Lady Bu (Sun Quan) 吳主權步夫人

Lady Bu, consort of Sun Quan, Lord of Wu, was a native of Huaiyin in Linhuai Commandery and belonged to the same clan as the Chancellor Bu Zhi. At the end of the Han her mother took her and moved to Lujiang, and when Lujiang was crushed by Sun Ce they all crossed the river eastward. With her beauty she won Sun Quan's favour, and his favour toward her surpassed that shown to anyone else in the inner palace. Records, Wu 5 §15

She bore two daughters. The elder was Sun Luban, courtesy name Dahu, who was first married to Zhou Yu's son Zhou Xun and later to Quan Cong. The younger was Sun Luyu, courtesy name Xiaohu, who was first married to Zhu Ju and later to Liu Zuan. Records, Wu 5 §15

Lady Xu was a consort whom Sun Quan had taken when he was at Wu as General Who Attacks Barbarians, and he had her raise his son Sun Deng as a mother. But when Sun Quan moved his residence, he deposed her for jealousy and left her at Wu. More than ten years later, when Sun Quan became King of Wu and took the imperial title, the ministers asked that Lady Xu be made empress, but since Sun Quan's heart was set on Lady Bu, he never consented. Records, Wu 5 §13

Lady Bu was not jealous by nature and recommended many others and brought them near, and so she long enjoyed love and regard. When Sun Quan became king and then emperor he wished to make her empress, but since the ministers' opinion favoured Lady Xu, he hesitated for more than ten years. Within the palace, however, everyone called her empress, and her relatives, in their memorials, referred to her as the Inner Palace (zhonggong). Records, Wu 5 §16

According to the Biography of Sun Deng, after Lady Xu was deposed for jealousy and went to live at Wu, Lady Bu was the most favoured. When Lady Bu gave him anything, Sun Deng did not dare refuse and merely bowed and accepted it, but the clothes brought by Lady Xu's messengers he always put on only after bathing. When he was about to be appointed Crown Prince, Sun Deng declined, saying that to establish a crown prince one should first establish an empress; when Sun Quan asked, 'Where is your mother?' he answered, 'At Wu,' and Sun Quan fell silent. Records, Wu 14 §7

According to the Biography of the Lord of Wu, in the 8th month, in autumn, of the 1st year of Chiwu (238), when it was reported from Wuchang that a qilin had appeared, the era name was changed and named Chiwu (Red Crow) after the red crows Sun Quan had seen himself; then, when Lady Bu died, she was posthumously granted the title of empress. The Biographies of Consorts record that when she passed away the ministers, following Sun Quan's wishes, asked that her title be posthumously rectified, whereupon a seal and ribbon were bestowed and an edict of investiture was issued. The edict begins, 'On the wuzi day of the intercalary month of the 1st year of Chiwu.' Records, Wu 2 §87–88Records, Wu 5 §16

In the edict Sun Quan said that the empress had been reverent and circumspect day and night, sharing his toils, and had kept the instruction of the inner palace in good order without any lapse in ritual propriety. Because the troubles of the age had not yet been quelled, he had, in keeping with the empress's refined wishes, not conferred the title at the time, never realizing that her life would suddenly end, and he lamented that he had not made his true intention known earlier. He sent the Chancellor as Commissioner Bearing the Staff of Authority to present the edict and confer the title, and had her receive sacrifices together with her predecessors; she was buried at the Jiang Mausoleum. Records, Wu 5 §16–19

The biography of Lady Wang of Langye records that the favour Lady Wang received was second only to Lady Bu's, and that after Lady Bu passed away, Lady Wang's son Sun He was made Crown Prince. Records, Wu 5 §21

In his assessment in the Biographies of Consorts, Chen Shou said that Duke Huan of Qi and Sun Quan both had the clear sight to recognize men of worth and the ambition of outstanding men, but that because they did not distinguish between the sons of principal wives and those of concubines, the women's quarters and the court fell into disorder and calamity flowed down to their descendants. Lady Bu is not named separately in the assessment. Records, Wu 5 §42