Sun Deng (209 – May or June 241),

courtesy name A courtesy name ( zh, s=字, p=zì, l=character), also known as a style name, is an additional name bestowed upon individuals at adulthood, complementing their given name. This tradition is prevalent in the East Asian cultural sphere, particula ...

Zigao, was an imperial prince of the state of

Eastern Wu Wu (Chinese language, Chinese: 吳; pinyin: ''Wú''; Middle Chinese *''ŋuo'' < Eastern Han Chinese: ''*ŋuɑ''), known in historiography as Eastern Wu or Sun Wu, was a Dynasties of China, dynastic state of China and one of the three major sta ...

during the

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu dominated China from AD 220 to 280 following the end of the Han dynasty. This period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and followed by the Jin dynasty (266–420), Western Jin dyna ...

period of China. He was the eldest son of

Sun Quan Sun Quan (; 182 – 21 May 252), courtesy name Zhongmou (), posthumous name, posthumously known as Emperor Da of Wu, was the founder of Eastern Wu, one of the Three Kingdoms of China. He inherited control of the warlord regime established by hi ...

, Eastern Wu's founding emperor, and was

crown prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title, crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent. ''Crown prince ...

from 229 until his death in 241.

Youth

Sun Deng was the eldest son of

, the founding emperor of Wu. He was born to a low-status mother and raised from childhood by Lady Xu, the second wife of Sun Quan. When

Cao Pi Cao Pi () (late 187 – 29 June 226), courtesy name Zihuan, was the first emperor of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the second son of Cao Cao, a warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty, but the ...

, emperor of the state of

Cao Wei Wei () was one of the major Dynasties in Chinese history, dynastic states in China during the Three Kingdoms period. The state was established in 220 by Cao Pi based upon the foundations laid by his father Cao Cao during the end of the Han dy ...

, appointed Sun Quan the King of Wu in 221, he enfeoffed Sun Deng as a marquis with a fief of ten thousand households (), and offered him the position of East General of the Household (東中郎將). However, Sun Deng refused the title and position, claiming that he was ill. In the same year, Sun Quan designated Sun Deng as the Crown Prince. When Cao Pi demanded that Sun Quan send Sun Deng to the Wei capital Luoyang as a hostage, to guarantee his loyalty, Sun Quan refused and declared independence.

Life and death

It is recorded that Sun Deng was both wise and virtuous, having all the makings of a great man. Sun Quan ordered Zhuge Ke (),

Gu Tan Gu Tan ( 205–246), courtesy name Zimo, was an official of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Family background Gu Tan's ancestral home was in Wu County, Wu Commandery, which is present-day Suzhou, Jiangsu. T ...

(), Zhang Xiu (), Chen Biao () and others to serve as the Crown Prince's attendants and personal staff. Sun Deng treated his staff kindly. For instance, he allowed others to ride with him and sleep close to him. The Crown Prince's palace was considered to have the largest number of outstanding people in China. Sun Deng showed his filial piety to both his father and adoptive mother, even through Lady Xu was divorced from Sun Quan in 212. Aged 20, Sun Deng studied the ''

Book of Han The ''Book of Han'' is a history of China finished in 111 CE, covering the Western, or Former Han dynasty from the first emperor in 206 BCE to the fall of Wang Mang in 23 CE. The work was composed by Ban Gu (32–92 CE), ...

'' under his father's order. When Sun Quan declared himself emperor in 229 and later moved his capital from Wuchang (; in present-day

Ezhou Ezhou ( zh, s= ) is a prefecture-level city in eastern Hubei Province, China. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 1,079,353, of which 695,697 lived in the core Echeng District. The Ezhou - Huanggang built-up (''or metro'') area w ...

Hubei Hubei is a province of China, province in Central China. It has the List of Chinese provincial-level divisions by GDP, seventh-largest economy among Chinese provinces, the second-largest within Central China, and the third-largest among inland ...

) to Jianye, Sun Deng and his younger brothers were left in Wuchang. Sun Deng was in charge of the western parts of Eastern Wu with the help of

Lu Xun Lu Xun ( zh, c=魯迅, p=Lǔ Xùn, ; 25 September 188119 October 1936), pen name of Zhou Shuren, born Zhou Zhangshou, was a Chinese writer. A leading figure of modern Chinese literature, he wrote in both vernacular and literary Chinese as a no ...

and Shi Yi until his brother

Sun Lü Sun Lü (213 – February or March 232), courtesy name Zizhi, was a noble and military general of the state of Eastern Wu in the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the second son of Sun Quan, the founding emperor of Eastern Wu. Life Sun Lü ...

died in 232. He then travelled to Jianye to accompany his father and lived there since then. In 234, Sun Quan personally led a major attack against Wei's border city Hefei. He let Sun Deng remain in the rear. At that time, Sun Deng made some laws to prevent crime, which achieved successful results. However, Sun Deng never succeeded his father, dying from illness aged 33 (by East Asian reckoning). Before he died he wrote a letter to inspire his father and recommend talented individuals. Sun Deng was buried in

Jurong Jurong () is a major Region, geographical region located at the south-westernmost point of the West Region, Singapore, West Region of Singapore. Although mostly vaguely defined, the region's extent roughly covers the Planning Areas of Singapore, ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...

initially, then moved to the Jiang Mausoleum () at the Purple Mountain in Jiangsu. He was posthumously honoured as "Crown Prince Xuan".

Personal life

In 225, on the arrangement of Sun Quan, Sun Deng married Zhou Che,

Zhou Yu Zhou Yu (, ) (175–210), courtesy name Gongjin (), was a Chinese military general and strategist serving under the warlord Sun Ce in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. After Sun Ce died in the year 200, he continued serving under Sun Qua ...

's daughter. She thus carried the title of Crown Princess. Sun Deng also had another concubine with the title of ''shuyuan'' who was Rui Xuan's (芮玄) daughter.(权为子登拣择淑媛，群臣咸称玄父祉兄良并以德义文武显名三世，故遂娉玄女为妃焉。) ''Wu Shu'' annotation in ''Sanguozhi'' vol.61. This record was listed in Pan Jun's biography, as Pan took over Rui's troops after his death. Sun Deng had three children: Sun Fan, Sun Ying (孫英), and Sun Xi. The mother's identity of each is unknown. Both Sun Fan and Sun Xi died at their early age. Thus Sun Ying was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Wu when he grew up. However, Sun Ying was eventually executed because he was accused of attempting to assassinate Sun Jun, the regent who served under the second Wu emperor

Sun Liang Sun Liang (243 – 260), courtesy name Ziming, was the second emperor of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the youngest son and heir of Sun Quan, the founding emperor of Wu. He is also known as the Prince o ...

Notes

References

* Chen, Shou (3rd century). ''

Records of the Three Kingdoms The ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'' is a Chinese official history written by Chen Shou in the late 3rd century CE, covering the end of the Han dynasty (220 CE) and the subsequent Three Kingdoms period (220–280 CE). It is regard ...

'' (''Sanguozhi''). * Pei, Songzhi (5th century). ''

Annotated Records of the Three Kingdoms ''Annotated Records of the Three Kingdoms'' () by Pei Songzhi (372–451) is an annotation completed in the 5th century of the 3rd century historical text ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'', compiled by Chen Shou. After the fall of the Eastern Jin ...

'' (''Sanguozhi zhu''). {{DEFAULTSORT:Sun, Deng 209 births 241 deaths Eastern Wu imperial princes Family of Sun Quan Chinese crown princes who never acceded

Youth

Life and death

Personal life

See also

Notes

References