Wu Ju
| Wu Ju | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 吳巨 | ||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 吴巨 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Wu Ju | |
|---|---|
| 吳巨 | |
| Administrator of Cangwu Commandery (蒼梧太守) | |
| Appointed by | Liu Biao |
| Monarch | Emperor Xian of Han |
| Preceded by | Shi Huang (史璜) |
| Succeeded by | Bu Zhi |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Unknown |
| Died | c. 210 CE Cangwu Commandery |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Jing Province warlords |
Wu Ju (simplified Chinese: 吴巨; traditional Chinese: 吳巨; pinyin: Wú Jù; courtesy name Yuándà 元大; died c. 210 CE) was a minor Eastern Han official who served as Administrator of Cangwu Commandery—a remote district covering parts of modern eastern Guangxi and western Guangdong. Appointed by the Jing-province governor Liu Biao, Wu Ju controlled a strategic but isolated frontier that soon became contested by rival warlords during the waning years of the Han dynasty.
Background and appointment
[edit]The exact origins of Wu Ju are unrecorded. After the previous administrator Shi Huang died (early 200s), Liu Biao installed Wu Ju to secure the southern approaches to Jing Province and to check the influence of Shi Xie, the semi-independent Inspector of Jiaozhi.[1]
Dealings with Liu Bei
[edit]Following the Battle of Changban (October 208), the defeated warlord Liu Bei told envoy Lu Su that he planned “to seek refuge with my old friend, Wu Ju, in distant Cangwu.” Lu Su argued that Wu Ju lacked the resources to remain autonomous and persuaded Liu Bei to ally with Sun Quan, a decision that led directly to the Battle of Red Cliffs.[2]
Conflict with Bu Zhi and death
[edit]In 210 CE, Sun Quan sought to reassert control over the south by naming Bu Zhi (步騭) as Inspector of Jiao Province. Wu Ju refused to recognise the appointment and, according to later accounts, plotted to kill Bu Zhi. The conspiracy was uncovered; Bu Zhi launched a pre-emptive strike and executed Wu Ju, ending his brief tenure in Cangwu.[1]
Assessment
[edit]Primary sources give little evaluation beyond Lu Su’s dismissive remark that Wu Ju was “an ordinary fellow who could not stand alone.” Later historians view his career as illustrative of the fragile, overlapping jurisdictions that characterised the Han collapse.
In Romance of the Three Kingdoms
[edit]The 14-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms retains only the anecdote of Liu Bei’s contemplated flight to Cangwu; Wu Ju does not appear as an active character.
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- Chen Shou (3rd century). Sanguozhi (Records of the Three Kingdoms).
- Pei Songzhi (5th century). Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms.
- Rafe de Crespigny (2016). A Biographical Dictionary of Later Han to the Three Kingdoms.