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This article is about the Three Kingdoms state. For other states known as Han or Shu, please see Shu Han (disambiguation).| Shu Han蜀漢 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 221–263 | |||||||||
 The territories of Shu Han (in red), AD 262 | |||||||||
| Capital | Chengdu | ||||||||
| Common languages | Chinese | ||||||||
| Government | Monarchy | ||||||||
| Emperor | |||||||||
| • 221 - 223 | Liu Bei | ||||||||
| • 223 - 263 | Liu Shan | ||||||||
| Historical era | Three Kingdoms | ||||||||
| • Establishment | 221 | ||||||||
| • Conquest of Shu by Wei | 263 | ||||||||
| Population | |||||||||
| • | 940,000 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Shu Han (Traditional Chinese: 蜀漢, pinyin: Shǔ Hàn), sometimes known as the Kingdom of Shu (蜀 shǔ) was one of the Three Kingdoms competing for control of China after the fall of the Han Dynasty, based on areas around Sichuan which was then known as Shu. The other two kingdoms were Cao Wei in central and northern China, and Eastern Wu in southern and southeastern China.
History
During the decline of the Han Dynasty, Liu Bei, a distant relative of the emperor, gathered together many capable men, and with Zhuge Liang's advice, took parts of Jingzhou at first, then Yizhou and Hanzhong. From these territories, he established a place for himself in China during Han's final years. In 219, Lü Meng of Wu attacked and conquered Jingzhou. Subsequently, Liu Bei's trusted general Guan Yu was executed by Wu soldiers. After Cao Pi of the Wei seized the imperial throne in 220 from Emperor Xian and proclaimed the Wei Dynasty, Liu Bei proclaimed himself to be the next Han emperor and the real ruler of China. Although Liu Bei is said to be the founder of the Shu Han dynasty, he himself never claimed to be the founder of a new dynasty; rather, he claimed to continue the heritage of the earlier Han Emperors.
In 222, the first major conflict of the Three Kingdoms period began. Liu Bei initiated an attack of 200,000 men upon the Kingdom of Wu in the Battle of Yiling to avenge his fallen general Guan Yu. However, because of a grave tactical mistake, his line of camps were burned to the ground and his numerically superior troops were decimated. He survived the attack and fled to Baidi, but one year later he became ill and died there. He was succeeded by his incompetent son, Liu Shan, who did not really care for the kingdom and left his kingdom in the hands of his government officials and eunuchs.
The Chancellor of Shu, Zhuge Liang, made peace with Wu instead of taking revenge. He decided that it was more important to conquer Cao Wei and not only gain the fertile lands of the north but also to topple the Wei government and restore legitimacy to the Shu-Han Dynasty. He made several invasions to the north but failed each time, finally dying of sickness during his seventh attempt to conquer Wei. Jiang Wei, his eventual successor, also tried many times but was pushed back each time. These efforts to conquer Wei exhausted the resources and military talents of Shu and eventually led to its downfall.
In 263, Wei took advantage of Shu's weakness and attacked. The brilliant strategies of the Wei generals, Zhong Hui and Deng Ai led to the quick conquest of Hanzhong and the subsequent conquest of the capital Chengdu. Jiang Wei surrendered to Zhong Hui and tried to incite Zhong Hui to rebel against Deng Ai, hoping to revive Shu Han by trying to take advantage of the ensuing chaos and bringing back the Emperor Liu Shan. However, his plan failed and he was killed along with Zhong Hui and Deng Ai by their soldiers. Afterwards, the Emperor Liu Shan was taken to the capital of Wei, Luoyang, where he was given the title Duke of Comfort (安樂公) and allowed him to retire in peace.
However, Shu was not simply a nation of war. During times of peace, Shu began many irrigation and road-building projects designed to improve the economy of Shu. Many of these public works still exist and are widely used. For example, the Nine-Mile Dam is still present near Chengdu in Sichuan province. These works helped improve the economy of Southwest China and can be credited with beginning the history of economic activity in the Sichuan area.
Important figures
- Chen Dao
- Chen Shi
- Chen Shou
- Deng Zhi
- Dong Yun
- Empress Wu
- Empress Zhang (former)
- Empress Zhang (later)
- Fa Zheng
- Fei Yi
- Fu Qian
- Fu Shiren
- Fu Tong
- Guan Ping
- Guan Xing
- Guan Yu
- Huang Zhong
- Jiang Wan
- Jiang Wei
- Jian Yong
- Liao Hua
- Liu Bei
- Liu Feng
- Liu Pi
- Liu Shan
- Ma Chao
- Ma Dai
- Ma Liang
- Ma Su
- Mi Fang
- Pang Tong
- Wang Ping
- Wei Yan
- Xiahou Ba
- Xu Shu
- Yan Yan
- Zhang Bao
- Zhang Fei
- Zhao Yun
- Zhuge Liang
Rulers of Shu Han 221 – 263
| Posthumous names | Family name (in bold) and first names | Durations of reigns | Era names and their ranges of years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Convention: use family and first names | |||
| Zhaolie (昭烈 Zhāoliè) | Liu Bei (劉備) | 221-223 | Zhāngwǔ (章武) 221-223 |
| Xiaohuai (孝懷 Xiàohuái) | Liu Shan (劉禪) | 223-263 | Jiànxīng (建興) 223-237 |
See also
- Cao Wei
- Eastern Wu
- Three Kingdoms
- Personages of the Three Kingdoms
- Timeline of the Three Kingdoms period
- Romance of the Three Kingdoms
- Records of Three Kingdoms
- Dynasty Warriors