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Helü orHelu was king of thestate of Wu^[1] from 514 to 496 BC, toward the end of theSpring and Autumn period of ancient China. His given name wasGuang (Chinese:光); he was initially known asPrince Guang.

Prince Guang was the son of King Yumei, and the nephew ofKing Liao.^[4] He welcomed theChu exileWu Zixu into his entourage and, when he sought to usurp the throne of Wu, was introduced by him toZhuan Zhu. Zhuan assassinated King Liao in 515 BC and the prince became King Helü. The king assigned Wu Zixu to lead the design and building of his "great city", which forms the basis ofSuzhou's present old town.^[5]

In 506 BC, Helü, with the help of Wu Zixu andSun Tzu, the author ofThe Art of War, launched major offensives against thestate of Chu. They prevailed in five battles, one of which was theBattle of Boju, and conquered the capitalYing. During the sack of the capital, Helü attempted to sexually assault theDowager Queen, but she fought him off with a knife and remonstrated with him, leading to Helü leaving in shame.^[6] Chu managed to ask thestate of Qin for help, and after he was defeated by Qin, the vanguard general of Wu troops, Fugai, a younger brother of Helü, led a rebellion. After beating Fugai, Helü was forced to leave Chu. Fugai later retired to Chu and settled there.

In 496 BC, upon hearing that Yunchang of Yue had died, he launched an invasion of Yue, but was injured and subsequently died from his injuries while telling his son to avenge him. His son,Fuchai, succeeded him in 495 BC. Fuchai would later annex Yue and capture Yue's King Goujian. Helü had two other sons named Bo and Shan. Bo was initially his heir but died before him.

• 
  Sword from the tomb of king Helü. The inscription on the blade reads "Made for the personal use of lord Guang of Wu" (攻吾王光 自作用僉). Kept inShanghai Museum.
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  The bronzeWu Wang Guang Jian ("Prince Guang of Wu's Basin"). The inscription inside records that Helü commissioned it for his daughter's dowry and provides evidence of a political marriage between families of the Wu and Chu states.

• Records of the Grand Historian
• Gailu text presenting the dialogue between Helü and Wu Zixu, one of the 8 texts from the Tomb 247 (202-186 BCE) excavated atZhangjiashan, Jingzhou, Hubei, in 1983. The text is paralleled by aDunhuang manuscript which attributes the conversation toDuke Jing of Qi andYan Ying.^[7]

• Zhou dynasty nobility
• 496 BC deaths
• 6th-century BC Chinese monarchs
• 5th-century BC Chinese monarchs
• Monarchs of Wu (state)

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• Year of birth unknown