Introduction
Sun Shao (孫韶), courtesy name Gongli (公禮), was an Eastern Wu general and imperial clansman. He was originally surnamed Yu (俞); Sun Ce was fond of him and gave him the surname Sun, enrolling him in the Sun house. In 204 Sun Shao’s uncle Sun He (孙河) was killed by the rebels Gui Lan (妫覽) and Dai Yuan (戴員) at Wanling. Sun Shao, then seventeen, gathered Sun He’s remaining troops, repaired the capital town (京城; i.e. Jingcheng 京縣 / Dantu), built watchtowers and weapons, and prepared for attack. When Sun Quan returned from Jiaoqiu and passed through to pacify Danyang, he camped by the capital at night and staged a mock attack to test Sun Shao; Sun Shao’s men stood to arms and shot at the “enemy.” The next day Sun Quan met him, was impressed, and made him Colonel Who Inherits the Glorious (承烈校尉), gave him Sun He’s troops, and allowed him to use the revenues of Qu’e and Dantu and to appoint officials there. Sun Shao later became Administrator of Guangling and General of the Side. When Sun Quan became King of Wu (221), Sun Shao was promoted to General Who Spreads Awe (揚威將軍) and enfeoffed Marquis of Jiande (建德侯). In 225 he sent the officer Gao Shou and five hundred dare-to-die troops to raid Cao Pi’s camp by a side road; Cao Pi was alarmed and Gao Shou seized his carriage canopy and returned. In 229 Sun Quan became emperor and made Sun Shao General Who Guards the North (鎮北將軍). Sun Shao guarded the northern border for over ten years, was good at caring for soldiers so that they gave their all, and paid close attention to outposts and scouts, so he was rarely defeated. He had not seen Sun Quan for more than ten years after the capital moved to Wuchang; when Sun Quan returned to Jianye, Sun Shao came to court. Sun Quan asked him about the garrison points in Qing and Xu and the names of Wei’s generals; Sun Shao answered in detail. He was eight chi tall and dignified in appearance. Sun Quan said: “I have not seen Gongli for a long time; I did not expect him to have improved so much.” He added the nominal title Governor of You Province (幽州牧) and gave him a staff and节. In 234 he and Zhang Cheng led an army toward Guangling and Huaiyin (fourth Hefei campaign); they withdrew in the seventh month. He died in 241. His sons included Sun Kai, Sun Yue, Sun Yi, and Sun Hui.
Biography
Original surname Yu and adoption by Sun Ce
Sun Shao was from Fuchun (富春), Wu Commandery. His original surname was Yu (俞). He was a nephew (表侄) of Sun He (孙河); Sun He had been adopted into the Yu family and later reverted, so he was also called Sun Shao’s uncle. Sun Ce was fond of Sun Shao and gave him the surname Sun, so he was enrolled among the Sun clan.
204: Sun He’s death and defence of the capital
In the ninth year of Jian’an (204), Sun He (孙河), then a general, was at Wanling (宛陵) when the rebel officers Gui Lan (妫覽) and Dai Yuan (戴員) killed the Administrator of Danyang Sun Yi (孫翊) and then killed Sun He. Sun Shao was seventeen. He gathered Sun He’s remaining troops, repaired and governed the “capital” (京城—the seat of Wu Commandery at Dantu 丹徒, modern Zhenjiang), built watchtowers (樓櫓) and repaired weapons, and prepared against the enemy. When Sun Quan heard of the trouble in Danyang, he returned from Jiaoqiu (椒丘), passed through and pacified Danyang, and led the army back to Wu. At night he reached the capital and camped there. He staged a feint attack to test Sun Shao. The capital’s defenders all mounted the wall, passed orders, and raised the alarm; “arrows fell like rain” on the outsiders. Sun Quan sent someone to explain; only then did they stop. The next day Sun Quan met Sun Shao and was very pleased with him. He at once made him Colonel Who Inherits the Glorious (承烈校尉), put him in command of Sun He’s troops, gave him the revenues of Qu’e (曲阿) and Dantu (丹徒) as his domain, and allowed him to set up officials there as Sun He had done. Later Sun Shao was Administrator of Guangling (廣陵太守) and General of the Side (偏將軍).
Enfeoffment and raid on Cao Pi
When Sun Quan was enfeoffed King of Wu (221), he promoted Sun Shao to General Who Spreads Awe (揚威將軍) and enfeoffed him Marquis of Jiande (建德侯). In the fourth year of Huangwu (225), Cao Pi campaigned south to the Yangtze. Sun Shao sent the officer Gao Shou (高壽) and five hundred dare-to-die troops to raid Cao Pi’s camp by a side road at night. Cao Pi was greatly alarmed; Gao Shou and his men seized Cao Pi’s carriage canopy (車蓋) and returned.
Northern border and reunion with Sun Quan
In the first year of Huanglong (229), Sun Quan declared himself emperor. Sun Shao was made General Who Guards the North (鎮北將軍) and charged with defending the northern border. He held the border for more than ten years, was good at nurturing his soldiers so that they gave their lives for him, and “always took guarding the frontier and sending scouts far out as his task; he learned of the enemy’s movements in advance and made ready, so he was rarely defeated.” After Sun Quan moved the capital to Wuchang (for the campaign against Liu Bei and then the alliance with Wei), Sun Shao did not see him for more than ten years. When Sun Quan returned to Jianye, Sun Shao was able to attend court. Sun Quan asked him about the garrison points in Qing and Xu, how many troops were deployed near and far, and the names of the Wei generals. Sun Shao answered every question in detail. He was eight chi tall and “dignified and elegant in bearing.” Sun Quan said happily: “I have not seen Gongli for a long time; I did not expect him to have improved so much.” He added the title Governor of You Province (幽州牧) and gave him a staff and节 (假節). You Province was in Wei territory; the title was nominal, indicating authority over northern affairs.
Fourth Hefei campaign and death
In the third year of Jiahe (234), during the fourth campaign against Hefei, Sun Quan sent Lu Xun and Zhuge Jin with over ten thousand men to Jiangxia and Miankou, and Sun Shao and Zhang Cheng (張承) with over ten thousand toward Guangling and Huaiyin. In the seventh month Sun Quan withdrew from the siege of Hefei新城; Sun Shao and Zhang Cheng also stopped their advance. Sun Shao died in the fourth year of Chiwu (241). His son Sun Yue (孫越) succeeded to the marquisate and rose to Right General (右將軍). Another son, Sun Kai (孫楷), was Palace General of Agile Cavalry (宮下鎮驃騎將軍) and Marquis of Lincheng (臨成侯); he later served Jin as General of Chariots and Cavalry and Marquis of Danyang.
Personality and traits
Sun Shao was “good at nurturing his soldiers” and “they gave their lives for him.” He “always took guarding the frontier and sending scouts far out as his task” and “learned of the enemy’s movements in advance and made ready, so he was rarely defeated.” When tested by Sun Quan’s mock attack in 204, he had his men stand to arms immediately. He was “eight chi tall and dignified and elegant in bearing.”
Political achievements
Under Sun Quan: 204 gathered Sun He’s troops, repaired Jingcheng, withstood mock attack; Colonel Who Inherits the Glorious, revenues of Qu’e and Dantu; Administrator of Guangling, General of the Side; 221 General Who Spreads Awe, Marquis of Jiande; 225 sent Gao Shou to raid Cao Pi’s camp (seized carriage canopy); 229 General Who Guards the North; long-term northern border defence; Governor of You Province (nominal), staff and节; 234 with Zhang Cheng toward Guangling and Huaiyin; died 241.
Relationships
Sun He (孙河)
Sun He was Sun Shao’s uncle (originally surnamed Yu, adopted into Sun family). He was killed in 204 by Gui Lan and Dai Yuan. Sun Shao gathered his troops and took over defence of the capital.
Sun Quan
Sun Quan tested Sun Shao with a mock attack in 204 and then entrusted him with Sun He’s troops and the Qu’e–Dantu region. He promoted him to General Who Spreads Awe and Marquis of Jiande, and later to General Who Guards the North and nominal Governor of You Province. After more than ten years without meeting, Sun Quan was impressed by Sun Shao’s knowledge of the northern border and said: “I did not expect him to have improved so much.”
Sun Ce
Sun Ce was fond of Sun Shao and gave him the surname Sun, enrolling him in the Sun clan.
Anecdotes and allusions
Mock attack at the capital (204)
When Sun Quan returned from pacifying Danyang, he camped by the capital at night and staged a feint attack. Sun Shao’s defenders mounted the wall and shot at the “enemy” until Sun Quan sent word that it was a test.
Source: Records of the Three Kingdoms
Type: Historical
Seizing Cao Pi’s carriage canopy (225)
Sun Shao sent Gao Shou and five hundred dare-to-die troops to raid Cao Pi’s camp by a side road. Cao Pi was greatly alarmed; Gao Shou seized his carriage canopy and returned.
Source: Records of the Three Kingdoms
Type: Historical
“I did not expect him to have improved so much”
When Sun Shao finally saw Sun Quan at Jianye after more than ten years, Sun Quan questioned him on Qing and Xu garrisons and Wei generals; Sun Shao answered in full. Sun Quan said: “吾久不見公禮，不圖進益乃爾”—“I have not seen Gongli for a long time; I did not expect him to have improved so much.”
Source: Records of the Three Kingdoms
Type: Historical
Romance of the Three Kingdoms
In the novel, Sun Shao appears in chapter 86. He is “young, proud, and very bold.” When Cao Pi invades in 224, Sun Shao insists on taking three thousand elite troops to fight Cao Pi at Guangling; Xu Sheng refuses. Sun Shao repeatedly urges and Xu Sheng orders him executed; Sun Quan intervenes and pardons him. Sun Shao then leads his three thousand across the river on his own; Xu Sheng sends Ding Feng with three thousand to support him. Sun Shao attacks the retreating Cao Pi and inflicts heavy losses; he and Ding Feng take much booty.
Achievements
Documented achievements include: 204 succession to Sun He’s troops; defence of capital (mock attack); Colonel Who Inherits the Glorious; Administrator of Guangling, General of the Side; 221 General Who Spreads Awe, Marquis of Jiande; 225 raid on Cao Pi (Gao Shou seized carriage canopy); 229 General Who Guards the North; long-term border defence; Governor of You Province, staff and节; 234 Guangling–Huaiyin campaign.
Behind the scenes
Historical sources
Sun Shao’s biography is in the Records of the Three Kingdoms (三國志), “Biographies of the Imperial Clan” (吳書·宗室傳), in the same scroll as Sun Jing, Sun Ben, Sun Fu, Sun Yu, Sun Kuang, and Sun Shao (卷五十一). Sun He (孙河) is also written 孫河; he was originally surnamed Yu (俞) and was adopted by the Sun family. The “capital” (京城) that Sun Shao defended is identified by Hu Sanxing as the Han-era Wu commandery seat at Dantu (丹徒縣). Sun Shao’s sons included Sun Kai, Sun Yue, Sun Yi (領軍將軍), Sun Yi (宗正卿), and Sun Hui (武陵太守).
Chen Shou’s evaluation
“Sun Shao was a border general for several decades; he was good at nurturing his soldiers and they gave their lives for him. He always took guarding the frontier and sending scouts far out as his task, learned of the enemy’s movements in advance and made ready, so he was rarely defeated.” “He was eight chi tall and dignified and elegant in bearing.”
Historical evaluations
Sun Quan
“I have not seen Gongli for a long time; I did not expect him to have improved so much.”
Legacy
Sun Shao is remembered as a long-serving northern border commander who succeeded to Sun He’s troops at seventeen, defended the capital under a mock attack, raided Cao Pi’s camp in 225, and impressed Sun Quan with his detailed knowledge of the northern frontier after more than ten years apart.
See also
- Sun Quan — lord
- Sun Ce — gave him the surname Sun
- Xu Sheng — Romance: conflict over attacking Cao Pi at Guangling
- Ding Feng — Romance: joined Sun Shao in attacking Cao Pi’s retreat
References
- Chen Shou. Records of the Three Kingdoms (三国志), “Biographies of the Imperial Clan” (吳書·宗室傳).
- Luo Guanzhong. Romance of the Three Kingdoms (三國演義), chapter 86.
- Hu Sanxing. Commentary to Zizhi tongjian (資治通鑑), on 京城.