Lady Sun

Historical Record

Lady Sun is called in the historical sources the younger sister of Sun Quan and the wife of Liu Bei. She was renowned for her quick, fierce, and forceful character, much in the manner of her elder brothers. While Liu Bei was at Gong'an, his situation was rather difficult: to the north he dreaded the strength of Cao Cao, to the east he feared the pressure of Sun Quan, and close at hand he worried that Lady Sun might cause trouble at his very elbow^[1]. This worry was not without foundation, for Lady Sun's attendant maids numbered more than a hundred, all standing in attendance with blades in hand, so that whenever Liu Bei entered her quarters he felt a chill of unease within. When Zhuge Liang appraised Fa Zheng, he mentioned the internal and external difficulties Liu Bei then faced, among them his apprehension that Lady Sun might cause trouble, which indirectly reflects that Lady Sun was no ordinary woman in actual history, her personal influence and character being enough to make a lord of one region wary^[1]. Although the historical sources record little of Lady Sun's specific deeds, these fragments alone suffice to sketch the image of a woman of strong, formidable character, not to be underestimated.

In the Novel

In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Lady Sun is shaped into a more vivid and dramatically colorful character, her appearance closely tied to Zhou Yu's "beauty trap." Taking advantage of Liu Bei's loss of his wife, Zhou Yu suggested that Sun Quan marry his younger sister to Liu Bei, when in fact the aim was to lure Liu Bei to Eastern Wu and imprison him there in exchange for Jing Province^[2]. However, Lady Sun was no ignorant pawn on Zhou Yu's board. From childhood she had loved to watch martial affairs, her chamber was always filled with weapons, and her maids too wore swords; even on their wedding night, Liu Bei could not help but lose color at the sight^[3]. Her feelings for Liu Bei were also not feigned: when Liu Bei wept from longing for Jing Province, Lady Sun took the initiative to propose returning to Jing Province with him, and even, to help Liu Bei escape his plight, left Eastern Wu together with him under the pretext of offering sacrifice to her ancestors^[4]. In the course of fleeing Eastern Wu, Lady Sun displayed extraordinary daring and spirit. Facing the obstruction of Xu Sheng, Ding Feng, and others, she angrily denounced Zhou Yu's scheme and, invoking the bond of brother and sister and the will of the Dowager of the State, overawed the pursuers^[5]. Then, facing the renewed pursuit of Chen Wu and Pan Zhang, she again stepped forth, sharply rebuking the pursuers for sowing discord between brother and sister, and stressing that she was returning to Jing Province by her mother's kind command, so that the pursuers dared obstruct her no longer^[6].

Later, Lady Sun was again ensnared by Sun Quan, who used the pretext that the Dowager of the State was gravely ill to trick her into taking A'dou back to Eastern Wu^[7]. On the boat, she clashed with Zhao Yun, insisting on taking A'dou away, holding that A'dou was her own child and that there was no one to look after him in Jing Province^[8]. In the end, with Zhang Fei's intervention, Zhou Shan was killed, A'dou was recovered, and Lady Sun was forced to return alone to Eastern Wu^[9]. In the novel, Lady Sun's end is rather tragic and stirring: when she heard of the defeat at Xiaoting and the false report that Liu Bei had died in the army, she drove her carriage to the riverbank, gazed westward and wept from afar, and threw herself into the river to her death; later generations built a shrine on the riverside, calling it the Shrine of the Fierce Consort^[10]. These episodes greatly enrich the image of Lady Sun, making her a woman of feeling and righteousness, fierce and resolute.

Key Relationships

* Liu Bei (spouse_of): In actual history, she was Liu Bei's wife, but Liu Bei was wary of her, thinking she might cause trouble^[1]. In the novel, she bore true feelings for Liu Bei, helping him escape his plight many times, and at last died for him (novel only).
* Sun Quan (kin_of): She was Sun Quan's younger sister. In actual history, Sun Quan once made use of her marriage relationship with Liu Bei. In the novel, Sun Quan repeatedly used her against Liu Bei, but in the end was unable to fully succeed because of the Dowager of the State's intervention^[11].
* Wu Guotai (kin_of): She was the daughter of Wu Guotai. In the novel, Wu Guotai was very fond of her and repeatedly stepped in at critical moments to protect her and her marriage to Liu Bei, making Zhou Yu's schemes hard to carry out^[11].
* Zhou Yu (enemy_of): In the novel, Zhou Yu was the mastermind of the "beauty trap," intending to use Lady Sun to trap Liu Bei. Lady Sun was well aware of this and angrily denounced Zhou Yu's scheme many times^[5] (novel only).
* Zhao Yun (protector_of/opponent_of): In the novel, Zhao Yun once escorted Liu Bei and Lady Sun back to Jing Province, and resolutely stopped Lady Sun when she sought to take A'dou away^[8] (novel only).
* Zhang Fei (opponent_of): In the novel, Zhang Fei once stopped Lady Sun from taking A'dou away, and killed Zhou Shan^[9] (novel only).

Iconic Scenes

* Maids holding blades, Liu Bei's unease: The histories record that Lady Sun's attendant maids, more than a hundred in number, all stood in attendance with blades in hand, so that whenever Liu Bei entered her quarters he felt a chill of unease^[1]. This directly embodies Lady Sun's fierce character and her standing in Liu Bei's mind.
* Wedding within the "beauty trap": In the novel, Lady Sun's marriage to Liu Bei was part of Zhou Yu's "beauty trap," meant to entrap Liu Bei. Yet Lady Sun displayed her own independent will within it^[2].
* Denouncing the pursuers, aiding her husband's escape: In the novel, on the road back from Eastern Wu to Jing Province, facing the pursuit of Xu Sheng, Ding Feng, and others, Lady Sun showed no fear, angrily denounced Zhou Yu's scheme, and, invoking the bond of brother and sister and the will of the Dowager of the State, overawed the pursuers, successfully helping Liu Bei escape danger^[5].
* The Dowager's rage, the scheme thwarted: In the novel, when Sun Quan and his ministers were deliberating how to deal with Liu Bei, Wu Guotai suddenly appeared and angrily rebuked them for wishing to harm her daughter, thwarting Sun Quan's scheme^[11] (novel only).
* Holding A'dou to return to Eastern Wu, Zhao Yun intervening: In the novel, when Lady Sun was tricked into returning to Eastern Wu, she sought to take A'dou away, clashing with Zhao Yun. Zhao Yun swore to the death that A'dou would not leave, and in the end, with Zhang Fei's help, A'dou was recovered^[8][9] (novel only).
* Throwing herself into the river for her husband: In the novel's ending, Lady Sun, on the false report that Liu Bei had died at the Battle of Xiaoting, threw herself into the river to her death in her grief, dying for her husband, and was commemorated with a shrine by later generations^[10] (novel only).