wú 吴

Wu Qi (440 BC - 381 BC) A native of Wei during the Warring States period. He served under Marquis Wen of Wei and led troops to attack Qin, capturing five cities. He was appointed as the governor of Xihe. Later, framed and slandered, he fled to Chu and became the prime minister of King Dao of Chu. Under his governance, Chu grew increasingly powerful. As he advocated reducing the privileges of distant members of the royal family to support the soldiers, he incurred the hatred of the noble ministers. Eventually, he was shot to death. Li Ke also said that Wu Qi was greedy and lecherous, but in terms of military strategy, even Sima Rangju could not surpass him. He wrote "Six Chapters of Wu Zi". Wu Chengen (? - 1582 AD) With the courtesy name Ruzhong and the literary name Sheyang Shanren, he was a native of Shanyang, Huai'an in the Ming Dynasty. He was probably born in the 13th year of the Hongzhi reign of Emperor Xiaozong. He was intelligent and well - read, with elegant poems and essays. In the 23rd year of the Jiajing reign, he became a tribute student and was appointed as the county magistrate of Changxing. In the early years of the Longqing reign, he returned to Shanyang and indulged in poetry and wine. Many of his poems and essays were lost after his death. Qiu Zhenggang, a fellow townsman, compiled them into four volumes of "Sheyang Cun Gao" and one volume of "Xu Gao". He was also good at writing comedies and wrote several collections of miscellaneous works, which made him famous at that time. In particular, his "Journey to the West" was one of the four great strange books of the Ming Dynasty and was the most popular. Wu Sangui (1612 - 1678) With the courtesy name Changbai, he was a native of Gaoyou in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. During the Chongzhen reign, he served as a general and guarded the Shanhaiguan Pass. When Li Zicheng captured the capital, he took Wu Sangui's concubine Chen Yuanyuan. Then Wu Sangui led the Qing troops into the pass, defeated Li Zicheng, and the Qing Dynasty entered and ruled China. Wu Sangui was enfeoffed as the Prince of Pingxi and guarded Yunnan. Later, he rebelled against the Qing Dynasty, proclaimed himself the emperor of the Zhou Dynasty, and soon died of illness.