Wu Can (伍參, fl. 7th century BC) was an official of the

State of Chu Chu, or Ch'u in Wade–Giles romanization, (, Hanyu Pinyin: Chǔ, Old Chinese: ''*s-r̥aʔ'') was a Zhou dynasty vassal state. Their first ruler was King Wu of Chu in the early 8th century BCE. Chu was located in the south of the Zhou ...

during the

Spring and Autumn period The Spring and Autumn period was a period in Chinese history from approximately 770 to 476 BC (or according to some authorities until 403 BC) which corresponds roughly to the first half of the Eastern Zhou period. The period's name derives fr ...

. He is the great-grandfather of

Wu Zixu :''Note: names are in simplified characters followed by traditional and Pinyin transliteration.'' Wu Yun (died 484 BC), better known by his courtesy name Zixu, was a Chinese military general and politician of the Wu kingdom in the Spring and Aut ...

. He is most notable for his participation in the

Battle of Bi The Battle of Bi () was fought during the Spring and Autumn period in 597 BC, between the major states of Chǔ and Jìn, in what is now modern day China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. ...

, where he intervened in favour of battle when

King Zhuang of Chu King Zhuang of Chu (, reigned 613-591 BC) was a monarch of the Zhou dynasty State of Chu during the Spring and Autumn period in ancient China. His personal name was Xiong Lü (), his ancestral name was Mi (), and his posthumous title was King Zhu ...

was hesitant about facing the powerful army of Jin.

Battle of Bi

In the run-up to the battle, Chu had forced Zheng to submit as its ally, defecting from Jin; this success in turn provoked Jin into sending a powerful army. King Zhuang's original intention had been to water his horses at the

Yellow River The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the sixth-longest river system in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan ...

as a symbolic gesture and then return to Chu; this was supported by his premier,

Sunshu Ao Sunshu Ao (孫叔敖, c. 630 – c. 593 BCE) was a Chinese hydraulic engineer and politician. He was a court minister serving the administration of King Zhuang of Chu during the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. During his governmental career, Sunshu Ao was ...

. The King had already turned his chariot southwards, preparing to head home. Wu Can, however, took an opportunity to petition the king to join battle. Citing the inexperience of the Jin supreme commander, Xun Linfu, as well as the arrogance and rashness of the vice-commander Xian Hu and the many conflicts among the Jin command staff, he predicted correctly that the Jin army was in fact badly divided and could easily be defeated. At the same time, he pointed out that while the Chu army was being personally commanded by the King, the Jin army was being commanded by the subordinates of the Duke of Jin; it would thus be especially humiliating for a king to retreat before a duke's servants. Encouraged by this, King Zhuang ordered Sunshu Ao to turn the army around and face the Jin army head-on. {{DEFAULTSORT:Wu Can Chu state people 7th-century BC Chinese people