Su Jun
Encyclopedia
Su Jun (died 328) was a Jin Dynasty
(265–420) general, whose rebellion against Emperor Cheng
's regent
Yu Liang
was initially successful, allowing him to take over the imperial government, but he was eventually defeated by Tao Kan
and Wen Jiao
's forces and killed in battle. The disturbance he created greatly weakened the Jin regime, which for decades did not have any ability to fight back against rival Later Zhao
.
Su Jun's father Su Mo (蘇模) was a prime minister of the Dukedom of Anle—the dukedom that was given to Liu Shan
the last emperor of Shu Han
and his descendants. Su himself was known for his intelligence when he was young. In the aftermaths of Han Zhao
's capture of Emperor Huai
, Su gathered a group of refugees on modern Shandong
Peninsula and served as the leader of self-protection league. This eventually brought the attention of Cao Ni (曹嶷) -- a general with substantial forces in modern Shandong who frequently changed his allegiance between Han Zhao and Jin, and after Cao could not persuade Su to join him, he became determined to destroy Su. Su became fearful, and in 319 he took his group of refugees south to join the Jin imperial regime under Emperor Yuan
, then located at Jiankang
. Emperor Yuan was impressed at how Su kept his group of refugees together and how he had come a long distance to join him, and he made Su a commandery governor. He went through a succession of posts the next few years.
In 324, when the warlord Wang Dun
's forces attacked Jiankang, with intent to overthrow Emperor Yuan's successor Emperor Ming
, Emperor Ming summoned Su, among other generals posted on the northern border with Later Zhao, to come to his aid. When Su's forces (and those of Liu Xia (劉遐)) arrived in the capital late at night, Emperor Ming personally went to visit the forces. Su was instrumental in subsequently defeating Wang's forces, preserving Jin. After this success, Su was made the governor of Liyang Commandery (歷陽, roughly modern Chaohu, Anhui
). He became proud of his success and began to have greater ambition, and he received criminals and other unwanted people into his commandery, seeking to strengthen his own personal force.
After Emperor Ming's death in 325, his four-year-old son Emperor Cheng succeeded to the throne, and his maternal uncle Yu Liang became regent. Yu became apprehensive of Su and became convinced that he had to strip Su of his military post. In 327, he announced that Su was being promoted to minister of agriculture—a post that did not involve any military commands. Su refused, and asked to be transferred to another commandery instead. Yu in turn refused and prepare for war. Su then declared a rebellion against Yu's regency, stating, in a famous quote:
In other words, he would rather lose in battle and be executed, than to submit himself to what he thought was certain imprisonment. He allied himself with Zu Yue (祖約) the governor of Yu Province (豫州, usually referring to modern eastern Henan
, but by that point mostly confined to central Anhui
), and headed for Jiankang.
Yu was confident he could defeat Su—so much so that he declined emergency assistance from Wen Jiao, who was then the governor of Jiang Province (江州, modern Jiangxi
) -- but instead Su won battle and battle and reached Jiankang quickly, capturing the city and forcing Yu to flee. Su's forces pillaged the capital, stripping both officials and commoners of their wealths and even their clothing, and even the servant girls of Empress Dowager Yu
, Emperor Cheng's mother, were seized. Empress Dowager Yu, in distress, died. (It is said that she was "humiliated" by Su, but the method of humiliation was not described.) Su took over the imperial government and put his allies into high positions quickly.
However, Yu Liang, Wen, and Tao Kan soon entered into an alliance and headed back east to Jiankang. Eastern commanderies also rose against Su, led by Chi Jian (郗鑒). Despite these provincial forces having greater numbers, Su continued to defeat them in battle after battle, and even Wen and Tao, capable generals in their own right, became apprehensive. However, during one battle in late 328, Su was hit by a spear and fell off his horse, and the provincial forces quickly beheaded him. His forces tried to coalesce behind his brother Su Yi (蘇逸), but collapsed in early 329.
Jìn Dynasty (265-420)
The Jìn Dynasty , was a dynasty in Chinese history, lasting between the years 265 and 420 AD. There are two main divisions in the history of the Dynasty, the first being Western Jin and the second Eastern Jin...
(265–420) general, whose rebellion against Emperor Cheng
Emperor Cheng of Jin
Emperor Cheng of Jin , personal name Sima Yan , courtesy name Shigen , was an emperor of the Eastern Jin Dynasty . He was the eldest son of Emperor Ming and became the crown prince on April 1, 325...
's regent
Regent
A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...
Yu Liang
Yu Liang
Yu Liang , courtesy name Yuangui , formally Marquess Wenkang of Duting , was a Jin Dynasty official and general who impressed many with his knowledge but whose inability to tolerate dissent and overly high evaluation of his own abilities led to the disastrous revolt of Su Jun, weakening Jin's...
was initially successful, allowing him to take over the imperial government, but he was eventually defeated by Tao Kan
Tao Kan
Tao Kan , courtesy name Shixing , formally Duke Huan of Changsha , was a renowned Jin Dynasty general and governor. He was the great-grandfather of the Jin Dynasty poet Tao Yuanming.- Early career :...
and Wen Jiao
Wen Jiao
Wen Jiao , courtesy name Taizhen , formally Duke Zhongwu of Shi'an , was a renowned Jin Dynasty general and governor.-Family:...
's forces and killed in battle. The disturbance he created greatly weakened the Jin regime, which for decades did not have any ability to fight back against rival Later Zhao
Later Zhao
The Later Zhao was a state of the Sixteen Kingdoms during the Jin Dynasty in China. It was founded by the Shi family of the Jie ethnicity...
.
Su Jun's father Su Mo (蘇模) was a prime minister of the Dukedom of Anle—the dukedom that was given to Liu Shan
Liu Shan
Liu Shan, , was the second and last emperor of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. As he ascended the throne at the young age of 16, Liu Shan was entrusted to the care of the Chancellor Zhuge Liang and Imperial Secretariat Li Yan...
the last emperor of Shu Han
Shu Han
Shu Han was one of the three states competing for control of China during the Three Kingdoms period, after the fall of the Han Dynasty. The state was based on areas around Sichuan, which was then known as Shu...
and his descendants. Su himself was known for his intelligence when he was young. In the aftermaths of Han Zhao
Han Zhao
The Han Zhao , or Former Zhao, or Northern Han , was a Southern Xiongnu state during Sixteen Kingdoms period coeval with the Chinese Jin Dynasty...
's capture of Emperor Huai
Emperor Huai of Jin
Emperor Huai of Jin, sim. ch. 晋怀帝, trad. ch. 晉懷帝, py. Jìn Huáidì, wg. Chin Huai-ti , personal name Sima Chi , courtesy name Fengdu , was an emperor of the Jin Dynasty ....
, Su gathered a group of refugees on modern Shandong
Shandong
' is a Province located on the eastern coast of the People's Republic of China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history from the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River and served as a pivotal cultural and religious site for Taoism, Chinese...
Peninsula and served as the leader of self-protection league. This eventually brought the attention of Cao Ni (曹嶷) -- a general with substantial forces in modern Shandong who frequently changed his allegiance between Han Zhao and Jin, and after Cao could not persuade Su to join him, he became determined to destroy Su. Su became fearful, and in 319 he took his group of refugees south to join the Jin imperial regime under Emperor Yuan
Emperor Yuan of Jin
Emperor Yuan of Jin , personal name Sima Rui , courtesy name Jingwen , was an emperor of the Jin Dynasty and the first of the Eastern Jin Dynasty...
, then located at Jiankang
Jiankang
Jiankang was the capital city of the Eastern Jin Dynasty and Southern Dynasties. Its walls are extant ruins in the modern municipal region of Nanjing.-History:...
. Emperor Yuan was impressed at how Su kept his group of refugees together and how he had come a long distance to join him, and he made Su a commandery governor. He went through a succession of posts the next few years.
In 324, when the warlord Wang Dun
Wang Dun
Wang Dun , courtesy name Chuzhong , was a Jin Dynasty general and later warlord.Having brought Emperor Yuan to submission with his military force, Wang Dun had paramount authorities. However, although he later appeared to intend to seize the Jin throne by force, he grew ill in 324...
's forces attacked Jiankang, with intent to overthrow Emperor Yuan's successor Emperor Ming
Emperor Ming of Jin
Emperor Ming of Jin , personal name Sima Shao , courtesy name Daoji , was an emperor of the Eastern Jin Dynasty...
, Emperor Ming summoned Su, among other generals posted on the northern border with Later Zhao, to come to his aid. When Su's forces (and those of Liu Xia (劉遐)) arrived in the capital late at night, Emperor Ming personally went to visit the forces. Su was instrumental in subsequently defeating Wang's forces, preserving Jin. After this success, Su was made the governor of Liyang Commandery (歷陽, roughly modern Chaohu, Anhui
Anhui
Anhui is a province in the People's Republic of China. Located in eastern China across the basins of the Yangtze River and the Huai River, it borders Jiangsu to the east, Zhejiang to the southeast, Jiangxi to the south, Hubei to the southwest, Henan to the northwest, and Shandong for a tiny...
). He became proud of his success and began to have greater ambition, and he received criminals and other unwanted people into his commandery, seeking to strengthen his own personal force.
After Emperor Ming's death in 325, his four-year-old son Emperor Cheng succeeded to the throne, and his maternal uncle Yu Liang became regent. Yu became apprehensive of Su and became convinced that he had to strip Su of his military post. In 327, he announced that Su was being promoted to minister of agriculture—a post that did not involve any military commands. Su refused, and asked to be transferred to another commandery instead. Yu in turn refused and prepare for war. Su then declared a rebellion against Yu's regency, stating, in a famous quote:
- I would rather be on a hill and looking at the jail, rather than be in a jail and looking at the hill.
In other words, he would rather lose in battle and be executed, than to submit himself to what he thought was certain imprisonment. He allied himself with Zu Yue (祖約) the governor of Yu Province (豫州, usually referring to modern eastern Henan
Henan
Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...
, but by that point mostly confined to central Anhui
Anhui
Anhui is a province in the People's Republic of China. Located in eastern China across the basins of the Yangtze River and the Huai River, it borders Jiangsu to the east, Zhejiang to the southeast, Jiangxi to the south, Hubei to the southwest, Henan to the northwest, and Shandong for a tiny...
), and headed for Jiankang.
Yu was confident he could defeat Su—so much so that he declined emergency assistance from Wen Jiao, who was then the governor of Jiang Province (江州, modern Jiangxi
Jiangxi
' is a southern province in the People's Republic of China. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze River in the north into hillier areas in the south, it shares a border with Anhui to the north, Zhejiang to the northeast, Fujian to the east, Guangdong to the south, Hunan to the west, and Hubei to...
) -- but instead Su won battle and battle and reached Jiankang quickly, capturing the city and forcing Yu to flee. Su's forces pillaged the capital, stripping both officials and commoners of their wealths and even their clothing, and even the servant girls of Empress Dowager Yu
Empress Yu Wenjun
Empress Yu Wenjun , formally Empress Mingmu was an empress of Jin Dynasty...
, Emperor Cheng's mother, were seized. Empress Dowager Yu, in distress, died. (It is said that she was "humiliated" by Su, but the method of humiliation was not described.) Su took over the imperial government and put his allies into high positions quickly.
However, Yu Liang, Wen, and Tao Kan soon entered into an alliance and headed back east to Jiankang. Eastern commanderies also rose against Su, led by Chi Jian (郗鑒). Despite these provincial forces having greater numbers, Su continued to defeat them in battle after battle, and even Wen and Tao, capable generals in their own right, became apprehensive. However, during one battle in late 328, Su was hit by a spear and fell off his horse, and the provincial forces quickly beheaded him. His forces tried to coalesce behind his brother Su Yi (蘇逸), but collapsed in early 329.