Sun Shao 孫韶

Sun Shao's courtesy name was Gongli. His uncle Sun He, courtesy name Bohai, was originally surnamed Yu and was also a man of Wu. Sun Ce was fond of Sun He, granted him the surname Sun and entered him in the clan register, and Sun He later became a general and was stationed at Jingcheng. Records, Wu 6 §40

Earlier, when Sun Quan killed Sheng Xian, the Administrator of Wu Commandery, Gui Lan and Dai Yuan, whom Sheng Xian had recommended as Filial and Incorrupt, fled and hid in the mountains. When Sun Yi became Administrator of Danyang, he summoned the two with courtesy, and Gui Lan became Grand Commander supervising the troops while Dai Yuan became Commandery Assistant. In the 9th year of Jian'an (204), when Sun Yi was harmed by those around him, Sun He galloped to Wanling and rebuked Gui Lan and Dai Yuan. The two killed Sun He and sent men north to welcome Liu Fu, the Inspector of Yang Province, but just then Sun Yi's subordinates Xu Yuan, Sun Gao, Fu Ying and others killed Gui Lan and Dai Yuan. Records, Wu 6 §41–42Records, Wu 2 §8

At the age of seventeen, Sun Shao gathered Sun He's remaining followers, repaired Jingcheng, built watchtowers and put weapons and equipment in order to prepare to resist the enemy. When Sun Quan, returning from Jiaoqiu on hearing of the upheaval, encamped below Jingcheng by night and made a mock attack to startle them, the soldiers all mounted the walls, passed around a call to arms and stood on alert, their shouts shook the ground, and they shot a good many arrows at the men outside. They stopped only after Sun Quan sent someone to explain. Records, Wu 6 §43

The next day Sun Quan met Sun Shao and thought him highly capable. He immediately appointed him Commandant Who Carries On Valor to command Sun He's private troops, gave him the two counties of Qu'e and Dantu as his fief and let him appoint his own officials, all as in Sun He's former arrangement. Records, Wu 6 §43

Sun Shao later became Administrator of Guangling and Lieutenant General, and when Sun Quan became King of Wu he was promoted to General Who Spreads Might and enfeoffed as Marquis of Jiande. When Wei's Cao Xiu, Zhang Liao, Zang Ba and others invaded, Lü Fan led Xu Sheng, Quan Cong, Sun Shao and others to resist Cao Xiu and the rest at Dongkou with the navy. When Sun Quan proclaimed himself emperor, Sun Shao became General Who Guards the North. Records, Wu 6 §44Records, Wu 11 §37

Sun Shao served for several decades as a frontier general, looked after his officers and men well and won their utmost efforts. He always made it his task to keep the border on alert and send scouts far out, learning the enemy's movements in advance and preparing for them, so he was rarely defeated. A good many people came over from Qing, Xu, Runan and Pei, and the garrisons and outposts along the river in Huainan all withdrew their troops and moved far away, so that in the region of the Xu, the Si, the Yangtze and the Huai there were uninhabited stretches of several hundred li each. Records, Wu 6 §44

After Sun Quan went west and made Wuchang his capital, Sun Shao did not have an audience for more than ten years, and only when Sun Quan returned to Jianye did he attend court. When Sun Quan asked about the strategic points of the various garrisons in Qing and Xu, the number of men and horses near and far, and the names of Wei's generals, Sun Shao knew them all in detail and answered every question. He was eight chi tall and very elegant in bearing and appearance. Sun Quan was delighted and said, 'I have not seen Gongli for a long time, and I did not expect him to have improved so much,' and made him concurrently Governor of You Province and granted him the Tally of Authority. Records, Wu 6 §45

In the summer, the 5th month, of the 3rd year of Jiahe (234), Sun Quan stationed Lu Xun, Zhuge Jin and others at Jiangxia and Miankou, sent Sun Shao, Zhang Cheng and others toward Guangling and Huaiyang, and personally led the main army to besiege the New City of Hefei. When Emperor Ming of Wei personally led a navy east, Sun Quan withdrew and returned before the emperor reached Shouchun, and Sun Shao also withdrew his troops. The Annals of Emperor Ming of Wei records that at this time Sun Quan had Lu Yi (Lu Xun) and Sun Shao each lead more than 10,000 men into the Huai and the Mian. Records, Wu 2 §77–78Records, Wei 3 §37–38

Sun Shao died in the 4th year of Chiwu (241). His son Sun Yue succeeded him and rose to General of the Right, and Sun Yue's elder brother Sun Kai, as General-in-Chief of the Martial Guard and Marquis of Lincheng, replaced Sun Yue as Area Commander of Jingxia. Sun Kai's younger brother Sun Yi (孫異) rose to General Who Commands the Army, Sun Yi (孫奕) became Minister of the Imperial Clan, and Sun Hui became Administrator of Wuling. In the 1st year of Tianxi (276), Sun Kai was summoned and made General of Agile Cavalry garrisoning the palace. Earlier, when the bandit Shi Dan and others of Yong'an attacked Jianye, it was said that Sun Kai had been of two minds and did not come at once to suppress them, and Sun Hao questioned him several times; so Sun Kai, who was always fearful, on being suddenly summoned, took his wife and children and several hundred personal troops and went over to Jin. Records, Wu 6 §46–47

In his assessment for the biographies of the imperial clan, Chen Shou said that the kindness and duty of cherishing one's kin is a constant principle in past and present, and that he had recorded these Suns in detail because some of them helped lay the first foundations of the state and some held and guarded the frontier, proving fully equal to their tasks and not disgracing their honors. Records, Wu 6 §52