Fuchai of Wu

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

Biography

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.

Fuchai had at least four sons, among them You, Hong and Hui. You was his heir but was killed in the battles of revenge against Goujian, so Hong became the new heir. After the abolition of the state, the other three sons of Fuchai were exiled. They and their descendants took Wu as their clan. Wu Rui, Prince of Changsha created by Emperor Gaozu of Han, was a descendant of the House of Wu. He was also said to be descended from Fuchai.

See also

• Spear of Fuchai
• Xi Shi