Wu (state) - History

History

The rulers of the State of Wu had the surname Ji (姬), the same as the Zhou royal family. According to the Records of the Grand Historian, this was because the rulers of Wu are descended from Taibo, the elder uncle of King Wen. Realizing that his youngest brother, Jili, was wiser than he and deserved to inherit the throne, Taibo fled to Wu and settled there with his other brother Zhongyong. They established their first capital at Meili (梅里), believed to be today's Meicun in Wuxi. Three generations later, King Wu defeated the last Shang emperor and enfeoffed the descendants of Zhongyong in Wu.

The State of Jin aided Wu's rise to power as a useful ally against the State of Chu. In 584 BC, Wu rebelled against Chu upon the advice of Wuchen, a Jin minister who defected from Chu.

Afterwards, Wu would be a constant threat to the Chu until its demise. Wu fomented rebelliousness among Chu's vassals in the Yangtze valley. In 506 BC, Wu launched a surprise attack and occupied the capital of Chu. Afterwards, Wu was briefly the most powerful nation and turned to other campaigns, defeating the State of Qi in 484 BC.

Ironically, Wu was later threatened by an upstart state to its own south, Yue; Chu then aided Yue's rise as a counter to Wu. Although Wu won a major victory against Yue in 494 BC, it failed to completely subjugate it, in part because of Yue's timely bribing of an important Wu minister. While Wu was engaged in a military campaign in the north, Yue launched a surprise attack on Wu in 482 BC and conquered the capital. Over the next decade, Wu was unable to recover and Yue absorbed the state in 473 BC.

Wu, Yue, and Chu all proclaimed themselves kings in the 6th century BC, showing the drastic weakening of the Zhou court's authority during the Spring and Autumn Period.

Wu and Yue were masters of metallurgy, fabricating excellent swords with incised messages, geometric patterns, and inlaid gold or silver. Wu and Yue swords tend to use much more tin than copper compared to those of other states. Wu often sent swords as gifts to northern states, such as Qi and Cai. Examples include the spearhead of King Fuchai and the sword of Prince Guang.