Royals › Monarch / Emperor
Fu Chai
Last king of Wu, son of Helu, who crushed Yue at Fujiao, spared King Goujian, contended with Jin at Huangchi, and killed himself when Yue destroyed his state
Mural of the event “Goujian Conquering Wu”, which this person took part in.
In the late Spring and Autumn, King Fuchai of Wu defeated Yue, forcing King Goujian to submit as Wu's vassal. Goujian, harboring the will to revive his lost state, began over twenty years of patient self-discipline.
Also known as King Fuchai of Wu · Ji Fu Chai
- Roles
- Monarch / Emperor
Fuchai was the son of King Helu of Wu. The Hereditary House of Wu in the Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji) says Helu died of a wound from a battle with Yue, and that Fuchai had a man in his court ask him whether he had forgotten who killed his father. In his second year he crushed Yue at Fujiao, and when King Goujian, trapped on Mount Kuaiji, sued for peace through the minister Bo Pi, Fuchai accepted over Wu Zixu's protests. Turning north, he cut a channel linking the Yangtze and the Huai, according to the Zuo Tradition, routed Qi at Ailing, and then sent Wu Zixu a sword to kill himself. In his fourteenth year, while he contested precedence with Jin at Huangchi, Yue broke into Wu. In his twenty-third year Yue destroyed Wu; offered exile, Fuchai said he regretted ignoring Wu Zixu and cut his throat. The tale of Xi Shi comes from Eastern Han books such as the Yuejue shu, not the Shiji.
Life and times
- UnknownBorn
Zhou - 490 BCELegend of Xi Shi
In powerSelected from Zhuji to enter the Wu court, Xi Shi's presence in Guanwa Palace and afterlives across Lake Tai shaped the most enduring cultural memory of the Wu-Yue rivalry.- Selection of Xi Shi at Zhujic. 490 BCEAround 490 BCE, Goujian selected Xi Shi from Zhuji's Zhuruo Mountain and sent her to the Wu court after training in palace dance and ritual.
- Guanwa Palace Revelry of Xi Shic. 485 BCEAround 485–475 BCE, Fuchai built Guanwa Palace and the Xiangxie Corridor at Mount Lingyan, making Xi Shi a symbol of Wu court performance and political imbalance.
- Selection of Xi Shi at Zhuji
- 473 BCEGoujian Conquering Wu
Took partAfter captivity in Wu, Goujian rebuilt Yue's army and economy, then captured the Wu capital and ended Fuchai's reign.- Wu and Jin Meet at Huangchi482 BCEWhile King Fuchai of Wu went north to Huangchi to contest precedence with Jin, King Goujian of Yue struck and entered the Wu capital.
- Goujian Captures Suzhou and Annexes WuSeizing on Wu's northern distraction, Goujian captured Suzhou, annexing Wu and becoming final hegemon.
- Wu and Jin Meet at Huangchi
- 473 BCEDiedr. 495–473 BCE
Family tree
- Direct kinFather
Fu Chai
