About China > History > Dynasties > dycontent
Advanced Search
E-Mail This Article Print Friendly Format
Kingdom of Wu

TheKingdom of Wu (222-280) was one of the Three Kingdoms competing for control of China after the fall of the Han Dynasty (206BC-AD220).

During the decline of the Han Dynasty, the State of Wu, a region in the South of the Yangtze River surrounding Suzhou, was under the control of the warlord Sun Quan. Sun succeeded his brother as King of Wu and considered the area to under his rule and subject to the Han Emperor. Unlike his competitors, Wu did not really have the ambition to become the Emperor of China. However, after Cao Pi of the Kingdom of Wei and Liu Bei of the Kingdom of Shu, each having declared himself emperor, Sun decided to follow suit in 222, claiming to have founded theWu Dynasty.

The Kingdom was conquered by the first Jin Emperor Sima Yan in 280. With a lifespan of 58 years, it was the longest-lived of the three kingdoms.