Sun Jian
Sun Jian , courtesy name Wentai, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He allied himself with Yuan Shu in 190 when warlords from eastern China formed a coalition to oust Dong Zhuo, a tyrannical warlord who held the puppet Emperor Xian of Han in his power. Although he controlled neither many troops nor much land, Sun Jian's personal bravery and resourcefulness were feared by Dong Zhuo, who placed him among Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu and Liu Biao as the most influential men at that time. After the coalition disbanded in the next year, China fell into civil war. In 191, Sun Jian was killed in battle during an offensive campaign against Liu Biao.
Sun Jian was the father of Sun Quan, one of the central figures of the Three Kingdoms era who eventually established the Eastern Wu dynasty in 222. Sun Jian was given the posthumous name Emperor Wulie and the temple name Shizu.
Early life and career
Sun Jian was born in Fuchun County, Wu Commandery, around present day Fuyang, Zhejiang. He was allegedly a descendant of Sun Tzu, the author of The Art of War. No more immediate records survive, indicating his family probably played a very small part during the Han dynasty. Even his father's name is unrecorded, although a folk tradition gives it as Sun Zhong.Sun Jian was a civil official in his home county during his youth. When he was 16, Sun Jian travelled with his father to Qiantang, where they encountered a band of pirates dividing up their spoils on land. Sun Jian jumped on shore with a sabre in hand and pointed in different directions as if commanding a detachment of soldiers to surround the pirates. Seeing this, the pirates were deceived and fled. Sun Jian pursued, and only after beheading one pirate did he return. His name henceforth spread.
In 172, he became acting major for the pro-government militias which fought against Xu Chang's rebellion in Kuaiji Commandery. He raised a militia of about 1,000 men and served with distinction, whereupon he was recommended to the court by Yang Province Inspector Zang Min. Sun Jian was consequently rewarded with a post as assistant magistrate in Guangling Commandery, and later in two counties in Xiapi. This allowed him to gather many followers.
In 184, the Yellow Turban Rebellion led by Zhang Jiao broke out across the country. Sun Jian joined the general Zhu Jun to quell the rebellion in Yu Province. The soldiers fought hard, forcing the rebels to retreat to Wan. Sun Jian placed himself in the forefront and climbed onto the city walls alone. The rest then swarmed in and defeated the rebels.
Around this time, Bian Zhang and Han Sui colluded with the Qiang tribes and rebelled in Liang Province. After Dong Zhuo failed to put down the rebellion, the central government sent in his place the Minister of Works Zhang Wen, who invited Sun Jian along as an adviser. When Zhang Wen summoned Dong Zhuo to the encampment at Chang'an, Dong Zhuo procrastinated and took a long time to arrive. When he did, he showed little respect for Zhang Wen. Sun Jian then advised Zhang Wen to execute Dong Zhuo, but Zhang Wen declined as Dong Zhuo held high reputation in the west.
Despite scoring a major victory against the rebels at Meiyang, Zhang Wen could not press their advantage and the rebellion was still not quelled. Zhang Wen and the rest returned to the capital Luoyang in disgrace and thus no honor was accorded. Meanwhile, another local-scale rebellion broke out near Changsha Commandery and the rebels besieged the city. Sun Jian was then appointed as the Administrator of Changsha Commandery in December 187. Within a month of taking office, Sun Jian had quelled the rebellion. Meanwhile, rebellions also broke out in the neighbouring commanderies of Lingling and Guiyang. Sun Jian defeated the rebel leaders Ou Xing, Zhou Chao and Guo Shi, and suppressed both rebellions. The Han imperial court enfeoffed him as the Marquis of Wucheng in recognition of his contributions.
Coalition against Dong Zhuo
In 189, Emperor Ling died, leaving his young son in the care of Empress Dowager He and General-in-Chief He Jin. He Jin then summoned Dong Zhuo to lead troops into the capital to assist in a plot to eliminate the powerful eunuch faction. Before Dong Zhuo arrived, however, He Jin was assassinated by the eunuchs and Luoyang fell into chaos following a clash between supporters of both sides. Dong Zhuo then seized military control of the capital and deposed the young emperor for the puppet Emperor Xian. However, his tyrannical ways incurred the wrath of many and in the following year, warlords from eastern China formed a coalition against him.Sun Jian also raised an army and joined Yuan Shu, one of the leaders of the coalition at Luyang. On his way, he killed Inspector of Jing Province Wang Rui and Administrator of Nanyang Zhang Zi. Yuan Shu appointed Sun Jian as General Who Destroys Barbarians and Inspector of Yu Province. Sun Jian then began training and preparing his troops at Luyang. A force sent by Dong Zhuo was so impressed with the strict discipline of Sun Jian's troops that they gave up the plan to attack Luyang. When Sun Jian moved out to Liangdong, he was outnumbered by Dong Zhuo's forces. With several dozen horsemen, Sun Jian broke out of the encirclement. He took off the red felt scarf he had always been wearing and handed it to his trusted aide Zu Mao, whom Dong Zhuo's soldiers then chased after while Sun Jian escaped. Unable to shake off his pursuers, Zu Mao then dismounted, hung the scarf onto a half-burnt pillar, and hid himself in the tall grass nearby. The enemies surrounded the pillar and approached cautiously till they realised they had been fooled, whereupon they retreated.
After regrouping his troops, Sun Jian pressed his troops towards Luoyang and engaged in battle against Dong Zhuo's forces at Yangren. He scored a brilliant victory and killed the enemy commander Hua Xiong in battle. At this time, someone told Yuan Shu that if Sun Jian defeated Dong Zhuo and took over Luoyang, he would no longer submit to anyone. Feeling doubtful, Yuan Shu stopped providing food supplies to Sun Jian's army. Sun Jian rode the hundred odd li from Yangren to Luyang overnight to see Yuan Shu, whereupon he told the latter, "I put myself in danger during battle, firstly to eliminate the villain for the Han Empire, and secondly to avenge the deaths of your family members. I have no personal grudge against Dong Zhuo. Yet you believe slanderous talks and suspect me!" The words put Yuan Shu to shame and he immediately ordered his men to continue delivering food supplies to Sun Jian's army.
Fearing Sun Jian, Dong Zhuo then sent his general Li Jue as an emissary to seek peace and propose a marriage to cement the alliance. However, Sun Jian rejected the proposals with harsh words and continued to lead his troops towards Luoyang. In late 190, his army was merely 90 li away from the capital when Dong Zhuo retreated west to Chang'an after ordering the destruction of Luoyang by fire. Entering the ruins of Luoyang, Sun Jian ordered his men to reseal the tombs of Han emperors that were excavated by Dong Zhuo, after which he returned to Luyang. It was said in the Book of Wu by Wei Zhao that Sun Jian found one of the emperor's jade seals in a well south of Luoyang and kept it. Later, when Yuan Shu declared himself emperor, he held Sun Jian's wife Lady Wu hostage in exchange for the seal.
Later life
In 191, Yuan Shu sent Sun Jian to attack Liu Biao, the Governor of Jing Province. He defeated Liu Biao's forces led by Huang Zu and pursued the enemy across the Han River to Xiangyang. While he was travelling alone through Xianshan, Huang Zu's troops ambushed him and shot him to death with arrows. The Record of Heroes by Wang Can, however, claims that Sun Jian died in 193 and that he was crushed to death by boulders while pursuing the enemy commander Lü Gong. Sun Jian's nephew, Sun Ben, gathered his uncle's troops and returned to Yuan Shu, who then appointed him as the Inspector of Yu Province to replace his uncle.Sun Jian was buried in the Gao Mausoleum in Qu'e. He was survived by at least five sons and three daughters. His eldest son, Sun Ce, became a warlord and conquered several territories in the Jiangdong region. Like his father, Sun Ce died at a relatively young age and was succeeded by his younger brother, Sun Quan. Sun Quan built on his brother's legacy and eventually established the state of Eastern Wu in 229, with himself as its founding emperor, during the Three Kingdoms period. Lady Sun later married the warlord and founder of the state of Shu Han, Liu Bei, in an attempt to forge an alliance to defeat Cao Cao after the Battle of Red Cliff. After ascending the throne, Sun Quan honoured his father with the posthumous title "Emperor Wulie".