place and wanted to eliminate any chance of a Sun He comeback. Sun Jun used the rumours as an excuse to have Sun He demoted back to commoner status and exiled to Xindu ( tân đều; in present-dayChun'an County,Zhe gian g), and then sent messengers to force Sun He to commit suicide. Princess Zhang also committed suicide. When offered the chance to also commit suicide, Consort He refused stating that if she died as well no one would be left to care for Sun He's sons, thus she raised Sun Hao and his three brothers born to other consorts — Sun De (Tôn đức), Sun Qian (Tôn khiêm), and Sun Jun ( tôn tuấn, not the same person as the regent).

After Sun Liang was deposed by Sun Jun's cousin and successorSun Chenin 258,Sun Xiu,another son of Sun Quan, became emperor. On 10 December 258,Sun Xiu created Sun Hao and his brothers, Sun De and Sun Qian, marquises. Sun Hao's title was the Marquis ofWuchengand he was sent to his marquisate. At some point, he befriended a magistrate of Wucheng County,Wan Yu,who appraised him as intelligent and studious.Also, during his time as Marquis of Wucheng, he took his future empress Lady Teng as a concubine.

In summer 264, Sun Xiu fell ill and was unable to speak but still could write so he wrote an edict summoning thechancellorPuyang Xingto the palace, where he pointed and entrusted his son, crown prince Sun Wan, to Puyang Xing. Sun Xiu died soon thereafter, on 3 September 264.However, Puyang Xing did not follow Sun Xiu's wishes. Rather, after consulting with generalZhang Bu,they believed that the people were, in light of the recentfallof their ally stateShu Hanin 263, yearning for a mature emperor. (It is not known how old Sun Wan was at this point, but Sun Xiu himself died at age 29, so it was unlikely that Sun Wan was even a teenager.) At the recommendation of Wan Yu, who was by this point a general, Puyang Xing and Zhang Bu enthroned Sun Hao instead.

Early reign

At first, the people of Wu were impressed with the new emperor as he reduced taxes, gave relief to the poor, and released a large number of ladies in waiting from the palace to let them marry. However, soon that hopefulness was shattered as Sun Hao started to be cruel in his punishments, superstitious, and indulging himself in wine and women. He also demoted Sun Xiu's widow,Empress Dowager Zhu,to the title of "Empress Jing." He honoured his motherConsort Heas the empress dowager instead, while posthumously honouring his father Sun He with the title "Emperor Wen".Puyang XingandZhang Buwere shocked and disappointed; their disappointment was reported to the emperor who had them arrested and executed along with their clans in late 264. In 264, he also instated his wifeLady Tengas the empress.

In 265, Sun Hao forced the former Empress Dowager Zhu to commit suicide and exiled Sun Xiu's four sons. He soon executed the two eldest, Sun Wan (the former crown prince) and Sun Gong. He then also, believing in a prophecy that the imperial aura had moved fromYang ProvincetoJing Provinceand that Jing Province forces would defeat Yang Province forces, undertook a costly move of the capital fromJianyetoWuchang.He also started executing officials who showed disapproval of his wasteful ways regularly. The only major official who was able to speak freely without consequences wasLu Kai,a nephew ofLu Xunand one of the chancellors serving in tandem withWan Yu,because of the great respect the people had for Lu Kai.

In 266, theJin dynasty,which newly established itself as the successor to Wu's rival stateCao Wei,after its first emperor,Sima Yan,usurped the Wei throne, sought to establish peace with Wu. Sun Hao instead considered attacking the Jin dynasty, but while he did not do so at that moment, he also did not make peace with the Jin dynasty.

In 266, commoners in present-day Zhe gian g unable to withstand Sun Hao's heavy levies (to support his luxuries) rebelled and kidnapped Sun Hao's brother, Sun Qian, as figurehead. They reached Jianye but were eventually defeated by Ding Gu (Đinh cố) andZhuge Jing,who were responsible for Jianye's defences. Although there was no evidence that Sun Qian was actually involved in the rebellion, Sun Hao not only had Sun Qian but also mother and younger brother, Sun Jun, by the same mother, executed. Sun Hao believed this was a fulfillment of the prophecy that prompted his move of the capital to Wuchang; and later that year, he moved the capital back to Jianye.

In 268, Sun Hao began a policy of periodically attacking Jin border regions; he had his general Zhu Ji (Chu kế) attackJiangxiaand Wan Yu attackXiangyang,while he himself postured to attackHefei.This attack was repelled by Jin forces, as were several later attacks.

In late 269, Lu Kai died and soon there was no one left in the administration who dared to speak out anymore. After Lu Kai's death, Sun Hao exiled Lu Kai's clan toJian'an.Lu Xun's sonLu Kang,a general who was in charge of defending Wu's western borders, did periodically submit petitions requesting reforms, but Sun Hao generally ignored them, although he did not punish Lu Kang.

Late reign

In early 271, in the middle of winter, Sun Hao personally launched a major attack against the Jin dynasty and he brought his mother Empress Dowager He, his wife Empress Teng, and thousands of women in his harem along which necessitated heavy labour – from soldiers to drag their wagons – causing the soldiers to murmur about possible defection. Only after Sun Hao heard this possibility did he make the decision to withdraw and return to Jianye.Wan Yuand the senior generalsDing Fengand Liu Ping (Lưu bình) had already considered returning to Jianye themselves before Sun Hao chose to withdraw and when Sun Hao heard about this he bore grudges against them as generals who might leave him.

Later that year,Wu forces finally recoveredJiao Provincefrom rebels paying allegiance to the Jin dynasty, who had held out ever since 264 (during Sun Xiu's reign). This gave Sun Hao encouragement and he continued to plan military actions against the Jin dynasty in earnest — although, to his credit, he put his generalTao Huangin charge of Jiao Province and Tao Huang managed the province effectively; the province would not rebel again for the duration of Sun Hao's reign.

In 272,Wang Jun,the Jin governor ofYi Province,withSima Yan's support began building a massive fleet with the plan to eventually use the fleet in conquering Wu. As the wood shavings from the building project floated down theYangtze River,the Wu generalWu Yanrealised what was happening and requested that the northwestern border be fortified, but Sun Hao refused.

Later in 272, Sun Hao would carry out an action that would lead to a major rebellion — summoningBu Chan,the general in charge of Xiling (in present-dayYichang,Hubei), back to the capital back to Jianye. Fearful that he was about to be punished somehow, Bu Chan rebelled and defected to the Jin dynasty. While Lu Kang was eventually able to defeat Bu Chan and recover Xiling for Wu, the distrust the Wu generals had for their emperor had been thoroughly exposed and Jin generals became emboldened in proposing plans of conquest to their emperor.

In the same year, Sun Hao, still holding grudges against Wan Yu and Liu Ping for their plan to abandon him and return to Jianye on their own, tried to poison the two of them. Neither died, but when they found out that Sun Hao was behind the poisoning they knew they could not do anything about it; Wan Yu committed suicide while Liu Ping died in distress.

Lu Kang died in 274. In his final petition, he requested Sun Hao to strengthen the defences on Wu's western border, but Sun Hao did not do so. Further, he divided Lu Kang's forces into six different commands, although each was led by one of Lu Kang's sons.

In 275, the senior Wu minister He Shao (Hạ Thiệu) suffered a stroke and was paralysed. Sun Hao suspected that he was pretending and had him arrested and tortured by whipping and by subjecting him to saws and fires. He died under torture and his clan was exiled.

For the next several years, people wishing to flatter Sun Hao often offered him miraculous items (real or manufactured) that purportedly suggest that he would eventually destroy the Jin dynasty and unite China. Sun Hao's superstitious nature became even more aroused and he spent all of his efforts on plans to conquer the Jin dynasty.

Fall of Eastern Wu

In 279, afterSima Yanaccepted the advice ofWang JunandDu Yu,the Jin dynasty finally launched a major attack aiming to conquer Eastern Wu. The attack was in six prongs: with the forces led by Sima Yan's uncle,Sima Zhou;Wang Hun(Vương hồn);Wang Rong;Hu Fen(Hồ phấn); Du; and Wang Jun, with the largest forces under Wang Hun and Wang Jun's command. Each of the Jin forces advanced quickly and captured the border cities that they were targeting with Wang Jun's fleet heading east down the Yangtze and clearing the river of Wu fleets. The Wuimperial chancellorZhang Timade a last-ditch attempt to defeat Wang Hun's force, but was defeated and killed. Wang Hun, Wang Jun, and Sima Zhou each headed for Jianye. Sun Hao was forced to surrender in May 280.

Sun Hao and his clan were escorted to the Jin capitalLuoyang.Sun Hao, now a captive, humiliated himself by covering himself with mud and having himself bound behind his back. Sima Yan had Sun Hao unbound and had him seated next to him at the next imperial gathering. He remarked, "I have set this seat for you for a long time." Sun Hao responded, "I also had a seat for your imperial majesty in Jianye." When the Jin officialJia Chong,seeking to humiliate Sun Hao, asked, "I heard that you had such cruel punishments as poking out people's eyes and peeling the facial skin off people. What kind of punishment is this?" Sun Hao replied, "If a subordinate planned to murder his emperor or was treacherous, I would use those punishments on him." Jia Chong, who was instrumental in the Wei emperorCao Mao's death, felt humiliated and did not respond.

Sima Yan pardoned Sun Hao and further granted the latter the title "Marquis Guiming" (literally "the marquis who resigns to his fate" ) on 9 July 280.Sun Hao's sons were made junior officials in the Jin government. Sun Hao died in early 284.

Family

Main article:Eastern Wu family trees § Sun Hao (Yuanzong)

See also

• Lists of people of the Three Kingdoms
• List of Chinese monarchs

References

• Chen, Shou(3rd century).Records of the Three Kingdoms(Sanguozhi).
• Fang, Xuanling(648).Book of Jin(Jin Shu).
• Pei, Songzhi(5th century).Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms(Sanguozhi zhu).
• Sima, Guang(1084).Zizhi Tong gian.