Wu state: Encyclopedia - Wu state

Wu (state)

Wu was a state during the Spring and Autumn Period in China. The state of Wu straddled the mouth of the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang) east of the State of Chu. Considered a semi-barbarian state by ancient Chinese historians, its capital was Suzhou.

The State of Jin aided Wu's rise to power as a useful ally against the State of Chu. In 584 BC, Wu invaded the State of Yan and rebelled against the State of Chu; the later action occurred after being persuaded by Wuchen, a minister of the State of Jin who defected from Chu.

Afterwards, Wu would be a constant threat to the state of Chu on its southeastern flank until its demise. Wu curried relationships with Chu's vassals in the Chang Jiang river region to weaken support for Chu. 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 south, the State of Yue; the State of Chu aided Yue's rise to power as a counter to Wu. Although Wu won a major victory against Yue in 494 BC, it failed to completely subjugate Yue, helped in part by Yue's 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. Eventually, the State of Yue conquered Wu in 473 BC.

Wu state - Connection with Japan?

The first Wu Kingdom was united by Taibo during the Spring and Autumn Period. Originally considered a part of the Eastern Barbarians, the people of the Wu Kingdom became Sinicized during the Warring States Period. Ambassadoral visits to Japan by the later Northern Chinese dynasties Wei and Jin (Encounters of the Eastern Barbarians, Wei Chronicles) recorded that the Japanese people claimed to be descendents of Taibo of Wu, refugees after the fall of Wu. (History books do have records of Wu Taibo sending 4000 males and 4000 females to Japan.) Historical records also show that the ancient Japanese had similar lifestyles and customs as pre-Sinicized inhabitants of the Wu Kingdom, including tattooing, ritual teeth pulling and baby-carrying on backs.

This purported tie with Japan's origins turns ironic as during the start of World War II, the Wu region of China was the most devastated and took on the brunt of the fighting against the Japanese as other Chinese regions in the north quickly surrendered or yielded (see the Battle of Shanghai and the Rape of Nanking).

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Wu state", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki