Su Wu

Su Wu (traditional Chinese: 蘇武; simplified Chinese: 苏武; pinyin: Sū Wǔ; Wade-Giles: Su Wu) (140 BC - 60 BC) was a diplomat and statesman during China's Han Dynasty empire. Su Wu is known in Chinese history for making the best of his mission into foreign territory: where, despite being captured during the event and being detained for nineteen years, enduring major hardship at least in the beginning years of his captivity, he yet endured, all the while remaining faithful to his mission and his homeland. According to Chinese tradition, in the early time of his captivity, Su Wu was so deprived of food that he only survived in the cold north lands by eating his coverings, then enduring long years of servitude herding sheep, before managing to return home, after deceiving his captors with a story about his having sent a message back to China by means of tying a letter on the leg of a wild goose. Sometimes Su's loyalty to Han is emphasized by the story that during his detainment he married a wife, that he had children by her, but that he chose to return to his homeland, even though it meant it abandoning his wife and children.