Nanjing

Nanjing is the capital of Sun Quan’s Wu and a lasting site of his memory. In the novel’s account, it anchors the southern kingdom within the division of the former Han empire; outside that political history, Sun Quan’s tomb and its commemorative setting preserve competing images of him as a decisive ruler and an enlightened emperor.

Setting and Political Role

The Three Kingdoms arose as the Han empire broke apart and three leaders carved out separate realms: Xuande, Cao Cao, and Sun Quan. Sun Quan’s family had governed in the south for three generations, and he eventually declared himself emperor of Wu in 229, with Nanjing as its capital. His kingdom encompassed eastern and southern China and included territory in what is now Vietnam.

Nanjing therefore represents more than a seat of government: it marks the establishment of one of the three dynasties that succeeded the Han. The novel’s larger account presents this division as part of a recurring pattern in which empires fragment amid conflict and are later reunited, only for political order to fail again. Wu’s foundation gives that cycle a concrete southern center.

Sun Quan and the Southern Kingdom

Sun Quan is described as a comparatively shadowy figure in the novel, often watching events from the sidelines and maintaining uneasy alliances with either Xuande or Cao Cao. His habitual indecision is a defining feature of this portrayal. Yet he is not merely a passive observer: his eventual declaration of himself as emperor establishes Wu as an independent kingdom.

His political legacy is also bound to conflict with the Peach Orchard Brotherhood. Sun Quan ultimately ordered the execution of Guan Yu, making Nanjing’s association with his rule inseparable from a consequential rupture in the wider struggle among the Three Kingdoms. The novel’s account thus sets the founding of Wu beside the personal and political consequences of Sun Quan’s choices.

Tomb and Later Remembrance

Sun Quan’s tomb lies in Nanjing within the setting of Ming Xiaoling Park. Its approach is marked by a sacred path lined with large statues of animals, mythological beasts, and officials. Although the tomb is less visited as a place of worship and reverence than Xuande’s tomb, its mound remains clearly visible.

An exhibition hall presents Sun Quan as a model emperor and enlightened ruler. This public commemoration complicates the novel’s characterization of him as indecisive and shadowy: the city’s memorial image emphasizes imperial achievement, while the narrative also remembers his alliances, his role in founding Wu, and his order to execute Guan Yu. Nanjing holds these different records of his reign together, joining the political geography of the Three Kingdoms to the later interpretation of its ruler.