Everything about Shu Han totally explained
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. Some historians argue it's the last Han dynasty because
Liu Bei is directly related to the Han sovereignty. The other two states 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
Jing province at first, then
Yi province and
Hanzhong. From these territories, he established a place for himself in China during Han's final years. In
219,
Lü Meng attacked and conquered Jing province for
Sun Quan. Subsequently, Liu Bei's trusted general
Guan Yu was executed by Sun Quan. After
Cao Pi 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 in 221. 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 over 40,000 men upon Sun Quan's state of Eastern Wu in the
Battle of Yiling to retake Jing province. However, because of a grave tactical mistake, his line of camps was burned to the ground and his already numerically inferior troops were decimated. He survived the attack and fled to
Baidicheng, but one year later he became ill and died there. He was succeeded by his son,
Liu Shan.
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 sixth attempt to conquer Wei.
Jiang Wei, his eventual successor, also tried many times but was pushed back each time.
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 Anle (安樂公; meaning Duke of Comfort) and retired in peace.
However, Shu wasn't 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
Rulers of Shu Han 221 – 263
Further Information
Get more info on 'Shu Han'.
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