Shu 蜀 | |||||||
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| ?–c. 316 BCE | |||||||
 Map showing the Kingdom of Shu during Zhou dynasty | |||||||
| Government | Monarchy | ||||||
| Historical era | Spring and Autumn period | ||||||
• Established | ? | ||||||
| c. 1046 BCE | |||||||
• Conquered byQin | c. 316 BCE | ||||||
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| Shu | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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.svg) "Shu" inseal script (top) andregular (bottom) Chinese characters | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chinese | 蜀 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Shu (Chinese:蜀;Pinyin:Shǔ; former romanization:Shuh[1]), also known asAncient Shu (Chinese:古蜀; pinyin:Gǔ Shǔ) in historiography, was anancientkingdom in what is nowSichuan Province. It was based on theChengdu Plain, in the westernSichuan basin with some extension northeast to the upperHan River valley. To the east wasthe Ba tribal confederation. Further east down the Han and Yangtze rivers was theState of Chu. To the north over theQinling Mountains was theState of Qin. To the west and south were tribal peoples of little military power.
This independent Shu state was conquered by the state ofQin in 316 BCE. Recent archaeological discoveries atSanxingdui andJinsha thought to be sites of Shu culture indicate the presence of a unique civilization in this region before the Qin conquest.
In subsequent periods of Chinese history the Sichuan area continued to be referred to as Shu after this ancient state, and later states founded in the same region were also called Shu.
Before 316 BCE, theSichuan Basin was isolated from what was then a Bronze Age civilization that was centered in theYellow River basin to the northeast. The discovery ofSanxingdui in 1987 was a major surprise since it indicated a major symbolic culture inNeolithic China that was previously unknown. Circa 2050–1250 BCE the site of Sanxingdui 40 km north ofChengdu appears to have been the center of a fairly extensive kingdom. Objects found in two treasure pits are in a style distinct from objects found from further north. This culture is suggested by many archaeologists to be that of the Shu kingdom.
There are very few mentions of Shu in early Chinese historical records until the 4th century BCE. Although there are possible references to a "Shu" inShang dynastyoracle bones inscriptions that indicate contact between Shu and Shang, it is not clear if the Shu mentioned refer to the kingdom in Sichuan or other different polities elsewhere.[4] Shu was first mentioned inShujing as one of the allies ofKing Wu of Zhou who helped defeat the Shang in 1046 BCE at theBattle of Muye.[5] However, shortly after Zhou's conquest, it was mentioned inYizhoushu that a subordinate of King Wu led an expedition against Shu.[4] After the battle of Muye, northern influences on Shu seem to have increased and then decreased while the Shu remained culturally distinct; archaeology suggests contacts with Shu in the late Shang and early Zhou period, but little evidence of influence from later Zhou.[4] The expulsion of the Zhou from theWei River valley in 771 BCE probably increased Shu's isolation.
Written accounts of Shu are largely a mixture of mythological stories and historical legends found in local annals and miscellaneous notes,[6] which include the Han dynasty compilationChronicle of the Kings of Shu [zh] and the Jin dynastyChronicles of Huayang.[7][8] There are a few names of semi-legendary kings and emperors, such asCancong (meaning "silkworm-bush"),Boguan [zh] ("cypress-irrigator"),Yufu [zh] ("cormorant"), andDuyu ("cuckoo"). According toChronicles of Huayang, Cancong was the first of the legendary kings and had protruding eyes, while Duyu taught the people agriculture and transformed into a cuckoo after his death.[4][9]
In 666 BCE a man fromChu calledBieling [vi] ("turtle spirit") founded theKaiming dynasty which lasted twelve generations until the Qin conquest. Legend has it that Bieling had died in Chu and his body floated upriver to Shu, whereupon he came back to life. While at Shu, he was successful in managing a flood and Duyu then abdicated in his favor. A later account states that the Kaiming kings occupied the far south of Shu before travelling up theMin River and taking over from Duyu.[10]
As thestate of Chu expanded westward up the Han and Yangtze valleys it pushed theBa peoples west toward Shu. In the 5th and 4th centuries BCE in Sichuan archaeologists hold that this interaction helped create Ba–Shu culture. There was also some Chu influence on the Shu state. In 474 BCE emissaries from the Shu state presented gifts to theQin state which was the first recorded contact between these two states. Later Shu troops crossed theQinling Mountains and approached the Qin capital of Yong, and in 387 Shu and Qin troops clashed nearHanzhong on the upper Han river.
About 356–338 BCEShang Yang strengthened the Qin state by centralizing it. In 337 BCE Shu emissaries congratulatedKing Huiwen of Qin on his accession. At about this time theStone Cattle Road was built over the mountains to connect Qin and Shu. About 316 BCE the Marquis of Zu, who held part of the Stone Cattle Road, became involved with Ba and quarreled with his brother, the twelfth Kaiming King. The Marquis was defeated and fled to Ba and then to Qin.Zhang Yi proposed that Qin should ignore these barbarians and continue its eastward expansion onto the central plain. Sima Cuo proposed that Qin should use its superior army to annex Shu, develop its resources and use the added strength for a later attack eastward. Sima Cuo's proposal was accepted and both advisors were sent south as generals. The two armies met near Jaimeng on theJialing River in Ba territory. The Kaiming king lost several battles and withdrew southward to Wuyang where he was captured and killed. Qin then turned on its allies and annexed Ba.
In 314 BCE the late Kaiming king's son was appointed Marquis Yaotong of Shu to rule in conjunction with a Qin governor. In 311 BCE an official named Chen Zhuang revolted and killed Yaotong. Sima Cuo and Zhang Yi again invaded Sichuan and killed Chen Zhuang. Another Kaiming called Hui was made Marquis. In 301 BCE he was involved in an intrigue and chose suicide when confronted with Sima Cuo's army. His son, Wan, the last Kaiming marquis, reigned from 300 until 285 BCE when he was put to death. (Some say thatAn Dương Vương in Vietnamese history was a member of the Kaiming family who led his people southward.)
The conquest had more than doubled Qin's territory and gave it an area safe from the other states except Chu, but the land had to be developed before its taxes could be converted into military strength. Shu was made a "jun" orcommandery and became a testing ground for this type of administration. Chengdu was surrounded by an enormous wall. Land was redistributed and divided into rectangular plots. Tens of thousands of colonists were brought in from the north. Many were convicts or people displaced by the wars further north. They were marched south in columns supervised by Qin officials. The greatDujiangyan Irrigation System was begun to divert theMin River east to the Chengdu Plain. Qin intervention in Ba was less extensive, apparently to avoid alienating a warlike people on the border of Chu.
During the conquest Chu was still tied up in the east with the annexation ofYue. In 312 BCE Qin and Chu troops clashed on the upper Han River. Zhang Yi used a mixture of threat and bluff to block any interference from Chu. Later a Chu general named Zhuang Qiao pushed west and occupied the tribal territory south of the Yangtze south of Shu. In 281 BCE Sima Cuo crossed the Yangtze and cut him off from Chu. He responded by declaring himself an independent king and he and his troops gradually blended into the local population. Starting in 280 BCE or before generalBai Qi pushed down the Han River and took the Chu capital (278 BCE). In 277 BCE theThree Gorges area was taken. The effect was to create a new Qin frontier east of Sichuan.
Sichuan remained quiescent during the wars before and after theQin dynasty indicating the Qin policy of assimilation had been successful. Archaeological remains in Shu from this period are very similar to those of northern China, while the Ba area remained somewhat distinct. WhenLiu Bang launched his campaign to found theHan dynasty Sichuan was an important supply base. In 135 BCE, under the expansionistEmperor Wu of Han, general Tang Meng, attempting an indirect approach to the Kingdom ofNanyue, made a push south of the Yangtze River and a little laterSima Xiangru pushed into the hill country west of Sichuan. These campaigns into tribal territory proved more expensive than they were worth and in 126 BCE they were both cancelled to shift resources to theXiongnu wars in the north. In the same yearZhang Qian returned from the west and reported that it might be possible to reach India from Sichuan. An attempt to do this was blocked by the hill tribes. In 112 BCE Tang Meng resumed his expansionist wars southward. His harsh methods provoked a near mutiny in Sichuan and Sima Xiangru was brought in to enforce a more moderate policy. By this time Chinese expansion across flat agricultural country had reached a natural geographical limit. Expansion into the hill country to the south and west was much slower.
Shu is represented by starAlpha Serpentis in asterismRight Wall,Heavenly Market enclosure (seeChinese constellation),[11] together withLambda Serpentis in R.H. Allen's works.[12]
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