42 Facts About Quan Cong

Quan Cong, courtesy name Zihuang, was a Chinese military general of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China.

Quan Cong started his career under the warlord Sun Quan as a military officer and achieved success in his early career by pacifying the restive Shanyue tribes in the Jiangdong territories.

Quan Cong pacified rebellions by local tribes in Danyang, Wu and Kuaiji commanderies.

Quan Cong strongly objected to Sun Quan's decision to let his heir apparent Sun Deng lead troops into battle because it was against traditions, and attempted to dissuade Sun Quan from launching an invasion of Zhuya and Yizhou.

Quan Cong was born in Qiantang County, Wu Commandery, which is in present-day Hangzhou, Zhejiang, towards the end of the Eastern Han dynasty.

Sometime in the 210s, Quan Cong received instructions from his father to sell a shipment of a few thousand hu of grain in Wu Commandery.

Quan Cong took in hundreds of these refugees and spent his entire family fortune on providing them with necessities.

Quan Cong managed to recruit over 10,000 elite soldiers to serve in his army and stationed them at Niuzhu.

Quan Cong was then promoted to Lieutenant-General for his achievements.

Around the same time, Sun Quan Cong had already secretly ordered his general Lu Meng to lead a stealth invasion of Liu Bei's territories in Jing Province.

Quan Cong was worried that his plan would be leaked out so he did not respond to Quan Cong's letter and kept it hidden.

Quan Cong continued to rule under the title "King of Wu" and did not declare himself emperor until 229.

Quan Cong led his men to engage the enemy and succeeded in driving them back and killing Yin Lu in battle.

Quan Cong was elevated from the status of a village marquis to a county marquis under the title "Marquis of Qiantang".

In 225, Sun Quan granted Quan Cong acting imperial authority and appointed him as the Administrator of Jiujiang Commandery.

In 228, Sun Quan moved to Wan County, where he ordered Quan Cong to join Lu Xun in launching an attack on Wei forces led by Cao Xiu.

Sun Quan Cong identified the more restive areas within the three commanderies and created a new commandery, Dong'an Commandery, to administer these areas.

Quan Cong then appointed Quan Cong as the Administrator of this commandery, whose headquarters were at Fuchun County.

Quan Cong managed to persuade and induce the local tribes to surrender to him.

On his journey to Niuzhu, Quan Cong passed by Qiantang County and decided to visit his hometown.

Quan Cong paid his respects at his ancestors' tombs and had them repaired and cleaned up.

On one occasion, Sun Quan Cong ordered his eldest son and crown prince, Sun Deng, to lead troops into battle.

When it was revealed later that Quan Cong was the one who convinced Sun Quan to change his mind, the former earned much praise for possessing the dignity of a respectable subject of a ruler.

In 233, when Quan Cong led 50,000 infantry and cavalry to attack the Wei-controlled Lu'an County, the people in Lu'an County were so terrified that they fled and scattered in all directions.

Many Wu officials strongly urged Sun Quan Cong to uphold Confucian rules of propriety and ensure that Sun He, as the crown prince, received greater honours and privileges compared to Sun Ba and the other princes.

However, Sun Quan Cong failed to clearly distinguish between the relative statuses of the two princes, so a succession struggle broke out between them as Sun Ba started vying for their father's attention and favour while Sun He saw Sun Ba as a threat and tried to counter him.

When some officials called for Gu Tan's execution on the grounds of being disrespectful towards the emperor, Sun Quan Cong refused to execute Gu Tan and instead exiled him, Gu Cheng and Zhang Xiu to the remote Jiao Province.

Sun Quan Cong eventually grew tired of the succession struggle and ended it in 250 by deposing Sun He and replacing him with Sun Liang, as well as forcing Sun Ba to commit suicide.

In 229, Quan Cong married Sun Luban, the elder daughter of Sun Quan and his concubine Bu Lianshi.

Quan Cong's eldest son, Quan Xu, was already famous since he was an adolescent.

Quan Cong gradually rose through the ranks to the position of General Who Spreads Martial Might, and served as the area commander of the Wu garrison at Niuzhu.

Quan Cong was further promoted to General Who Guards the North after Sun Liang came to the throne.

Quan Cong Ji was involved in the succession struggle between Sun Quan Cong's sons Sun He, and Sun Ba, in the 240s.

Quan Cong Yi surrendered to Wei after falling for a ruse by Sima Zhao.

Quan Cong was enfeoffed as a Marquis of a Chief District by the Wu government.

However, Sun Chen caught wind of the plot because Quan Cong Shang had unsuspectingly revealed it to his wife, who was Sun Chen's cousin.

Sun Chen had Quan Cong Shang arrested and exiled to Lingling Commandery, and then sent assassins to kill Quan Cong Shang while he was en route to Lingling.

Quan Xi was a relative of Quan Cong that served in the military, and was one of the generals sent to arrest Zhuge Rong in 253 after the execution of Zhuge Ke.

When Zhuge Dan rebelled in 257, Shi Ji and Quan Cong Xi were held off by Wei's general Wang Chang, so they were unable to assist the rebellion.

Quan Cong was known for being a respectful and agreeable person who was good at reading people's emotions and reacting positively to others' advice.

Quan Cong was mindful of his speech and words, and was never known to have been disrespectful towards anyone before.

Quan Cong was one of the most favoured and one of those who held the most prestigious positions.