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Eastern Wu (. During its existence, its capital was largely at Jianye (建業, modern Nanjing ), but at times was at Wuchang (武昌, in modern Ezhou , Hubei -- not Wuhan , as the name might suggest).

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From 222 to 280 , Eastern Wu was one of the Three Kingdoms competing for control of China after the fall of the Han Dynasty . During the decline of the Han dynasty, the region of Wu - a region in the south of the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang), surrounding Nanjing - was under the control of the warlord Sun Quan . Sun Quan succeeded his brother Sun Ce as the lord over the Wu region paying nominal allegiance to Emperor Xian Of Han (who was, at that point, under the control of Cao Cao ). Unlike his competitors, he did not really have the ambition to be Emperor of China. However, after Cao Pi of the Kingdom Of Wei and Liu Bei of the Kingdom Of Shu each declared themselves to be the Emperor, Sun Quan decided to follow suit in 229, claiming to have founded the ''Wu Dynasty''.

Under the rule of Eastern Wu, southern China, regarded in early history as a barbaric "jungle" developed into one of the commercial, cultural, and political centers of China. Within five centuries, during The Five Dynasties And Ten States , the development of Southern China had surpassed that of the north. The achievements of Wu marked the beginning of the cultural and political division between Northern and Southern China that would repeatedly appear in Chinese history well into modernity. The term Southern China as used here does not include Guangdong and other provinces in the far south, which were not incorporated into China proper until the Tang Dynasty and remained for the most part economically and culturally backward until the late 19th century.

The Island Of Taiwan ''may'' have been first reached by the Chinese during the Three Kingdoms period. Contacts with the native population and the dispatch of officials to an island named "Yizhou" (夷州) by the Eastern Wu navy might have been to Taiwan, but what Yizhou was is open to dispute; some historians believe it was Taiwan, while others believe it was the Ryukyu Islands .

Eastern Wu was finally conquered by the first Jin emperor, Sima Yan , in 280. It was the longest-lived of the three kingdoms.

Important figures:


LIST OF SOVEREIGNS











































Eastern Wu 222 - 280
Posthumous Names ( Shi Hao 諡號) Personal names Year(s) of Reigns Era Names ( Nian Hao 年號) and their range of years
''Convention: use personal name''
Da Di (大帝 dà dì) Sun Quan (孫權 sūn quán) 222 - 252
Huangwu (黃武 huáng wǔ) 222 - 229

Huanglong (黃龍 huáng lóng) 229 - 231

Jiahe (嘉禾 jiā hé) 232 - 238

Chiwu (赤烏 chì wū) 238 - 251

Taiyuan (太元 taì yuán) 251 - 252

Shenfeng (神鳳 shén2 fèng) 252
Kuaiji Wang (會稽王 kuaì jī wáng) Sun Liang (孫亮 sūn liàng) 252 - 258
Jianxing (建興 jiàn xīng) 252 - 253

Wufeng (五鳳 wǔ fèng) 254 - 256

Taiping (太平 taì píng) 256 - 258

Jing Di (景帝 jǐng dì) Sun Xiu (孫休 sūn xiū) 258 - 264 Yong'an (永安 yǒng ān) 258 - 264

Wucheng Hou (烏程侯 wū chéng hóu)

or Guiming Hou (歸命侯; gūi mìng hóu)
Sun Hao (孫皓 sūn haò) 264 - 280
Yuanxing (元興 yuán xīng) 264 - 265

Ganlu (甘露 gān lù) 265 - 266

Baoding (寶鼎 baǒ dǐng) 266 - 269

Jianheng (建衡 jiàn héng) 269 - 271

Fenghuang (鳳凰 fèng huáng) 272 - 274

Tiance (天冊 tiān cè) 275 - 276

Tianxi (天璽 tiān xǐ) 276

Tianji (天紀 tiān jì) 277 - 280