Fuchai of Wu

King Fuchai of Wu (吳王夫差) (reigned 495 BC - 473 BC), was the last king of Wu, a state in ancient China; he reigned towards the end of the Spring and Autumn Period.

Biography

File:Spear of Fuchai.jpg

Spear of Fuchai at Hubei Provincial Museum

Son of King Helü of Wu, he became king in 495 BC. At the beginning of his reign, he defeated the troops of Yue in Fujiao (now Wu County, Jiangsu) and captured the capital city of Yue. Instead of annexing his enemy state thoroughly, as suggested by his Prime Minister Wu Zixu, he made peace with King Goujian of Yue.

After this battle, he built the Canal Han and pushed his army northward. In Ailing, his army defeated the state of Qi. In 482 BC, as he attempted to get the hegemony in the dukes' meeting in Huangchi, his capital was taken by surprise by King Goujian of Yue.

However, during the later part of his reign, his extravagance and obsession with a Yue beauty, Xi Shi, lead to the weakening of his state. King Goujian of Yue took advantage of this situation to invade Wu. He was successful and Wu was destroyed in 473. King Fuchai was forced to commit suicide.

Legacy

Fuchai was the first king from southern China to become hegemon. After and during his reign, southern China was gradually integrated into the northern states centered around the Yellow River.

See also

• Spear of Fuchai
• Xi Shi