Introduction
Wu Can (吾粲), courtesy name Konghui (孔休), was an Eastern Wu official from Wu Commandery. He rose from a minor clerk under Sun He (孙河) to Administrator of Kuaiji, General Who Spreads Righteousness (with Lü Dai against the Shanyue), and finally Grand Tutor to the Heir. At the Battle of Dongkou (222) he and Huang Yuan were the only commanders to rescue drowning soldiers—“If the ship founders we all die; how can we abandon them?”—and he was promoted. During the Two Palaces conflict he insisted on the distinction between heir and prince, demanded Sun Ba be sent to Xiaokou and Yang Zhu away from the capital, and corresponded with Lu Xun. Sun Ba and Yang Zhu slandered him; he was imprisoned and executed. Chen Shou wrote that he and Zhu Ju “met with hardship and lost their lives for what was right—alas.”
Biography
Early career under Sun He
Wu Can was from Wucheng (乌程), Wu Commandery (吴郡). He first served as a minor clerk; the county magistrate Sun He (孙河) thought highly of him. When Sun He became a general and could select his own staff, he had Wu Can appointed Magistrate of Qu’a (曲阿丞), then Long History (長史). Wu Can governed with a good reputation. Though of humble origins, he was ranked with Lu Xun and Bu Jing (卜静) as a leading local figure.
When Sun Quan was General of Chariots and Cavalry, he recruited Wu Can as Registrar (主簿). Wu Can served as Magistrate of Shanyin (山阴令) and then Colonel of the Army (參軍校尉).
Battle of Dongkou and promotion
In the first year of Huangwu (222), Wu Can joined Lü Fan, He Qi, and others in leading the navy against Cao Xiu at Dongkou (洞口). A great wind broke the cables; ships drifted to the enemy shore and were attacked by Zhang Liao, Wang Ling, and others. Some ships were lost or sank. Soldiers in the water clung to the sides of remaining ships and called for help; the crews on board, afraid the ships would capsize, used spears to keep them off. Only Wu Can and Huang Yuan (黄渊) ordered their men to pull the drowning soldiers aboard. When others warned that overload would sink the ships, Wu Can said: “If the ship founders we all die together. They are in extremity—how can we abandon them?” He and Huang Yuan saved over a hundred men. After the battle Wu Can was promoted to Administrator of Kuaiji (會稽太守).
Recruitment, Shanyue, and court
Wu Can tried to recruit the recluse Xie Tan (谢谭) as Officer of Merit; Xie Tan declined on grounds of illness. Wu Can urged him: “The responding dragon is divine because it can bend and stretch; the phoenix is prized for its cry. Why must you hide beyond the heavens and lie in the depths?” He raised troops and was appointed General Who Spreads Righteousness (昭義中郎將); with Lü Dai he campaigned against the Shanyue. Later he entered the court as Colonel of Garrison Cavalry (屯騎校尉), Minister of the Lesser Treasury (少府), and finally Grand Tutor to the Heir (太子太傅).
Two Palaces conflict and death
During the Chiwu period the struggle between the heir Sun He and the Prince of Lu Sun Ba (二宮之爭) split the court. Wu Can insisted on upholding the difference between heir and prince. He called for Sun Ba to be sent out to Xiaokou (夏口) and for Sun Ba’s associate Yang Zhu (杨竺) to be removed from Jianye. He also repeatedly sent word to Lu Xun, who was in Wuchang; Lu Xun in turn sent several memorials to Sun Quan. Sun Ba and Yang Zhu accused Wu Can of improper contact with Lu Xun. Wu Can was imprisoned and executed.
Personality and traits
Courage and principle
At Dongkou, Wu Can chose to risk capsizing by rescuing drowning soldiers, and he defended the heir’s position in the Two Palaces conflict despite the danger. Chen Shou grouped him with Zhu Ju as men who “met with hardship and lost their lives for what was right.”
Reputation
As a child he was said to have “the bones of a minister or councillor” (卿相之骨). Sun Deng listed him with Zhuge Jin, Bu Zhi, Zhu Ran, Quan Cong, Zhu Ju, Lü Dai, Kan Ze, Yan Jun, Zhang Cheng, and Sun Yi as “loyal to the state and versed in governance.”
Political achievements
Civil and military service
Wu Can served as Magistrate of Qu’a, Long History, Registrar, Magistrate of Shanyin, Colonel of the Army, Administrator of Kuaiji after Dongkou, General Who Spreads Righteousness (with Lü Dai against the Shanyue), Colonel of Garrison Cavalry, Minister of the Lesser Treasury, and Grand Tutor to the Heir.
Relationships
Sun Quan
Sun Quan employed him from the General of Chariots and Cavalry period and promoted him after Dongkou and through the court. In the Two Palaces conflict Sun Quan accepted the accusations against Wu Can and had him executed.
Lu Xun
Wu Can corresponded with Lu Xun about the heir’s position; Lu Xun memorialised Sun Quan repeatedly. Their contact was used by Sun Ba and Yang Zhu to slander Wu Can.
Sun He (孙河)
The magistrate Sun He first promoted Wu Can to Qu’a and Long History.
Anecdotes and allusions
Rescuing the drowning at Dongkou
When the fleet was scattered at Dongkou and soldiers clung to the sides of ships, only Wu Can and Huang Yuan allowed them aboard. Wu Can said: “If the ship founders we all die together. They are in extremity—how can we abandon them?” Over a hundred were saved.
Source: Records of the Three Kingdoms
Type: Historical
“Bones of a minister or councillor”
The Wu lu records that when Wu Can was a small child, a woman told his mother: “This boy has the bones of a minister or councillor.”
Source: Pei Songzhi’s annotation
Type: Anecdotal
Achievements
Wu Can’s documented achievements include:
- Governing Qu’a and serving as Long History with a good reputation
- At Dongkou, rescuing over a hundred drowning soldiers with Huang Yuan; promotion to Administrator of Kuaiji
- With Lü Dai, pacifying the Shanyue as General Who Spreads Righteousness
- Serving as Colonel of Garrison Cavalry, Minister of the Lesser Treasury, and Grand Tutor to the Heir
- Insisting on the heir’s status in the Two Palaces conflict and corresponding with Lu Xun (leading to his execution)
Behind the scenes
Historical sources
Wu Can is recorded in the Records of the Three Kingdoms (三国志) by Chen Shou, in the “Biographies of Yu Fan, Lu Ji, Zhang Wen, Luo Tong, Lu Mao, Wu Can, and Zhu Ju” (吳書·虞陸張駱陸吾朱傳). Pei Songzhi cites the Wu lu for the “bones of a minister” story.
Chen Shou’s evaluation
Chen Shou: “Wu Can and Zhu Ju met with hardship and lost their lives for what was right—alas.” (吾粲、朱据遭罹屯蹇，以正丧身，悲夫！)
Historical evaluations
Contemporary
Sun Deng: Listed Wu Can with Zhuge Jin, Bu Zhi, Zhu Ran, Quan Cong, Zhu Ju, Lü Dai, Kan Ze, Yan Jun, Zhang Cheng, and Sun Yi as “loyal to the state and versed in governance.”
Chen Shou
“Wu Can and Zhu Ju met with hardship and lost their lives for what was right—alas.”
Legacy
Wu Can is remembered for saving drowning soldiers at Dongkou and for his principled stand in the Two Palaces conflict, which led to his execution. His saying “If the ship founders we all die together; how can we abandon them?” is often cited as an example of shared fate and refusal to abandon others.
See also
- Sun Quan — lord under whom Wu Can served; had him executed in the Two Palaces conflict
- Lu Xun — corresponded with Wu Can on the heir’s behalf; repeatedly memorialised
- Sun He — heir supported by Wu Can (note: Sun He 孙和 is the heir; Sun He 孙河 is the magistrate who promoted Wu Can)
- Zhu Ju — grouped with Wu Can by Chen Shou as men who “lost their lives for what was right”
- Lü Dai — campaigned with Wu Can against the Shanyue
References
- Chen Shou. Records of the Three Kingdoms (三国志), “Biographies of Yu Fan, Lu Ji, Zhang Wen, Luo Tong, Lu Mao, Wu Can, and Zhu Ju” (吳書·虞陸張駱陸吾朱傳).
- Pei Songzhi. Annotations (e.g. Wu lu).