Background
Sun Quan, courtesy name Zhongmou, was born in Fuchum, Wuzhou (today's Fuyang in Zhejiang Province). He was the first emperor of Eastern Wu.
Statue of Sun Quan
Sun Quan, courtesy name Zhongmou, was born in Fuchum, Wuzhou (today's Fuyang in Zhejiang Province). He was the first emperor of Eastern Wu.
Sun Ce was assassinated in 200 during a hunt. On his deathbed, he knew that his son was still too young to be considered a realistic heir, so he entrusted the 18-year-old Sun Quan to his faithful subordinates. Initially, Sun Quan mourned his brother's death so much that he could do nothing, but at Zhang Zhao's behest, he dressed himself in military uniform and set out to visit the commanderies under his brother's control. Many of Sun Ce's subordinates thought that Sun Quan was too young to sustain Sun Ce's domain and wanted to leave, but Zhang Zhao and Zhou Yu saw special qualities in the young man and chose to stay to serve Sun Quan. Zhang Hong, whom Sun Ce had earlier sent as a liaison to the warlord Cao Cao, also returned from Cao's domain to assist Sun Quan. (At Zhang Hong's request, Cao Cao, in the name of Emperor Xian, commissioned Sun Quan as General Who Attacks Barbarians (討虜將軍), a title that he would be known for a long time.) He listened carefully to his mother Lady Wu's encouraging words, and greatly trusted Zhang Zhao and Zhang Hong with regard to civilian affairs and Zhou Yu, Cheng Pu, and Lü Fan with regard to military matters. Sun Quan also sought out talented young men to serve as his personal advisors, and it was around this time that he befriended Lu Su and Zhuge Jin, who would later play prominent roles in his administration. Throughout this period and decades to come, Sun Quan's leadership would be characterized by his ability to find men of character and entrust important matters to him, and his ability to react swiftly to events.
For the next several years, Sun Quan was largely interested in first defending his realm against potential enemies, but he gradually sought to harass and weaken Liu Biao's key subordinate, Huang Zu (who controlled the northeastern region of Liu Biao's domain) -- particularly because Huang Zu had killed his father in battle. In 208, he was finally able to defeat and kill Huang Zu in battle. Soon after, Liu Biao died while Cao Cao was preparing a major campaign to subjugate both Liu Biao and Sun Quan under his control, precipitating a major confrontation.