Lady Wu

Historical Record

Lady Wu, the mother of Sun Quan, was originally a native of Wu Commandery, later moving to Qiantang. She lost her parents early and lived together with her younger brother Wu Jing. Sun Jian, hearing of her outstanding talent and beauty, wished to marry her. However, Lady Wu's relatives disdained Sun Jian as frivolous and cunning and intended to refuse the match. Sun Jian was deeply resentful and ashamed at this. But Lady Wu said to her relatives: "Why grudge a single daughter and bring down disaster upon us? If there truly be misfortune, that too is fate." And so she resolutely agreed to the match, bearing Sun Jian four sons and one daughter. According to the Records of the Inquiry into Spirits, while pregnant with Sun Ce, Lady Wu dreamed the moon entered her bosom, and while pregnant with Sun Quan she dreamed the sun entered her bosom. Sun Jian interpreted this, saying: "The sun and moon are the essences of yin and yang, signs of the utmost nobility. Shall my descendants then rise?" ^c:945

When Sun Quan in his youth inherited the legacy of his father and elder brother, Lady Wu actively assisted him in handling military and state affairs, playing an important supporting role. Her wisdom and strategy greatly benefited Sun Quan's rule. For example, the Canon Records of Kuaiji records that Sun Ce once wished to kill the merit clerk Wei Teng for his blunt and offending remonstrance, and the gentry-officials were all anxious over it. But Lady Wu, leaning against a great well, remonstrated with Sun Ce: "You have only just pacified the lands south of the river; affairs are not yet settled. You ought now to treat the worthy well, show ritual courtesy to the gentry, pardon faults, and reward merit. Merit Clerk Wei loyally remonstrated on public business. If you kill him today, tomorrow all men will turn against you. I truly cannot bear to see disaster descend; I would rather throw myself first into this well." Sun Ce, greatly alarmed at hearing this, at once released Wei Teng. Lady Wu's wisdom and adaptability were mostly like this. In the seventh year of the Jian'an era (202 CE), as Lady Wu lay dying, she summoned Zhang Zhao and others to entrust them with Sun Quan's affairs after her, and was finally buried together with Sun Jian at Gao Mausoleum. According to the textual study in the Forest of Records, Lady Wu must have died in the twelfth year of Jian'an (207 CE), for the Kuaiji register of recommended candidates has a gap between the twelfth and thirteenth years of Jian'an, recording "the lord suffered a bereavement," while the eighth and ninth years both have recommendations, which indicates that Lady Wu died within that span. ^c:946

In the Novel

The Grand Lady Wu of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, building on the historical record, is given more episodes of literary color, especially around the time of Sun Ce's death by assassination, where her image is shaped more fully and with more human feeling. In Chapter 29 of the novel, when Sun Ce wished to kill Yu Ji (Gan Ji), the Grand Lady Wu, on learning of it, immediately summoned Sun Ce and dissuaded him from harming this immortal who "had often cured the people's ailments and was revered by soldiers and commoners." She stressed that Gan Ji was an "immortal" and not to be slighted, but Sun Ce clung stubbornly to his view, regarding Gan Ji as a "sorcerer" and insisting on doing away with him. ^c:947 After Sun Ce killed Gan Ji, Gan Ji's "ghost" appeared repeatedly, worsening Sun Ce's illness. The Grand Lady Wu, who deeply believed in the doctrine of ghosts and spirits, held that this was caused by Sun Ce's "wrongful killing of an immortal," and urged Sun Ce to do good deeds to avert it. She even personally had good deeds done in secret to avert the calamity and arranged for Sun Ce to go to the Yuqing Temple to worship and pray. ^c:9137c:9139 When Sun Ce grew haggard from illness, the Grand Lady Wu grieved bitterly, weeping: "My son has lost his form!" ^c:9140 Although these episodes are unattested in history, they vividly display the Grand Lady Wu's deep care and worry for her son as a mother, and her reverence for popular belief.

At the moment of Sun Ce's death, the Grand Lady Wu appears again. Sun Ce passed the seal and sash to Sun Quan and entrusted his mother with instructing Sun Quan well. The Grand Lady Wu feared that Sun Quan was too young to bear so great a charge, but Sun Ce comforted her, saying that Sun Quan was "ten times more able than your son," and recommended Zhang Zhao to handle internal affairs and Zhou Yu to handle external affairs. ^c:9141 This exchange not only highlights the Grand Lady Wu's worry for the family legacy and her offspring, but also indirectly sets off Sun Ce's filial devotion to his mother and his trust in his brother. In the seventh year of Jian'an, when Cao Cao sent an envoy demanding that Sun Quan send a son to court, the Grand Lady Wu gathered Zhou Yu, Zhang Zhao, and others to deliberate. She adopted Zhou Yu's counsel of "better not to send him, but watch how matters develop," saying "Gongjin's words are right," thereby avoiding Sun Quan's being controlled by Cao Cao. ^c:9142 This episode further reinforces the Grand Lady Wu's character of "grasping the larger picture, wise and adaptable." In Chapter 38 of the novel, when the Grand Lady Wu was critically ill, she again summoned Zhou Yu and Zhang Zhao, recalling the past of her marriage to Sun Jian and the births of Sun Ce and Sun Quan, and entrusting them with assisting Sun Quan. She especially enjoined Sun Quan to treat Zhang Zhao and Zhou Yu with the courtesy due a teacher, and to treat well her own younger sister (Sun Quan's maternal aunt) as well as Sun Quan's own sister. ^c:948 These details make the Grand Lady Wu not merely Sun Quan's birth mother but an important spiritual pillar of the Sun-Wu regime.

Key Relationships

* Wu Jing (sibling_of): Lady Wu lost her parents early and depended on her younger brother Wu Jing. When Sun Jian sought her hand, Lady Wu's relatives once wished to refuse out of disdain for Sun Jian, but Lady Wu, for the survival of the family and to avoid disaster, actively persuaded her relatives to agree to the match. ^c:945
* Sun Quan (advises_in): Lady Wu was Sun Quan's birth mother, and when he inherited the legacy in his youth, she actively took part in military and state affairs, offering him much beneficial counsel and help. She once dissuaded Sun Ce from killing Wei Teng, displaying her wisdom and adaptability. ^c:946 In the novel, she repeatedly offered counsel to Sun Quan at critical moments, such as dissuading him from sending a son to Cao's camp and adopting Zhou Yu's advice. ^c:9142
* Sun Ce (parent_of): Lady Wu was Sun Ce's birth mother. In history she gave assistance to Sun Ce's rule and dissuaded him from killing Wei Teng. ^c:946 In the novel her maternal love for Sun Ce is fully displayed, especially when Sun Ce fell gravely ill over the Gan Ji affair, when she earnestly remonstrated, anxious for her son's safety. ^c:9137 Before his death, Sun Ce also entrusted his affairs to his mother, reflecting the deep bond between mother and son. ^c:9141
* Sun Jian (spouse_of): Lady Wu was Sun Jian's wife. For the future of the family, disregarding her relatives' opposition, she resolutely married Sun Jian, laying the foundation for the rise of the Sun clan. ^c:945

Signature Scenes

* Actively agreeing to marry Sun Jian: This is the earliest manifestation of the "grasping the larger picture, wise and adaptable" trait in Lady Wu's character. Faced with her relatives' disdain and refusal of Sun Jian, Lady Wu persuaded them with the words "Why love a single daughter and so bring down disaster? If there be no good fortune, that is fate," and resolutely married Sun Jian, laying the foundation for the rise of the Sun clan. This act not only displays her foresight but also her resolve to sacrifice personal feeling for the family's interest. ^c:945
* Leaning against the well to remonstrate with Sun Ce: When Sun Ce wished to kill Wei Teng, Lady Wu stepped forward, leaning against a great well, and threatened her own safety to persuade Sun Ce to pardon Wei Teng. She pointed out that Sun Ce, having only just pacified the lands south of the river, should "treat the worthy well and the gentry with courtesy, pardon faults and reward merit," or else he would lose men's hearts. This scene fully displays Lady Wu's surpassing strategy and adaptability, as well as her profound influence on Sun Ce's rule. ^c:946
* Dissuading Sun Ce in the Gan Ji affair (novel only): In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, when Sun Ce fell gravely ill over the Gan Ji affair, the Grand Lady Wu repeatedly dissuaded him, holding that Gan Ji was an "immortal" not to be harmed. She deeply believed in the doctrine of ghosts and spirits and arranged averting rites for Sun Ce, displaying her deep care for her son as a mother and her reverence for popular belief. This series of episodes, though unattested in history, greatly enriches the image of the Grand Lady Wu, lending it more human feeling and tragic color. ^{c:947c:9137c:9139}
* Entrusting her affairs at death: Before her death, Lady Wu summoned Zhang Zhao and others to entrust them with Sun Quan's affairs after her, and was buried together with Sun Jian at Gao Mausoleum. ^c:946 In the novel, she enjoined Sun Quan in detail to treat his assisting ministers and kin well, reflecting her deep concern for the Sun-Wu legacy and her far-sighted planning for the family's future. ^c:948 This scene is the final manifestation of her role as spiritual pillar of the Sun-Wu regime and brings her life to a complete close.