Sun Chen

Sun Chen rises to dominate the court of Wu after the death of his cousin, the prime minister Sun Jun. His rule links military failure abroad to coercion and instability at home: he sends forces to support Zhuge Dan, reacts to their failure with severe reprisals, and subordinates the young emperor Sun Liang. When Sun Chen moves toward taking the throne for himself, Sun Xiu and Ding Feng turn a palace festival into the occasion for his capture and execution.

Rise to Power and Intervention in Shouchun

Sun Chen takes control in Wu after Sun Jun’s death. At this point Sun Liang, the ruler of Wu, is unable to restrain him. When Zhuge Dan appeals to Wu for aid against Sima Zhao, Sun Chen responds by dispatching seventy thousand soldiers. The intervention places Wu inside a major conflict over Shouchun, but the support proves unreliable: during Sima Zhao’s assault, Wu troops abandon the fighting to plunder supplies, leaving Zhuge Dan’s forces exposed.

Sun Chen’s handling of the failed intervention deepens its consequences. He orders attacks that achieve little and cost Wu soldiers their lives, then executes the commander responsible for carrying out these dangerous operations and casts the blame on him. As the campaign deteriorates, Sun Chen abandons the army and returns to Wu. The episode exposes both the limits of his military support and his reliance on punishment when events go against him.

Reprisals and Sun Liang’s Deposition

After Wu’s failure to support Zhuge Dan, Sun Chen orders the families of the commanders executed. His power over the court is matched by his control of the young Sun Liang, who is only sixteen. Sun Liang attempts to overthrow him with his brother-in-law, planning to seize the city and kill Sun Chen, but the brother-in-law informs his own father, who is Sun Chen’s elder sister’s husband. The plot is thus disclosed through family ties before it can succeed.

Sun Chen responds by deposing Sun Liang, accusing him of moral corruption and incompetence in the imperial rites. Sun Liang is seized and sent into internal exile, weeping as he leaves. Sun Chen then takes power outright, placing his relatives in key offices and bringing Sun Xiu to court. Though Sun Xiu is reluctant, Sun Chen has him installed as ruler, while Sun Chen himself becomes prime minister in 258. The nominal succession changes, but the court remains under Sun Chen’s command.

The Failed Seizure of the Throne

Later, angered by an action of Sun Xiu, Sun Chen decides to go further and seize imperial power. Sun Xiu, alarmed, turns to his adviser Zhang Bu and summons the veteran commander Ding Feng. They arrange to invite Sun Chen to a great festival and kill him there.

Warnings come in the form of inauspicious signs, but Sun Chen dismisses them. He insists that his brothers control the palace guards and says that, if danger arises, a fire should be lit as a signal. At the festival he sits beside Sun Xiu, apparently secure in his command of the palace. When flames break out, Sun Chen rises, taking the fire as the signal he had described. Instead, Zhang Bu enters with thirty guards and captures him.

Sun Chen asks to be allowed to go into internal exile. Sun Xiu answers by recalling those Sun Chen had arbitrarily killed and asks when Sun Chen had ever shown mercy. He orders Sun Chen’s immediate execution, carried out in the great hall. His end reverses the method of his rule: the minister who had answered military and political setbacks with executions is himself removed by a ruler and court officers acting against his power.

Narrative Role

Sun Chen’s episodes show how Wu’s external weakness and internal coercion compound one another. His intervention in Zhuge Dan’s revolt fails to secure effective support; his reprisals alienate the military leadership, while his domination of Sun Liang turns succession into an instrument of personal rule. Even after installing Sun Xiu, Sun Chen’s ambition to take the throne exposes the fragility of that arrangement. His capture at the festival closes his rise through a sudden reversal, while the response to his execution—Sun Xiu’s refusal to grant the exile Sun Chen requests—marks a direct break with the impunity that had sustained his authority.